Businessman John Goci throws hat in ring for Congress

WESTLAND, MI - Mr. John Goci, a Westland, Michigan Democrat intends to run for the Congressional seat in Michigan’s13th District.

John Goci has an all-American story to tell. Like millions of other immigrants, Goci came to these shores in search of a better life. At the age of 9, Goci and his family left a mountainous region of Kosovo, where poverty was common and government oppression made life difficult, and staked their fortunes on making it in America.

They moved to Westland, Michigan, where Goci and his siblings enrolled in the public schools and his family purchased a restaurant nearby in the city of Wayne. It was a family operation through and through, and Goci spent countless hours working there throughout his teen years. He now manages the business along with his brother, Scott. In addition to the blood, sweat and tears he has put into the US 12 American Bar and Grill over the last 30 years, Goci and his family have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the venture.

In 1999, when war broke out in his native Kosovo, the U.S. Army was in need of Albanian-speaking translators. Goci answered the call, serving as a linguistic specialist for the Commander of the U.S. military forces, General John Craddock. Carl Levin, the senior U.S. senator from Michigan, who traveled to Kosovo during the war, honored Goci for his service in a speech.

In 2000 Mr. Goci’s entrepreneurial spirit flared up again when he took his idea for a juke box that featured music videos and tried to make it a reality. He remortgaged his home, borrowed money where he could and founded Digital Video Jukebox Network, Inc., later to become Barden Entertainment when he partnered with the late businessman, Don Barden. Goci served as president of Barden Entertainment until 2008. As an inventor, Goci holds patents for his digital jukebox and an electronic voting system.

Being a business owner wasn’t enough, however. Goci wanted to be more active in his community. When a seat opened up on the Wayne-Westland Schools Board of Education, he decided it was time for him to serve. He felt his business acumen could help the district, where his four children attend school. He was elected in 2009, and then re-elected a year later. He now serves as the board’s vice president. As a public education advocate, he feels it is vitally important to ensure equitable funding for all public schools.

Like millions of other frustrated Americans, Goci has watched with dismay as partisan politics have dominated Washington, D.C., creating a never ending atmosphere of gridlock. That is why he has decided to follow a lifelong dream to run for Congress, which began when he took a 7th grade class trip to Washington.

Goci, 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, Goci feels it saved not only GM and Chrysler and thousands of jobs, but also entire communities. His restaurant, for one, depends upon the patronage of local autoworkers. He realizes most businesses in Southeast Michigan are in the same boat.

“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 by and tolerate politics as usual,” Goci said.

Goci is running for the Congressional seat in Michigan’s 13th District. He vows to bring his business and entrepreneurial skills, commitment to public education, and independent voice to Washington. He feels the residents of Michigan need a change.

“For decades we have been represented by persons who claim to represent the disenfranchised and working persons of Michigan,” Goci said. “Are we in better shape now than before? What has happened to the American Dream? The fact is that the familiar faces in Michigan politics got us into our current financial, educational, and political crisis and simply cannot be trusted to get us out of it. I come from the people and it is for the good of the people, and not special interest groups, I will steadfastly fight.”