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John V. Hager

John Victor Hager (born January 7, 1949) is an American civil litigation attorney, a member of the California Bar Association and a current 2010 Independent candidate for U.S. Congress in the 23rd District of California. Hager has been a member of both Republican and Democratic parties before eventually choosing to run on an Independent platform with a promise to "protect our budget, protect our environment." Hager is described as conservative on fiscal issues and believes politics in Washington D.C. have been corrupted by special interests. Hager officially announced his candidacy on Tuesday June 22, 2010 in a speech made to supporters at a campaign kickoff event held at his office in Santa Barbara. Hager represents a growing political disillusionment with the two-party system and has appeared on local news calling for an early debate against Democratic incumbent Lois Capps, and Republican candidate Tom Watson.

Early Life and Education
John Victor Hager was born in the small industrial town of Elkhart, in Northern Indiana on January, 7th 1949. His mother, Velma Hager had been a homemaker but had to return to work after Hager's father was struck by a vehicle and killed while riding his bicycle when Hager was 2 years old. Hager's four older siblings played a large role in taking care of him in his early years, which he says taught him the importance of family.

The Hager family moved to southern California in 1962, and John Hager graduated from West Covina High School in 1967. Hager's scholastic performance made him eligible for a state scholarship which, supplemented by various jobs Hager took, helped fund his college education at the University of Southern California. Hager graduated magna cum laude in 1971 and became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies.

Hager received his Juris Doctor from USC Gould School of Law in 1974 and upon passing the bar examination was admitted to the federal and state bar that same year.

Professional Career
Having passed the bar exam, Hager began his professional career as a clerk for a Los Angeles law firm that specialized in civil jury trials. After working at that firm for over 20 years, Hager moved to Santa Barbara, California in 1994 and started a law firm, Hager and Dowling, with long time colleague Tom Dowling.

Political Campaign
Hager has made environmental and budget issues a centerpiece of his campaign, citing congress's treatment of liabilities for oil companies and government bailouts as major concerns for American citizens.

Fiscal Positions
Echoing the sentiment of many Republican and Independent voters, Hager believes the US Congress has been irresponsible in managing spending and the national debt. Hager says he supports "carefully targeted" spending cuts, and believes the debt can be reduced by simplifying the Internal Revenue code in order to reduce waste. Hager views education as an investment whose end result is economic growth, and believes education deserves more attention as a government spending item.

Campaign Finance Reform
Hager has criticized the major US political parties as corruptible, and claims donors who offer large amounts of money to the campaigns are able to buy political influence. His campaign has criticized incumbent Lois Capps for receiving donations from PACs and in an effort to distinguish himself from major party candidates, Hager states on his campaign website, "As an independent, I will accept no more than $250 from anyone for the entire campaign."

Education
Hager sees public education as a vital expense which leads to economic growth, and believes it deserves special treatment in regard to spending cuts. Hager believes students are ignored by politicians, and that students are getting less and paying more at public universities.

Jobs
Described as "fiscally conservative," Hager asserts that job creation is best fostered through the growth and success of small businesses. In line with many Republicans and conservative leaning Independents, Hager feels this growth can be achieved through easing regulations on small businesses and banks. Hager has blamed such regulations for causing banks to hesitate on providing loans to small businesses. While he supports a minimum wage, his campaign platform states that this wage must not be so high as to prevent new hires. Hager also finds fault with the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, claiming small businesses are suffering from its complexity and from estimating the cost of new hires.

Health Care
Hager supports a universal health care system and believes extra attention be focused on seniors as health risks increase with age. In regard to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Hager is of the opinion that the law be altered to address the concern that senior citizens are being unfairly targeted with hidden taxes. Hager is critical of the use of reconciliation to pass the bill, and believes that it will reduce seniors' access to medical care.

Immigration and Border Security
Hager views current U.S. immigration and border security policy as "unsatisfactory" and seeks to take on the issue comprehensively, as a matter of law enforcement. Hager points to income and Social Security taxes unpaid by employers who hire illegal immigrants, as well as the lure of employment those employers give illegal immigrants, as a deeper parts of the problem in addition to illegal immigration itself. Hager is also a supporter of the DREAM Act, which would allow some illegal immigrants to become citizens.

Net Neutrality
Sticking to the definition that no ISP be allowed to restrict content or speed of internet access, Hager supports net neutrality.

Environmental Positions
Hager opposes off-shore oil drilling near the coast of the 23rd district　and has criticized the current U.S. policy of placing a 75 million dollar cap on liabilities incurred from damage caused by off-shore drilling accidents.