1.
Name: Franklin Perez
2. Age: 45
3. Contact Address:
4250 Alafaya Trail, Suite 212-170
Oviedo, Florida 32765
4. Contact phone number: (407) 694-7805
5. Contact email address: perezfranklin@hotmail.com
6. Web site, if available: http://www.geocities.com/fperez1776
7. Office sought: Florida State House of Representatives (District 33)
Biographical Data:
8. Educational background:
A) Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of
Technology
B) Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida
9. Occupation, training & experience:
9A) Occupation: Senior Programmer / Analyst (i.e., Software Engineer)
9B) Training and Experience:
a) Treasurer of the Libertarian Party of Seminole County Florida for one year.
b) Vice-Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Seminole County Florida for two
years - from November 2002 to November 2004.
c) Participated in various Libertarian activities since 1999.
d) Ran for Seminole County Commissioner in year 2000 as a Libertarian Party
candidate.
e) Ran for Florida State House of Representatives (District 32) in year 2002 as
a Libertarian Party candidate.
f) Ran for Florida State House of Representatives (District 33) in year 2006
with a Libertarian platform with no Party Affiliation. For the reasons why I
chose to tun as No Party Affiliation with a Libertarian platform, please read
the http://www.geocities.com/fperez_2008/why_npa_eng.html hyperlink.
Questions asked of all candidates:
10. Please answer the following questions as it relates to the office you
are seeking.
10a. Name the two most important issues that you believe are of concern to
your district and how would you address each.
I have more than two issues. I have THREE top issues in order of importance.
They are as follows:
A) Issue 1: Reform Education for grades K - 12
Will vote for a Pure School Voucher System for grades K - 12: Wouldinvolve
phasing out gradually our Public School System and let privatefor-profit
schools teach youngsters; parents would use School Vouchertowards ANY private
school of their choosing. You may view details ofmy Education Reform plan by
reading the http://www.geocities.com/fperez_2008/school_voucher_eng.html
hyperlink.
B) Issue 2: Eliminate all Victimless Crime Laws amongst consenting adults
Will vote to Decriminalize or Legalize all activities betweenconsenting adults
classified as Victimless Crimes that are currentlyillegal. Police should
concentrate on catching REAL criminals, notindividuals (a) pursuing their right
to happiness and (b) that are notviolating the rights of other individuals.
This would free up our jailsto punish real criminals such as rapists,
murderers, robbers, childmolesters, etc. As an example, I have proposed
details, which you mayread in the http://www.geocities.com/fperez_2008/prostitution_eng.html
hyperlink, on how to decriminalize or legalize the sex worker professions
(i.e., prostitution) amongst consenting adults.
C) Issue 3: Protection and Preservation of Private Property Rights
(a) Will vote to prohibit any Florida state, county, or local government entity
to use Eminent Domain in seizing private property - no exceptions.
(b)Will vote to Remove State-Level Zoning Law Requirements: Basicallyrepeal all
Florida State Statutes pertaining to zoning. Passstate-preemption law requiring
county & local governments to movetowards a no-zoning plan. (Note: Houston
is a major city that has NOZONING.) You may view details of my proposed plan by
going to the http://www.geocities.com/fperez_2008/property_eng.html hyperlink.
10b. What is your position on the State Legislature dictating local
government taxation and revenue policy? Defend your position.
Well... this seems to be an open-ended, general question with little
specificity. But, I'll give you some general views of mine on taxation and the
proper role of government.
I wish to do my part as a citizen to promote aLibertarian-minded government
that fully respects (a) individual rightsand liberties and (b) the free-market
system. I wish to limitgovernment to its proper function, which involves
protecting the rightsof individuals from all types of force - both physical
(murder, rape,robbery, theft, stealing, etc.) and indirect (fraud, breach
ofcontract, etc.). I wish to limit government to just the following:
A) Police - to protect individuals from criminals
B) Armed Forces - to protect individuals from foreign invaders
C) Law Courts - to settle disputes among individuals according to objective
laws
D) Executive Branch - To help run the necessary functions of government
E) Legislative Branch - To pass laws that are in alignment withindividuals
rights and the free-market. To repeal laws that areanti-individuals rights and
anti-free market.
I will now give you my position on several Florida Constitutional amendments
that will be in this year's general election that relates to taxation. If there
is other information you require of me for this question, please do not
hesitate to contact me:
A) AMENDMENT #3 - CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS NOT AFFECTING THE ASSESSED VALUE
OF RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY (ENERGY/HURRICANE TAX BREAK) AMENDMENT
This amendment will give owners of homes and other residential property a small
property-tax reduction for energy-efficient and wind-storm improvements.
