Kyle Markley
for Oregon Secretary of State

I was born, raised, and educated in Iowa, and am proud of my Midwestern values and work ethic. After college, I moved to Oregon to work for Intel, and have lived in Hillsboro for 20 years. I married my wonderful wife Caitlin in 2009 and we knew we wanted to make Hillsboro our permanent home.

We have three children, 7, 5, and 4 years old.

I am running for office because this community is important to me and to my family. I want to protect my community from overbearing government and leave people free to chart their own paths for their lives.

This country has strayed from its original principles. Our founding documents were masterpieces of individual freedom and government restraint, but they are increasingly forgotten. I want to bring back the ideals of James Madison, as he expressed in The Federalist #51 (emphasis added):

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.

Over many years, government self-control has eroded, and so with it our freedoms. If we keep electing the same kinds of politicians, we will get the same kinds of results: a government that is increasingly hostile toward your individual rights, and increasingly spiteful, petty, and unaccountable in its actions.

I want to reverse this trend. My purpose in public office will be to restore individual freedoms, limit government influence, and make government more accountable.

I do not desire to be a politician. But I do desire to create a better world for my children to grow up in. I do not want them to have to endure the kind of irresponsible government we have today. Freedom is their birthright, but they won't have it unless government is scaled back into its proper place.