Paul Chabot says "Congress is Broken"

California 31st Congressional District candidate Paul Chabot said “Congress is broken,” but he has the experience needed to address the vital issues that California faces. “We need to elect people who’ll give true public service, who have real life experience and can relate to voters,” said Chabot, the Republican candidate running to represent the district that includes San Bernardino and parts of Rancho Cucamonga. “I have a proven track record. I’m a volunteer reserve deputy sheriff throughout the Inland Empire, I founded the Inland Valley Drug Free Coalition to keep kids off drugs and my background and experience resonates with voters.” A key point of Chabot’s campaign is job creation. “We need to make it easier for small businesses to have access to capital and we need to promote better paying jobs in the Inland Empire so people can work full time,” said Chabot, president of his company, Chabot Strategies, L.L.C. Chabot said he will work for job creation by removing government regulations that “slow the process for obtaining capital in small business loans.” He also wants to repeal or reform Obamacare’s individual mandate that Chabot said “encourages state and government leaders to chase businesses out of the state through high taxation and high regulation.” Public safety is also important, Chabot said. “We need to prevent crime before it happens and focus on youth, keeping them out of gangs and off drugs. We need to increase job training programs and take violent criminals off our streets,” said Chabot, who has served as a reserve deputy sheriff with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s narcotics and street gangs division. He holds a doctorate in education, something he said was also a high priority for youth, as it “will reduce youth drug and gang violence while providing kids a better opportunity to succeed,” according to Chabot. He has founded several organizations to promote youth mentorship and deter drug use, including Drug Free Rancho Cucamonga and the Coalition for a Drug Free California, among others. Chabot is also supportive of providing programs and resources to military veterans, another system he said was “broken.” “It took nine months to get my first appointment coming off of duty,” said Chabot, an Iraq War veteran who served as an intelligence officer with Joint Special Operations Forces. Today, he serves as the Department Head for Command Pacific Fleet Intelligence Reserve Unit – 0194 at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. “My heart goes out to the veterans who have to work through this. We need to fix our VA hospitals, speed up the disability claim backlog, hire more doctors and mental health professionals and increase vocational training for vets coming off active duty,” Chabot said. Chabot feels his military career has prepared him to lead in Congress because he identifies with issues that residents face. “The Inland Empire has 130,000 military veterans, one of the largest numbers in the country,” Chabot said. “It’s almost to a household that each home has someone who is a veteran or on active duty… I have tremendous experience, leadership and education to address the core problems of the district.” Chabot encourages residents to contact him by phone at 909-243-2184 or through his website, www.paulchabot.com.