Christopher Richards Jr.

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Revision as of 08:06, 21 January 2008

Christopher Richards Jr.
Representative, Michigan 9th Congressional District
In Office: 2017 - Present
Preceded by	Joe Xavier Incognito
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	May 15th, 1970 Pontiac, Michigan
Political Party	Democrat
Spouse	Carolyn Berryhill Richards
Religion	Christian (ELCA Lutheran)

Christopher Richards Jr. is an American businessman and politician. He is co-founder, co-owner and former CEO of Richards-Stevenson Aerospace Corporation as well as the current US Representative from Michigan's 9th Congressional District.

Early Life

Christopher Richards Jr. is the son of Christopher Richards Sr. and Sarah Jameson Richards. The first of four children, Richards's family was solid middle class. His father worked full time as an engineer at Ford Motor Corp while his mother tought science at Pontiac High School. Chris Richards was born May 15th 1970. From an early age he excelled at mathematics, posting superior grades through elementary and middle school. He started playing football in the 6th grade, joining a local pop warner league. He played Middle Linebacker and halfback. At Pontiac High School he starred for the football team at Linebacker and Halfback, winning all-State honors his senior year at the former. He lead the Pontiac High team to the state semi-finals his junior year, and lost in the finals as a senior. He also continued his excellence at Math and Science, graduating 3rd in his class.

College and the NFL

Undergraduate Studies and Football

Christopher Richards Jr. attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor on a full athletic scholarship. Rejecting the normal "cupcake" academic courses taken by most on the football team, Richards majored in Aerospace Engineering. Richards did about average academically as a Freshman, earning a 2.8 GPA while playing special teams for the Wolverines. Both his athletic and academic fortunes increased his sophomore year, as he was named the starting middle linebacker for the football team and made Deans List. In later interviews he attributed this turnaround to "Cutting back on the partying and slacking that cost me my Freshman year." He continued to make strides as a Junior and Senior, making Academic All-American both years. Richards graduated with a 3.61 GPA in 1992. That same year he married his girlfriend of three years, Carolyn Berryhill.

NFL Career

While Richards was widely regarded as too small to play NFL Linebacker, Richards decided to give it a try anyway and entered the NFL draft his Senior year. He had a fairly good showing at the NFL Combine, but was hurt by the fact that he did not clearly fit into any one defensive position and had not played offense sense high school. Richards was drafted in the 6th round by the Seattle Seahawks. He tried to make the roster as a special teams player but was cut at the end of training camp. In September he signed a one year deal with the Washington Redskins and was immediately inserted into their kickoff and punt coverage teams. He was fairly successful, but when his contract expired the Redskins showed no interest in re-signing him. He then signed with his hometown Detroit Lions. Playing within walking distance of his old house in Pontiac (the Lions played in the Pontiac Silverdome at the time) Richards thrived on the special teams and cracked the depth chart at backup strong safety. When the starter went down with a broken arm mid-season, Richards filled in, starting 10 games. He played decently, but not good enough to solidify his hold on the position. The next season he was a backup again, until he was traded to the New York Jets for a fifth round draft pick. Two weeks later he was traded again, this time to the Green Bay Packers. Week 15 he started a game for the Packers (again filling in for an injured Strong Safety), but he himself received a major knee injury. He attempted to make a comeback the next year, but on a not fully healed knee was unable to make the team. Not wanting to upend his life again, Richards retired from the NFL at the age of 25.

Postgraduate Studies

In 1995, his NFL career over, Richards decided to attempt to earn a Masters Degree. He went back to his alma matter, attending Michigan for two years before getting his Masters in Aerospace Engineering in 1997. Also in 1997, Chris and Carolyn Richards had their first kid, a son named Jason.

Richards-Stevenson

The Founding of Richards-Stevenson

After receiving his masters from Michigan in 1997, Chris Richards and an old college friend, Dr. David Stevenson, decided to start their own company. Naming it Richards-Stevenson Aerospace Corporation, the two friends paid for most of the startup expenses out of Richards's NFL savings. Almost immediately, the young company won several contracts to design engine subsystems for various Boeing passenger jets. The company grew slowly, recruiting talent initially from the University of Michigan, Michigan State, the University of Illinois and other local colleges. In 2000 Richards-Stevenson set up its modest corporate headquarters in Pontiac and began working on the project that would change the companies destiny: the RU-94.

The RU-94 Contract and Subsequent Success

In 2000, Richards-Stevenson attempted to win their first major US Department of Defense contract. To get the contract, they would need to construct and mass-produce an unmanned aerial vehicle that could be used by the military to monitor movements of enemy forces effectively and relatively inexpensively. And the engineers at Richards Stevenson were up to the task: in July 2001 they presented the Department of Defense their prototype. Beating the odds, Richards-Stevenson won the contract over several better funded competitors. The craft, dubbed the RU-94, was ordered en masse by the military.

Richards-Stevenson has been growing ever sense. The company has produced several aircraft for both civilian and military use sense then on its own. Even more profitable has been the companies role in providing intelligent Fly-By-Wire, flight computer, and engine systems for a variety of civilian and military aircraft. In 2015, Chris Richards's net wealth is estimated at 4 billion dollars and climbing, a huge return on the 400 thousand dollars he invested in the company at startup.

Political Career

The 2016 Michigan 9th District Congressional Race

In January 2016, Christopher Richards stepped down as CEO of Richards-Stevenson to run for Congress from the 9th Congressional District (the district that contained his place of birth, the stadium where he lived out his NFL "Glory Years" and his Corporate Headquarters). His massive personal wealth and high name recognition scared off all primary challengers, narrowing the race down to him and four term incumbent Republican Joe Xavier Incognito. Incognito had been relatively popular for his eight year house career, but a minor scandal damaged his chances. Richards, tapping into personal wealth and his connections with rich backers was able to outspend Incognito 8 to 1 in the early months of the campaign, negating an initial 32% to 59% deficit by July. With the race suddenly close (42-46 in Incognito's favor), the RCCC and DCCC both started pumping money into the race. But after a strong debate win in September Richards was able to take the lead for good and won the election 50-47. Richards has been criticized in some corners for running a viciously negative campaign, but he maintains that all of his attacks were factually accurate and that he needed to go negative to have a chance at beating a four term incumbent.

The House Years

Christopher Richards Jr. has introduced two bills so far in his congressional career: A bill to re-organize the Federal Counterterrorism Beurocracy to create an independent domestic intelligence agency, and a bill to replace the M-16 with the M-8 in use in the US Army and Marines. The latter bill has attracted numerous co-sponsors from both parties and appears likely to pass if given a floor vote.

Education

BS In Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

MS in Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Election Results