Independent in Ninth District Race? Latest Candidate Visits Gilmer

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The latest Ninth District candidate, Roger Fitzpatrick has started to hit the campaign trail. In an effort to introduce himself to voters, the new candidate recently paid a visit to Gilmer County. Fitzpatrick has boldly separated himself from the other candidates by running as an Independent. His professional background also separates him from the pack. Currently an elementary school principal who will retire at the end of this school year, Fitzpatrick seems to offer a unique insight into the education system, which may prove attractive to Gilmer voters in light of recent contention between the BOE and efforts of Oakland Charter School. Several voters came out recently to a local restaurant to find out what the new candidate has to offer. Despite Fitzpatrick’s effort to run as an Independent, his views seemed to line up with Conservative principles.

First and foremost, the candidate says he believes in the sanctity of life, from conception to natural death and religious liberty, both of which are currently under attack in the recent HHS mandate, part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act (ObamaCare).

Fitzpatrick laid the groundwork for his campaign by explaining why he is running as an Independent in one of the most conservative districts in the Nation, rather than on the Republican ticket.

“The reason I’m running as an Independent is that right now,”

he said,

“whenever I turn on the news, when you listen to anybody that is carrying a party label, there seems to be a constant blame-game.”

In the wake of recent negative campaign ads by presidential candidates, many voters share this view.

“It’s important to realize that we’re American first,”

he asserted.

When it came to the issues, the candidate started with the topic he knew best: Education. Fitzpatrick sees Education as a state’s right, explaining,

“Education is not mentioned in the Federal Constitution, so it is a state responsibility.”

As such, he believes in reducing the size of the Federal Department of Education, but seemed to have reservations of eliminating it all at once, but nonetheless said he would like to eliminate it. However, what he lacked in enthusiasm for a clean sweep of the Department of Education all at once, he made up for in knowledge and views on charter schools. Since Fitzpatrick’s school district in White County is a charter school district, the candidate appeared to have intimate knowledge of the effects of charters on a public school system. As such, FYN asked the candidate his views on charters, a topic that remains in the consciousness of Gilmer County voters in the wake of the recent rejection of the Oakland Charter by the Board of Education. He said he sees little difference between a non charter system and a charter system, emphasizing that his charter school district still has high expectations for all students. In February, when the BOE voted down the Oakland Charter, Gilmer County Superintendent Bryan Dorsey primarily highlighted the negative effects of charter schools, mainly regarding monetary strains. Conversely, Fitzpatrick leaned toward the positive.

“What the charter system does for a public system,”

he said,

“is it allows us to get some waivers from some government mandates without having to go through a lot of red tape.”

He went on to explain the difference between the types of charter schools. He said that a charter school can either be a private charter school (like the one in Cherokee County) or a public charter school, which essentially would be part of the public school system. The controversy right now, he said, is that private charter schools would receive taxpayer money to operate while turning a profit only for that school. In this instance, it is case of public money propping up a private business. Fitzpatrick said that he would support this if it was for the good of the children and if the private charter schools are held accountable to the same standards as public schools.

“My thought is that if it’s going to be to the benefit of the children of the state of Georgia, then there needs to be some way to find an equitable solution,”

he said.

His ideas on federal finances encompassed his views on the economy and military matters. Fitzpatrick said that this country does not have a revenue problem, but a spending problem. He explained that the Federal Government has to first get its spending under control and balance its budget. In addition to controlling spending and balancing the budget, he asserted the Federal Government must go a step further.

“We have to have more than a balanced budget,”

he said,

“we’ve got to have a surplus,”

which Fitzpatrick says should be used to pay down the debt. As a former Marine Corps Reserve, Fitzpatrick believes in a strong, but efficient military, saying that the Federal Government needs to cut out waste in the military as well as in other places. He also said that America needs to support Israel as much as possible.

While taking questions from the voters, he preemptively addressed concerns about Agenda 21 (George Soros’ push for global socialism) and the L.O.S.T legislation (Law of Sea Treaty). According to Accuracy in Media Report Editor Cliff Kincaid, L.O.S.T

“sets up an International Seabed Authority to decide who gets access to oil, gas and minerals in international waters.”

On both Agenda 21 and L.O.S.T, Fitzpatrick said he is against anything that takes way the liberty from the people and sovereignty of our nation.

Despite the candidate’s seemingly conservative principals, Tea Party Communications Director Jack Smith said Fitzpatrick does not appear ready for Washington, adding, “As an independent freshman, he will be unable to garner support from the leadership. I am not certain he is as conservative as I would like. He doesn’t have enough time to really campaign the entire district.”

As an independent, Fitzpatrick must secure signatures from five percent of Ninth District Voters to get on the July ballot, which he says is approximately 15,000 signatures.

In a recent conversation with FYN, Fitzpatrick said he will campaign more aggressively when the school year ends.

See Video of Fitzpatrick’s Visit to Gilmer County

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