VOTE DAN BOWERS NOV 4TH

• VOTE DAN BOWERS NOV 4TH •

about me

My family moved often when I was young, but Western North Carolina was our constant, spending every holiday in Weaverville with my grandparents showed me what true community means.
Whether in the courtroom or at the federal level, I’ve built a career in service, protecting victims, helping families recover, and standing up to corporate abuse and fraud on behalf of consumers and communities.
My work as a prosecutor and federal attorney deepened my commitment to justice and gave Jennie and me the chance to choose where to build our future: right here in Woodfin.

eARLY YEARS

Growing up, my family moved around a lot. I was born in Chicago, Illinois, where my mother worked in cancer research at UIC Hospital and my father built a career in insurance. His job took our family from Illinois to the West Virginia panhandle and eventually to Birmingham, Alabama, where I called home through my teens and twenties. Even then, I always felt like a bit of an outsider, probably because I never chose a side during the Iron Bowl.

But no matter where we lived, Western North Carolina always felt like home. Nearly every Christmas and Thanksgiving, my family returned to my grandparents’ house in Weaverville, just off Main Street. My grandfather, Rev. Dan Bowers, was a local pastor who never met a stranger — I was always amazed at how everyone seemed to know him wherever we went. Those visits taught me what it means to truly be part of a community: to serve others, to listen, and to care deeply about the place you call home.

A man riding a red riding mower on a grassy lawn, with dense green bushes in the background.

A family of three posing together indoors, including an elderly man with glasses, a woman with short red hair, and a young boy with dark hair. They are smiling and leaning on each other.

Young boy standing on porch, smiling, holding a porch trellis, wearing a black T-shirt and shorts, with a background of bushes, trees, and a brick house wall.

Career

I graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a degree in Political Science during the height of the Great Recession. Like many in their twenties, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, only that I wanted to make a difference. I worked with my father in insurance claims while attending graduate school at night, searching for the right path forward.

One of my professors told me something that changed everything: “Finding a career isn’t about deciding what you want to do — it’s about figuring out what problems you want to solve.” That advice lit a fire in me. I saw the significant challenges facing our country, including climate change, healthcare, and income inequality, and I knew I wanted to be part of the solution. Becoming a lawyer was my way to help make that change real.

I earned a scholarship to attend the UIC School of Law, so I moved back to Chicago. There, I gained practical experience and met my wife, Jennie. While in school, I worked at Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, where I helped residents recover funds after being defrauded. It was my first experience as a prosecutor and my first taste of what public service could achieve.

A man in a tuxedo and a woman in a floral dress posing together indoors at a formal event.

A close-up photo of a woman and a man smiling at a celebration, with a "Happy New Year" headband worn by the woman, in an indoor setting.

A bride and groom holding hands and smiling at each other outdoors with the Blue Ridge mountains in the background.

After passing the bar, I accepted a position with the Department of Defense, which took Jennie and me to Baltimore, Maryland. I later joined the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office as an Assistant State’s Attorney, a true trial-by-fire experience that taught me how to fight for victims and work with people from every walk of life.

I transitioned to the federal level, first with the Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Assistance, where I helped families and small businesses recover after natural disasters. From there, I joined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Enforcement, where I helped to build cases against predatory lenders on a national level. We recovered millions of dollars for consumers who had been intentionally deceived or cheated, and I experienced firsthand what real, large-scale accountability could look like. It was incredibly meaningful work, and also one that could be done remotely. That flexibility gave Jennie and me the opportunity to choose where we wanted to plant roots. We knew exactly the place.