Brent Maupin for U. S. Congress

My name is Brent G. Maupin.  As citizens of the United States of America, we have become far too complacent with the ineffective legislative process that now permeates throughout the executive and legislative branches of our federal government. Too many of us have given up, thinking that there is nothing that we can do about it. This is because the legislative procedures used by our elected officials are out dated and no longer serve the best interests of the people. Thus, when we send someone new to Washington they get caught up in this out dated process and then they too become ineffective in producing the promises made during their campaign. 

Our elected politicians in Washington are allowing themselves to be manipulated by special interest groups and by the power of a select few that have held positions in Congress for far to long. This trend must be reversed. Simply put, I represent authentic change and I want to be your independent candidate. I have no party affiliation, only the best interests of the citizens of Arizona and of our country. However, to accomplish this task I need your support, not only with your vote, but your continued support with your voice as we “take on the system”.

My Plan

To effectively establish real change in the way we are governed, the American people need to empower themselves more than ever before, more than we have since the American Revolution itself. In fact, what we need is a "Political Revolution". We need to stand up for ourselves and vote out all elected officials who do not commit to adhere to aggressive reforms similar to those listed in the following:

Committee Leadership: Currently, committee leaders are too often selected because of favors owed, seniority, or because of power they have gained by "working the system", rather than being selected for their knowledge and area of expertise.  When elected I will demand that the qualifications for all proposed committee chairpersons be made available to the public and open for public input prior to any such chairperson be appointed. The qualifications of each candidate are to be submitted along with the reason as to why this member of Congress best meets the need to fill this position. This information can be submitted to the public through a nonpartisan organization such as the League of Women Voters. Doing so will clean up the current practice and impress upon the members of Congress that they will be held accountable for each and every decision that they make. This is not to say that under the current system there are not members who are qualified, as there most certainly are.

Special Interest Groups: Recent efforts by Congress have been made to better control how members of Congress can associate with lobbyists. However, these efforts have done little to restore faith back into the American People. I believe that our governmental system is dysfunctional, even with these recent efforts. (See the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007) We need to eliminate the financial leverage that Special Interest Groups have on our elected officials. Special Interest Groups have positioned themselves such that they have far more influence over our representatives then our founding fathers anticipated when they wrote the constitution. The answer is simple, do not allow any contributions from lobbyists, Special Interest Group PAC's or other associated interest. And this brings us to the next section of my plan, Campaign Reform. 

Campaign Reform: Encourage voters all across America to vote only for candidates who support campaign reform. These reforms would include only using the television through candidate forums and aired either on public television or other stations which do not require payment from the candidates to air the forums. This would drastically reduce the cost and therefore provide for an economical public financed federal campaign fund. Also limit personal contributions to $100 per person and not allow PAC's to contribute to federal campaigns.

Stating the above puts me in somewhat of a quandary as I need to get my message out to the people yet I oppose exorbitant television expenditures. Herein lies the power of the internet and the ability of the people to communicate easily and effectively.  If  what I have said on this web page inspires you pass it on! Pass it on to your friends and neighbors. We can achieve this, all we need to do is stand up and act!

Increase Ethics Committee Authority: Establish a Public Review Committee that is involved with the ethics reviewing process. Then require that any member of Congress that has not lived up to their oath of office or has otherwise been proven to have been gravely unethical in the administration of his or her duties be forced to resign from congress and refused any pension or health care benefits that would otherwise been due them and serve a mandatory sentence in a Federal Penitentiary.

Earmarks, "Pork" and Sunshine Laws: Require that all legislation be open for review by all members and all "Earmarks" be  clearly listed and made available to all members of each legislative branch prior to being sent to the President for his or her signature.

Term Limitations: Term limitations for members in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives would be most effective in solving the problems listed above. However, because this would require an amendment to the United States Constitution, and considering the time involved in achieving this, it will first be necessary to demand the above mentioned procedural changes from our elected officials and then we can address term limitations.

Coalition of Leaders: There are many in Congress who believe similar to the way that I do. However, until now they have not had the power to transform the system. Now is the time to rise to the occasion as now the people of America are the ones calling for real change, not just lip service. I have already started to make a list of members I intend to contact, and with their permission I will be posting their names on this site as members who will support reforms similar to the above.

Who Am I

Resident of northern Arizona for 15 years

Business Owner as: Licensed Civil Engineer, Licensed Architect & Licensed Contractor

A father of two

Youth soccer coach and referee

Author of two books

Singer, song writer and musician

I am a man who healed himself from what the doctors said was an "incurable" cancer

My Mission

To bring a high standard of Integrity into the United Stated Congress

To maintain strong national security policies

To put an end to Party (Partisan) Politics

To demand Accountability from all elected officials

To expose deceit and deception in the letting and billings of government defense contracts 

To prosecute elected officials to the fullest extent of the law who have not upheld their oath of office

To promote sustainable living and strongly encourage American investment in alternative energy resources    

To demand that countries such as China abide by our food safety, product safety and pollution control laws or STOP trading with them!

My Personal Pledge To You

Honesty: I will be HONEST in all I say and do

Integrity: I live by the absolute highest standards of INTEGRITY

Authenticity: All that I say and do will be AUTHENTIC

Accountability: I have the highest standards of personal ACCOUNTABILITY

Responsible: I hold myself RESPONSIBLE for all of my actions