Catching up with the challengers: Michael Delavar, a high flying fiscal conservative runs in the 3rd District

The Republican candidate for Congress in the 3rd District, Washougal's Michael Delavar, flies planes for a living. He is also an accomplished ballroom dancer who cultivates bonsai and spends a lot of his spare time chasing around his two young boys. Flying, dancing, and parenting all add up to a lot of motion, and coincidentally it is the downward motion of the U.S. dollar, among other things, that has helped to prompt the novice politician into the big leagues of running for U.S. House of Representatives.

"We sort of looked around to see if anyone else was running," Delavar told PolitickerWA in an interview last week. "When we heard there was nobody out there who was challenging him, we went ahead since we believed it was very necessary to take this seat back for the conservative voice, certainly not for my health."

Delavar has never run for office before, which he believes can be to his benefit as a candidate. "Politicians concerned with maintaining a balance of power can miss out on the opportunity to standing up for what is right."

While he has been interested in politics his whole life, Delavar said some of his earliest memories are of handing out political literature with his family as a young boy in Bremerton, political activism only recently came to roost. Last year Delavar's wife, Katja, was hired as a regional organizer for the Ron Paul campaign in Southwest Washington.

Seeing that operation first hand helped him to form a stronger idea about what it means to run for office.

"The presidential race is a very flashy, very passionate race for many people," Delavar said. "To think that they only effect they can have on gov is one vote every four years, I reject that. It is kind of exciting to see a lot of the people in the Ron Paul ranks understand that...the amount of influence that an ordinary citizen can put on a President is very, very limited but the amount of pressure constituents can put on a Rep is far greater."

 Delavar's chief concern is the economy, notably taxation and inflation, and he is seeking the House because of its distinct role in fiscal policy.

"Our economy is tanking, there needs to be a definite change implemented. They [congress] hold the purse strings, the house is the one that is closest to the people. The economy is such a big umbrella, it weighs on everybody's minds, but what it really translates into is people feel the pinch in their pocketbook."

In order to help the economy, Delavar proposes that America stop spending so much money by, among other things, cutting waste; and stop printing money and borrowing money without backing. He pledges not to vote for a tax increase, nor would he vote for an unbalanced budget, the latter he blames for many of the economy's core problems.

Another key issue for Delavar is illegal immigration. He holds a strong line on amnesty, he is firmly against it, yet he makes it very clear that he does not want to make scapegoats of the wrong people. He understands why illegal immigrants are here, and he blames the lack of enforcement on the United States government. He suggests America "do what Disneyland does, turn the rides off."

"That really has been the draw," Delavar said of illegal immigrants coming to America, "the hope for amnesty, this so-called pathway to citizenship. If you want more of something you subsidize it, if you want less you tax it. Stop taxpayer benefits to illegal aliens. That by itself will translate into them transporting themselves out of the country. If they can't find a job, get a bank account, they will find it an easier way of life going back to their home country and applying for citizenship the right way."

Delavar also sees immigration intrinsically tied to national security, the third component of his main platform. If America cannot keep track of who crosses its borders, he argues, how can it protect itself from those who want to do harm. He proposes the government do a better job of enforcing visa rules, citing the fact that 6 of the 9/11 hijackers were in violation of their visas.

"If we had enforced we may have been able to thwart it," Delavar said. "It's instructive to look at that."

The Washougal Republican, unlike many anti-amnesty backers, does not approve of the idea of a border fence. He also opposes NAFTA and CAFTA on the grounds of national sovereignty, which he believes is harmed by such expansive trade agreements.

He is also very pragmatic about U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Delavar is a strong advocate of keeping America secure through shock and awe-style tactics against those who would harm the country, but recognizes that image is everything.

"If we are going to fight an enemy who has declared war against us, and Al-Qaeda has done that, then I am completely for fighting a war against Al-Qaeda," Delavar said. Still, unlike many Republicans he acknowledges, "They have given their list of grievances against us, it does not include our freedom. They do not fight us because we are free, that should be clearly exposed immediately...If we do not understand what motivates them we will not win this war."

Delavar wants to de-emphasize occupation and win the hearts and minds of Muslims across the world by recognizing their perceptions.

"By us having bases in Saudi Arabia, we are defiling their land in their point of view. As long as we have that provocation we will not have the support of ordinary Muslims. Any time we occupy, in their point of view, we are giving them ammunition and undermining our ability to defend"

"If we support oppressive regimes, we weaken our cause," he continues, pointing to Saudi Arabia and Egypt. "The message they receive is, ‘we oppress Muslims.' Americans don't want to oppress Muslims, but when you look at the impression of our actions," Delavar suggests that people in the Middle East see otherwise.

Delavar is not strictly a fiscal conservative, but he sees many social issues as being too far off of the radar screen of national importance to stress them in a campaign.

 "I am not convinced those are worth running on as a primary issue," he said of things like protecting the rights of the unborn and upholding the 2nd Amendment, "however it is definitely out there. The thing that is on most peoples minds is the softening dollar. Congress is directly responsible for that."

Rep. Brian Baird is a well funded incumbent to challenge, and Delavar knows that. Still, he feels confident he can give him a race because he believes the priorities of the district are those to which speaks the best.

"I understand that he is a very likeable fellow and that he definitely is able to make feel as if he is addressing their concerns," he said of Baird, "but we need better leadership on getting the budget under control, leadership on getting actual solutions on the I-5 corridor, it won't be easy but it needs a definite position."

"I feel very confident that we can raise the amount of money we need to pursue this campaign. You can pursue with just money or have a mix of money and grassroots activism. I'm confident once people become aware of my positions they will come on board."

Currently, Delavar's wife, whom he calls "a dynamo" with amazing organizational ability, takes care of most of the campaign operations, a role she will likely minimize once the campaign heats up. Delavar is in the process of acquiring a leave of absence from his job as a pilot, which he expects to begin within the next two weeks. At that point he will have the time to begin his campaign in earnest.

So far Delavar has been encouraged by the reaction to his fledgling campaign.

"Everybody's happy that we're in this race and able to start this campaign off hitting the ground running. People understand it, they get it," he pointed out along with a prediction. "People are ready to send a rep to Washington to provide leadership on those issues that need assistance."  

If those issues for the 3rd District include strictly responsible fiscal policy, prioritized immigration policy and a firm commitment to national security, then Delavar's prediction may come true.