Tim Harris for NC 3rd District

“You vote your conscience first. You vote your constituents second. And you vote your party third.” - Walter Jones

Walter Jones lived by these words, and he has left them to us as his model for a legislator, the kind we see far too seldom these days. And it is because of the legacy that Walter left us- a legacy of conscience, of consistency, of not caring about the labels and instead voting for what was right & good, a legacy that could never be upheld by the partisan politicians fighting over his seat- that I am announcing my candidacy for North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District.

I am entering this race because our Congressman should stand for the rights of every person and should work everyday to bring more peace, more justice, and more prosperity to our district and State and to our nation. The representative of this district should carry on Walter's legacy of standing firmly for peace with all peaceful nations, standing against trade wars, and against shooting wars. Our district deserves a legislator who is above the partisan bickering of our Congress- a representative who will support good ideas no matter whose, and a champion that will fight tooth & nail against the rising tide of bad ideas in our nation's capital. The 3rd District needs a voice who will fight every day for fidelity to our Constitution, for fiscal sanity, and against our destructive deficit spending. Our current regime of violence abroad and crippling debt at home will burden future generations irrevocably. We cannot let our great nation’s future collapse under the weight of our present-day insanity.

In my private life I am a systems engineer and small business owner attuned to the needs and concerns of us “little guys,” not the elites who control and pervert our governments and laws to their own enrichment. That attitude and mindset is what I will bring to the office. Washington already has plenty of lawyers, doctors, real-estate heirs, and retirees. What we need are engineers and fixers. We need people who can see the moving parts, and assess the failing processes, and fix our broken government. Solving our problems and seizing our opportunities will take thinkers and doers, not just talkers.

It has been my distinct honor to campaign before the people of North Carolina's State Senate District 2, just as it was my distinct honor to serve this nation in the United States Marine Corps. And I will head to Washington with a strong commitment to the rights of all Americans, to ending our foreign wars, ending our disastrous trade wars, and to chipping away at our smothering federal bureaucracy. I will fight for rational management of our environment and our natural resources, and I will add North Carolina’s voice to the call for sound fiscal & trade policy. It's time we get the government out of the way and let our farms and factories get back to the business of making and selling their goods all over the world.

Walter Jones filled a wall in his DC office with pictures of the men and women who gave their lives serving this nation in illegal and unjust wars that he felt responsible for helping to create. His sense of guilt for their sacrifice weighed deeply on his conscience, and he kept that wall as a reminder to himself and to all other politicians: That their votes mean lives. Getting it wrong means killing American men and women. We must have a Congressman who understands that. A representative committed to accounting for the true costs of war. As your representative I will fight everyday to truly reform and improve our Veteran's Administration. As a veteran myself and as a brother to each and every one of our fighting men & women I can do no less- because they deserve so much more. I intend to keep every photo on that wall because I intend to stand every day as witness to the hopes and dreams and sorrows and the losses of the people of this district and of this nation. I will stand and vote my conscience - for peace and prosperity - each and every day.