Mark Stoutzenberger is relatively new to Cranston’s Dist. 18, but the way he sees it, what better way to get to know his neighbors than to knock on their doors and hear their concerns as a candidate for State Representative? He moved to Cranston from Providence in January, but over the years has grown increasingly concerned with the direction the state is moving in. He has worked on other campaigns before, hoping to make a difference, and now, it’s his turn.

“It’s been building up,” he said of his desire to run. “What happened in 2010 was very eye-opening.”

What happened, in Stoutzenberger’s opinion, was little change at a time when Rhode Islanders seemed to be struggling. He was a volunteer on the Joe Lusi for Governor campaign, and was “disheartened” by the re-election of many career politicians.

Politics as usual is what he’s hoping to break.

“I truly feel that I’m more representative of a normal person than what we often get in politics,” he said.

Stoutzenberger believes in term limits, capping campaign spending, eliminating the “master lever” that allows voters to cast ballots for a straight Democrat or Republican ticket, and encouraging an active electorate. In terms of the latter, he is against the voter identification requirement, which he worries could discourage people, especially seniors, from voting.

“Why are people not more interested? Because they’ve been beaten to death with the way politics have been played,” he said.

Navigating government can be a challenge. While he sees Capitol TV and the General Assembly website as valuable resources for researching legislation, he hopes to be more hands-on when explaining legislation to constituents. The best way to encourage civic participation, he added, is by being accessible, which he promises to be if elected.

“We’re running a pretty open door policy here,” he said from his home office on Strathcona Road. “I want to be a representative of the people. You’re not going to be able to champion everyone’s causes but you want to hear everyone’s causes.”

A first-time candidate, the 30-year-old Stoutzenberger graduated from North Smithfield High School, and earned a degree in psychology from the University of Rhode Island. He works in a group home for troubled teens as part of Child and Family Services of Newport, and also runs an animal rescue, Outbound Hounds, from his home with his partner Heather. They are raising a 2-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son.

As he dips his feet into politics personally for the first time, Stoutzenberger says the pressing issues are clear. He believes pension reform needs to happen at the municipal level, but also questions if more drastic steps would make the state plan healthier, faster.

“I think more needs to be done, as controversial as that sounds,” he said.

What also could be considered controversial, particularly in Cranston where school choice has been a buzz word over the past two years, is Stoutzenberger’s position on education. He is an advocate of charter schools and school vouchers, and believes that teachers should be incentivized for proven methods, rather than for length of employment. His teenage stepson is a student at the Paul Cuffee charter school.

“We need competition. We’re not going to be successful if we don’t have competition,” he said.

That being said, he says all schools – traditional public and charter – need to be fairly funded. He thinks elementary and secondary education should be the priority for funding, more so than the state’s colleges and universities.

Stoutzenberger can’t say for sure if he is for or against raising taxes as a means to balance the budget. It depends on the plan, he said, but what he is sure of is that certain areas of the state are in desperate need for additional funding.

“We have to have money to fix our roads and bridges. The infrastructure in this state is almost the worst in the country,” he said. “We can’t run a state that’s conducive to a vibrant economy if our infrastructure is the worst in the country.”

If elected, Stoutzenberger wants to sit down with Department of Transportation Director Michael Lewis and brainstorm ideas for investing in infrastructure. Stoutzenberger suggests raising registration or license fees, or potentially implementing new or higher tolls, such as on the Sakonnet Bridge, and directing those monies into an enterprise fund.

He sees an improved infrastructure as necessary to stimulating the economy. Stoutzenberger thinks that Rhode Island “needs a better identity,” and should have a comprehensive plan, of sorts, that plays on the state’s natural assets as a means to build up the tourism industry. The expansion of T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, he added, could be a center of development for the state.

“I really want to see that; I want Rhode Island to be a destination. That’s immediately going to spur business,” he said.

On a larger scale, he would like to see cost savings through the consolidation of departments at both the state level, and by regionalizing school districts.

“We’re such a small state. Combining our collective forces would be better than what we’re doing now. People don’t want to change but at this point, we’re getting to where it’s going to have to happen,” he said.

Stoutzenberger would also like to see more cuts from the top, with government officials volunteering to take a pay cut.

“People need to learn to live on less,” he said.

Stoutzenberger admits that he doesn’t have all the answers, but said he would be willing to listen to all of his constituents, and promised to research the issues that are important to them.

“It’s so worth fighting for,” he said. “If I’m not a part of the solution, of all the beautiful things we have in this country and in this state, then what am I doing?”

For more information, visit www.repstoutz.com or www.facebook.com/repstoutz, or e-mail repstoutz@gmail.com.