Independent Congressional Candidate Gives Interview in Gainesville

Editor’s Notes: The interview transcript contains some cuts and slight edits for grammar and readability.

On Thursday, September 24, the College Independents student organization hosted Independent U.S. Congressional Candidate Mike Klein to speak with former congressman Dennis Kucinich at the Hippodrome. 

Kucinich served in the 10th Congressional District of Ohio from 1997-2013.

A Desert Storm veteran and West Point alumnus, Klein is running as an independent for Florida’s 3rd Congressional District. His opponents are Republican incumbent Kat Cammack and Democrat Seth Harp.

Prior to the speaking event, Klein sat down with GnvInfo for an interview:

Q: Where are you from and how long have you lived in Florida?

Klein: I moved to Florida in 1971. I grew up here… My family is from Baker County. But I grew up here in Gainesville…

Q: 
How do you plan to win the election in a country where generally candidates have to fall into the two-party system to get traction? 

Klein: 
Great question… The country is rapidly changing. 45% according to Gallup, and 47% according to CNN. 
These are polls over the last nine months and show people who identify as politically independent. The American people in a majority of cases have turned their backs on the two mainstream parties. 
For many reasons, but as much as anything, because of the corruption.

In this district, you have Democrats that are not happy with really the DC Democrats. And you have Republicans that are not happy with the DC Republicans. Local politics is a little bit different, but when you're voting for somebody to send them to Congress, if you're very unhappy with what's going on in Washington, even if you're a registered Democrat or a registered Republican, you're open to an alternative. 
The NPAs are significant as well. So disgruntled Democrats, NPAs, and disgruntled Republicans are well more than 50% of the voters. We've certainly seen that as we've traveled around the district and talked to people for many, many months now. 
So the way to win this type of race is to speak truth to power, and to have honest conversations with people about their lives and the challenges they're facing, which are many, and their frustration with what they see as a failed Congress to check the power of the executive branch, to rein in the excesses of corruption in our food supply chain, in our energy sector…

Everybody's talking about affordability and how everything's gotten so expensive. There's a general understanding that it stems from the corruption in DC, and the corruption comes from elected representatives that are open for business when it comes to campaign contributions. 
That's become a mainstream conversation. So for me, literally everywhere we go, people are really happy to see me…

There's 95 veterans running as independents for Congress in the United States right now. 
It's not to suggest that veterans are the only ones that can thread that thing together, that you're asking about, how do you get elected. But it does mean that I'm not the only one and that there's people like me all over the country that are responding to an electorate that is really not happy. They're very unsettled. 
I believe very strongly that with five to ten independents in Congress from this cycle, you'll see a sea change by 2028. The American public is desperate for something different than what we've been handed over the last 40 years. 

Q: Have you gotten the opportunity to reach out to your Republican opponent, Kat Cammack, or your Democrat opponent, Seth Harp, about debating? 

Klein: 
We've been invited to debates; candidate forums. I've been on the stage with Seth Harp already during the primary season… Kat I expect might show up.

Q: Maybe.

Klein: On the other hand she might not. I would be delighted if she did.

Q: I would expect she might not show up, based on my personal experience.

Klein: She’s—I mean, I always think it's better for people to, even if they get asked difficult questions, I always think it's better to show that you're willing to stand in front of the voters and take your licks if you don't if you have a view that's not popular. 
So I hope she shows up. I would be very happy to engage on the issues with her. I expect we'll have multiple opportunities and I'll be there for all of them. 

Q: Do you support the complete abolition of ICE as an agency? 

Klein: Yes. 

Q: Do you support the abolition of flock cameras and other similar surveillance devices? 

Klein: 100%.

Q: Your website talks about establishing a modern Civilian Conservation Corps. If established, what would you push for the wage for that to be to make it a good paying and stable job for Floridians?

Klein:  I don't know. That is a great question. 
I think that conversations about minimum wage and living wage are the right conversation to have. It’s a moving target because of inflation and an affordability crisis… They should be paid a living wage. 
I'm not gonna put a steak in the ground. It's a moving target… The gist of your question is, do they deserve a minimum wage or a living wage? They deserve a living wage. 

Q: What's your position on Florida holding; I think it's $250 or $300 million in Israeli bonds and the billions being given in US tax dollars. 

Klein: I have signed the [anti]-AIPAC pledge. I will not take any money from any foreign government and I think my position is pretty clear that I think everybody in Congress should not take any corporate PAC money, Super PAC money or any special interests… 

The State of Florida owning bonds, you know, the conversation about who should own what and the mixed ownership, it gets very complicated very, very quickly. 
For somebody in my position where I'm at, my position is just clear. I think the corruption that influences our government is directly related to who donates to campaigns. So we should clean that up first. 

Q: In Florida, the law currently says that if you're a police officer, and I think some other specified personnel are included, your mugshot is exempt from the public, do you think that's fair or should that be changed? 

Klein: Wow, I've never been asked that question… I think transparency is always better. 
I think police should wear cameras. I think it’s in the police's own interest to protect them from false accusations of harassment and ill treatment; it's in their best interest to have cameras. I'm not sure where I stand on whether or not they should be allowed to have anonymity if they get arrested. It doesn't sound fair, but I would love to hear the counter argument…

Q: If elected, what would you do to combat the DeSantis administration allegedly illegally re-distributing healthcare money?

Klein: That's a little bit out of the remit of Congress. My understanding is they misallocated money that was from the federal government. So there would be some standing for Congress to have an opinion on it. I mean, I think it's wrong. I think they should apologize and return the money back to the program so it can be distributed. I mean, if it was used for political purposes, and it's de facto a violation of state or federal law, then, like anything they should be held accountable for it. 
But right now, it's a political mess for them. 

Q: Would you support a crackdown on insider stock trading and insider prediction market gambling in the government, including prison time for offenders?

Klein: I think that any law that is applied to American citizens and has to do with fairness or corruption, where they would go to prison if they did it, 
Congress should be held to exactly the same standard… The American people have had it…

An article on the speaking event will likely be released in the next two days.