Anthony Barnes

Anthony Barnes was born in Long Beach, California. Barnes' career experience includes working as a technology professional. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago in 2012. Barnes has been affiliated with Morgan County, Illinois Democrats.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Bar none, the Midwest is the greatest place to live in the United States!

I have spent my life advocating to anyone who would listen about how much I LOVE Central Illinois' hospitality, nature and closeness to so much of America!

My formative years were spent in Jacksonville, Illinois, playing soccer, adventuring in Boy Scouts, learning leadership as Class President, and building lifetime relationships which bless me still. College took me to Chicago, then work to Madison, Wisconsin, and a major career move even dragged me out to Los Angeles, California. But through all the moves and jobs and meeting new people, one thing was always made clear to me:

"Anthony, you are aggressively Midwestern!" - Everyone

I take pride in knowing that how I live my life always leads back to my roots here in Central Illinois. The year 2021 provided me with the opportunity to move back to Jacksonville, where I could live and work close to everyone I had missed so much. Nothing beats living where you want to be. =)

Now, I want to give back to Central Illinois by representing YOU AND YOURS, to ensure that our lives flourish and to show more people that IL-15 is the place to be!

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Modernizing Education

Public schooling MUST be made more agile to ensure it prepares our children for adulthood. Those who choose college, trade schools or no additional education must ALL be able to trust they have a reliable place in our country’s rapidly-changing future.

For deeper insights, see more of my Platform here: https://www.anthonybarnesforcongress.com/platformEmployment & Business Protections

Workers need stability in their employment and businesses need to be protected against volatile politics. I will foster legislation that makes pragmatic and long term considerations for its impact on IL-15 workers and businesses alike.

For deeper insights, see more of my Platform here: https://www.anthonybarnesforcongress.com/platformGovernment Spending Accountability

Why are our taxes mandatory, but the government’s delivery on their promises not? I will hold program leaders to the promises they make both in outcome and budget.

For deeper insights, see more of my Platform here: https://www.anthonybarnesforcongress.com/platform

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Equal rights for all citizens, full stop. The ongoing attack, scapegoating, and generalized othering of the LGBTQ community and disagreeing political parties is amoral and un-American.

AI regulation for the sake of the workers, companies, and industries that OpenAI and beyond stole from to create models that are putting those same victims out of work.

Modern communication oversight and regulation through deep understanding of how modern technology functions and is made; which I am intimately familiar with.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Anthony Bourdain and Henry Rollins

Both men embodied an openness to people, the world, and our collective experience of it together. Down to earth and realistic, they made sure to use their platforms to spend time with everyday folks in the ways that they live their everyday lives. Both men had wealth and influence available to them yet didn't hoard it or hide away. They made the act of elevating normal people's experiences central to their work, exactly as a Representative should.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Pragmatism, endurance, and being goal-oriented.

True leadership considers the knock-on effects of their decisions' impacts on people AFTER the politician is out of office. The world cannot turn on a dime, so humility is necessary to build lasting good for your constituents.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

House Representatives' paramount responsibility = Being the VOICE of their district.

You are not there for your career, to write a book or anything else. Reps are in office for only 2 years guaranteed, so they need to be prepared to sacrifice all else in their life for that time period to DEDICATE to their constituents.

🚫 NO Pet Projects 🐕‍🦺 NO Pork 🥩 NO Vacations ✈️

What legacy would you like to leave?

Proof that servant leadership is ALWAYS possible and that every single person has a valuable part to play in the bettering of our society for everyone.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

2000, the turn of the millennium. I was 12.

I was already growing up on the internet and building computers from scratch, so it was both absurd to think that the crash could happen, but even more so that our systems were designed with such an obvious flaw in it.

That was my first lesson about how emerging technologies tend to move fast and worry about consequences later. That kickstarted my career in technology and management, to ensure that industry would be more considerate of the potential impacts of their decision making.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

De-tasseling corn for Burrus Seed in 7th grade. We jumped on the busses at 4:00am in the Hardee's parking lot.

Had that for a few years until I was qualified to work part time at KFC.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Brave New World

Its story illustrates how powerful technology can make a society become complacent and insular due to the comfort and ease-of-life provided by it. Next the population becomes used to the comforts and thus less willing and able to give them up. Once contentedness sets in, powerful governments and interest groups can execute deplorable actions against whoever they want without worrying that the general public will notice or care.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Vash the Stampede from Trigun.

His extended lifespan and caring demeanor allow him to live long enough to see the larger impacts of action AND inaction. Leaders must be able to see beyond their own terms in order to make LASTING impacts.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Tolerating selfishness, greed, and the fear that too many leaders in both private and public positions utilize their given power to fortify their own position instead of risking any sort of loss for the potential good of their people.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Its opportunity to deeply understand very specific groups of citizens.

Among federal appointees and elected positions, House Representatives are the least abstracted from their people. A Rep for Beardstown and a rep for Chicago inherently must focus on different needs. Understanding the day to day way of life in your district is critical to discerning polling data.

I will visit IL-15 every single month to ensure I am NEVER disconnected from the people I am responsible for.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Most important is living a lifestyle as similar to the people of your district as possible.

