Citizens for John Hager celebrated its membership with the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce in September with a special ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Chamber.

Hager is running as an Independent for California's 23rd Congressional District.

Hager graduated from USC law school in 1974 and passed the bar on his first attempt later that year. He has drafted bills which have become California law, and has numerous published decisions in the Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court that are also part of California law.

The respected Martindale-Hubbell legal directory has given him the highest rating in both legal ability and ethics for over 20 years.

He later went on to start a successful Santa Barbara law practice, Hager & Dowling, which now employs 45 people.  So why is a successful lawyer and businessman taking the risk of running for Congress as an independent candidate?

As John puts it, "I'm running because I share many people's unhappiness with how Congress has run our country, especially our economy, in recent years. But complaints alone change nothing. Somebody needs to act. Somebody needs to step forward and try to correct the shortsightedness and narrow-mindedness that has gripped Congress for too long. Both parties fight each other more than they fight our shared problems. Both parties have overspent and burdened our children with $13 trillion in debt, more than twice what it was 10 years ago.

“Real change in Washington has to come from outside the existing party power structure. I am unafraid of the challenges and hard work necessary to alter the power structure that binds our government today. If you will send me, and independent, to Washington, your decision will not only help our Central Coast, it will change politics in America. You will send a message of voter independence to every elected official. Together we can build tomorrow today,” Hager says.

For more information, visit www.hagerforcongress.org.