Mike Sell, 42, is running for U.S. House in Florida's 4th Congressional District as a Florida Forward Party candidate in the Nov. 3 general election. Sell said in our candidate questionnaire he has not held elected office.

Asked why he is running, Sell said in our questionnaire: "Our political system has become badly broken. It answers to money and party instead of to the people who fund it with their taxes and their work."

Other candidates are Aaron Bean, LaShonda Holloway and Todd Schaefer, according to BallotReady election data.

Candidate information

Party: "Forward Party. Not left, not right, forward," Sell said in our questionnaire.

Family: "My grandfather served 26 years in the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander with four submarine tours. My father served 20 years and retired from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, where he was an instructor flight engineer on the P-3 Orion with VP-30. Both of my brothers served as well," Sell said in our questionnaire. He is married. "My wife and I have been together for more than two decades and raised three children, now grown and finding their own paths," he said.

Education: "I originally studied political science, but I found my real calling in operational excellence … earning my Six Sigma Black Belt and Shingo Operational Excellence Assessor credentials …" Sell said in our questionnaire.

Experience and public service

Asked about his work history, Sell said in our questionnaire: "I have spent more than twenty years fixing complex, broken systems, most of that inside the U.S. healthcare industry … I have led projects that saved more than a quarter of a billion dollars by cutting the waste and dysfunction that drain these systems while protecting the services people depend on."

He added: "… I founded CCM, a not-for-profit built on the belief that access to information is a right."

Asked about previous office, Sell said: "This is my first campaign for public office … I have served my community in other ways, including helping lead a local Indivisible chapter and spending two decades building and leading civic and volunteer organizations …"

His FEC filing lists his campaign committee as "Friends of Mike," with a Jacksonville mailing address.

On the issues

Campaign finance reform: "Getting money out of politics. It is the single issue sitting underneath all the others, because a Congress that answers to its donors will never fully answer to you," Sell said in our questionnaire. He said he would "overturn Citizens United, then ban corporate PAC money, replace it with small-donor public financing on a 6-to-1 match … ban members of Congress from trading stocks, and create an independent ethics office with subpoena power."

Affordability: "Costs are climbing faster than paychecks. Housing is the biggest driver …" Sell said in our questionnaire. He said he would support the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act and would "raise the minimum wage to $17, let Medicare negotiate every drug price …"

Health care: "Every American deserves guaranteed health coverage. I support Medicare for All as the goal, with a public option as the immediate step …" Sell said in our questionnaire. He added: "Insulin costs about two dollars to make and has sold for hundreds. That is a policy choice, and I would change it."

Climate and energy: "In Northeast Florida we live it now: flooding, septic contamination in the St. Johns River, and insurance costs tied to climate risk," Sell said in our questionnaire. He favors "a practical mix driven by reliability and cost: expand nuclear as dependable, carbon-free power, grow solar and wind, and modernize the grid …"

Immigration: "We can secure the border and treat people with dignity at the same time," Sell said in our questionnaire. He said he would "pass the Dream Act" and "redirect enforcement away from community sweeps toward the trafficking networks that actually cause harm."

National security: "No president should take this country into a war without a vote of Congress," Sell said in our questionnaire. He would "repeal the 25-year old war authorizations and replace them with specific, time-limited approvals."