Robert Beadles

Lodi construction company owner and Republican Robert Beadles has officially entered the 11th Congressional District race.

He is one of eight people who have declared their candidacies for the June 2010 primary and hoping for a shot at ousting incumbent Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, next November.

Beadles has a compelling personal narrative.

Just 32 years old, he owns three construction-related companies, started an olive orchard  and wrote a book this year on how to become wealthy, entitled “Here’s What You Do: You Personal Economic Survival Guide.”

“I’ve created everything I’ve got with my bare hands,” said Beadles, who grew up dirt poor in the Central Valley. “I have always been pretty outspoken on political matters and I’m tired of listening to politicians saying the same things over and over again. I’ve had over 100 people tell me I should run.”

Click through at the bottom to read Beadles’ full candidacy statement.

As one of eight Republican candidates, a field that could expand, Beadles faces the same major challenges as his opponents: Little or no name identification and the glare of an expensive, high-stakes race for a seat that Republicans badly want to reclaim from McNerney.

Beadles says he is willing to put in his own money to the campaign if necessary. Two of the other Republicans, Brad Goehring and Jon Del Arroz, have already done it.

The other candidates include:

Brad Goehring, Clements winegrape grower, http://www.goehringforcongress.com/

Larry Pegram, former San Jose councilman and founder of  Values Advocacy Council, http://www.larrypegram.com

Elizabeth Emken, former vice president of government affairs for Autism Now, Danville, http://www.emken2010.com/

Jon Del Arroz, Danville entrepreneur,http://www.delarroz.com/

David Bernal, former telecommunications executive, San Ramon,http://www.davidbernal.org

Tony Amador, former U.S. Marshal from Lodi, http://amadorforcongress.com/

Jeff Takada, high school teacher in Manteca, no Web site yet

ROBERT BEADLES CANDIDACY STATEMENT

I was born in Bakersfield, California and in 1984 my father moved us to Salinas so that he could look after his ailing father. When my grandfather passed, our family moved to Lodi where we have lived ever since.

I graduated high school by means of an adult diploma from Liberty High School in Lodi. It was nothing fancy but it opened the door to the next critical chapter in my life.

My wife Nicole and I were married and at age 17 and shortly thereafter my son was born. Due to some complications during the pregnancy, our premature son spent the first week in an incubator. It was a difficult time for our very young family. My son’s fighting spirit and the enduring support from my wife, was a great inspiration for me to step-up and try to make the best of myself for my new family.

Like many young families, we struggled to make ends meet. I swallowed my pride and did what was necessary to support my family. We depended on food stamps, welfare, and Medi-Cal and I worked several jobs.

While working 10 hours a day, I attended Delta College where I took classes in business and administration of justice, computers, Spanish, and carpentry, which I have to admit has come in really handy over the years. As I developed my job skills, I was hired at a construction systems company where I was able to earn enough to end our need for government assistance.

At this new job I took on several projects, worked overtime and took on the same level of responsibility as the owner. I began to offer suggestions on how to expand and make the company run more efficiently and eventually my boss said, “If you could do a better job, then why don’t you start your own company.”

This was another major turning point in my life and probably the best advice I had every received. I created RBI – Robert Beadles, Inc. A construction safety services company for California’s roadways. After years of hard work, I built a successful business and created hundreds of California jobs.

The moral support from my family and the desire to do best by them, helped me through some very challenging times in my life. My family has always taught me to be humble, value hard work, manage money wisely, and harness the power of determination to get the job done, while never giving up on yourself – or your family. Californians are hurting.

There are over two million unemployed Californians, and in May of this year over 68,000 additional Californians lost their job. Unemployment is at the highest rate since the Great Depression and yet the Democratic Leadership has yet to explain how tripling the deficit and raising taxes during an economic
downturn will get our people back to work.

I am running for Congress because like many Americans, I can no longer stand by
the sidelines and see these Washington politicians rob our children from the future
they deserve. These politicians have forgotten that they work for the people. They
have forgotten about the working and middle class people- the true salt of the earth.

Getting out of our current recession will require adopting a jobs-first approach, while
calling for a federal independent commission to review, evaluate, and reform every
federal department and government program it funds. Our primary goal should be
to foster business growth, especially among small businesses, the backbone of our
economy.

We need to put people back to work.

I am not your typical candidate. I don’t have a doctorate degree, my parents did not graduate from some ivy league school, nor were they ever ambassadors to some foreign country. What I do have, I have built and earned on my own.

My family and I have pulled ourselves up from the bootstraps, and we are now living the American Dream.

I pride myself on doing what is right and just, because at the end of the day, we all have to face our accomplishment and our failures.

I believe it is time we had someone in Congress who could instill the idea of creating jobs and someone who can bring some commonsense to Washington.

That is why I am running for Congress