Today’s featured American citizen is Pennsylvania’s Lou Barletta. At the time of this writing, Mr. Barletta is the Mayor of Hazelton, PA and in February 2008 he announced his running for Congress.

In 1984 Lou and his wife MaryGrace founded Interstate Road Marking Corporation. Starting off with small spray cans, they eventually built their small company into the largest pavement marking contractor in Pennsylvania. (If I hear just one more person whine about the lack of opportunity in America…)

In the 1990s Lou began to feel the call to public service and despite a predominantly Democratic political environment, he ran and won a seat on the city council as the lone Republican voice shouting for change. Not satisfied with the limited scope of his office and the powers-that-be, he made his next move and ran for Mayor, winning two-to-one. With a large deficit, union corruption, and no accountability at any level of the city’s government, he was about to make his mark with one of the greatest turnaround stories in local government.

Selling his business in order to devote all of resources to the task at hand, he went straight to work eliminating the city’s budget shortfall, renegotiating all union contracts, cracking down on illegal immigration and the incumbent gang violence associated with it.

In summary, Lou Baretta is a model citizen of the United States of America: Husband, Father, Entrepreneur, Business Owner, Civic Leader, Change Agent, and Man of the People. Lou Baretta not only gets the endorsement of TheAmericanPresident.org for Congress, but should the call come some day, to office of  President of the United States of America. Thank you, Lou, for your service to your country.

Learn more about Lou at his website, http://www.loubarletta.com and please watch these videos and see the war our nation is fighting with corruption in the justice system; trends, problems, and solutions to illegal immigration; and

• Town Under Siege - Small Town America fights the Illegal Alien Lobby, Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN (March, 2007)
• Glenn Beck: Activist Judge Strikes Down Hazelton Ordinance (August, 2007)
• Lou Barletta’s testimony at the Senate Hearing on Immigration (July, 2006)

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