I’m John Fitzgerald and I am running for Congress as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, in the newly rezoned District 11, in the 2012 June primary. I am a small business owner and live in Concord with my wife and children and I am running because I feel strongly that we, the American people, are not being represented well in our district or Washington, D.C. I believe that this is due to two principles that are greatly and sadly lacking today in many of our elected officials — “Truth” and “Responsibility.” I want to change this by earning your vote in the upcoming June primary election.

I grew up in Concord, California, and attended De La Salle High School. I went on to Los Medanos and Diablo Valley Community Colleges before continuing my education at San Francisco State University. Although I have never held public office, I have always been an astute observer of politics and I know the importance of implementing fair and equitable laws and policies for who I see as the true heart of America –- the working class and the middle class.

Like many Americans, I am terribly disheartened by how inequitable our country has become. To be more specific, the richest one percent have more financial wealth than the bottom 95 percent combined. Of the 535 elected representatives in Washington, D.C., 277 are millionaires. That means that approximately 52 percent of our policy makers are the wealthiest in our society and are making policy for the 99 percent of Americans who are not. This might explain why our government bailed out Wall Street and the car manufacturing industry with our tax-payers’ money and even allowed them to take bonuses after they committed and participated in unscrupulous activities and practices.

This is happening while many of our middle class and poor Americans have no health-care, are losing their homes, jobs, pensions, 401k accounts and are struggling to put food on their family’s tables. Where is our bail-out? Where is our help? Where is our justice? It’s time to restore truth and responsibility to our government so the working-class citizens of our country can benefit, not the wealthiest. Please vote for me in the June primary election so I can continue my campaign to stop this continuous assault and systematic destruction of our middle-class and help loosen the stranglehold that multinational and transnational corporations and their lobbyists have on many of our elected officials in Washington, D.C.

The incumbent, George Miller, is a progressive Democrat but he’s disappointed us on single payer health care legislation, the “No Child Left Behind” bill, Congressman Ron Paul’s “Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009” bill and by NOT supporting a new, truly independent 9/11 investigation, one with subpoena power, immunity for witnesses and with witnesses testimony under oath—criteria we did not have in the first investigation. Most Americans are not aware of the fact that there is strong evidence that our government was complicit in the attacks on 9/11. Many members of the military, government, scientific community, architects/engineers, victim’s families, first responders, citizens, and dignitaries in other countries are demanding a new investigation into the events of 9/11. We as Americans deserve to know the truth. The government’s “official story” has been proven to be greatly inaccurate and misleading. Yet we have implemented this never-ending “War on Terror” and enacted legislative policies allegedly for the “safety of our citizens” while we lose many of our Constitutional rights not to mention hundreds of billions of dollars a year occupying Afghanistan and Iraq – money that is desperately needed here in our own country.

George Miller has occupied his Congressional seat since 1974 and although he is an affable person, I believe he is not representing the best interests of his constituency or the country in regards to some very important issues. He voted NO on Dennis Kucinich’s Single-Payer Health Care Bill (H.R.676), which would have allowed each state to vote independently of other states. Yet he and his fellow legislators will enjoy the same universal health care for life that we were denied. He was one of the chief signatories for the “No Child Left Behind” bill for education where, sadly, many K-12 children have been “left behind,” due to lack of funding and bad policy in regards to standardized testing. Teaching “to the test” is not educating our children. He also voted NO on H.R.1207 which would have given the U.S. Comptroller General the power to audit both the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve Banks. I believe it is imperative that we the American people hold the Federal Reserve accountable and demand absolute transparency and no longer allow them to operate with NO regulation or Congressional oversight. Implementing H.R.1207 would be a major step in that direction. Our nation cannot afford another housing crisis; it could have and should have been prevented.

In order to better this country, we need to stop the “partisan bickering” that divides us and elect new, fresh and passionate people who understand our “needs“ and “struggles” and will tirelessly fight to implement fair and equitable policies for a better future for our children and grandchildren. In short, we need to elect representatives who really represent us — the middle class and the working poor. I am that person.

George Miller has laid down a good foundation for me. But it’s time for a bulldog to represent your interests. My proposals for government are aggressively progressive, such as universal college education paid for by closing many of the approximately 700 overseas U.S. military bases that serve no purpose in securing our country. I am also very dedicated to implementing legislation for food safety standards and environmental protection. Demonstrating my commitment to ethical principles, my campaign will not take money from corporations, lobbyists or special interest groups. If you or any organization would like to meet with me or obtain information regarding my campaign, please e-mail me. Thank you.