I support this amendment for the following reasons:
a) Will reduce a homeowner’s property tax.
b) Will encourage homeowners to build energy-efficient improvements to their
homes.
c) Will encourage homeowners to protect their homes from hurricanes.
Florida, though, must do more to solve its energy crisis by doing the
following:
a) Nuclear Power: I would propose legislation that would make it easier for
power companies to build and maintain nuclear power plants. We should move
towards a plan to make Nuclear Power the main source of electricity in Florida.
France has about 75% of its electricity needs through Nuclear Power and no
Nuclear disaster has ever occurred in France.
b) Move towards a deregulated free-market model for the electricity industry.
Contrary to popular opinion, electricity providers are not Natural Monopolies.
They became monopolies due to government-enforced exclusive franchises. We
should move towards a free-market electricity market where consumers can choose
amongst competing electricity providers instead of being forced to purchase
electricity from an 'exclusive franchise' entity that has no real incentives to
offer electricity at the lowest prices. A free-market power industry should be
able to deliver electricity with higher quality and lower cost.
B) AMENDMENT #4 - Property Tax Exemption of Perpetually Conserved Land;
Classification and Assessment of Land Used for Conservation
This amendment allows land held in perpetuity for conservation to be exempt
from property taxes, and other conservation lands would be taxed on their
current use rather than their 'highest and best,' or potential use.
I am inclined to support this amendment - especially the part about other
conservation lands being taxed on their current use rather than their “highest
and best” use. The plants, trees, and wildlife that occupy such lands don’t go
to school, drive on the roads or call the police, and thus conservation lands
make minimal use of these government services. Such lands should be taxed
accordingly or not at all.
C) AMENDMENT #5 - ELIMINATING STATE REQUIRED SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX (TAX
SWAP AMENDMENT)
I support this amendment because it will lower “overall property-tax bills by
25 percent…. The proposal also would give properties that do not qualify for a
homestead exemption a 5 percent cap on annual assessment increases.” Property
owners are being taxed out of their private properties. A 25 percent overall
decrease will bring much needed relief to all property owners.
The Legislature would be required to make up the lost school money through
methods that could include raising the sales tax 1 percentage point, repealing
sales-tax exemptions and cutting other spending. How would I propose to raise
the $5.3 billion to fund the difference between Required Local Effort and one
penny’s revenue from sales tax? First of all, I have no intentions as a state
legislature to raise the sales tax or repeal sales-tax exemptions. Therefore,
this leaves in my proposal a total shortfall of $8.3 billion.
My proposal would simply be to cut other spending and make educational services
to youngsters more efficient as follows:
a) To Decriminalize or Legalize all activities amongst consenting adults
classified as Victimless Crimes. This would also involve releasing from our
jails all adults that have been charged with Victimless Crime laws.
b) Pure School Voucher System for grades K - 12: This would involve phasing out
gradually our Public School System and let private for-profit schools teach
youngsters; parents would use School Voucher towards ANY private school of
their choice. Studies have shown that the cost of educating a child in a
private school is far less than a public school.
So, by limiting law enforcement duties away from enforcing Victimless Crime
Laws and moving towards a pure school voucher system with private for-profit
schools, the tax dollars needed for educating our youngsters will exist. Since
educational services can be offered more efficiently and at less cost with a
pure school voucher system, the need for the $8.3 billion will most probably be
less.
D) AMENDMENT #6 - ASSESSMENT OF WORKING WATERFRONT PROPERTY BASED UPON CURRENT
USE
(WATERFRONT TAXES) AMENDMENT
With this amendment, marinas, commercial fishing, and other “working
waterfront” businesses would get a property-tax break by being assessed
according to their current use rather than their “highest and best” use.
Many current waterfront property owners are being taxed to death. This
amendment would provide a property tax break for waterfront businesses such as
marinas and boat repair shops that do not intend to convert to a more lucrative
use, such as condominiums.
Also, it’s a much fairer way to tax a property. Waterfront properties would be
taxed according to their current use rather than their “highest and best” use.
E) AMENDMENT #8 - LOCAL OPTION COMMUNITY COLLEGE OPTION
(COMMUNITY COLLEGES) AMENDMENT
This amendment allows a local-option sales tax that could be imposed to support
community colleges if approved by voters in each county served by a college.
