Angela Valles says she is running for Congress “because our country is in trouble. We have excessive overregulation that is keeping businesses from expanding so they cannot grow and hire.”
She said she represents the High Desert’s Republican alternative to the Obama administration and that she is against the political philosophy of government giveaways to those who are not actively employed because that discourages hard work. Valles said she is equally against retrogressive taxation on employers, which she said discourages economic growth and innovation.
“I will fight Obamacare,” she said. “I believe everyone should have affordable medical coverage but we should not be forcing employers to pay for it. It should be the choice of the individual. We need to help people but we should not be giving them welfare and unemployment payments. We should be helping them to fend for themselves. If you are in an industry that has disappeared, you need to retrain yourself and go to work in a different field.”
She said, “We need tax reform. I am in favor of a flat tax. We should not be rewarding those who do not work or contribute very little and we should not punish those who are successful because they are hard working.”
Valles said she is sincere about her conservative political philosophy and came by it as a consequence of her life experience.
“I became pregnant at 16,” she said. “My father told me then, ‘You made your bed and now you have to lie in it.’ I thought he was the meanest man in the world. I had to move out and I was living in a rat-infested apartment because it only cost me $100 a month. I continued in school and got jobs as a hostess and waitress and whatever I could find. I made it. I would not have been able to do that if my father had gone easy on me.”
Valles obtained an associate of arts degree from Victor Valley College, a bachelors degree in organizational management from Azusa Pacific University and a master’s degree in organizational development at Pepperdine University. Professionally, she worked as a correctional officer at the Desert View Community Correctional Facility and graduated to prison administration, eventually landing the position of warden at the Victor Valley Correctional Facility. She is now employed as the director of human resources for the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority.
Valles said she could not have achieved what she did without a commitment to education. “I believe in the value of education,” she said. Despite how well the educational system had served her, Valles said she was intent on altering it. “We need educational reform,” she said. “The government has too much control over education and its approach is ‘one size fits all.’ I support parent control.”
With regard to illegal immigration, Valles said she believes the influx of illegal immigrants is a direct result of “the social benefits we offer. “We provide free healthcare and other giveawys to our citizens,” she said. “If we take those incentives away, we will no longer attract illegal aliens. We also need to fine and punish employers who hire illegal immigrants. I would contract with firms in the private sector to have them monitor companies to ensure that they are in compliance with those regulations and that their employees have proper visas, permits and papers.”
The only soft spots in her heart with regard to governmental spending pertain to national security issues and care for returning veterans, she indicated.
“I would never cut our military budget,” she said.” I am very serious about keeping our nation safe. Anyone who does not see the threat the Middle East represents to our country should not be in office.”
Her hard-edged approach to welfare melted when she considered the plight of veterans. “We should take care of the people who have gone to other parts of the world to stand up for us,” she said. “Our veterans are our true heroes. We should not expect that after they have been in other countries killing people they will come back here and just blend right into society and  go to work and be able to hold down a job.  We should make sure they get all the help and assistance they need.”
Valles was elected to the Victor Valley College Board of Trustees in 2007 and the Victorville city council in 2010. Her value as an elected official has already been demonstrated, she said. “On the Victorville city council I saw the corruption and kickbacks,” she said. She distinguished herself from her council colleagues, referring to action the council took as things “they” rather than “we” carried out.   “I saw them giving raises even while we were failing to make bond payments,” she said. “I fought them.”
In her run for Congress, she said she is an independent who is for the most part financing her own campaign. “I have raised $2,600,” she said, mostly in hundred dollar-or-less-increments. “I have put $32,000 of my own money into the race. If you ask for donations, the only ones who will give you money are the ones who want something in return. I hope the voters will see through all the carpetbaggers in the race,” she said.