Editor's Note: In the highly contested race for Congress in the 1st Congressional District, Hamptons.com's on-going coverage will include posing 13 identical questions to the candidates seeking office. We will begin by posing our baker's dozen of questions to the numerous candidates seeking the Republican nomination to oppose the present incumbent and conclude by posing those same questions to the incumbent himself. Each candidate's responses will be posted verbatim without edits.

Westhampton Beach - This installment features Westhampton Beach resident Christopher Cox. He is the grandson of former President Richard M. Nixon and a successful businessman who co-founded a consulting firm that advises American companies on selling their products in new markets overseas. Cox was born and raised in New York and his family has lived on the East End for more than 120 years. He received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Princeton University, a certificate in finance from New York University Stern School for Business and went on to receive his law degree from the NYU School of Law. Cox is engaged to Gristedes Supermarket heiress Andrea Catsimatidis.

In your opinion, has President Obama's economic stimulus plan worked and if not, what would you do to turn the economy around and create jobs and small business opportunities?

Christopher Cox: The stimulus bill has not worked to create the jobs and small business opportunities the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats promised it would. Much of it was wasted on pork barrel projects intended to serve the political interests of Members of Congress, but produced few good, permanent, private sector jobs, and had little significant economic impact on affected communities. Unemployment levels in the 1st Congressional District and nationally remain unacceptably high. Adding hundreds of billions to our already staggering national debt, debt that will eventually cause inflation rates to soar, devalue the dollar and impair national security as we are increasingly held hostage to our foreign debt holders, was irresponsible and shortsighted.

Cutting taxes for American families and small businesses would have a far more positive effect on our economy. They are the job creators, not the government. Their savings, their investments, their purchasing decisions are the engine of American economic growth. Lowering their tax burden would stimulate consumer spending and investment, and free up capital for business expansion. Unfortunately, the Administration and Congressional Democrats have compounded the damage of their reckless deficit spending by proposing broad based increases in taxes that will slow economic growth and job creation.

As one of the most highly taxed regions in the nation, what would you do to mitigate the tax burden in the 1st Congressional District while maintaining services and support for school districts?

CC: On the federal level, to promote economic growth and job creation, I would lower payroll taxes, taxes on savings and investment and the tax rate on American businesses, which is currently the second highest in the world, and seriously hurts our ability to compete in the global economy. The problems in our public education system are not caused, as some Democrats would have us believe, on a lack of adequate funding. Some of the worst performing school districts in America are those that receive the most in local and federal funding. Their problems have more to do with a lack of accountability, and the rules governing how we pay and retain educators. Those are the kind of problems we have to address on a federal and local level if we are going to improve the performance of our schools.

Is there a better way to fund education than the real property tax?

CC: Our property taxes in Suffolk County are some of the highest in the nation, but our great schools do not need massive property taxes to deliver top-tier educations to our children. The education bureaucracies we have on Long Island have gotten out of control. To curb the costs of education we should unify many of our school districts and form a limited governing body that could replace the numerous administrators who currently receive hefty salaries paid for out of our wallets.

How would you solve the SUNY shortfall and is increasing tuition an option?

CC: SUNY should give more control to local administrators rather than running the most mundane tasks out of Albany. The amount of waste in the SUNY system needs to be addressed so local administrators can best serve their communities by concentrating their funds on the unique needs of their students rather than bureaucratic procedures from Albany.

Do you support continued funding for open land and farmland preservation and if so how would you generate the revenue necessary?

CC: Yes. Funding that was promised for preservation purposes have been redistributed in recent years to fund other wasteful programs. The government should replenish the funds they have raided and protect our farmland and untouched spaces from overdevelopment.

If elected, in what ways would you help the threatened East End fishing industry?

CC: The current restrictions on our fishing industry are well beyond the necessary for the sake of environmental protection. Over the last eight years, we have not protected the rights of hardworking men and women that bring food to our dinner tables and have to struggle to make an honest dollar. We must reevaluate the regulations we have in place and allow our fisherman adequate fishing periods and counts to revitalize into a vibrant industry which can employ Long Islanders.