I lean towards supporting this amendment because community colleges are suppose
to serve the local community. If a local community wishes to spend money to
improve their local community college, it is more appropriate that the money
come from a local sales tax rather than from state-level funds.
F) AMENDMENT #9 - Requiring 65 Percent of School Funding for Classroom
Instruction; State’s Duty for Children’s Education
This amendment orders “that 65 percent of school funding go toward[s] classroom
instruction. [It also] [c]hanges a provision of the state Constitution to allow
[for] private school vouchers.” [1]
I lean towards supporting this amendment because:
a) It specifies that most of the state funding towards education shall go tp
actual classroom instruction rather than wasteful administrative costs.
b) It paves the way to allow for private school vouchers.
Private school vouchers are sorely needed in Florida to give parents the
opportunity to escape the monopolistic public education system that is not
responsive to the educational needs of minors from kindergarten to 12th grade.
The real solution to our educational mess is to get the government out of the
business of education and to have a competitive, free-market educational system
that gives parents real choices to send their children to any private school of
their choice.
Currently, all taxpayers are forced to pay for public schools, regardless of
whether they send their children to public or private schools. Many parents
can’t afford to pay public school taxes and private school tuition. So many
have no choice but to send their children to failed public schools. This
creates a monopolistic environment where public schools have no real incentive
to offer quality education.
A pure school voucher system is the solution: This would involve phasing out
gradually our Public School System and having private schools teach our
youngsters; parents would use the School Voucher towards any private school of
their choice.
A competitive, free-market educational system coupled with pure school vouchers
will give private schools the incentive to offer quality education to all our
youngsters.
[1] Source: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article501958.ece
The next questions are specific to the office you are seeking.
11. What legislation would you support to protect and sustain Florida's
clean fresh water?
Our government, at the federal, state, and local levels is the single greatest
polluter.
I would expand individual property rights to offer a free-market solution to
any
environmental problems that may exist. By expanding the principles of property
rights to include air, water, minerals, oil, etc., the legitimate environmental
problems we face can be addressed without coercive means.
I would vote to protect private property rights by doing away with Eminent
Domain and all Zoning Laws. Doing so would allow landowners to leave their
lands as a nature reserve if they so desire.
I would repeal any unnecessary Environmental laws that do nothing to help the
environment.
For more details on free-market solutions to environmentalism, please go to the
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/906 hyperlink. It contains
my answers to a 2006 Questionnaire that the Sierra Club gave me when I also ran
for the Florida State House of Representatives (District 33).
12. Public education is a citizen's right. How do you plan to redirect taxes
to fully fund public education in Florida?
Well... I would first like to state that I do not believe in the concept that
public education is a citizen's right. You may view my reasons as to why I hold
this position by going to the
http://www.geocities.com/fperez_2008/school_voucher_eng.html#ShouldEducationBeTaxSupported
hyperlink. I would like to quote from Ayn Rand, though: 'The answer to this
question becomes evident if one makes the question more concrete and specific,
as follows: Should the government be permitted to remove children forcibly from
their homes, with or without the parents' consent, and subject the children to
educational training and procedures of which the parents may or may not
approve? Should citizens have their wealth expropriated to support an
educational system which they may or may not sanction, and to pay for the
education of children who are not their own? To anyone who understands and is
consistently committed to the principle of individual rights, the answer is
clearly: No.'
So, who should ultimately be responsible for educating children? The parents,
as I explain in the http://www.geocities.com/fperez_2008/school_voucher_eng.html#ShouldEducationBeTaxSupported
hyperlink.
But, as I also explain in the
http://www.geocities.com/fperez_2008/school_voucher_eng.html#ShouldEducationBeTaxSupported
hyperlink: So, this begs the next question: Would I favor going from (a) a
system where the government (through the use-of-force mechanism of taxation)
pays (as well as administers) entirely for education from grades K - 12 and
immediately move to (b) a system where the government is entirely out of the
business of education? No, because it would not be fair for the current and
near-future set of parents that have already made plans assuming that our
current government-subsidized and government-administered system of education
exists. What I favor instead is to gradually (perhaps over a period of 100
years) get the government out of the business of education entirely. This
process has to be done very gradually, and I may not live to see the government
out of the education business entirely. But, I believe, that the first step
that needs to be taken towards getting the government out of the current
near-monopoly status of providing education for grades K - 12 is to have the
government continue to pay (through the use-of-force mechanism of taxation) the
education for grades K - 12 but get the government out of administering schools
entirely; let the private sector handle the affairs of education for grades K -
12. Thus, what I advocate is a pure voucher system that would allow parents to
send their children to any private school of their choice for grades K - 12.
