Gary Mitchell
Republican | Michigan
Candidate Profile
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Gary Mitchell
Party
Republican
Election Year
2020
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 60
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, PhD, 1987
Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, B.S., 1977
WORK & MILITARY
Martell Realty Inc, Realtor, 4
The Dow Chemical Company, Scientist and Leader of Surface Analysis, 24
General Motors Research, Technologist, 4
AFFILIATIONS
Mid Michigan Hospice, Visited with patients, Bay / Midland Tea Party
Member, Midland GOP, County Delegate
Saginaw, MI Habitat for Humanity, Carpentry, Roscommon GOP
County Delegate, VanKal Tea party, Member
Founders Freedom Forum, Member, KGOP
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
none
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
none
Race
Previous Races
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (2)
Citizens for Traditional Values-Michigan
Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners
OTHER (1)
Michigan Health Choice Alliance
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (2)
Citizens for Traditional Values
Michigan Health Choice Alliance
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Strongly Agree
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds or grants from federal, state, or local governments.
Strongly Agree
I support the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which requires health care providers to provide life-saving treatment for infants who survive an attempted abortion.
Strongly Agree
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Sorry, I can not think of any. Rape is an awful thing that can happen to a woman, but it is not the fault of the baby. We can not punish the baby with a death sentence for something his father did. The rapist should be punished severely, not the innocent baby.
ECONOMY
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has a livable income.
Strongly Disagree
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
This will take some careful consideration, but what comes to mind to investigate first is government advertising of all sorts. for instance, the state government paying for ads for Pure Michigan seems like it may be a crony capitalist thing.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Governments should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.
Strongly Agree
Governments should define marriage as between one man and one woman; no other definition of marriage should be legalized or supported with taxpayer or public funds.
Agree
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
I promise to protect the freedom of Christians to share the Gospel and to practice Biblical principles.
Yes
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
The constitution really does not separate church and state. The 1st Amendment to the US constitution says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion ..." So our government is not allowed to regulate religious practices establish a state religion and so forth. It does not mean that religious institutions are irrelevant to our country or society. That also suggests that the government can not disallow prayer in schools or where ever else, because that would be making a law with respect to an establishment of religion.
HEALTHCARE
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance.
Strongly Disagree
How would you promote healthcare coverage that is adequate, affordable and accessible for all?
1. Remove the federal government from their involvement in health care. There is no constitutional excuse for the federal government to be in health care. The voluminous regulations that are a part of Obamacare have greatly increased the price of insurance. The regulation o health insurance is a natural responsibility of the states. 2. Make the regulations of health insurance be logical. Forinstance there should be no requirement that a policy for a man should include maternity insurance. 3. Allow Health insurance to be sold over state lines.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
Strongly Agree
IMMIGRATION
I am in favor of construction of a wall and other necessary infrastructure on our border that gives complete control over entering and exiting the United States.
Strongly Agree
State and federal funds should be denied to any public or private entity, including but not limited to sanctuary cities, that are not in compliance with immigration laws.
Strongly Agree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Aliens who apply lawfully and whose ideals align with those of our country and governmental system and can contribute to our mutual good should be allowed to immigrate to our country. The yearly migration must be in numbers small enough that the new immigrants can acculturate to American society. If they are not interested in being Americans, they should not be allowed in. In order for our republic to work, the citizens must have shared goals.
EDUCATION
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Disagree
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
I support adding sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I was Christened into the Unitarian Church when I was a child. We attended this church off and on when I was a child. My wife (now ex-wife) was Roman Catholic and we were married in the church, although I was not asked to convert. We used to attend mass sporadically and I liked the beauty and mystery of everything to do with Christianity. Through the years I have realized that there is absolutely more going on in the world that we do not / can not perceive and the Unitarian church such as it is now, does not help me understand this or deal with life in general. Since then I have been exploring Christianity. About 3-4 years ago I began attending various churches around town to see what they were like. I really enjoyed the First Baptist Church of Kalamazoo and have been attending there regularly for about the last 3 years.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and immigration, which of the following best describes you overall?
Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
Since I have never held office before nor run for office before other than County Delegate, I have never been a public figure. Thus I can't point to any public information which would validate my stance as a conservative. I have been a member of Tea Party organizations in Midland and Kalamazoo, and am presently a member of the Founders Freedom Forum in Kalamazoo/Van Buren counties. I believe our constitution is the best constitution ever written to restrain government and protect citizens sovereignty. I believe free market economy (somewhat misnomered as capitalism) is the best economic system as in order to succeed one needs to produce goods or services that others like enough to buy. In a socialist system, one is paid the same as everyone else regardless of your contribution. Thus, success becomes a matter of doing the least for the same pay as everyone else. In the former system motivation to succeed is aligned with societies success and in the latter the opposite occurs.
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
Well, the US government is meant to be by the citizens and of the citizens. I am pretty sure a legislator is not required to have any particular educational background, in fact for the legislature to work best, the individual members should have a diverse background so that all ideas are considered. That being said, I have a doctorate in physical chemistry and I spent 24 years as a scientist for a global chemical / materials company. Many issues that come up in the house of representatives involve chemicals and physics. Our governor has been claiming that she has been shooting out executive orders regarding the pandemic according to science. As a real scientist, I can tell you that was not the case. It was exactly against the science to require active Covid patients to go back to nursing homes. In that way she is responsible for the deaths of many Michiganders. It has been suggested that she should be charged with murder for that.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No never.
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
I am decidedly not a career politician. My loyalty will be to my constituents and all the people of Michigan, not to lobbyists. I will actually follow the science in my decisions. I will be happy to support legislation for an article 5 convention of states to write a term limit amendment for the US Senators and Representatives. That will help somewhat to cut back on corruption in DC. I will not support legislation which raises taxes. I will absolutely support needed legislation to fix our schools and eliminate all the remnants of common core which has been calculated to dumb down our students.
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
I support the use of Sharia law as a basis for legislation and judicial decisions in the United States.
Strongly Disagree
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Mandatory minimum sentencing should be required and enforced for violent crimes.
Agree
2ND AMENDMENT
Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?
Yes
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Almost none. We should remove guns from the hands of criminals. And we already have laws towards that end. Otherwise, the more guns in the hands and holsters of common law abiding citizens, the safer we are.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
I support the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Neutral
The Electoral College should be abolished.
Strongly Disagree
In priority order, what three areas of legislation do you propose to author or sponsor if elected?
1. Fix the budget deficit without increasing taxes. This will require some tough choices and some working together with other conservatives in the legislature. 2. Fix the roads without raising taxes and without selling bonds that will strap debt onto my grand children. Paying interest on top of fixing the road will just end up costing us more. 3. Fix our schools. They are dysfunctional. Students need to be taught to read and to do arithmetic and they need to be taught about our great country and our government. One start on the latter issue would be to require high school graduates to pass the Federal citizenship test.
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Possibly. There may be systemic racism in all these democratic cities in which police have been killing citizens of color. These attacks appear to be the result of racism in the democrat party.
