I’m Joshua Wilson, I’m a Marine Corps veteran. I’m a lawyer and I teach entrepreneurship. I hail from central Georgia. I represent today Veterans for (All Voters). I’m going to tell you a little bit about that and Final Five Voting. I also represent GROWW and Bridge the Divide. It’s been an honor to be welcomed into these communities and to work with each of you.

My home in Georgia, where I’m originally from, is Putnam County. It’s known as the dairy capital of Georgia. I was talking about it a little bit today. It’s a small town. And if you aren’t part of the ten or so families that have either a farm or political connection or an established business, then you are not advocated for.

You are not represented. You are an afterthought. Why? 

Because incentives. Because established power protects itself. That’s why I am where I am right now in front of you. And that’s where we all are as communities, not just in my hometown in Georgia, but in rural communities all over America. Small towns in this country are ignored and politically polarized. Our country is gridlocked by a Congress that is half loyal to either one party or another. 

We believe that this is a false dichotomy. This fight between those colors is distracting from politicians that should be showing up and working for us instead of worrying what the other party’s doing. They should be worried about what we as people think. Our political and civic leaders, just like the larger national government, are very antiquated, single minded, and there’s virtually no representation for young professionals, aspiring business owners, for people seeking true, rewarding opportunities for work, for parents and homeowners, and people navigating the post-COVID world.

As veterans, part of my core group, we know that leadership comes through incentives, and so we support Final Five Voting as a mission, because having us rank these politicians means that they compete not just with the other party, but with each other.

Why are the middle class and rural Americans ignored? Because we aren’t represented. They’re not incentivized to represent us. The middle class continues to disappear. We need affordable childcare. I’m here in Wisconsin and I’m loving it. I really am. But we need affordable housing. We need community. We need not just red or blue politicians, not speakers and show ponies, but people who are focused on practical problems that affect our income, our health care and our political growth. 

So how do we get there? We get there by challenging the foundations of government in subtle but powerful ways. As a representative of Veterans for (All Voters), I can tell you that as former members of the military, we are motivated by service. We want to give back and we want to do so selflessly. And we want to do so in service of the Constitution. I think that’s not just exclusive to veterans. I think we all share that sentiment.

Final Five Voting is in service of the people, and that’s why we support it. We know that if you have more choices on the ballot and that if you can rank your preference, that if voters can show their support and sentiment and be heard across the board in all of its nuance, we will get better leaders, leaders who care about their constituents and we’ll get elected officials who are incentivized to support the people and not themselves.

GROWW has given me a community of like minded individuals who want to see these changes and who legitimately care about the voters. Danny and this team, Danny’s been the primary one I work with, has been with me to libraries, to gun shows, to fairs, to festivals and other public events and house parties – Bob’s the man – and it’s truly given me hope. 

We’ve talked about this, how when we speak to real people in our community from every avenue of the political spectrum, we see that we have something in common. We have a lot more in common than we have different. We want effectiveness in government, representation that is tangible, and we want the bickering to stop.

We are in real need of leadership and this room is chock full of them. What an honor it is to be among you all. So if you haven’t, join GROWW. If you’ve already joined, let’s support them. If you’re a veteran, join us with Veterans for (All Voters). And if you’re able to speak representative friend, tell them about Final Five Voting. We need more co-sponsors. Until everyone is on board, we keep pushing. If you want to know more about Final Five Voting in detail, you can reach out to any of the leadership here or to myself. But I have a feeling that most of you guys are already good to go.

Thank you for your time today.