Gus Mattammal
Republican | California
Candidate Profile*
Moderate
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Gus Mattammal
Party
Republican
Election Year
2022
Election
Primary
Race
U.S. Rep., Dist. 15
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Pomona College, Claremont CA, BA, Physics and Mathematics, 1994
Yale School of Management, New Haven CT, MPPM (MBA), 2000
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Mission Graduates, Volunteer
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
ENDORSEMENTS*
CONSERVATIVE (3)
California Republican Party
San Mateo County Republican Party
*The American Council
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
San Mateo County GOP, San Francisco GOP, California GOP
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Neutral
Abortion is too divisive an issue for federal funds to be allocated to Planned Parenthood. But states should be allowed to decide for themselves.
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Neutral
Again, states should decide this for themselves. And in a free society, individuals should make their own decisions. That said, I would like to promote a culture of life, and would encourage people not to avail themselves of such an option even if it were available.
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
I want to live in a world where people voluntarily choose to have zero abortions. That's the only scenario that respects both the sanctity of life and a woman's own agency. Rather than fight about when abortions should be allowed, I plan to focus on changing our culture to persuade fewer people to want to get an abortion in the first place.
ECONOMY
Redistribution of income is needed to lessen the gap between the wealthy and working classes.
Neutral
My platform of a conservative universal healthcare plan, education reform to improve our schools, and promoting entrepreneurship in underserved areas will more effectively lessen the gap between the wealthy and the working class than a simple redistribution policy.
The government should cut spending in order to reduce the national debt.
Neutral
Getting our economy growing more strongly and ensuring that spending grows far more slowly than the economy will slowly but steadily reduce the budget deficit, and once the deficit flips to surplus, then we can begin paying down the debt. Simple spending cuts by themselves will not close a gap that is as large as we've let it become.
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
Make it simpler.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Neutral
All our constitutional liberties should be protected if/when they are actually under attack.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Neutral
It depends on what services we're discussing.
What should be the relationship between the church and the state?
Separation of church and state is a core principle of the Founding Fathers. Churches have an important and valuable role to play in civil society, and their best work will happen there. As Christ said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's."
HEALTHCARE
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
It depends on the underlying condition. Vaccines like smallpox and polio, which have decades of data to support their efficacy and which are more serious diseases, are okay to be required. For something like Covid, where the vaccine is more of a flu shot than anything else, and for which there is not broad support for them, the government should not require vaccinations. But as a conservative, I believe that private organizations should be able to do what they want, so if they want to mandate vaccinations, then their customers or employees who disagree with that policy can simply switch to a different organization that is more in line with their values.
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D)Tax-payer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be de-funded.
My platform include a program of health savings accounts for all, similar to what Singapore does. Singapore achieves universal healthcare using health savings accounts, and does so while spending 1/4 of what we do, while finishing top 3 in quality on every measure. My plan will mean less spending on healthcare, more personal choice and freedom, because you will control the money in your account, and less administrative state, since we won't need so many government programs. In other words, it's conservative in every way, while also achieving universal healthcare, which the Democratic party has been unable to do, even when they had the votes. It's a huge opportunity for my party.
NATIONAL SECURITY
With regard to America's foreign policy, which view most closely resembles yours: A) The United States should intervene whenever freedom is threatened. B) The United States should selectively help countries trying to grow democracy and fight tyranny. C) The United States has become too involved in others' policies and should remain focused on issues regarding our own sovereignty unless in imminent danger. D) The United States should stay out of foreign conflicts completely.
The United States government should focus on protecting the American people and our allies first and foremost, and beyond that, where it is possible to do so for a reasonable investment, help other countries who are moving in the direction of greater freedom.
I support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement to pressure Israel to withdraw from occupied territories, remove the separation barrier in the West Bank, allow full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees.
Neutral
Israel is an important ally of the US and should always remain so. As an ally, we should feel free to periodically remind Israel that (a) the Palestinian issue is their problem to manage, not ours, and (b) they do a pretty consistently crummy job of managing it.
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
China is our biggest geopolitical rival, and it's important that we get to artificial intelligence, fusion power, advanced nanomaterials, and other technologies before they do. We cannot afford to lose any technological races to the CCP as long as they remain in power.
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
There's no way to "eradicate" the threat of Islamic terrorism, but with smart management and support of our intelligence services and our relationships with allies, we can keep the American people safe, which is the primary goal.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Agree
Better technology at the border is a far more effective solution to border security than a big wall, which is frankly pretty easy for people to circumvent.
State and federal funds shall be denied to any public or private entity, such as a sanctuary city, that is not in compliance with immigration laws.
Neutral
It depends on what funds.
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
People who follow our legal processes for immigration should be allowed to immigrate here.
VALUES
Sexual orientation and gender identity should be protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Agree
All sentient humans should be protected from discrimination.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
Racism is terrible and we should work to remove it wherever it exists. But that's a case-by-case process.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I have always aspired in my leadership to follow the example of Christ in that he viewed leadership as fundamentally about service, about what you are willing to sacrifice for others, not what you can persuade others to sacrifice for you.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Disagree
You need an ID to do anything important in society. No reason why voting should be any different.
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
Voting should be easy to do, but hard to cheat. I'm open to any changes that hit both of those notes.
EQUALITY
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Disagree
Reparations as commonly understood are impractical to execute and unlikely to succeed in what they purport to do. I'm very interested in investing in underserved communities; that will do far more to address economic inequity than "reparations".
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Racism is terrible and makes our society weaker. But we should be practical and targeted in how we choose to combat it.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Agree
All options for energy should be on the table while we continue to invest in new technologies. New technologies and market forces will ultimately render fossil fuels obsolete; there's no need to demonize fossil fuel companies. Let market forces take care of the issue.
Which comes closest to your view? A) Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost too many jobs and hurt the economy. B) Stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost.
It depends on what the specific laws are. Some are worth the cost, some are not.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Conservative
I'm a free-market conservative that believes people should be left alone to live their lives in peace, whatever that means to them.
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
https://youtu.be/jLRjUbXGhRY
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No
What else would you like voters to know about you, including your legislative priorities?
I'm focused on how conservative policies that emphasize free markets, personal choice, and limited government can actually achieve some things conventionally understood to be "liberal" goals: universal healthcare, meaningful progress on climate change, and uplifting the lives of the poor and middle class. These policies would build our party a much stronger electoral coalition and would make us more competitive in cities and in blue states.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Neutral
I don't think anyone should be immune from prosecution as a matter of law, but on a practical level I think such prosecutions should be extremely rare. It makes no sense to prosecute police officers for doing their job, so long as they were making a good-faith effort to do it right.
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Disagree
We should invest more in mental health and community programs, but why would we redirect police funds to do that?
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Background checks for private sales. You should know if you're about to sell a gun to a violent felon, for your own safety as much as anyone else's.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Neutral
Firearms dealers and manufacturers should not have any better protections than any other businesses. Either all businesses get protections, or none do.
