Why I'm Running

I’m running for the SEMA Board of Directors, because I have a lot of skin in the game. It matters a great deal to me as an aftermarket business owner whether we succeed at this. I think my business, started by an individual founder almost 50 years ago and grown since then to a 50-employee enterprise, is at the heart of what SEMA represents. As a manufacturer, I know what goes into our industry, I know what goes into these products and I know what goes into the mind of our consumers and we need to fight to save it.

Industry Under Attack

As a business owner and manufacturer, I feel our industry is deeply threatened. We’ve heard talk of this for years, but for the first time – it’s real, and there are real issues we must address now. I feel our industry is under attack by the EPA, by technological disruption such as vehicle electrification and driver disempowerment from overrides such as ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). In the last few weeks, a new ordinance was passed in Sacramento County, prohibiting you from performing repairs and modifying your vehicle, in your own garage.
The Ocean Dunes Recreation area in Pismo Beach, California is in jeopardy of banning off-road vehicles. We need to address these impractical changes hitting our industry head on, with persuasive information. We must inform the public and government that our industry is important, and I will be that voice not just for my business, but for all SEMA member companies.

The Big Idea

Here are my ideas of how we can do that protect our industry and the rights of both the consumer and SEMA member companies:

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Because public sentiment and information influences government decision making, we must lean into, in fact embrace, new technology while influencing its regulatory implementation to ensure the aftermarket is not banned from playing a role in the future modification and development of vehicles.

SEMA’s focus on the SEMA show can be expanded: We must establish who we are to America, to Congress, to regulators, and to our youth. We must take our future into our own hands and make it work for our members.

SEMA must put to paper the most likely environment we will be working in for the next 10-15 years. This information should be used to influence the public, politicians, and regulators on the best way to regulate these changes to allow and even encourage safe vehicle modification by end users.

Why Regulators Should Listen:

Politicians and the public must understand the immense size of our industry and we can do this by creating individual SEMA memberships. We are not 7,000 businesses rather we are 8 million end users (and voters).

We Must Change the Conversation:

What is at stake is not just “the aftermarket,” this is about preserving as much a part of America as baseball or football, even apple pie.

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