Campaign Q&A: Republican Tom Weaver wants to create jobs, reduce bureaucracy

News

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. To join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address. Once you do, your comments will post automatically. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.

comments powered by Disqus

July 30, 2010

By Ross Marrinson rmarrinson@hgazette.com

Tom Weaver is one of four candidates on the Republican primary ballot hoping for a chance to unseat incumbent Congresswoman Niki Tsongas in the 5th District.

Voters go to the polls on Sept. 14 to select finalists for the 2010 midterm elections in November.

Weaver was born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1952, and joined the Navy in 1970.

He graduated from the Naval Academy with a degree in aerospace engineering in 1974, and went on to receive his master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in mechanical engineering.

He is a small-business owner — his company, DTW Systems, specializes in cleaning water, treating water streams and producing discharge streams that meet EPA standards. He's married with six children and lives in Westford.

Gazette: Why run? Was there a particular instance or piece of legislation that sparked you?

Tom Weaver: I've been interested in this for a while, but I'm not rich. But we have to take Congress back. We have to. Or we'll lose the republic, I believe that. Tsongas has a machine. She's established. What it takes to beat a machine is a resume, and I look at mine, and it's complete.

I've founded two companies, so I know how to create jobs and how regulation affects jobs and small companies. I clean water for a living, so I understand the environmental side. I'm a certified nuclear engineer, so I understand energy. I was an officer in the Navy, so I understand the military.

As Americans, we must pass on the blessings of liberty to our posterity; that's in our constitution. I'm looking at this debt, and that's not a blessing.

Gazette: The vast majority of Americans fall under the political bell curve. How do you convince moderates to vote Weaver?

Weaver: I don't consider myself to be to the right. I want to empower people. Let's take down the hurdles put up by government by talking common sense. We get to give people choices, and let them be responsible and accountable.

Gazette: What is your hot-button issue? What is the current administration doing wrong? What would you do to fix it?

Weaver: Jobs, because they mean so much to everyone that has one. The current administration is creating government jobs, or with the unemployment bill, they're creating non-jobs, and they view that as compassion. There are three legs to my jobs plan.

One, the tax leg.

1) Cut the corporate tax to 10 percent from what it is now, the second-highest in the world.

2) Cut capital gains tax to 10 percent or less.

3) Put the top tax bracket at 25 percent.

4) Reinstate the five-year income average for tax calculation.

5) Eliminate death tax.

6) No taxes on savings account.

Second leg, government spending.

1) We have to address how we spend. A drop in spending puts more money back into the tax base, which is our pocket.

Third leg, regulation and bureaucracy.

1) Let's make the regulations relevant. But that means getting rid of the old ones. Safety's important, sure, but these regulations go beyond safety. Why would these companies expand (and create jobs) and deal with the hassle of these regulations? That's the problem.

Gazette: What is the first piece of legislation you'd author in D.C.?

Weaver: I want to be the head of the anti-appropriations committee. I want to look at every program to see what works and what doesn't. I'd look at old bills, regulations, bureaucracies, programs, and review them. If they don't work, get rid of them.

Gazette: How does that affect the residents of Haverhill?

Weaver: You're promoting freedom and liberty to the people of Haverhill. And you lower the cost of government, which puts money back in their pockets.

Gazette: Every candidate says they're different, that they'll listen, that they're the anti-politician. Why should voters believe you?

Weaver: My work history is solving problems, whether on Navy ships or airplanes. I don't know everything, but I'll be true to myself and my principles. I'm transparent; everyone knows everything about me. I often ask myself, "How much taxes do we have to pay before we enter into involuntary servitude?"

Gazette: What does Congresswoman Tsongas do well?

Weaver: I have to believe that she believes in what she's doing. She does make herself available, she has a reputation of listening, and that's positive.

Gazette: Who is your political idol?

Weaver: George Washington. He could've taken all the power, but he realized it was the people's.

• • •

Campaign Q&A is a regular segment in which Staff Writer Ross Marrinson asks candidates about their policies, opponents and overall outlook for the country. Join the discussion. To comment on stories and see what others are saying, log on to hgazette.com.