As the Libertarian candidate for County Judge of Dallas County, I would like to take a moment of your time to introduce myself and ask for your support.

My name is Michael Schrader. I am 36 years old and a happily married father of four (with number five expected shortly). I have been a Civil and Traffic Engineer for the past fifteen years, with ten of those years spent working for city, county, regional, and state governments, and the other five working in the private sector as a small businessman or for others. Currently, I work with my wife in our small engineering and data management company while attending law school. In addition to my engineering and law education and training, I am an avid student of history and the political process, having taken numerous classes in both subjects, and have worked as a journalist, radio personality, surveyor, substitute teacher, barricade laborer, motel desk clerk, construction inspector, and tutor. In short, I have a wide variety of life experiences which I believe gives me the unique ability to understand many different points-of-view and makes me the BEST candidate for County Judge of Dallas County.

What does the County Judge do? The County Judge is not the kind of judge that we normally think of -- the kind that wears the robes and uses a gavel. The County Judge is the chairman of the County Commission, a board of five that runs the county, including setting tax rates and spending priorities for the county. The County Judge is unique in that he is the only member of the County Commission that represents ALL of the county, not just a part of it.

Who are the Libertarians? The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States. The Libertarians believe that ALL Americans should be empowered with the freedom of choice, and that choices should not be encumbered by the government. We believe that taxes and unnecessary rules and regulations restrict the freedom of choice. By eliminating the burden of unnecessary taxes and rules and regulations, Americans are economically empowered to "pursue happiness." (For more information about the Dallas County Libertarian Party, visit http://www.lpdallas.org/.)

Why am I the best candidate for County Judge of Dallas County? First, as a Libertarian, I will work hard to lower your taxes and reduce the unnecessary government shackles on your right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Second, I, like you, am an ordinary citizen who understands how difficult life can be, and how life is made tougher by government burdens. Finally, since moving to Dallas County, I have had the unique opportunity to visit the four corners of the county and every city within -- from the untamed bayous of the lower Trinity to the defined floodways of the upper Trinity; from the tranquil waters of Joe Pool Lake, to the busy waters of Lake Ray Hubbard.

I hope that you will find my site to be informative, and will illustrate what I will do as your County Judge. If you agree with these ideals, then I hope I can count on your vote. If you would like to help promote these ideals through my campaign, please tell your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. If you would like a sign at your home, or would like to help with the campaign, you may contact me at the above address or by clicking here.

Michael Schrader

Libertarian Candidate for Dallas County Judge

Five pledges of Michael Schrader --

If elected, I will strive to make Dallas County more ACCESSIBLE

Accessible for citizens utilizing County services. Citizens should not have to pay to park to access their government. Citizens should not have to worry about which building to go to to access their government. If elected, I will push for a new, consolidated County Government Center and eliminate the needless waste and duplication of having many different buildings.

Accessible for businesses. Currently, Dallas County, through needless rules, requirements, and regulations, makes it difficult, if not impossible, to do business with the County. I pledge to work to strip away these pointless rules and requirements.

If elected, I will strive to make Dallas County more ACCOUNTABLE

Unlike in the private sector, where business is motivated by maximizing profit and whose managers and employees are accountable to the stockholders, Dallas County is accountable to no one. If elected, I vow to introduce ACCOUNTABILITY.

If elected, I will strive to make Dallas County more EFFICIENT

Because taxpayer dollars are always available, Dallas County has no incentive to be efficient. If elected, I will work to make Dallas County more efficient and reduce its addiction to our hard-earned tax dollars.

If elected, I will strive to make Dallas County more EQUITABLE

If elected, I will strive to bring equality to Dallas County, to provide equal services to ALL parts of Dallas County, both north and south of the Trinity.

If elected, I will strive to make Dallas County more INNOVATIVE

With technology constantly changing, it is important to stay abreast of new innovations. However, in government, innovation is discouraged and punished. I pledge to create and environment where innovation is the norm, and not the exception, where innovation is applauded and not criticized. I pledge to work to make Dallas County the model of what a county government should be.

IMPORTANT ISSUES

The Trinity River Project, also known as the "Engineer and Contractor Employment Plan". Building a tollway along the River is nonsensical -- it will not solve the problems of the Canyon and the Mixmaster, it will not spur comprehensive economic development, it will really not do much of anything except enrich the engineers and contractors hired to build it. The River is an asset that should be developed, but the asset cannot be developed if you cut off all access to it! A four lane undivided parkway, similar to that along the River Des Peres in Saint Louis, will help with traffic and will help provide access to the green space that is the Trinity Corridor. The Trinity is a recreation jewel waiting to be tapped--let's not fritter away your hard-earned dollars and waste this once-in-a-century opportunity!

