Potential Candidate for U.S. Congress: MI-8th

Richard C. Grimes
Howell, Michigan
Potential Candidate for U.S. Congress: MI - 8th District

I am running for Congress to:

-Bring Principled Conservative Leadership to the House of Representatives with 20+ years experience in solving problems in a large organization to bear on the issues that face our country.


-Identify and help implement free market solutions for issues such as health care, the environment, education, welfare, and the domestic auto industry.

- Cut Federal spending to no more than 95% of the tax revenues collected two years previous.

- Eliminate government programs such as the bailouts of Wall Street, corporate subsidies, and payments to those in this country illegally.

-Stimulate major job growth with Lower Corporate taxes (which are the second highest in the world) and lower Capital Gains taxes, which encourage investment directly and privately into our economy.

Political Theory and Strategy:
Our Country needs new people with real work life experiences that can develop free market solutions and solve problems. We need people that can use life experiences to educate the voting public. We need new people with vision and courage that will challenge the Beltway group think.
My strategy will be to challenge everyone in a constructive manner to think and act differently, to achieve different results. I will challenge all candidates for the House to join with me and create a "Conservative Contract for America" based on timeless principles of individual liberty, balanced spending, self reliance, and limited government.

A New Approach:
Teamwork wins, whether on the sports field, on the manufacturing floor, or in solving issues facing our nation. One of my favorite operating philosophies came from a sportscaster during the Stanley Cup Finals (Professional Ice Hockey): "It is not the team with the best players that typically wins, but the players with the best team".

I have spent 20+ years in the auto industry becoming a proficient problem solver by identifying the root cause of an issue and working with all stake holders to develop an acceptable solution. Structured problem solving is a science that can be applied at all levels, in all areas. The American Society for Quality, of which I am an active member, has expanded from manufacturing to pharmaceuticals, and health care among others.

Combining Teamwork and Structured Problem Solving is the most efficient means for a large organization to make progress. Certainly, there will be disagreements, but by focusing on the issues in a structured manner, the best solutions will rise to the top. I have 20+ years experience of making things happen in exactly this way. This is what I will to take to Congress to serve the people of Michigan.

Work History
More than 20 years in the domestic auto industry, traveling the United States, Canada and Mexico, as a professional problem solver in manufacturing plants. My work was focused on technical and organizational issues at facilities not meeting their quality targets. My job was to understand the issues and challenge the organization in a constructive manner to think and act differently to achieve different results.

Family History
Raised in suburban Detroit and in Howell, MI where my father worked for automotive suppliers. Married in 1980 and adopted two children from Russia in 1996, (the homeland of my father-in-law). Spent three years living and working in Mexico as a problem solver in the auto industry then relocated to our current home in Howell to be close to my elderly parents. Our daughter is a 2009 high school graduate and our son will graduate in 2012.

Education
1973 Graduate of Howell High School
1986 B.S. degree Wayne State Univ. School of Engineering - Chemical Eng.
1988 Graduate of Dale Carnegie courses on interpersonal relations
1992 Master’s Purdue Univ. Quality and Mfg. Sciences

Political Involvement
First got active at the grassroots level in the mid 1990's but had to resign in early 2000 due to relocation to Mexico and extensive traveling. Became active again at the county and district level after the election of Nov. 2008 when the almost constant traveling stop.

Problem Solving Approach Example: The Health Care Crisis:
There are six major players in the Health Care system:
1. The Consumer
2. Health Care Providers
3. The Insurance Industry
4. Employers
5. State Governments
6. The Federal Government

The parties are listed in their relative importance in the role that they should play. Any successful free market solution must look at the interaction of all six groups. The Federal Government has failed at providing efficient health care for the poor and elderly. The States impact price and competition with over 1900 laws governing health insurance.

A free market plan would be to transform health insurance to a consumer directed plan similar to automobile insurance. Everyone has catastrophic coverage, but everything else is optional. States would need to get out of the regulatory business with their community pricing and guaranteed acceptance laws. Employers should also get out of the business and let the people have the tax advantages and make it portable.

The role of the state and federal governments would be limited to helping those with debilitating health issues.

Teamwork and structured problem solving could easily develop a solution that all could support and keep medical decisions in the hands of Americans, not bureaucrats and in addition, drive down costs.