1.  Do municipal governments have a serious responsibility to implement public policies and facilitate community action that furthers a consistent respect of all human life? 

Yes they do.  They should foster opportunity for all citizens to reach their potential.  Good schools, for example, contribute to such a goal.  However, governments should not be establishing policies to create similar outcomes for everyone by redistributing wealth from those who earned it to those who did not.  Abilities differ.  So will outcomes, based on differing abilities, luck, but mostly on persistence.

2.  Will you as a city council person appoint, recommend or request (depending on your level of authority) only library board candidates who oppose the inclusion of pornography in public libraries, whether by internet or as printed materials?

Yes.  Pornography is a pernicious influence in our society, and a contributor to criminal behavior.

3.  Will you diligently seek and maintain zoning ordinances, licensing procedures, permit requirements and operational regulations which serve to minimize the adverse secondary effects of Sexually Oriented Businesses? 

Yes.  Such businesses are similarly a pernicious influence in our society, and a contributor to criminal behavior.

4. Do you believe that it is scientifically accurate and honest to say that human life begins at conception?

Yes.  In addition to the fact that science has found that DNA, the basic building material of life, is present and measurable shortly after conception, it is only logical to conclude that a fetus that will grow into a viable baby passes through stages of development.  That doesn’t change the nature of the fetus.  It is a human being no matter what its current stage of development.

5.  Do you believe that life begins at conception and that the State has a compelling interest in protecting that life?

Yes.  The purpose of government is to protect life and ensure freedom.  Protecting the lives of its citizens is job one for all governments.

6. Is taking the life of a pre-born child through abortion ever permissible?  Check all that apply:

7. Do you support parental notification and/or consent before a minor (under 18 years of age) could have an abortion? A judicial bypass of parents would be allowed when necessary.

I do not believe that minors should be allowed to have abortions.  If they are allowed, then parental consent should be required.  Parents are legally and morally responsible for their children’s health and welfare, and should be making these decisions for minors.
 

8. Should your city partner in any way with the nation's biggest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, who received over $350 million dollars in governmental grants and contracts, and aborted nearly 305,000 babies?  Should they be contracted with to make community presentations, provide literature, birth control chemicals or devices, and/or abortion services?

No.  In addition to being morally wrong, abortion is rapidly eliminating many nations in the developed world whose reproduction rates have dropped below recovery rate.  Unless they change their policies, a variety of European nations and their cultures will disappear before the dawn of the next century.  As an American, I would not like to see the United States take this path.

9. The proposed casino off I-5 near Ridgefield, plans for which are now faltering, would be one of the largest in the nation.  What is your position on the building of this casino?

Gambling for some is an entertainment.  For others it is an addiction that can ruin their lives and the lives of those closest to them.  Gambling also attracts criminal activity.  I do not favor casinos for these reasons.  My views on this issue were shaped by my work experience at the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, which began a gambling addiction prevention program while I was employed there.

10.  Are you an active member in a church, synagogue, temple, mosque or other religious assembly?

I am an active member of Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish in Camas, and an elected leader of the local Knights of Columbus Patriotic Assembly.
 

11.  Does the collaboration of government with faith-based charitable works lawfully ensure fair treatment of religious organizations, and is it good for our communities?

Yes.  The degree of collaboration and the resultant treatment of faith-based charitable organizations vary with the administration.  Faith-based organizations tend to provide more efficient service to communities than governmental organizations.
 

12. Please state your professional experience, community involvement, education and other qualifications for a mayoral or city council position. 

Having lived and worked on three continents, and resided in every major section of the USA, I have had the opportunity to observe different forms of government.  It has been a life-long interest of mine to find what works best.  I currently serve on the Washougal City Planning Commission, as the Planning Commission’s liaison with the City Council, and as Chairman of the Washougal City Civil Service Commission.

My educational background includes three college degrees - a doctoral degree with a focus on organization and leadership from the University of San Francisco, a master’s degree in Modern Far East History from San Jose State University, and a bachelor’s in Political Science from The Citadel where I was a Distinguished Military Graduate.  A service career offered the opportunity to graduate from two senior armed forces management and leadership schools, the Air War College and the Army Command and Staff College (Honor Graduate), and spend several years reorganizing dysfunctional organizations.

Service on high-level staffs in the US, Europe, and Asia acquainted me with different peoples, languages and cultures.  For my service as an advisor to a Vietnamese Regional Forces Battalion in the field, the US Army awarded me the Silver Star for Valor in Action, and the Combat Infantry Badge.

Since leaving the Army in 1984, I have been in leadership and managerial positions with a variety of community organizations.  My service includes leadership of homeowners’ associations, fraternal, cultural, professional, and community service organizations.  Service has been the guiding principle of my life.

After a decade as an administrator in California Community Colleges, the opportunity arose to serve as a senior project manager for the Little Hoover Commission, a California agency advising the Governor and Legislature on the effectiveness and efficiency of State government operations.  My projects there prepared me to examine in depth the functioning of governmental agencies and programs. 

In 2005, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University appointed me to an Adjunct Associate Professorship.  I am an instrument rated Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI).  For further information on my professional background, please see the Marquis publication “Who’s Who in America.”  It is available at the Camas Library, which can be used by Washougal residents through an interlibrary agreement.

13. May LifePac post your returned survey on our website?  Surveys are posted only with your permission.

Yes.

Please give your campaign web address if you have one.

www.electdaveshoemaker.com

This website will be up and running not later than 31 July 2009.