Candidate for
Council Member; City of Ridgecrest

Dear SmartVoter,

Thank you for taking time to research my candidacy. I considered becoming a candidate for City Council for well over a year, albeit reluctantly because such a position is usually a thankless endeavor which often goes unnoticed. And I do sincerely appreciate the commitment that our current Councilmen have shown in governing according to their guiding philosophies of local government. But the fact remains that I have become increasingly critical of the Council's decisions as evidenced by my frequent public statements over the past year on issues such as the Downs Median Project, the Facility Modernization Project, and Measure N, the proposed sales tax increase.

The Declaration of Independence states that "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". Because I do not consent to the manner in which I am being locally governed, it is, in the Declaration's words, my right and my duty to change it -- and I decided that I could most effectively do this by running for City Council. On a more personal note, my wife Patricia and I have endeavored to educate our three children about the foundational principles of American government, and to live by those principles. Therefore, my candidacy also serves as an example to my family of promoting Constitutionally-limited government and its resultant benefits to our community.

Fellow citizens, it is not our names or personalities that are important, but rather the differing principles of government which our names represent. Do you prefer to raise taxes, or to cut spending? Do you favor more socialism or less socialism? Do you support more ordinances and regulations on the grounds that these are ultimately for our own safety and security, or would you prefer that government limited its activities to only those expressly permitted by our constitutions? A candidate's answers to these questions will, of course, dictate the votes that he or she will cast after taking office.

If I am elected to the Council, I have five basic objectives. These are:

1st) To ensure that City government focuses primarily upon protecting its citizens, punishing evildoers, and upholding everyone's Constitutional rights.

2nd) To promote unfettered exercise of free-market principles which will encourage economic growth and prosperity without the City's help or hindrance. In particular, the City must abandon its involvement in well-intentioned but money-losing business ventures with our tax money.

3rd) To oppose, in times of economic downturn, all non-essential projects that require City funding for installation and maintenance.

4th) To bring my professional engineering background to the Council's deliberations on its engineering-related business, and

5th) To effectively represent Ridgecrest citizens who prefer more Constitutionally-minded use of their tax dollars. Accordingly, I have read the U.S. Constitution and am currently reading the California Constitution, the two documents that every California public official is required by oath to support and defend.

Incidentally, my household is debt-free because of our family policy to ensure that our expenses remain less than our income + and if elected, that policy will be reflected in my votes. I will also decline all monetary compensation from the City of Ridgecrest other than reimbursement of my expenses incurred by City business. I will never vote to raise taxes, and I will serve in office for no longer than one term. I would be honored to receive your vote.