Individual Liberty

The two-party system has failed the people of the United States. Both parties continue to increase the size and scope of government, both parties continue to spend with no regard for the long-term impacts on individual Americans. In many ways, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are simply two sides of the same coin. This is largely why I have chosen to run unaffiliated, as neither party represents me. I recognize this makes the entire campaign much harder and will make it much more difficult for me to win. But it is the right thing to do, as aligning with either party would be a lack of integrity on my part. I cannot misrepresent myself in that manner in an attempt to get elected to a position that requires accurate representation of the people.

The primary and legitimate role of government is to secure the individual rights to life, liberty, and property. That is the government is meant to ensure no one infringes upon these rights without due cause and due process. Yet we have seen these rights eroded over and over. Examples include the Patriot Act, NSA Spying, the War on Drugs, and government mandates on vaccination. I will resist any attempt to restrict these rights, and I will fight against current methods that are used to infringe upon these rights. I come from a robust health care background, and I personally believe in the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 Vaccine. However, I do not believe the role of government is to directly mandate that individuals receive it or create policies that indirectly force businesses to require their employees to get it. In many cases these mandates are being implemented and enforced without the legislature’s involvement via unelected bureaucrats. This is an extreme overreach by the government and by the executive branch specifically. This has been aided and abetted by the continued use of a “State of Emergency” that gives the Governor’s office an inordinate amount of direct authority over agencies that would normally be under the purview of the legislature. The Legislature must revoke the State of Emergency and ensure proper checks and balances are implemented that will ensure the Executive Branch cannot continue to utilize a State of Emergency to justify gross overreach.

In many cases in the United States, people choose to not take part in our political process. Either due to complacency, a lack of understanding, or a belief that nothing will change regardless of the outcome. This premise has been fostered by a two-party system that discourages involvement by those that don’t fall within a strict set of beliefs. In Oregon, this is highlighted by the fact that independents, nonaffiliated voters, and registered third party voters outnumber both Republicans and Democrats. The voice of the majority of the people in Oregon is simply not being heard. Our current system discourages political involvement by those that aren’t represented by one of the two parties. This must change. The state