The United

States has drifted away from using the Constitution to shape its laws,

says Chris Borcik.

So Borcik,

40, decided to run for Congress.

"I started

reading the Constitution and studying it, and I discovered that everything

in it was very carefully thought out and everything had consequences that

were intended," says the Fayetteville resident. "We have come

to far from that and people don't even realize it."

Borcik is running

as an independent write-in candidate for the 3rd District seat currently

held by Mac Collins. The district includes Fayette and nine other counties.

It's a long

shot, he admits, to run without party backing. "But I felt it was

important to stand on my own," he says.

Voters have

become apathetic, Borcik says, because of the government's increasing

departure from constitutional principles. And the major political parties

also tend to insulate the voter from the candidate, he says. With an independent,

"you're kind of committed to exploring the candidate a little more

as opposed to just voting Republican or Democrat," he adds.

He is running

a word-of-mouth, grass roots campaign, Borcik says, though he has done

some advertising as well. If he doesn't win this time around, he hopes

to gain enough name recognition to make a stronger run for the office

next time around.

The federal

government ignores the Constitution and takes on powers that are clearly

reserved to the states, Borcik says, using education as an example. "The

federal government is not authorized to be involved in education, and

money should never even be taken on a federal level for education. It's

unconstitutional," he says.

Article 1,

Section 8 of the nation's founding document clearly spells out the powers

and duties of the federal government, but mentions nothing about education,

Borcik says. And, he adds, the 10th Amendment clearly states that any

powers not expressly granted to the federal government are reserved for

the states.

As a congressman,

he says, he would work to educate the public and the government on the

need to return to the Constitution.

If there is

a weakness in the Constitution, then it should be changed through the

proper legal process, not ignored, he says.

Borcik says

he won't promise ahead of time how he'll vote on specific bills or issues,

adding that he will ask the following questions before voting:

"Is the

proposed legislation a vested power of Congress?

"Do we

have a model of the proposed legislation to help determine its intended

effect?

"What

do my constituents think?

"What

does my conscience tell me?"

It would be

unwise to speculate or promise how I would vote on a given issue,"

he says. "The purpose of congressional debate is to enlighten the

members so they might make a more informed decision when voting on proposed

legislation."

An airline

pilot, Borcik is married and has four children. A native of Jacksonville,

Fla., he is a former aviator in the U.S. Navy, and the son of a career

military officer.

He is a graduate

of the U.S. Naval Academy.