The way I plan to redirect taxes to fully fund public education in Florida is
to simply cut other unnecessary spending and make educational services to
youngsters more efficient as follows:
a)To Decriminalize or Legalize all activities amongst consenting
adultsclassified as Victimless Crimes. This would also involve releasing
fromour jails all adults that have been charged with Victimless Crime
laws. I will vote to Decriminalize or Legalize all activities betweenconsenting
adults classified as Victimless Crimes that are currentlyillegal. Police should
concentrate on catching REAL criminals, notindividuals (a) pursuing their right
to happiness and (b) that are notviolating the rights of other individuals.
This would free up our jailsto punish real criminals such as rapists,
murderers, robbers, childmolesters, etc. As an example, I have proposed
details, which you mayread in the
http://www.geocities.com/fperez_2008/prostitution_eng.html hyperlink, on how to
decriminalize or legalize the sex worker professions (i.e., prostitution)
amongst consenting adults. Putting an end to the War on Drugs will further free
up tax dollars for more legitimate government purposes.
b) Pure School Voucher System for grades K - 12: This would involvephasing out
gradually our Public School System and let privatefor-profit schools teach
youngsters; parents would use School Vouchertowards ANY private school of their
choice. Studies have shown that thecost of educating a child in a private school
is far less than a publicschool. You may view details about my Pure School
Voucher plan by going to the
http://www.geocities.com/fperez_2008/school_voucher_eng.html hyperlink.
So, by limiting law enforcement duties away from enforcing VictimlessCrime Laws
and moving towards a pure school voucher system with privatefor-profit schools,
the tax dollars needed for educating our youngsterswill exist. Since
educational services can be offered more efficientlyand at less cost with a
pure school voucher system, money will most likely exist to educate our
youngsters.
13. Name a specific issue that we have not addressed that you feel is
important to your constituents.
Well... I have more than one, but the other top two issues for me would be:
A) Protection and Preservation of Private Property Rights:
(a) Will vote to prohibit any Florida state, county, or local government entity
to use Eminent Domain in seizing private property - no exceptions.
(b)Will vote to Remove State-Level Zoning Law Requirements: Basicallyrepeal all
Florida State Statutes pertaining to zoning. Passstate-preemption law requiring
county & local governments to movetowards a no-zoning plan. (Note: Houston
is a major city that has NOZONING.) You may view details of my proposed plan by
going to the http://www.geocities.com/fperez_2008/property_eng.html hyperlink.
B) The need for a Law Enforcement Accountability Act to deal with problem
police officers. To help insure greater accountability of police officers, I
proposepassing a law in the state legislature requiring that there be
CivilianReview Boards to oversee all police departments in the state from
thestate police, county police, down to the city police similar toProposition H
that was passed in San Francisco back in 2003. You mayread about this in the
http://www.aclu.org/police/civoversight/14616prs20031105.html hyperlink. I
would propose that these Civilian Review Boards have the following powers:
a)Every stage of the police complaint process - from the investigation ofthe
complaint to disciplinary decisions - is controlled by civiliansthat are
members of the Civilian Review Boards. Any individual can goto these Civilian
Review Boards to lodge a formal complaint against apolice officer.
b) Bring formal disciplinary charges against policeofficers. Disciplinary
charges should include unpaid suspensions forwhatever time the Civilian Review
Board deems necessary.
c) Fire and terminate police officers from their line of work.
d)I would even think of having these Civilian Review Boards be electedpositions
in which members may not have been former police officers.That way, police
officers will be judged by the standards of thecivilian population.
e) I believe that having Civilian Review Boardsthat have the actual teeth and
power to discipline problem policeofficers, including full termination, should
go a long way towardssolving the problem of police abuse, harassment, and
excessive forcethat occurs in many police departments in the state. The
currentCivilian Review Boards in the state, such as the one for the
SeminoleCounty Sheriff?s department, is useless because all these
CivilianReview Boards can currently do is make recommendations to
policedepartments; these recommendations can be fully ignored by
policedepartments.
You may view further details of my view on Law Enforcement accountability
issues by viewing my answers to the 2008 Florida Police Benevolent Association
questionnaire at the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/1722
hyperlink. You may view my response to the non-endorsement letter - as well as
the non-endorsement letter - I received from the Florida Police Benevolent
Association by going to the
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/1743 hyperlink.