December 5th, 2013 we closed on our house in Hudson, NH. It was a leap of faith. We had both signed the statement of intent, but we hadn’t attended any events, hadn’t been to a PorcFest or a LibertyForum, and didn’t know what to expect from the liberty community once we moved. It was also a leap of faith for our relationship, we were moving in together for the first time.
Andrew was born in Boston, MA and grew up in the suburbs south of the city. He had first heard of the Free State Project in 2003 when New Hampshire was chosen. As cool as it sounded, he didn’t know where his life would take him, and wasn’t ready to sign something he wasn’t fully committed to. He didn’t have his real awakening until he discovered Ron Paul in 2007. He ran for Delegate to the Republican National Convention from Massachusetts 2008, but lost. He ran again in 2012, won, and went to Tampa, FL for the convention.
I was raised in California where the concept of liberty is not exactly understood. My father was a commercial fisherman and I spent two years of my childhood in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, two weeks from the nearest point of land. Surprisingly, that is how I learned the joys of liberty! The fishing fleet worked cooperatively with no formal rules, just respect and appreciation for the community, and it worked great. I loved that concept and it stuck with me when I moved to Boston for college and met Andrew.
Together, we attended several liberty events through the Massachusetts Liberty Clubhouse run by Brad Wyatt. It was at these events that we realized how much our love of liberty and world view aligned. At the premier for the Silver Circle in Cambridge, Shem Kellogg convinced Andrew to sign the FSP Statement of Intent.
Five years, a wedding, and three children later (Breed-em-for-Freedom Program!), on December 5th 2018 Andrew took the oath of office for his second term in the New Hampshire House of Representatives and has received two New Hampshire Liberty Alliance (NHLA) perfect score awards for his voting record in the state house thus far, I am a member of the NHLA board of directors, and the kids are starting to grasp “Taxation is Theft”.
It’s worked out well so far, and we’re just getting started…