John Goci

John Goci has an all-American story to tell. Like millions of other immigrants, he arrived with his family in search of a better life. At age 9, he and his family left a mountainous region of Kosovo, where poverty was common, and government oppression made life difficult; they staked their future on making it in the United States.

Arriving in Westland, MI, John and his siblings enrolled in public school and his parents bought a restaurant in nearby Wayne. The business is and remains a family operation. John spent countless hours working closely with his family throughout his teen years. He now manages the business, along with his brother, Scott.

In 1999, when war broke out in his native Kosovo, the U.S. Army was in need of Albanian-speaking translators. John volunteered and answered the call of duty, serving as a linguistic specialist for the commander of the U.S. forces in the region.

Upon his return to Michigan, John’s entrepreneurial spirit took flight. Building on his idea for a juke box that also played music videos, he set out to make his idea a reality and founded Digital Video Jukebox Network, Inc., later to become Barden Entertainment. John went on to serve as president of Barden Entertainment until 2008. As an inventor, he holds patents for his digital jukebox and given his life-long interest in politics, an electronic voting system.

Stemming from his roots as a committed local business owner, John has always sought ways to be more involved in his community and contribute all he could. When a seat opened up on the Wayne-Westland Schools Board of Education, he decided to bring his ideas and energy to bear on behalf of the area’s youth.

John and Dee Dee, his wife of 17 years, have four young children enrolled in public schools. John has a strong passion for and commitment to improving our educational system as a means to better our communities. As a result, he was elected to the school board in 2009 and now serves as the board’s vice president, blending his business acumen with his dedication to education to advance key issues and opportunities within his district.

John’s vision to improve his community continues. Like millions of other frustrated Americans, John watched with dismay as partisan politics came to dominate Washington, D.C., creating a never ending atmosphere of gridlock. The lack of direction in federal politics also was a key factor that motivates him to follow a long held dream to run for Congress -– a goal that emerged through local educational opportunities when he first traveled to Washington on a seventh grade class trip to the nation’s capital.

John, a Democrat, knows firsthand how federal policies impact communities. At a time when some politicians say the federal bailout of the automotive companies was the wrong move, he feels it saved not only GM, Chrysler and thousands of jobs, but also entire communities. His family’s local business, for example, depends upon the patronage of the area’s autoworkers as do so many other businesses in the 13th district.

“My neighbors are struggling financially and I am well aware that they and their kids are paying the severe price of joblessness and financial decline. I simply cannot stand idle and tolerate politics as usual,” says John.