Elijah Mack
| Candidate Name: | Elijah Mack |
| Position Sought: | California Senate – District 21 |
| Website / Social Media: | www.mackforstatesenate.com Twitter: @ElijahForCA |
| Why are you running for office? |
| At the age of 19, I'm running a grassroots campaign on a mission to unite Californians of all worldviews, to create truly free markets where small local businesses can thrive, to preserve our wilderness and promote regenerative agriculture and sustainable lifestyles, to make alternative education accessible for our youth, to bring down costs of living, and to protect the personal liberties and freedoms of all adult Californians. Ultimately, though, My campaign is about more than just a few policy goals- I want to make a lasting Impact on our state- I want to work with YOU to bring about a new paradigm in California politics- one in which our legislators work towards creating an environment where our economy, our culture, our environment, and our communities, can survive and thrive organically- with as little dependence on or corruption by the Government as possible. |
| What makes you qualified for this position? |
| My ideals. At the end of the day, the principles of a legislative candidate are what matter- they dictate how a legislator will vote on any particular bill that comes their way, and they dictate the quality of legislation they write. My ideals are the opposite of those held by California's failing status-quo regime; I believe in liberty over control, nature over politicized quasi-environmentalism, and community over dependence on Government. Ultimately, a legislator with no history in office and no formal legal education will serve the people better than a career politician bought by private interests and partisan agendas- one who probably has their large legislative staff do most of their job anyway. |
| What are the two hardest issues facing the candidate who wins the office you are running for? |
| Decreasing costs of living and bridging our State's political divide. California's current regime leadership has been working to maintain the political frenzy in this state and use it to their advantage- dehumanizing individuals who subscribe to opposing ideologies, and fighting to maintain the CA Democratic Party's position in our unaccountable, hegemonic, uniparty system. When it comes to decreasing costs of living, our legislators are often deep in the pockets of private and NGO interests that want to stifle housing production, decrease market competition, increase reliance on more costly sources of energy, and artificially increase costs of production. Getting policies though that truly lower costs of living in the long term and create a more stable state economy will be quite tough. |
| How do you plan to address the issue of inflation and its impacts on your constituents if elected? |
| Inflation largely begins with spending on a Federal level, which means the goal of a State Legislator is to curb the effects of inflation on their state, while being largely unable to combat the problem at its source. There are many ways I hope to confront rising costs of living (the primary consequence of Inflation), but a handful of strategies that immediately come to mind are; fighting corporate protections in order to increase competition and lower costs, cutting red tape surrounding small, local businesses, encouraging more localized economies, lowering taxes for everyday citizens, pushing for a practical School Choice system, and using my platform as a State Legislator to call for sound monetary policy on a national level. These methods will garner long-term results and help heal other economic issues California faces as well. |
| What major crime issues do you plan to address if elected and how? |
| If elected, I plan to address several major crime issues with a focus on both reform and public safety. First, I aim to reform punishments for victimless crimes, redirecting our resources and efforts towards combating violent crimes that truly harm our communities and endanger Californians. Second, I will advocate for a humane and effective system of regenerative treatment for homeless individuals suffering from chronic drug abuse, neither leaving them to suffer on the streets and create public health/safety issues, or simply locking them up and brushing them under the rug. California faces significant challenges with its prison system, with our state often being perceived as having both a poor quantity and quality of prisons. To address this, I propose securing funding to enhance both the conditions and capacity of our state’s prisons, ensuring optimal treatment of inmates and reducing the need for large releases of convicted felons. Lastly, I will work towards an even-handed statewide border policy that strikes a balance between valuing the human right to freedom of movement and the necessity of proper vetting and security to prevent bad actors from entering our state. These measures will create a safer and more just California for all residents. |
| How do you plan to address the issue of housing if elected? |
| I believe that it should be as easy as possible to construct housing of whatever style, price range, quantity, or density as the marketplace demands. outside of basic, commonsense safety regulations and restrictions to preserve the notable historical character of certain communities, there should be absolutely nothing in the way of building housing to meet demand. Californians are suffering under a system wherein housing is not established based on demand, but rather indirect State command.With a choke-hold on organic, market-based production, we often see inadequate housing, often even in locales where many don't want or need it, frequently priced in a way so that only the economic extremes can afford to get in- middle class Californians are frequently left out of the equation. |
| What do you hope to accomplish in your first year in office if elected? |
| Within my first year, I would like to, among other pursuits, put a few of the following policies in place: I'd like to radically decrease statewide taxes and regulations impeding Regenerative Agriculture farms, create a voluntary statewide mutual fund for healthcare, ban some of the most harmful agrochemical products that uphold unsustainable and damaging monocropping practices in CA, deregulate the sale and production of homegrown foodstuffs and other products, and put in place some form of School Choice program, ensuring that low and middle-income families have easy access to whatever form of education best suits their children. |
| What actions do you plan to take to reduce political divide? |
| I believe that every adult individual should be free to live their lives however they see fit, as long as they respect the rights of others to do the same. Part of the reason our State's culture is so divided is that we all live under what is often a legitimate fear that those of different lifestyles and beliefs are going to force their views on us through legislation. |
