Brandon Mitchell for Idaho House District 6 Seat B

Brandon Mitchell

State Representative Legislative District 6 Seat B

Biography and Background

I grew up on a small farm in Syracuse Utah, where I learned about faith, family and hard work. I was raised with Christian values; following the example of Jesus Christ has ingrained in me the principles of integrity, honesty, and a love for others.

After marrying my High School sweetheart, we embarked on raising a family. My wife and I have 3 children and 6 grandchildren which I adore. We have a strong family bond that will pull us through anything.

I started working straight out of High School and was navigating my way through college at Weber State University where I studied Criminal Justice. As I continued growing with the company that I worked for, I was introduced into leadership positions and I continued to grow with the company. While finding my way in the company, moved several times to create better running and more efficient stores. Learning to control spending to create profitability was the value that the company saw in me. I eventually found myself controlling 10 stores in Tri Cities, WA that stretched from there into Lewiston, ID. In 2012, I was offered an opportunity to purchase my own two stores in Moscow, ID and Pullman, WA. After much prayer and consideration, my wife and I decided to take the offer and we moved to Moscow where we have made our home. Since 2013, we have grown to 6 stores and continue to find success. The community welcomed us in with open arms and we have felt so loved here.

Top 3 Issues

Issue 1

Freedom: My goal is to protect individual freedoms in Idaho and make our great state a beacon of hope for the rest of the nation. This a means protecting the most valuable right that are afforded us through the Constitution of the United States and the Idaho State Constitution. Freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear arms, and freedom to choose for ourselves how to best live our lives are among the top rights that need to be preserved. We are all endowed with certain unalienable rights and my goal is to protect those rights. In the world that we live in today, we need real leadership that will work on protecting those rights and freedoms that we hold dear.

Issue 2

Education: Education is the future of our society and needs to be protected. At the K-12 level, the parents need to play a much bigger role in the education system. Being able to be the decision maker can go a long way when it comes to how their child is being taught. I believe in parental choice which will give them a much more focused attention to their child`s education. I would like to see more life skills being taught so that our youth will come out of High School prepared for what life might bring. On the higher education scale, we need to control the spending on unnecessary items or positions. With ever increasing costs, we are seeing more and more how difficult it is for our youth to get a good start once their education is complete. Applied research from higher education that can be brought to market can have a great impact to the economy of the State of Idaho and is critical to the future many industries. College is not for everyone and as such, I believe in trade school availability. Our nation needs people in trades and those jobs can be fulfilling and very lucrative without the added debt. I believe that educators need to work with local industry to find out what skills are being sought.

Issue 3

Less government: Government is great at over spending and it is my hope that I can be a voice of reason within the house. I have learned through years of controlling budgets that if you come in under budget that is a good thing. Controlling costs and ending in the black is the best practice and this is no different within our government. I will fight to keep the spending in line, so we can work on bringing taxes down for the people of Idaho. It all starts with living within our means. I believe that state government — just like at the national level — has certain expenditures required to function efficiently. We need to keep government spending in line where required and then let the private sector handle the free market.

Integrity in Affiliation

Submission: Yes

“I have read the Idaho Constitution and the Idaho Republican Party Platform. I support the Idaho Republican Platform and accept it as the standard by which my performance as a candidate and as an officeholder should be evaluated. I certify that I am not a candidate, officer, delegate or position holder in any party other than the Republican Party.”