Dawn Vasquez

I retired as a Senior Chief Electrician in the US Navy. I was not at high tenure; I was simply exhausted. I was supposed to have a team of 35 electricians, including myself, but we only had 22. I believed I could make a bigger difference in government and accepted a direct hire position with the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Unfortunately, our work was dictated by the highest bidder, not by mission or merit. Our agency took 20 percent of project funding to pay auxiliary staff, including secretaries, IT professionals, and others. I tried to report serious fraud and safety concerns, but no matter how far up the chain I went, nothing changed. There were no consequences, only isolation. I became the black sheep. I could have stayed three more years and earned another retirement, but it was not worth compromising my integrity. I never did the job for the money. I did it to support the fleet. When that became impossible, I knew it was time to take another path.

I put my startup corporation on hold to serve the nation in a new way. That decision became final when I reached out to my congressman, Bobby Scott, for help with my VA healthcare issues, especially at the hospital. He never returned my calls or messages. So now, I am ready to take his job. I know how to build ships. I know what is broken in our government. And I have bold and practical ideas to fix it.