Katherine Gehl says, “I like to say I’m politically homeless.” It was clear at an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” program at Marquette Law School on Wednesday that she does not use that label because she is not involved. In fact, the opposite is true: She is deeply involved.

Her sense of “homelessness” comes from her frustration with what she calls “the political-industry complex.” The two major parties, Congress, the executive branch, Washington lobbyists, and the national media are all thriving, but they are not producing solutions to the nation’s problems, Gehl said. And while Washington thrives, problems go unsolved and people grow increasingly dissatisfied. She said the system and particularly the two major political parties do not have the incentives businesses have to respond constructively to competition. “Two parties equals zero results,” she said.

Gehl (pronounced Gayle) is a former Democrat who describes herself now as “a proud independent, a centrist, a pro-problem-solving, non-ideological citizen who wants to see government deliver on its promise to the citizens.” She adds, “That is not an ideology that fits with either of the parties.”