Political Philosophy for Lawrence K "Larry" Nelson, Sr.

Candidate for
State Senator; District 5

I am a conservitive Republican that feels there is too much Government. We need to strengthen the family not tear it down. I want to ensure that any new laws that are put on the books do not erode the basic family unit. That basic "Family Unit" is the very foundation of our government. Decisions should be made at the lowest possible level, and that is the family. We can raise our children better than the government can. I feel that parents need to take responsibility for their own actions and teach their children to do the same.

We must deal with the pending teacher shortage that will be-fall us at the retirement of the "Baby Boomers". There are not enough teachers in the education pipeline to replace those that will be leaving. We need to be more competetive with other States in salary and also need to establish a "performance reward" system to properly pay those teachers that consistently produce at a high level. The problem is more serious in the small and poor school districts. Five of the poorest districts are in District 5.

In the past seven years the State of Arizona has had a cut in taxes, and I would like to see that trend continue. We need to look at all levels of government and "re-engineer" the whole operation. We need to stop duplicating work within government and also look and see why we are doing many things that have continued on until they have become "Bureaucratic". Most all industries in todays business climate have had to do this to survive. Why has the government not had to do the same thing instead of growing bigger and bigger? I am committed to not voting for any new taxes "EVER". Any new funding needed should come from the savings realized in re-engineering the State Government Operations.