My name is Curtis Hed. For all intents and purposes, I’m a political nobody, and I am fine with that. Yet I’m also someone worn out by the push‑and‑pull of two sides dividing every issue and fighting for control. Politics, to me, has never been just about policies—it’s about people. And relationships between people are fragile, precious things. That includes the ones we share as neighbors, as a community, as citizens of the same country. I believe the way we choose our leaders should protect those bonds, not strain them.
That conviction took root in 2008, after Minnesota’s razor‑thin U.S. Senate race left thousands feeling unheard. Since then, I’ve built and refined voting system models designed to honor both majority and minority voices, so more of us can leave the booth knowing we helped shape a government that truly reflects us. Because in the end, democracy works best when it doesn’t just count votes—it counts each other.