"It is high time our leaders put family and community first.  I will fight for lower taxes, better schools, and safer neighborhoods.  I will fight to protect our quality of life." -- David Shafer

I want to eliminate wasteful spending and reduce taxes. I support zero-based budgeting so that every dollar of spending is justified every year. I support a constitutional amendment that would require voter approval of any future tax increase.

I support a cut in the premium tax, which will not only cut the insurance premiums we all pay but encourage more insurance companies to locate here in Georgia, with good paying jobs that do not pollute the environment.  To make ourselves competitive with Florida and other states without an income tax, I support elimination of the income tax, starting with repeal of the income tax on capital gains.

As a matter of principle, I believe that government revenue should be raised from taxing consumption, not productivity.  When times are tough, I believe that government should cut spending, not raise taxes.

I want to cut the state education bureaucracy and move those dollars to the local school systems where they can make a real difference. I support smaller class sizes.  I want teachers teaching, not doing paperwork or acting as security guards.  I want violent students and gang members removed from the regular school system and placed in "second chance" reform schools.

Convicted criminals should serve every day of their sentences. I oppose the use of parole as a tool to manage prison overcrowding.  Dangerous criminals should not be put back on the streets simply because our prisons lack bed space.  I support tougher truth-in-sentencing laws.  Our criminal justice system should safeguard the rights of victims as zealously as those of the accused criminals.

We must eliminate the urban and suburban street gangs that breed future generations of criminals.  I support tougher penalties for crimes against children and the elderly. I support the death penalty for heinous crimes.

I oppose the so-called congressional balancing formula and believe that transportation funds should be allocated where needed, not according to gerrymandered political district lines.  I have called for the creation of a new developmental highway called the "Northern Network" which would improve the existing system of roads in and about North Fulton, Forsyth and Gwinnett Counties. I support greater use of high occupancy lanes to encourage carpooling, which will reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

It was a Republican President, Teddy Roosevelt, who began the modern day conservation movement. I have a plan to preserve greenspace without increasing taxes or infringing on private property rights (see below). I will fight to protect Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River.  I will work to keep our air and water clean and protect our natural treasures.