James Gillen II
Libertarian | Indiana
Candidate Profile
Moderate
BIOGRAPHY
Name
James Gillen II
Party
Libertarian
Election Year
2016
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 7
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, BS, 2000
Marian High School, Mishawaka, IN 46544, High School Diploma, 1995
WORK & MILITARY
J.P. Gillen & Associates, Managing Associate, 2
Indiana Toll Road Concession Company, IT Assistant Manager, 1
CompuTrain Services, General Manager, 2
Custom Computer Services, Service Manager, 4
AFFILIATIONS
Libertarian Party of Indiana, St. Joseph County, Vice Chair, St. Matthew Cathedral
Parishoner, Indiana Freemasons, Council Oak Lodge #745, Senior Steward
South Bend Medical Foundation, Platelet Donor, Penn, Harris, Madison Parent Teacher Organization
Volunteer
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
(Candidate did not provide)
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
(Candidate did not provide)
Race
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
Congress should repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
Strongly Agree
Election of judges by the people for a definite term of office is the best way to select judges.
Disagree
More restrictive gun control laws are needed to protect public safety.
Strongly Disagree
Government should enforce laws designed to protect the border and to prevent illegal entry into the country.
Strongly Agree
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Disagree
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States.
Strongly Agree
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Agree
Free enterprise and the right to private property turn mankind's natural self-interest into the most productive economic system there is.
Strongly Agree
There should be a strict constitutional spending limit for state and local governments that would tie the rate of spending to the rate of population growth plus the rate of inflation.
Strongly Disagree
Marijuana should be legalized and regulated like tobacco and alcohol.
Agree
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which permitted our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
The founders established pure democracy in the Constitution because they believed that it is the best form of government to ensure the safety and equitable treatment of all citizens.
Agree
Free-market competition for education dollars, rather than a government monopoly, would create a better education for all students.
Agree
Where minor children are involved, divorce laws should be reformed to include mutual consent of both parents and an increased waiting period, unless there is fault or abuse.
Agree
The Ten Commandments should not be displayed in public school buildings.
Strongly Disagree
Business owners should be required by law to bake cakes, provide flower arrangements, etc., for same-sex weddings, even when these activities would infringe on their sincerely-held religious beliefs.
Disagree
Our state should participate in the nationwide Common Core standards for high-school graduation.
Strongly Disagree
Physician-assisted suicide should be legal.
Strongly Agree
The more people live by Judeo-Christian values, the less government is needed.
Disagree
Islamic law (Sharia) does not pose a threat to the United States and its Constitution.
No Answer
Governments should define marriage as between one man and one woman; no other definition of marriage should be legalized or supported with public funds.
Strongly Disagree
It is the government’s responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income.
Disagree
Planned Parenthood should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments.
Strongly Agree
What in the nature of mankind caused America’s Founders to carefully define, separate, and limit powers in the Constitution?
A strong distrust of government based on their personal experiences, observations, and common beliefs based on shared ideas from the leading philosophers and historians of their time. To quote James Madison in 'Federalist #51', "But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.
Based on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, please arrange the following entities, starting with the highest source of authority, and continue the list in descending order of authority, skipping any that do not apply: Academia, Congress, Constitution, God, Industry, Media, Professional Sports, Supreme Court, Voters.
God, Voters, U.S. Constitution, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Congress
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
The question of abortion is deeply complex. On the surface, it's the legal/moral dilemma of when is murder permissible. Digging deeper, it's a property rights issue involving multiple persons wherein which one person's rights overlap another's. Still deeper yet, it's a family dynamic/social economic dilemma. No family should be forced into an involuntary life sentence of crippling debt and servitude when the developing person is severely and profoundly neuro-atypical, and no society should be forced to pay for those who are forever going to be a drain on the system. It is inhumane to force a woman who has been raped to carry her assailant's illegitimately conceived spawn to term. It's terribly unjust for a woman to be able to kill a man's child without his consent and, often, without his knowing. But to take the stance that abortion is never allowable is an over simplification. Abortion is murder, but murder isn't always malevolent; when done out of compassion, it is euthanasia.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe that all Christian denominations, as well as all monotheistic religions worldwide, believe in and worship this same God - regardless of each individual sect's name for Him, or the specific rituals performed to worship Him. I believe it is more important to live a just and charitable life than a pious one. I believe that living a life of service to others is the most noble use of the limited time we have been given on this earth.
Considering all issues (social, economic, national security, etc.), which of these best describes you?
Conservative
Please defend your answer to the previous question by referencing your publicly available track record.
Fiscally, I cannot fathom how a budget is passed that does not balance - either we have the money or we don't. If we don't have the money, we sure can't allocate it, let alone spend it. I strongly believe that our government is too large, which is to say, it's handling too many things for us; things we should be doing for ourselves. I believe that involuntary redistribution of wealth, no matter what label is put on it, no matter what profoundly humanitarian cause it supports, is socialism. If freely chosen, this is fine, but when forced through the institution of government by the collection of taxes, it is wrong. Tax money spent on programs not directly benefiting those who are taxed is taxation without representation. Socially, a person's body is their personal property. What they want to do with that body, is fully within their God given right to decide and do, so long as doing so does not infringe on another person's God given right to do what they want to do with their body.
E-mail address and phone number for voters to reach you.
INH7@GillenForIndiana.com, +1.574.855.3048
Additional comment from candidate:
I am clearly not a fan of the two party system - I believe it has failed us. I believe that if you (the Voter) truly want to change this County and the way it is governed, we (the People) need to disrupt the established two-party system by introducing a third option. A vote for a Libertarian candidate is not a wasted vote. If like me, you feel ignored and unrepresented by our elected officials, it may be the only vote that counts. Legitimacy is in the eye of the media, which is determined by you the Voter. I ask you, what will make bigger headlines in November - that Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton was elected President, or that for the first time in this Nation's history, Libertarian candidates were elected to a number of State and local offices? Should that happen, that is a game changer. That would fundamentally change politics in America forever.
