{ "_contentGuidelines": "Mobile limit: 2 paragraphs max. Character range 512-599 depending on word length. Short words (avg 4-5 letters) stay under 580 chars. Longer words (avg 5+ letters) can reach ~600 but wrap harder on mobile. Word count range: 78-103. Always test on mobile.", "pageTitle": "About Jonny", "pageSubHeader": "A Lifetime of Service", "heroImage": "mt-timp.webp", "heroAlt": "Mount Timpanogos, Utah", "intro": "", "pillars": [ { "id": "service", "title": "Service to Country", "intro": "I signed up for the Marine Corps at 17. The oath I swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, never expired. That same commitment drives everything I do today.", "subtopics": [ { "id": "marine-corps", "title": "Marine Corps Infantry", "text": "I served as an Infantry Rifleman (0311) from 2000 to 2004, reaching the rank of Sergeant. I was stationed in Washington, D.C. and witnessed the attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. I stood as part of the first Honor Guard at Ground Zero in New York City after the rubble was cleared.\n\nI deployed twice to Iraq. First with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines during the initial push into Baghdad, where my battalion tore down Saddam Hussein's statue. I returned with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines and fought in the Battle of Husaybah, a precursor to the First Battle of Fallujah.", "image": "/images/about-jonny/about-service-01-marine-corps.webp", "imagePosition": "top", "imageAlt": "Jonny in Marine Corps dress blues" }, { "id": "why-running", "title": "Why I'm Running", "text": "The Marine Corps taught me what happens when you commit to something bigger than yourself. You see the mission and you go. While working families take a backseat, corporations become people and billionaires get bailouts. Politicians refuse to stand for the people who elected them while programs that keep families like mine afloat come under attack.\n\nWhen my grandmother took me in after my mother gave me up, her Teamster pension, Medicare, and Social Security gave her stability. I will work to ensure the government works to help people like her.", "image": "/images/about-jonny/about-service-02-why-running.webp", "imageAlt": "Jonny at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington DC" }, { "id": "veterans-care", "title": "Fighting for Veterans", "text": "My benefits and healthcare as a veteran exist because working families pay for them. Those families deserve someone in Congress fighting just as hard for them as they fight for us.\n\nRight now, veterans across the 4th District drive hours for basic care. There is not a single VA clinic in Tooele, Sevier, Millard, or Sanpete counties. That is unacceptable for a district with Camp Williams, Dugway Proving Ground, and the Tooele Army Depot. The VA has lost over 40,000 employees, including thousands of nurses and doctors. Veterans need real advocates, not politicians who use them for photo ops.", "image": "/images/about-jonny/about-service-03-veterans.webp", "imageAlt": "Jonny speaking with a fellow veteran" } ] }, { "id": "personal", "title": "Where I Come From", "intro": "I am a 5th generation Utahn. I grew up with nothing, was raised by women who chose to care for me, and learned that community is what holds everything together.", "subtopics": [ { "id": "early-life", "title": "Growing Up in Fairpark", "text": "I grew up in the VIP trailer park on North Temple in Salt Lake City. We lived on food stamps and free school lunches. When I was 13, my younger brother and I ended up in foster care.\n\nMy grandmother saved my life. Born in 1921, she was a Teamster, Local 222, and worked at P.I.E. Trucking. She lived to be 102 and a half years old. Her union pension, Medicare, and Social Security gave us a stable home. She taught me that hard work matters, self-sufficiency matters, and taking care of each other matters most of all.", "image": "/images/about-jonny/about-personal-01-fairpark.webp", "imageAlt": "Jonny with his grandmother on her 102nd birthday" }, { "id": "community", "title": "Raised by a Community", "text": "When my childhood home fell apart, other people stepped in. My aunt and uncle took me camping in the Uintas, to the lava caves in Idaho, and to Yellowstone. My friends' mothers did the same, women who had no obligation to take on another kid but did it because that is what decent people do.\n\nI lived with my best friend Roy and his deaf family for about a year. They taught me American Sign Language and became my second family. My grandmother, aunt, and friends' moms stepped up and taught me empathy, compassion, and the strength that comes from community.", "image": "/images/about-jonny/about-personal-02-community.webp", "imageAlt": "Jonny with his aunt as a child" }, { "id": "self-sufficiency", "title": "Built to Fix Things", "text": "I have installed my own wood floors, tiled my kitchen and bathrooms, redone counters and backsplash, refinished cabinets, and put in my own water filtration system. I replaced my entire Subaru suspension myself. I did not learn these skills as a hobby. I learned them because I had to.\n\nWhen you grow up without money, you either figure it out or go without. That self-sufficiency is not a slogan for me. It is how I was raised. The same mindset drives this campaign: no waste, no excuses, and the people come first.", "image": "/images/about-jonny/about-personal-03-self-sufficiency.webp", "imageAlt": "Jonny working on a hands-on project" } ] }, { "id": "professional", "title": "Work and Purpose", "intro": "From IT to education to running for Congress, every step taught me how systems work, how they fail, and who gets left behind when nobody pays attention.", "subtopics": [ { "id": "education-work", "title": "Education and IT Career", "text": "After the Marines, I worked my way up in IT to become a Systems and Network Administrator at a local hospital. I was good at it because I care about solving problems for everyone.\n\nIn 2010, I used my GI Bill to study Applied Math and Physics at the University of Utah. I wanted to pursue a PhD in Astrophysics. I became a math tutor and created a Calculus and Trig reference sheet still used by students today. My GI Bill funding ran out before I could finish. Education should be a right, not something you lose because the money runs out.", "image": "/images/about-jonny/about-professional-01-education.webp", "imageAlt": "Jonny at a Salt Lake County meeting" }, { "id": "hobbies", "title": "Life Outside Politics", "text": "Duke is my fourth Great Dane and my first puppy. He is nearly 10, and three feral kittens I recently adopted adore him, especially Silvie. Animals teach you what unconditional love really looks like. They do not care about politics. They just care about their family.\n\nI have been a beekeeper on and off for over a decade and kept chickens almost as long. I love building things with my hands. Woodworking, kitchen remodels, tiling, fixing what needs fixing. When you grow up without money, you learn to do things yourself. That is how I stay grounded.", "image": "/images/about-jonny/about-professional-02-hobbies.webp", "imageAlt": "Jonny with his Great Dane Duke" }, { "id": "values", "title": "What Drives Me", "text": "My grandmother taught me empathy for everyone, not just people who look or think like me. I have always stood up for people who needed it, from protecting my younger brother to standing with ELP students at West High when others looked away.\n\nI am blunt, direct, and honest. I am not afraid to admit when I am wrong, and I will call it out when someone else is. I got into blockchain, saw it scamming people out of their savings, and walked away. That industry needs heavy regulation, not politicians who profit from it. My integrity as a Marine cannot be bought.", "image": "/images/about-jonny/about-professional-03-values.webp", "imagePosition": "top", "imageAlt": "Jonny holding 2026 candidate manual" } ] } ] }