Thread by @FPWellman

One of the right wing outlets is working their way down an oppo file on me now. Today they'll release a 'scandalous" story that I have two bankruptcies in my financial history. Yep...I do. Like many Americans I've had some tough times both personally and professionally. (1)

In 2001 I was running for mayor of our town while working as a Project Management Consultant and my then wife was a flight attendant. I was mobilized the night of 9/11 in the Army Reserve and she was furloughed. My unit screwed up my paperwork so my pay was a fraction. (2)

Like many folks we had been living paycheck to paycheck with 4 kids and the whole thing collapsed with a loss of most of our income. Eventually we filed Chapter 7 which my poor wife had to do while I was deployed in Iraq in 2003. We lived frugally for years and recovered. (3)

After retirement from the Army, I launched my own PR firm focused on veterans and military family issues. It did pretty well. We built a spry little outfit. Things started fading in 2017 with a downturn in business and a mental health crisis around my PTSD that I'd ignored. (4)

I lost 2 men in Desert Storm and then my first wife and unborn child in 1994. I carried survivors guilt for decades nursing suicidal ideations and self destructive behaviors. It all crashed down in late 2017 as my marriage collapsed and I went into intense treatment. (5)

I made a lot of mistakes and took too much debt to save the firm. Recovery was always "around the corner." We started 2020 off strong then there was a pandemic. We lost our biggest client on week 1 and more. I found purpose volunteering to run a field hospital in NYC. (6)

I got a PPP loan but it was clear after 3 years of struggle it was time to shut it down. I managed to help all of my employees find new jobs. I called my mentor Steve Schmidt for advice on what I should do and he hired me to handle veterans affairs for The Lincoln Project. (7)

I had to file Chapter 7 for the business debt and still owe back taxes. I learned from those mistakes as much as I've learned from any of my successes. It makes me a better executive director because I've got the scars to prove it today. (8)

So, there you have it. The big scandal. I'm sure the Trumpists that have my oppo file will have something new again but I'm still fighting for our democracy as best I can. My tattoo says it all. "I'm not done yet". Thanks for reading this and thanks for your support.(9)