Growing up in the Midwest, Jack Bergman’s parents instilled in him the values that drive the American Dream: in our exceptional nation, if you work hard, never quit, and strive for excellence, you will find success.
Those values are what guided him to the rank of Lt. General in the United States Marine Corps, empowered him to successfully own and operate a small business, and allowed him to enjoy a 22-year career as a commercial airline pilot.
The Bergman family roots in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula stretch back to the late 1800’s where his ancestors worked as iron miners. Serving his country in uniform for 40 years, Jack lived all around the country – and world. Nearly three decades ago, Jack and his wife Cindy settled in Watersmeet, on the western edge of Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula.
Jack is a grandfather to ten wonderful grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. This has always been one of the largest factors in his decision to serve in Congress. When Jack looks at what’s happening in Washington, he knows that we are not leaving our children and grandchildren a country better than the one we received from our parents and grandparents. From his business to his distinguished military career, and now in Congress, Jack Bergman will not accept the status quo as an acceptable path forward.
Jack is driven by his commitment to serving others. While in the military, he launched two successful startup businesses in the medical equipment field, maintaining an obligation to both his nation and his customers simultaneously. As an entrepreneurial leader focused on mission accomplishment and customer satisfaction, Jack knows how to get things done.
Hard work and commitment made the United States the most exceptional nation in the world. Those are the principles that have guided Jack’s life, and these are the principles that he is bringing to Washington. He believes what most Michiganders believe: Americans know how to live their lives better than politicians or bureaucrats in Washington do.
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former member of the US Congress. His life has been defined as one of service, sacrifice, and commitment to this Republic, the United States of America. He believes it will be conservative, free-market policies, not politics that secure a sound economic future for Americans – with growth, opportunity, and returning the promise of the American dream for this generation and those to come.
Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighborhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family.
West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983, at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West’s first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course.
He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.
After redeployment from Kuwait, West served as an ROTC instructor at Kansas State University from 1991 to 1994. In January 1995, he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division Support Command as the Assistant Operations/Combat Plans Officer. During that time, West was promoted to Major and selected for attendance to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and graduated in 1997. Afterward, he became the Operations Officer of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade (Airborne), followed by an assignment as the Executive Officer of the 1st Battalion (Air Assault), 377th Field Artillery Regiment. Upon completion of these positions, West was assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, and selected to serve as an Army exchange officer to this headquarters from 1999 to 2002.
West’s culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2nd Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003
and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honorable service in defense of the Republic.
West’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star; Meritorious Service Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters); Army Commendation Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters, one Valor Device); Army Achievement Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters); Valorous Unit Award; Air Assault Badge; and the Master Parachutist Badge. Lt Col West proudly wears the Army Master Parachutist Badge, the Army Air Assault Badge, the Navy/Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia, the Italian Parachutist Wings, and the German Proficiency Badge, bronze award.
After his retirement from the Army in 2004, Allen taught high school in South Florida for a year before volunteering and deploying to Afghanistan as a civilian military adviser to the Afghan army, an assignment he finished in November 2007.
In November of 2010, Allen was honored to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida’s 22nd District. As a member of the 112th Congress, West introduced seven major pieces of legislation, and was the original sponsor of H. R. 1246 which reduces costs at the Department of Defense, was passed unanimously (393-0), and signed into law by President Obama as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Congressman West voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment, and voted for over 30 different bills designed to empower small businesses, reduce government barriers to job creation, boost American competitiveness, encourage entrepreneurship and growth, and maximize American energy production.
West holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and two Masters, one from Kansas State University and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College.
He is the Executive Director of the American Constitutional Rights Union, Senior Fellow of the Media Research Center, Senior Advisor to the Patriot Academy, Board Member for the Second Amendment Institute, and contributing columnist for Townhall and CNS News. LTC West is the author of Guardian of the Republic: An American Ronin’s Journey to Family, Faith, and Freedom, Hold Texas, Hold the Nation: Victory or Death, and We Can Overcome: An American Black Conservative Manifesto.
He is the former Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas Texas, and former Director of the Booker T. Washington Initiative at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
In July of 2020, Mr. West was elected Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas by an overwhelming majority of State delegates.
West is an avid distance runner, a Master SCUBA diver, and in his spare time, he enjoys cheering his beloved Tennessee Volunteers.
Lt. Col. West is a former commissioned officer in the Texas State Guard. He is a legacy life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a life member of the American Legion, a life member of the Association of the United States Army, the Society of the First Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, and 101st Airborne Division. He is a Patriot Life Member (Benefactor) and Board of Directors member of the National Rifle Association and Life Member (Benefactor) of the Texas State Rifle Association. Lieutenant Colonel West is an inductee into the University of Tennessee Army ROTC Hall of Fame. He is on the Board of Advisors of Amegy Bank, Dallas Region. In 2016, Lt. Col. West was appointed by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission.
He is married to Dr. Angela Graham-West, a financial adviser, and they have two daughters, Aubrey, a Board-certified Physician Assistant, and Austen, a nursing care manager. He is also a proud grandfather to one grandson, Jaxton.
Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer is proud to represent Oregon’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which covers Linn County, most of Clackamas County, Deschutes County, and parts of Multnomah and Marion Counties.
Prior to serving in Congress, Lori started her public service career in 2002 on the Happy Valley Parks Committee, where she helped build the Happy Valley 4th of July Festival that it is today. Later, she won a seat on the Happy Valley City Council and became city council president. She was elected mayor in 2010, becoming Happy Valley’s first female and Latina mayor. She was re-elected in 2014. In 2022, she was elected the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. She is one of the first Latinas and is the first Republican woman elected to Congress from the state of Oregon.
Lori is a mom and small businesswoman. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, and supported the couple as he finished medical school. Later they founded an anesthesia management company and opened several other medical clinics in the Pacific Northwest.
Lori and Shawn are parents of twin daughters who are making their own footprints in the world. Annie works as a senior recruiter for Anesthesia Associates Northwest, while Emilie is an assistant public defender in Michigan.
