Campaign Issues
Role of Government
The primary purpose of government is to protect the life and liberty of its people. Aside from this purpose, the smaller the better. This is true for every level of government. Whether it’s Local, State, or Federal; keeping government interference with the lives of its citizens to the smallest level possible should and must be every Legislator’s primary task.
Accountability
Our Republic fails when the “public servants” that we send to the Capitol fail to place our interests before their own. When deals are brokered behind closed doors and Representatives fail to adequately represent, our State ceases to answer to the people and begins to answer to the “elected” few. As a supporter of legislative term limits, campaign finance and electoral reform, I believe that there are many steps that our legislature can take in order to make themselves even more accountable to the constituency they claim to represent.
Transparency
Advances in social networking and web-based sharing have made it easier than ever for a public official to share information instantly with as many as would like to receive it. As a candidate for State House in the past, I have always made use of social media and other methods of disseminating information, and I have utilized it to make it as easy as possible to access my campaign finance records, my contact information, my stances on the issues, current happenings and much more. Real transparency in government requires not only innovation but also a real desire to involve the public in their own government.
Local Control
Local government is always more accountable to and efficient for its people than its State or Federal counterparts. The elected officials are more easily reached and more easily corrected at the ballot box in cases of wrong doing. Evidence of taxes spent are more visible to those being taxed and when taxes are taken without result, the people are always aware. While keeping this in mind, it should always be a State Representative’s goal to limit the amount of governing done at the State and Federal level and to return said powers to local governments or to the people.
Life
As discussed in the “Role of Government”, the primary purpose of government is to protect the “unalienable”, God-given right to life. As a Legislator I will fight to protect Georgia’s citizens’ right to life from the moment of conception to natural death. To advance this cause I will support endeavors to recognize that the right to life is granted by God, not government.
2nd Amendment
Every American, by constitutional right, should be able to bear arms. As a Representative in the Georgia General Assembly, I will devote myself to protecting the right of Georgia’s citizens to keep and carry their weapons. Every American has a right to defend themselves and to own the tools with which to do so.
Education
I have attended nearly every School Board Meeting since I announced my first candidacy in July of 2009. School Choice and Educational Freedom are both causes that I will fight vigorously for, and I will do so while continuing my unique relationship with School Board Members, School Administration, and fostering a new and deserved conversation between our Legislature and County Board of Education.
Above All
My stance on the issues should and always will reflect what the people I represent want out of the issues. As a Representative I believe it will be my job to make judgments and express opinion, but it will be my primary responsibility in matters of creation of law and budget that I represent what the majority of my constituents believe to be the best choice. Having said that, it is also the responsibility of a Representative to protect and serve the Constitution of both the United States and of the State of Georgia. When a bill or resolution comes in conflict with either of these documents, which are the backbone of our Republic and our Freedom, it is a Public Servant’s responsibility to denounce and vote against it regardless of the personal, monetary or electoral ramifications.