I believe in reasonably limiting government's role in our lives. I am opposed to the seemingly endless upward spiral in taxes and government spending. Government can and must have some role as a regulator and watch dog. I support free enterprise and free markets but also believe they need to be monitored by an informed electorate and responsible government that should help promote competition among businesses to drive down the cost of goods and services. Barriers to competition must be eliminated both for businesses and for individuals – all forms of religious, racial, and gender discrimination are destructive and counter productive to economic development; they have no place in a free economy.
I believe we have a moral responsibility to put more of our resources to work on real solutions to our state's homeless crisis. The solutions must include elements of physical and mental health, job training, counseling and housing.
California must find a way to improve our schools with a focus on good parenting. Children who come from broken homes and impoverished families have consistently under performed in schools; we need to find ways to effectively address the conditions that set children up for failure. The most important thing we can do for our state and country’s future is to educate, train and empower our children to prepare them for the workforce, military and government service. However, just throwing money at education is not the solution.
Our state and national government must find ways to reach agreement on immigration issues. We must acknowledge that migration is a part of human history – an unstoppable force of nature as individuals try to find a better way of life for themselves and their families. We can and should make reasonable efforts to control lawful migration and exclude criminals.
I pledge to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California. I believe government should protect, enhance, and preserve our individual liberties, balanced by the rights and responsibilities enshrined in the Constitution. I believe defense of our republic against all enemies is the paramount purpose of government. I believe that individual liberties bring with them individual responsibilities and duties. I agree to be held accountable for my individual conduct, for laws and policies that I advocate, and for their results. I will hold others accountable for their conduct and actions as well.
