HHR Blog had the opportunity to interview GOP candidate Victor Armendariz  a Mexican-American running  for  a seat in Georgia’s 4th congressional district. He will face Cory Ruth, Liz Carter and Larry Gause in the July Republican primary. The Fourth Congressional District of the U.S. State of Georgia includes parts of Dekalb, Rockdale, and Gwinnett Counties in the metro Atlanta area. The district is currently represented in the 111th Congress by Democrat Hank Johnson.

http://www.victorforcongress.com/

- HHR INTERVIEW WITH VICTOR ARMENDARIZ  -

HHR Blog  : Tell the readers of HHR Blog about yourself…where are you from…where were you  born…where were you raised? 

I was born in Atlanta Georgia. I am a proud Atlanta native and spent the 1st half of my life growing up in District 4 in the Brookhaven/Ashford Park area and then in the Tucker area. I did have the good fortune of spending a lot of time in Mexico as well in the USA while growing up. This gave me the opportunity to absorb two different cultures while growing up.
  
HHR Blog :  What type of family were you raised in, and how has your upbringing shaped your political views?

 My Father and Mother have been married for almost 50 years. My family consisted of two brothers and two sisters.  My Father worked in insurance and then became the CFO of a company in Atlanta, The Friendship Force. My Mother stayed at home and ruled the roost so to speak. My Father came to the United States from Mexico on a student visa. He pursed his education while working as a waiter, working in a hospital and numerous other jobs. He retired CFO of a major Atlanta company. He is the American dream. He taught me that no matter what my background, no matter what the world throws at me, I could achieve anything as long as I was willing to work for it. He taught me that being born in the USA was the best start anyone could have. With a command of the English language and an education, the sky was the limit. My Mother backed that up by making sure that my brothers, sisters and I paid attention in school. Education was number one. I remember that my Mom would make us read to her every night during the week while she cooked dinner. I hated it then, but thank her for it today.
 
HHR Blog :  What attracted you to the Republican Party?

 During college, I noticed that most liberal or Democrat groups were more vitriolic and just rude to me if I didn’t instantly agree with all their stances or if I questioned a little. I then began to study Ronald Reagan and it was then that I started to consider myself a Conservative. I also have always been disgusted with how much we are taxed. I am very opposed to the way we collect taxes, a free country should not have a progressive tax system. This type system punishes achievement. The Democrats have never seen a tax increase that they didn’t love and I can not stand with that.
  
 HHR Blog:  How has your feelings about the City you currently live in influenced you as a politician?

I love Atlanta. Its the New York of the South. It has such great diversity. It can be so much better if we would get government out of the way and remove barriers and let small business thrive. The city is run by politicians that can’t get out of their own way. It encourages me to use my voice to elect more conservative business people.
  
HHR Blog:  What specific urban polices if elected would you implement to empower urban and low income constituents?

 I’ll support policies to encourage business to flourish in all areas. The more jobs that can be created the more work we can find for people. Just as the welfare reform act of the 90′s, we should implement work requirements on anyone receiving subsidies from the tax payers. More people got off welfare because of the reform act when it was passed in the 90′s. 
  
 HHR Blog:  How would you improve race relations in your City?

 This isn’t about Republicans, Democrats or ethnicity, it is about people. We are a government of the people. No matter what your background, you can achieve any dream with hard work. Self reliance must be returned to our cultures. We should all share a common goal of Freedom and Liberty. I will work towards policies that are good for the people, all people. I would encourage to always judge by character, not race.
 
HHR Blog: What would you like to change the most about the political climate in Washington DC? 

 I would like to send career politicians home. We have too many out of touch elitist in Washington. They’ve forgotten that they represent the people. The only thing Washington seems to care about is more money and power. We need term limits to break up the elitist hold that has gripped Washington.
 
HHR Blog: How would you seek to improve inner-city and police relations?

I would promote out reach programs so the police and the inner-city neighborhoods could build an active relationship. Work together to build trust so crime can be attacked vigorously and people could feel safe in their homes.
 
HHR Blog: How would you help those who are poor and without health care attain it?

 I would promote private sector answers so as to grow the access to health insurance. Use the laws on the books to regulate insurance companies while getting the government out of the health mandate business. Introduce competition in the health insurance business and access will flourish. We need tort reforms, no state line restrictions, no mandates on required coverage, and portability. I would also like to help empower charity groups and faith based organizations to help in lower income neighborhoods. Plus, if we can allow the small businesses to grow more jobs will become available.
 
HHR Blog :  How would you go about empowering people who are homelessness in your constituency?

Again, I would work to empower charities and faith based organizations to help the homeless. We can help with training so we can prepare homeless people for work, the ones that are capable. We of course should work to help and aid the mentally challenged. 
     
HHR Blog :  Because of the large number of addictions and substance abuse in many urban areas what policies specific ideas would you implement to empower these individuals? 

I would like to attack this problem from the treatment side. I don’t think jail time for use is the best option. Through treatment and detox, we can get people off of addictions and have some success on the so called war on drugs.
 
 HHR Blog :  What are your views about the economy and effective ways to pull the United States out of the current recession it is in?

Getting out of a recession is not rocket science. We need to reduce government spending. We need to cut taxes across the board, reduce capital gains tax to release capital for investment, we need to slash the corporate tax rate. We must understand that the only people who pay taxes are income earners. If we keep punishing producers with higher taxes, the number of producers will reduce. We have history on our side. Every time taxes and corporate taxes are reduced, revenue to the Federal government goes up. Lower taxes equal more economic activity. Job growth must come from the private sector. Small business makes up 80% of job growth. Higher taxes equal less new businesses and less expanding, lower taxes unleashes the ingenuity of the American people. I propose that we move to implement the FairTax.
  
 HHR Blog : What are your policies concerning the homeless, housing, financial assistance, and education for low-income people in the State?

Again, it comes down to a better economy so we have the revenue and resources to help with training to move people into self reliance. We should offer government assistance to all who need it with the goal to teach and train for self reliance. I would encourage Habitat for Humanity and other programs like it. Job training is also crucial. Especially if we can pass the FairTax, because with its passage, manufacturing jobs would return to the USA.
  
 HHR Blog : What do you believe to be the future of education for our Nation’s children and our youth (18-22 yrs. Old)?

 We need to get the Federal government out of the business of education. I would like to see a future where the States and parents are in control of educating our kids. We need a voucher system. We need to stop sending tax money to schools and instead, let the money follow the child.
  
HHR Blog : Where do you see yourself in your political career five years from now? 

In 5 years, I would like to be representing the people of district 4 and be celebrating the passage of the FairTax plan!
HHR Blog: Victor, Thank you so much for letting us get to know you and your campaign – much sucess!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you would like to support Victor Armendariz amd his run for congress please contact his campaign at www.victorforcongress.com.