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House District 42 candidate George R. Carouthers Republican |
| Biography They said it Q&A Did you know? Recent news stories |
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| Biography | |
| Born Experience Education Family |
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| Q&A | |
| What makes you most qualified for this position? First of all being 50 years old I have alot of real life experience. I have run small businesses. I can relate to hard working people being a cwa member and climbing telephone poles for 20 years. Being an ordained minister has trained me to listen to people and help them work thru problems. I have been married most of my adult life and have raised 3 children. I know what it is like to budget every dollar in troubled economic times. Most of all I have a great love for my country, state and all the principles that have made our land the greatest in the world. I will hold to the traditional values of love for God and country which have been ingrained in me from a child. Should the state revisit sentencing restrictions to reduce prison spending? Before making a final decision on this critical issue, I would need to hear more from all sides involved in this important legislation. Would you support an expansion of the state’s public school voucher program? Yes, I would. Parents and students should be given more flexibility in their education choices. I will work hard to improve our public schools but they should not monopolize education. Competition always makes things better. Unfortunately, education has become a political football for many years and our kids are the ones who have suffered. The status quo will not cut it anymore. It is high time that we get our schools moving in the right direction. They are in decline now. Lets work together and get them turned around. Should Colorado pursue a four-day work week for state employees as a way of conserving energy and reducing energy bills? No. With so many state “entitlements,” such as Medicaid and public schools, how can the state best increase spending on roads, bridges and other transportation projects? Raising taxes on hard working Colorado families is certainly not the answer. We need to reprioritize our state budget in order to meet our critical transportation needs. Should the state increase taxes on gas and oil production in Colorado? No. The oil companies will pass their increase on to us, the motorists. How do you think Colorado unions would see you as a candidate? Pro-union or anti-union? I was a CWA union member for 20 years. The one thing that I did not like about my union is that most of the time my dues money went to political candidates that I did not support. 99 percent of the time unions rubber stamp the Democratic candidates and ignore Republicans. Many times my fellow members and I were ignored on issues such as high taxation and gun rights. Often times the Democrats which our union bosses supported voted to raise our taxes and tried to take away our Second ammendment rights to keep and bare arms. As a Republican lawmaker I would never vote to overturn workers right to organize and their right to collective bargaining. However I do believe union members should have more of a say in where thier dues money is spent. Above all, what one thing should the state do to improve student performance in public schools? One thing that has been proven over the years is that by just throwing more money at the public school system does not improve it. Inspite of masses amounts of money spent on them over the years they continue to get worse. We need to have more accountability from our public school systems. We need to look at teaching methods and curriculum in a way that will improve our schools. Often times we have to much "social engineering " going on in our public schools,issues that should be dealt with by parents and families. Should the state convene a constitutional convention to investigate resolving budget problems with TABOR, Amendment 23 and the Gallagher Amendment? No. I believe that a constitutional convention on these issues would further complicate the matter, and confuse the taxpayers. How would you judge the performance so far of Gov. Bill Ritter? His desire to grow government and raise taxes on hard working Colorado families troubles me. Under his watch our state has added 1,334 new government employees. His executive order to unionize new government employees is appalling. |
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| Who is your hero? My father. Are you a dog or a cat person? Both. What food do you hate most? Beets The book you’d most like to read next? 3 Nights In August, a baseball book by Buzz Bissinger The movie that made you laugh out loud the most? "Forrest Gump" The “one food” you would want stuck on a deserted island? Steak The person you wish would run for U.S. president? Condeleeza Rice What personal feat are you most proud of? Raising my three children What one question would you love to have answered and by whom? Why is our national debt so high answered by everyone who has ever held office at the federal level. Where do you recommend people from out of town eat? Mimi's Cafe |
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