Summary

About

Source: Candidate Site

Joe was born and raised in central Virginia and lives in Powhatan, Virginia with his two daughters.

He has been a leader in technology and business administration for over twenty years serving in entrepreneurial, large enterprise, and policy roles.  He also has been active in public and non-profit service in central Virginia for many years, and in various capacities.

Joe previously served in elective office for a term on the County of Powhatan Board of Supervisors from  2008-2011.  He was elected Vice-chair and Chair of the Board during his tenure and was a leader in community and regional initiatives.  His accomplishments for that service can be found HERE and HERE.

Highlights from his prior elected office service on the County of Powhatan Board of Supervisors are:

1.  Creating the Huguenot Trail Advisory Committee Report
2.  Planning and securing funding for the widening of Huguenot Trail east of Route 288
3.  Planning for the well-designed Wal-mart development on Route 60

Joe earned his B. S. in Science, with a minor in Physics from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).  He also holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) graduate degree from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at VCU.  He is currently a dissertation-phase doctoral student in the Public Policy and Administration Ph.D. program at the Wilder School.  His doctoral research focuses on cryptocurrency, socio-economic value, social and technical change, and public policy.

He is a Senior Internal Auditor of IT at a large Virginia university.  He enjoys golf, yoga, and Virginia wine.

Web Links

• Campaign Site
• Twitter

Policy Positions

Source: Campaign site

My political philosophy is limiting government’s size and scope while maximizing personal freedoms.  It is my approach to public policy as well.

It is difficult to balance these two ideals because government is a necessary part of civic life in many areas in order to preserve personal freedoms, rights, and permit economic and social mobility.

Furthermore, with new societal and economic realities, there are clear areas where public policy is the only recourse for long-term civic prosperity.

An American government which ‘governs best, governs least’ and is responsive to all Americans.  Concurrently, an American government which is responsive to all Americans ‘governs best, governs least.’

Here are my positions on major public policy issues, many with links to ideal policy prescriptions for them.