Representatives SHOULD BE the most plucked-off-the-street version of a politician. Those who can effortlessly understand what their people love, hate, or don't understand are TRUE representatives.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Positioning within the global economic system.

International cooperation and competition are both at their peak right now, and while idyllic cooperation would be preferred we must enhance our own national capacity. The USA's economic outsourcing is proving once again how much time it costs to spin up or revitalize industries here at home. Outsourcing should be augmentative, not wholesale replacement.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Absolutely.

Our world rapidly evolves, twists, and turns due to the speed of technology innovation. Just look at AI's rapid ascent and integration to all aspects of our economy and society. If a rep doesn't understand it, how can they legislate or regulate it?

There WILL be more rapid shifts like this and if a Rep isn't fit, they need to go. More than 2 years all but guarantees the people won't be able to respond to these shifts quickly enough to make a difference.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Yes, some form is necessary.

However it's important to recognize the value of experienced individuals. Each elected position should also OBLIGATE you to return to your constituent area to dedicate an ADDITIONAL year of cultivating new and aspiring politicians.

This both enhances the quality of future politicians and reduces gatekeeping for access to politics in general. All citizens can run for office, more need to be supported to do so by those with experience.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I want to model myself after local movers and shakers, volunteers, and organizers because most of them have the smarts and willpower to make real change happen. But asking anyone to step up to state or federal office requires sacrifices many are simply unable to make.

I don't have those reservations, so I will act and speak as they would: for the locals' needs first.

The consistency of complaint from IL-15: "Where is Mary Miller?"

Farmers are hurting, careers are stalling, and infrastructure is suffering YET Mary Miller is always the first thing off of people's lips. A Representative has no reason to be so absent. What's more is her divisive language leaving local LGBTQ youth groups fearful, Democratic voices feeling silenced, and a general wonder of why she won't bring federal dollars down to the local level?

The frustration of absentee representation is completely palpable.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Absolutely. A good compromise leaves everyone a little unhappy.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

Ensuring that all bills consider both the GOOD and the BAD possible outcomes and have provisions accordingly.

Currently US citizens have nearly zero recourse when a bill or project doesn't go according to plan, most often due to the lack of specificity in law about how to react to: budget overages, timeline delays and changing political will.

I won't author bills that are "fire and forget", accountability is necessary.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

To be transparent and timely in its communications to each Representative's District, and to the country at large.

We citizens hear constant bickering about oversight committees this, and topical communities that but what we don't get is our reps coming DIRECTLY TO US. They only hold these positions of power because WE THE PEOPLE voted them in. Some information may need to be kept exclusive for national security, sure. But a proactive effort to alleviate the general feeling of being shut out from "closed door discussions" needs to end in order to rebuild trust in our politicians at large.

In short, expediting and streamlining their communications regarding investigations so that the citizenry doesn't feel like they're constantly put on hold.

"Where is Mary Miller?"

It's memorable because who can forget something that is repeated time and TIME again across the spectrum of political alignment. Representatives make OVER 2x the median HOUSEHOLD income for IL-15 residents, how is appreciation shown for being given such a cushy and safe lifestyle? Mary Miller isn't hurting for money but a plurality of IL-15 residents are, from power bills to taxes and services.

I want to hear in 3 years how IL-15 constituents both know my name and can confidently say they know WHEN they will see me next. If not, then I too will be a failure to Central Illinois.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?

Being the first Webelos Cub Scout in years to earn his Arrow of Light award, inspiring 5+ Cub Scouts to earn theirs the following year.

I worked hard, studied, and practiced the skills and knowledge needed to earn my award but I did NOT do it alone. My parents, my pack leaders, and all the other Cub Scouts supported me and collectively empowered me to succeed. Proving it could be done, that children just like me to distinguish themselves through hard work and study is why I'm so proud.

So much of social mobility and recognition requires courage and willpower, but it all starts with inspiration!

I don't know if those boys remember me anymore, and that's ok because I was able to pay forward the sort of support, inspiration, and proof positive that it CAN be done which I received from the Scouts before me.

If every individual approached life with the goal of inspiring and bettering those who come after them, we will see a bright future together.

What role should the United States government have in the development or use of artificial intelligence?

Close collaboration on feature development, modeled & debated socioeconomic impacts, and a willingness to mediate rollout into different economic sectors.

If for no other reason the government NEEDS to communicate the imperative danger that is fake news and believable fake sources. The general citizenry is consistently behind on understanding new technology and this one carries MANY existential threats to basic communication.

What legislation would you enact related to election administration in the United States?

Voting as a national holiday. If we can have a holiday for Columbus, we can ensure our citizens are not soft-locked out of their rights.

Mail-in ballots for all with a hard deadline for mailing well prior to election day.

All citizens automatically registered to vote with responsibility to ensure their own data changes are communicated to the government.

Voter suppression is a game theory issue across the nation. There is no reasonable excuse to have 50x different sets of guidelines. This complicates voters' participation, which is ABSURD when politicians so readily extol voting RIGHTS as a prime quality of our country.