Gazette Article

	Gazette Wednesday, March 1, 2006

	Austin is first to bid for District 14 House by Terri Hogan Staff Writer

	John R. Austin considers himself to be a man of reason, and feels that simple approach will lead to political success as a candidate for the House of Delegates in District 14.

	Austin, 54, has lived in Montgomery County for two decades, residing in Brookeville for the past three years.

	Although he has not held public office, Austin feels the current legislators are ineffective and that change is needed.

	‘‘Politics has gotten too political,” he said. ‘‘Things don’t have to be so polar. This country was built on the art of compromise. The answer is not left or right, it is usually in the middle.”

	Austin, a Catholic, cites the issue of abortion.

	‘‘I have moral issues with it, but I certainly don’t want to go back to the way it was in the 1950s,” he said, ‘‘I am not pro-choice or pro-life; I am pro-reason.”

	On issues of transportation, he said that anyone who talks about opposing the Intercounty Connector doesn’t realize the train has left the station.

	‘‘We now need to focus on new issues, like connecting the outer ring of the Metro system,” he said.

	Austin calls himself a ‘‘San Francisco Republican,” which he likens to most Montgomery County Democrats, whom he considers rather conservative and understanding of fiscal responsibility.

	Regardless of the similarities of the two parties, he feels there is a need for change.

	‘‘I am tired of the party in power having a monopoly and acting like it,” he said.

	Austin, a native of Massachusetts, is married and has two children who are graduates of Sherwood High School.

	He is a graduate of the Eisenhower College of the Rochester Institute of Technology and holds a master’s degree in international management from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management.

	Austin, a wealth manager, has been active in politics in Maryland and California, he said. He has held leadership positions in and won several awards from various trade organizations.

	Locally, he is a member of the Olney Chamber of Commerce and will serve as its delegate to the Olney Town Center Advisory Committee. He has served as a local PTSA treasurer and is a member of St. Peter’s Catholic Church parish and the Knights of Columbus.

	Election 2006
	John R. Austin
	State House of Delegates,District 14
	54, Brookeville
	Republican

	Experience: Three decades of private entrepreneurial⁄management experience and community service.

	Top Issues: Restoring reason and balance to political process, fair and reasonable taxation⁄spending, re-engineering public education, environmentally responsible development and a transportation vision.

	John R. Austin's position paper on abortion