• Constituent Services
  • For many citizens, the only and most significant person they deal with in the federal government is the representative from their district.
  • I will maintain a professional office, professional staff, and respond to constituent issues timely and thoroughly.
  • I will hold regular constituent meetings throughout the district.
• Defense and Security
  • America should have strong national defenses which judiciously protect our interests and allies around the world and which support an America as a welcoming force for good at home and abroad.
  • “Prudence and Restraint”
    • Cato Institute
• Foreign Relations
  • America should have strong national defenses which judiciously protect our interests and allies around the world and which support an America as a welcoming force for good at home and abroad.
  • “Prudence and Restraint”
    • Cato Institute
• The Economy
  • Markets and capitalism are cornerstones of a successful economy and there are many ways to define capitalism.
  • America’s economy is a large and important part of society and it works in conjunction with its citizens to create a country worth defending and worth welcoming to others.
  • America should be a leader in developing and demonstrating new economic, fiscal, and monetary policies which support a growing and diverse federal system of government.
  • I will advocate and work to create economic policies which support entrepreneurial and economic mobility for all Americans amidst rapid changes in society and technology.
  • CORE Economics
• Taxes
  • Current events:
    • I did not support the 2017 tax plan which makes the debt and deficit even worse than they were.  There is no responsible projection which indicates the 2017 plan will pay for itself nor be an economic net gain.
    • I do not support the recent tariffs proposed by President Trump; leading on free trade and globalization are essential for America to stay relevant, economically influential, and safe in the world.
  • Taxes should be low, fair, and equitable.
  • The debt and deficit are unsustainable.
    • With regard to the deficit, a ten-year balanced budget is imperative to maintain a thriving economy through decades of business cycles.
    • The debt (particularly because much is foreign held) should be paid down; its utility as a foreign policy tool has abated.
  • The federal government must reduce spending and shift tax revenue streams to match a modern economy, the only way to do that is with a Valued Added Tax (VAT) structure.
  • Corporate welfare and fiscal and monetary policy which favor the financial sector over the rest of the economy is not a sustainable long-term economic strategy for America.
  • The U.S. financial services sector is approaching 20% of GDP.  That is too much ‘administrative overhead’ for our economy and an economic drag on expansion and employment for more sustainable economic sectors.
  • To encourage and grow a modern economy, the federal government should shift to more usage and consumption-based tax systems.  The federal government should rely less on antiquated payroll and income taxes.  The only way to do these things is with a Valued Added Tax structure.
  • The growing impact of technology and economic mobility will require taxes to be applied more intelligently than via the payroll process.
  • It is inconceivable that in the future the payroll process is how the federal government is funded.
  • America should invest in new economic, fiscal, and monetary models befitting a technologically advanced, global economic leader.
  • Did I mention a Valued Added Tax structure already?  We need one!
• Education
  • Universal Broadband is critical for education
    • I support aggressive public-private partnership for getting backbone and last mile broadband across the district, state, and country.
    • I support Net Neutrality.
  • Primary and Secondary
    • 21st Century understandings about education and human growth and diversity require federal educational standards to be flexible for a large federal system of states to effectively educate their children.
    • The federal government should expect states to take seriously their responsibility to effectively educate their children.
    • The U.S. Department of Defense has recognized the educational outcomes of the current systems throughout the country as a growing national defense security crisis.
    • States should be able to experiment with educational techniques and modalities to educate the next generation of citizens and leaders.
    • Joe supports early childhood education and specifically would seek legislation to fund universal Pre-K by allowing families to opt-in to a vocational 12th grade and use the per-pupil future funding of that year to be applied to Pre-K
  • Post-Secondary
    • Higher education is important and so too is technical education.  Federal and state educational policies should encourage multiple post-secondary educational paths for the benefit of the students, our communities, and economy.
    • Student loan debt is a growing national problem which should be dealt with by the federal government in innovative ways.  This could include community and public sector roles after graduation which earn loan debt reduction.
    • The cost of higher education is outstripping even healthcare in annual increases.  This is unsustainable.  Without intervention, graduates, particularly advanced degree holders, will never be able to earn enough to pay the loans.  This is a burden on the college degree-seeker and a significant drag on the economy.
• Environmental Justice
  • Atlantic Coast Pipeline & Mountain Valley Pipeline: I support a *rigorous* legal and scientific permitting process to hold these construction projects accountable for their current and long-term impacts to Virginia. We cannot ‘revoke’ for political reasons a regulatory action but we can and should make sure the process and permitting is given and adheres to due process.
  • I support a narrowly and judiciously applied Eminent Domain process – invoking all environmental stakeholder – for direct, truly public benefit projects (i.e., roads, not a parking deck for a mall).
  • I do not support oil drilling off the cost of Virginia.
  • I’d offer qualified support for wind energy generation off the cost of Virginia with a rigorous environmental stakeholder review.
  • I believe solar is the long-term solution to our energy needs and American science and public policy need to lead the way for the world.
  • We need to economize and recycle all pollutants including trash and refuse!  We need to Cap and Trade our way to a cleaner society and environment.
• Transportation and Interior
  • I will advocate and work to create responsible domestic policies which serve to create a country that effectively and sustainably uses its resources to maintain public services and infrastructure equitably for Virginia and for all Americans.
  • With regard for natural resources, I support the Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt public lands paradigm.
  • Roads and bridges are crumbling and have declining funding streams.  New public-private collaborative planning for repair and replacement is needed which takes into consideration current and future transportation needs.  Theses need are radically different than decades ago and will undergo new changes with modern technology and economic behaviors.
