Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

Born on Camp Pendleton Military Base in California, Peter Sorensen has led an interesting life. Son of a 30 year military veteran and a stay at home mom, Peter lost both of his parents by the age of 13. He was raised by his sister who became his legal guardian and his best friend's parents who served as his parental guidance and compass. Peter is a lifelong Republican in the fashion of Ronald Reagan. Although most of his adult life has been in the media and advertising, in his younger days he worked in the entertainment industry and even worked on a cruise ship for several years. He attributes his big picture outlook from his exposure to meeting thousands of people from all over the world in his travels.  Peter is 40 years old and is married to his wife Kathleen and has two children. Johann, his son, who is 4 and Annika, his daughter, who is 2 years old. In his spare time Peter enjoys spending time with his children and traveling. Peter is a graduate of American Intercontinental University with Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Marketing in which he graduated summa cum laude.

I believe that Winston Salem is a fantastic place to live. I chose to move my family to Winston Salem several years ago for its family friendly atmosphere and great quality of life. There are many things that are great about where we live. However, there are many things that have become troubling and the blame for these problems rest solely on those who are in charge of the City Council right now. These people who had well intended but misguided ideas of how to grow a city and create prosperity have created huge issues for us. Our uncompleted downtown stadium is a symptom of a systemic problem of abuse and bad management of taxpayer money.

I believe those who have been in power too long have taken for granted those who put them in office. A ballpark that is now twice the cost as originally estimated is now being guaranteed almost exclusively by our City's AAA credit rating. This fiscal irresponsibility must end and it will when I am elected. I believe in smaller and smarter government, fiscal responsibility, creating an economic environment that is more job creation friendly, no more forced annexation and an end to crony capitalism and unneeded corporate welfare. I want to reevaluate our city's legacy plan to allow equal development and prosperity. No more obsessing about downtown. We need to develop and create opportunities for the entire city, not just a few blocks of it.