Charlie Grapski for Florida House District 23

Background:

I am a Political Scientist/Theorist with a long history of political activism in the local, state, and national arenas. I have been involved with DFA since nearly the beginning of the 2004 presidential cycle, participating in the Iowa Caucuses, Wisconsin, and South Carolina, among other involvement. I have been a speaker at the first two Democracy Fests.

Goals:

I am running because it is time to stand up and restore the citizen as the highest political office in a democracy and public officials and institutions as the servants of the public who aim exclusively for the public good rather than private interests. My primary goal is to restore this nation to the path of democracy - which means empowering the people themselves.

Issues:

Ethics
Education
Empowerment

Grassroots Support:

This will be a GRASSROOTS driven campaign. WE the PEOPLE are the foundation of democracy - and that is what this campaign is about.

I do not seek grassroots support merely to be elected. I seek to empower the people to be active participants in the process beyond the election. Thus I see my role as candidate/representative as merely one member of a much larger team.

DFA Values:

Progress means that we can make tomorrow better than today - if we simply use our natural capacities. We, as a nation, ought to seek a society which aims toward the ideals of liberty, equality, and "happiness" (in the higher sense) - in which all have a decent quality of life and are enabled to pursue that life to the fullest.

As for fiscal responsibility we cannot live by a "borrow and spend" system of putting off the burdens of today onto the generations of tomorrow. Revenues should be based upon expenditures - and expenditures should be based upon what is needed to ensure a healthy and quality society.