  •  Agriculture
    • Cato Institute
• Healthcare
  • America has a responsibility as a country to create an economy in which health care and health insurance is affordable and available regardless of employer.
  • Health care and/or insurance linked to employment is a disservice to Americans and an economic inefficiency.  Healthy citizens create a better society and are better, more competitive workers.
  • Workers able to excel at their chosen line of work (not just a job of convenience merely for health insurance) rather than worry about getting or losing health care and health insurance would be an economic boon to the public and private sector.
  • American health care should be among the best outcome/least expensive systems in the world.  America is currently among the worst outcome and most expensive in the world.
  • Improve the Affordable Care Act
    • Alexander/Murray Bipartisan Health Care Stabilization Act 2017
    • Virginia should accept the finality of the Affordable Care Act on behalf of the people of the Commonwealth and the health care and insurance providers
    • Stop wasting resources on resisting Medicaid expansion (which has occurred as of May, 2018) and move on to improving its administration and effectiveness
    • Other improvements towards a more efficient and effective health care and insurance marketplace as they may be identified by outcome-improvement-focused experts
  • Vaccinations – I support the science of epidemiology and medical and health professionals’ indications about what constitutes necessary vaccination regimes. For the vast majority of the population, vaccines are a safe and effective public health need. For some individuals with extenuating medical needs, mandatory vaccines would be harmful and for such cases medical waivers should be available.
• Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice Reform
    • The American criminal justice system has become an ineffective, unwieldy, and costly system of justice.
    • As a first step, the bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017
  • War on Drugs
    • Cato Institute
  • Marijuana Decriminalization and Legalization
    • Multitudes of U.S. states and countries are models for this
  • Hemp
    • Hemp should be fully legalized.  It is absurd that hemp was ever outlawed.
  • Opioid Epidemic
    • Marijuana decriminalization and legalization have started to show positive results for reducing opioid abuse issues.
    • The flow of opioids should be stemmed – doctors and manufacturers.
    • The needs of opioid abusers should be met with improved social services and wrap-around care from the communities in which they reside.
    • Multitudes of U.S. states have bipartisan models for this; notably, this epidemic is particularly bad only in the United States.
  • Police Militarization
    • Cato Institute
• Societal Issues
  • Societal policies which fully support socio-economic realities and are equitably administered for all Americans
    • Advocating, defending, protecting, and, if needed, legislating for:
      • I absolutely support anti-discrimination measures to protect free-thinking people of good conscience in general. Gender issues are like race issues and there should be no equivocating on the part of the government to protect people.
      • Marriage and/or civil unions at the discretion of two consenting adults
      • Non-discrimination with regard to race, creed, color, national origin, religious beliefs, non-religious beliefs, sex, gender, and sexual orientation
      • Gender spectrum identification, gender equality, and gender neutrality
      • “Bathroom Bills” – The way these bathroom bills get written and targeted – and the situations to which they apply – are all different and nuanced but whatever position is anti-discriminatory for LGBTQQIA+ and transgender is what I support and for what I would advocate – including support for ways to preclude discrimination, like individual bathrooms, etc.
      • In general, matters of good conscience which do not infringe on others’ matters of good conscience is what I support and for what I advocate.
    • I am pro-choice on abortion.
    • Congressional sexual harassment and gender violence training and reporting structures which reflect enlightened understandings of the phenomena
  • Medicare and Social Security
    • These are obligations but heading to insolvency.  They are headed to a catastrophic crash if nothing is done.
    • They should be protected for more mature participants – it is unacceptable to do anything other than fully honor the obligation of these programs for older participants.
    • Medicare and Social Security should be phase-adjusted for younger participants.  Younger generations’ health, wealth and welfare are fundamentally better than decades ago when the programs were started.
    • Modern actuarial tables, health, population, and birthrate projections are essential to improving the solvency of the programs.
    • The Social Security earnings cap should be evaluated for restoring solvency.
  • 2nd Amendment
    • Respect the 2nd Amendment and ensure responsible gun ownership
      • Responsible gun owners are not a problem for society
      • Irresponsible people should not be gun owners
      • A strong background check system is the only way to make a difference
    • I do not support arming teachers; I support school resource officers, improved school security, and improved social services and wrap-around care from communities.
    • I do not support ‘bump stocks,’ they are tantamount to machine guns but less accurate.
    • There is wide jurisprudence for regulating the time, place, and manner of Constitutional Rights and other behavior.
      • Americans are subject to limits on free speech.
      • Americans are subjected to extensive checks for over-the-counter medicines, prescription drugs, boarding a plane, driving a car, buying certain chemicals – all under the auspices of saving lives.
      • Protecting fellow Americans – and especially young children in school – with an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; the ounce of prevention saves lives, the pound of cure costs lives before it takes effect.
    • Redistricting Reform
      • OneVirginia2021
      • Cato Institute
    • Immigration
      • Cato Institute
    • Technology Freedom
      • Net Neutrality – I fully support net neutrality, corporations should not be able to selectively provide – for more or less cost – the internet to users.
      • Universal Broadband – I support aggressive public-private partnership for getting backbone and last mile broadband across the district, state, and country.  The federal government has a responsibility to foster community and private sector deployment of broadband access for backbone and last mile.
      • Cato Institute
    • Work towards more than two hegemonic political parties in Virginia and the United States
      • Many ways to define democracy
      • Ballot access
      • Proportional representation
      • Instant run-off
      • Campaign contributions could be taxed (this would be within the limits of the Buckley Divide)