If you’re like me, you probably know 10, 20, 50 or more friends, family members, or co-workers who would do a better job leading than the people we read about every day on our phones, running our state and federal government. Most Americans today are not at all confident in the leadership ability of our elected officials and it’s time for that to change.
I’m Tim Gowen and I’m running for State Delegate because I’m concerned about poor leadership in our government and, like you, I want Southern Maryland to have the best leadership available representing us in the Maryland General Assembly.
What drove me to run was that too many of our elected officials lack sufficient competence, character, or courage to effectively lead. Politicians that lack competence come at problems with a very narrow range of solutions that typically involves spending taxpayer money to make it go away.
Good leaders are seasoned problem solvers that draw on life experiences for a wide array of possibilities that lead them to the best solutions. Unlike the politicians that give in to the influence of special interests, good leaders have a strong foundation of values, especially integrity. Leaders steeped in character do what’s best for their constituents which sometimes means making unpopular choices.
The worst possible characteristic for an elected official is to lack courage. Elected officials that lack courage are risk averse. They rely too much on polls to make their decisions. These are the leaders that listen exclusively to “experts” who claim the sky is falling, then worst of all use the power of the government to over protect us from THEIR fears.
Leaders with courage gather the facts, weigh the overall effects of several courses of action, then make their decisions based on what will ultimately result in the greatest good, even if on the surface that decision appears to be unpopular.
If you examine my record, I think you’ll find that I have a demonstrated record of accomplishments and I have an abundance of experience and character to include and especially, courage.
I am the one candidate you’ll find that actually has a wealth of experience organizing and mobilizing large groups of people across multiple organizations (as both a military and a civilian leader) to get big things done. As both a military officer and as a senior civilian, I’ve solved problems at the state, national, and international levels.
To summarize my background, I’m 57 years old, happily married, father of three, an aerospace engineer, an Army helicopter pilot, I’ve commanded in combat three times, I’m a small business owner in St Mary’s county and I’ve never run for office before. I worked for NAVAIR on Pax River for 25 years as a civil servant engineer and I’ve been in the Army for 36 years – Reserves and National Guard for 30 of those.
Almost three years ago, Governor Hogan asked me to be his Adjutant General – that is the Commander of the Maryland National Guard. As Adjutant General I am both a 2-star, Major General in the Army and a member of Governor Hogan’s cabinet.
It’s been quite an event filled three years including all of the COVID-related activities, hurricanes, floods, plus, we’ve been called up several times in response to civil unrest. These 36 years, especially the last 10 as a general officer and a strategic leader, I have had to make some very tough courageous decisions that have certainly tested my mettle and honed my character.
I believe you’d find that I have the competence, character, and courage to be your Delegate to the Maryland General Assembly. Go with Gowen for tested and proven leadership!