The Victory Project, also known as a textbook example of the "Power of Pull". There is an old saying about the three things to look for in real estate--location, location, location. If the location is good, it will be developed successfully, without a penny of taxpayer dollars! What do you do with a sort-of out-of-the-way location? Get the government to pay for it! No risk, no muss, no fuss--except, of course, when the development goes bust and the government is stuck with a piece of ocean-front property in North Texas!! If the deal is SO good, the private sector will do it; if they private sector "CAN'T" do it, then I'd rather have that ocean-front property!

Privatization is NOT a four letter word! (Actually, it's a 13-letter one.) Repeat after me: "The government should not compete against the private sector!" But that is exactly what it does! Take engineering, for example--when the government does its own engineering work, it is competing with private sector engineers, who do not have the unlimited financial resources that the government does to work at a loss. Everything that the government does in-house that could be done effectively by the private sector, be it computers, telecommunications, etc., is, in effect, competition against the private sector. The government's primary role is to protect the rights of the private sector, not to trample on them! Whatever government functions that can be profitably performed by the private sector should be privatized!

Social Engineering, or "A Reason That We Should Not Be Like Fort Worth". There are those among us who feel that certain people are owed a job, housing, medical care, money, etc. Commissioner John Wiley Price believes that the people of Dallas County owe African-Americans money as restitution for slavery. Do you think so? This is what is called "social engineering"--making political decisions based on a feeling, based on what should be, because certain people "deserve" it.

I believe in some more simple philosophies. First, you get what you earn; there is no such thing as an unearned entitlement. If you are lazy, you deserve the consequences of your laziness, and if that means you starve to death living in squalor, then that is what it means. A person is only entitled to what he or she has EARNED! If you have earned zero, you get zero. We should only reward diligence. Second, what happened in the past is in the past. How far back in the past must we go? How long are the wounds to stay open? Forever?! Third, life is inherently unfair. There is no Constitutional guarantee that life is supposed to be fair, because it isn't. Some are born with many opportunities, some with very few. Those that we admire are those that are able to succeed despite the obstacles and unfairness of life.

Public Health -- How can you have public health when the public cannot reach you? For people on the fringes of the county, Parkland Hospital is not really an option. From Grand Prairie, for example, the Fort Worth hospitals are easier to get to than the Dallas County hospital that we are paying for. Try to get from Rowlett to Parkland at peak hour--a Herculean task, indeed. Public health is useless unless it is accessible to all of the public. Parkland, as it currently exists, is not. In Grand Prairie, school nurses have become a substitute for the public health system that we are paying for. Since the public health services are not reaching the public, we need to seriously revisit whether we need public health services at all.

Doing Business with Dallas County is ultimately an exercise in futility and frustration. The requirements for businesses wanting to provide services to Dallas County border on lunacy -- they are so restrictive that only the bravest even attempt to meet them, and only a very select few are ever deemed worthy enough. The results, then, are high prices, mediocre services, and few providers.

Set-asides -- a fancy word for "quotas". Set-asides are nothing more than setting aside a portion of your money for certain groups, regardless of qualification. The problem with set-asides is that they do not do what they are supposed to, which is to increase diversity. Instead, set-asides are often viewed as a cap on diversity--once the limit is reached, there is no reason in going any further. Also, set-asides breed resentment, as non-qualified individuals and businesses are being rewarded for not being qualified while those who are qualified are punished.

When you think about it, set-asides are rather insulting to those they are supposed to help. Set-asides say, "You can't make it in your own, so here is some charity for you." Most people want to be rewarded for their talent and ability, not for their gender, skin color, or ethnicity. If you are not being rewarded for your talented, why even try? Just coast along, because talent doesn't matter.

A Brief Biography of Michael Schrader

Age: 36

Occupation: Self-employed Civil & Traffic Engineer, Michael H. Schrader, P.E., Grand Prairie; Law Student, Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth

Family: Wife, Tracy, 34; 5 children -- Jacqueline Nichole, Elizabeth Ashleigh, Genevieve Marie, Xavier Michael, and Nikolai Dallas.

Experience with government: Field Engineering Assistant, Missouri Highway and Transportation Department; Traffic Engineer in Springfield, Illinois; Traffic Operations Engineer of Little Rock, Arkansas; Staff Engineer for Metroplan, the Council Of Governments of Central Arkansas; City Engineer and Public Works Director of Cabot, Arkansas; Senior Transportation Planner, Dallas County, Texas