Ron Gould is running for re-election as Supervisor in District 5 which includes portions of areas in west Mohave County and Lake Havasu City. The Yucca republican is unwavering and proud of his fiscal and political philosophy.
“I’m a fiscal conservative. I believe in limited government,” Gould said, during a Monday interview. “I want government so small that I could drown it in a bathtub. I think government has too big of an effect on our lives and that most people can run their lives effectively without government intervention.”
Gould opposes what he calls corporate welfare and government use of incentives to attract or subsidize business. He said the economy should operate free and unbridled by government.
Known for his refusal to raise taxes, Gould explained he would not approve a primary property tax levy increase when a poor economy results in declining assessed value of the base to maintain government services. He said citizens are already suffering in that instance and should not also bear the burden of a tax bump.
Gould said he put that philosophy in play when he served in the Arizona state senate more than a decade when the legislature cut the budget and government services during what evolved into a prolonged recession.
“They had inflated the budget up to $11.3-billion at the state level and we had to cut it back to $9-billion,” Gould said. “For me, I got no joy in playing hatchet man, but I also got no fame for playing ‘look what I brung ya’ because I wasn’t running up spending as the balloon inflated. They dragged me kicking and screaming up the spending slope.”
Gould said interested constituents and others can coordinate communication and meetings by working through offices he maintains in Fort Mohave and Lake Havasu.