Do you support green initiatives like windmill farms on the East End for job creation and energy conservation?

CC: Absolutely! Our country desperately needs to become more energy independent and many of the green initiatives we have seen sprout up across our country will help relinquish our dependence on foreign oil. Any and all industries that create honest jobs for Americans should be supported by our Congress.

How do you feel about the recently passed health care legislation and what is your opinion regarding the highly partisan divisions in Congress?

CC: I opposed the recently enacted health care bill. Reducing inflation in health care should have been our priority. It would make it possible for more people to afford health insurance. Very little if anything in the bill will lower the cost of our very expensive health care system. Imposing mandates on individuals and business surely won't. It will lead to higher premiums for Americans who have insurance, and restrict the ability of American families and businesses to make decisions they know better than the government does are in their best interests. I reject partisanship for its own sake, and partisanship that bases every governing decision on how it best serves the re-election interests of a political party. There are many areas where bipartisan cooperation to address urgent national priorities should be possible. The partisanship on display in the debate over the health care bill was caused not by Republican opposition but by the decision of Congressional Democrats and the Obama Administration to reject any real compromises or major substantive contributions by Republicans. They preferred a Democrat only bill that while it will provide insurance for many of today's uninsured it will do so at an unaffordable cost to American families and businesses and in the process raise taxes, raise premiums and slash Medicare.

With some of the highest real estate prices in the nation young East Enders must leave the area rather than raise families here, what would you do to stem that exodus?

CC: First and foremost, we must increase private sector job growth on Long Island so that our young residents are able to find gainful employment that allows them to continue to live on the island. Secondly, we need to address the oversight that has left thousands off our income and property tax rolls. If you live on Long Island and make a livable wage, you should pay your fair share of taxes.

The arts are a vital aspect of the quality of life on the East End, but funding has been cut dramatically. Pardon the pun, but do you have any creative ideas for funding the arts?

CC: While some government support of the arts might be appropriate, most of it should come, as it always has, from individual Americans who have the means and desire to do so. I would certainly encourage greater private support of the arts. And I certainly would not, as the Obama Administration has proposed, discourage private support to the arts by reducing tax deductions for personal and corporate giving.

The immigrant workforce, legal and otherwise, is and has long been part of many East End industries like landscaping, construction, hospitality and farming. Do you support comprehensive immigration reform and how would you address the very volatile issue of curbside, undocumented hiring.

CC: Illegal immigration affects more than business hiring decisions. It's a national security issue, affecting crime rates, gang activity, the illicit drug trade, terrorism and growing social spending as government budget deficits and our national debt become unsustainable. We must improve border security, and we must also discourage the tide of illegal immigration by seriously enforcing laws that prohibit it, including laws that require businesses not to knowingly hire undocumented workers. But government can also help employers by making it harder for illegal immigrants to deceive them, by, for instance, requiring immigrants to have a tamper proof identity card that proves they are in the country legally. Legal immigration has made America one of the richest countries both socially and economically in the history of the world, while illegal immigration must be addressed and represents yet another issue where Washington has failed to lead.

What is your position regarding the Shinnecock Nation's effort to gain the right to create a casino on their sovereign land?

CC: The Shinnecock Nation deserves to have federal recognition. Any move to open a casino should involve measures that would curb excessive traffic and allow local residents a seat at the discussion table. Revenues should be shared so that Suffolk County residents may receive property tax relief. We must be careful not to negatively impact the quality of life of East Enders.

Finally, faith in our elected officials is at an all time low, what in your character, professional or personal background and community history qualifies you to earn the trust of the electorate and represent the 1st Congressional District?

CC: My family has lived on Eastern Long Island for over a century, and we consider ourselves blessed to have the hard working, honest and decent people of the 1st Congressional District as our friends and neighbors. I can think of no greater privilege than to hold public office in their name. I consider it a matter of personal honor to represent their interests at all times, their aspirations, and their values. If I am privileged to represent the 1st Congressional District in Congress, you will never have a reason to doubt my integrity or the high value I place on honoring my public trust.