Candidates for U S House of Representatives, 1st Congressional District
November 2, 2010 General Election
CANDIDATE David McKinley
COUNTY OF RESIDENCE Ohio
PARTY Republican
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Principal, McKinley & Associates (professional engineering and architectural design firm); former member West Virginia House of Delegates (1981 – 1995); former chairman, West Virginia Republican Party (1994 – 1996); graduate, Perdue University, B.S.E.; wife, Mary; four children. www.McKinley2010.com
QUESTION 1. What should the federal government do about the growing economic disparity between the middle class and the well-to-do?
ANSWER. With unemployment in the construction industry at 35 percent, I propose a nationalprogram to retrofit public buildings for energy efficiency. Not only will that slash the jobless rate in this crippled sector and promote energy independence, it will spur manufacturing to supply materials for roof insulation, window replacement, energy-efficient HVAC systems and lighting controls. It can start a broader economic (exceeded word limit)
QUESTION 2. How will you balance the continuing costs of the military with the costs of domestic needs?
ANSWER. Without compromising national security we must rein in out-of-control spending on a program-by-program basis.
QUESTION 3. What measures should Congress enact to make our educational system more competitive with other developed nations?
ANSWER A third of our college graduates hold degrees in science and engineering compared to 63 percent in Japan and 53 percent in China. We were once a world leader in awarding science and engineering degrees. But our college-age population is now at the bottom among nations in this regard. Also troubling is that of 22,500 doctorates in science and engineering (exceeded word limit)
CANDIDATE: Mike Oliverio
COUNTY OF RESIDENCE Monongalia
PARTY Democratic
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
The grandson of Italian immigrants, Mike Oliverio worked through college and graduate school at WVU, where he became student body president. He achieved the rank of captain in the U.S. Army Reserve. A small business owner, he served two years in the West Virginia House of Delegates and 16 in the Senate. Mike and Melissa Oliverio have two children.
QUESTION 1. What should the federal government do about the growing economic disparity between the middle class and the well-to-do?
ANSWER. Closing the trade deficit with China is first. Over the last five years, we have imported $1.2 Trillion more than we have exported to China. It is the largest imbalance in the world. That imbalance costs us jobs in skilled, middle-class workers. We must end it. If we had fair trade with China, we wouldn’t have needed a stimulus plan.
QUESTION 2. How will you balance the continuing costs of the military with the costs of domestic needs?
ANSWER. I understand the value of the military, having served myself. As American forces continue to return, these costs will reduce in part. However, we live in a different world now. We cannot mothball our military as we have in decades past after a conflict. I applaud the work done at the Pentagon to trim duplicative projects and congressional pet perks.
QUESTION 3. What measures should Congress enact to make our educational system more competitive with other developed nations?
ANSWER. We must allow more local control for our education system. Unfunded mandates from Washington are tying the hands of teachers who are trying innovative new techniques. Congress must have greater faith in our state and local school boards to teach our children the skills they need for the future.