Dear Voters,
Hello and welcome to my campaign website. My name is Mark Gilham and thank you for visiting.
With the election closing fast upon us and the most surreal situation we as a community have been facing, I thought I would share some of my thoughts about all of it, and hopefully you will come to learn and understand a little bit more about me in how I think and why.
But first things first. I was born in San Francisco and when I was about 8, I moved to Redwood City.
After high school I joined the U.S. Marine Corps and after getting an education about what my job entailed, my outlook on life took a serious turn. Looking back on it, I realize now it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me, but at the time, I thought it was the biggest mistake of my life. Suddenly realizing how the real world works, politics and geo-political policies of other nations challenged my limited education and understanding.
One can never truly appreciate one’s own country until one sees the true hell hole of another nation: absolute control of people’s lives, what one can have, where they can go, what they are allowed to enjoy and to whom or who they can interact with. Saying no to such a structure like this can land a person in a reeducation camp, prison, or worse: death.
When we are outside looking in, we don’t see or understand the frustrations, suffering, pain and heartache people are enduring until we step into the situation and experience it for ourselves. Truly an eye-opening experience, and even now as I write this and reflect on it, all I can think is: wow.
After graduating San Jose State University with a degree in International Business, the opportunity to travel the world again opened up to me. I have been from one side of this planet to the other and from top to bottom. In all my travels I have come to learn one truth: people all around the world, in every country, tribe and known language: all of us are basically the same. It is truly amazing to learn how all of us have a desire to be loved, have a family, have a place we can call our own, able to come and go without any fear or reprisals from anyone for the choices and decisions we make, and to enjoy a safe and healthy community. To interact and befriend those we find interesting and enjoy without a domineering,structure someone’s by whichever leadership happens to be ruling at the time.
When one sees and learns these truths, one can not help but to truly appreciate how fortunate we are to be born in a nation like America. The freedoms and liberties afforded to us by our U.S. Constitution and our style of representative government is truly amazing.
With that being said, it becomes uncomfortable and difficult to grasp how anyone could consider America as an evil nation, racist or homophobic nation.
The only conclusion I could reason out as to why someone would think America is anything other than an incredible and amazing country is that such a person has yet to broaden their horizon by exiting our boarder, not even to Mexico or Canada.
Again, as I stated above, if one sees the true hell hole of other nations, one’s appreciation for America would prevail.
With that being said, as to the current situation we as a community are facing, I find no evidence in either the U.S. or State Constitution that those whom we elect have the authority to dictate to us how we live our lives or run our businesses.
“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin
We the people are the Government of the United States. Therefore the government is not located in Washington D.C. or Sacramento. It is in us The Federal and State Constitutions are the Laws of the Land, and we the people decide who shall represent our interests. We the people must educate ourselves on how our representative government works.
Over the years, I have come to understand what this job as a State Assembly means and how it works. Should I be granted the position of honor by the voters to be the representative of District 21 here in San Mateo County, my job is simply to protect the freedoms and liberties of all the people within my district. That’s it. It is to ensure that no one person or official can dictate to any individual what he can or cannot do, as described in the Constitution of the United States or California. It is to ensure that the excise right to freedom is safeguarded and protected, that the Bill of Rights is not infringed upon, but protected and ensuring no laws are passed or signed which would infringe these rights.
What I am describing is the job title for anyone who enters an elected position granted by the voters. Each elected person freely takes an oath to protect these freedoms granted to all Americans. Anyone who does not keep their oath should be immediately removed from office because they have shown themselves to be untrustworthy. They have shown they do not have our vested interest at heart, but their own.
So with this being understood, what rights do we the people have? Simply put- we have the rights to pursue our heart’s desires, to create a business or seek a job, to buy or rent a property, to move to any state or nation we decide, to further our education or not, to enjoy our lives to the fullest. We can do this because we were born in such a nation like America. What a gift from God we have been granted!
With all the above being stated, my hope is you have come to learn and understand why I think and believe the way I do. My experiences, the things I have done and the horrors I have seen, all have formed me into the person I am today.
So with all this being said, I am asking you to consider granting me the position of honor, to become your representative, State Assembly, District 21. It will be my honor to represent your interests.
Thank you for taking the time to read this note.
Best Regard’s,
Mark Gilham