Candidate, Missouri State Senate, District 22, 2010

Candidate, United States House of Representatives, District 3, 2008

No caucus information on file.

No professional experience on file.

No organizational membership information on file.

Priority Issues:

Thomas Jefferson said, Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. Information is the currency of democracy.

My name is Greg Zotta and I am running as the Republican for Missouri State Senate District 22. As a former police officer I believe in standing up for what is right and against bullies. I?m running for two reasons. First, because I love my country and want to do my part as an American citizen to protect and uphold the freedoms afforded to us by the U.S. Constitution. And second, I seek to prevent any adverse legislation that is passed down from Washington and presented to Missouri residents.

Do you remember when Michelle Obama proclaimed, ?This was the first time in my adult life that I?m really proud of my country.? Well I?m here to tell you that this is the first time in my life that I am fearful for my country, and I lived through the era of Jimmy Carter and the misery index. I am fearful because of the amount of government control and intrusion that is being proposed and funneled down at the State level.

Every parent wishes for their children to have a better life than theirs. With the increasing amount of government control over our lives and with the increasing amount of taxes we will be paying, it appears we are more like slaves or indentured servants than citizens. Laws should be implemented to give people more control in making decisions over their lives and not the other way around. Too often politicians seek to control aspects of our daily life through regulations or taxes that should be up to us to decide.

My father fought in World War II for this country and to help rid the world of tyranny. He stormed the beaches at Normandy and fought for freedom. I do not want this country to forget the meaning of freedom and do not want our country?s heroes to have fought in vain. Instead, I want to restore the public?s trust in government by doing what is right and what is best for all American citizens. To quote Ronald Reagan:

?My view of government places trust not in one person or one party, but in those values that transcend persons and parties. The trust is where it belongs -- in the people. The responsibility to live up to that trust is where it belongs, in their elected leaders.?

With your help, I hope to live up to your trust as an elected leader. Here is my vision for the State of Missouri: A common sense approach to enforce existing laws and implement legislation that does not dictate our individual freedoms but augments those freedoms granted to us by our founding fathers. My decisions are based on two principles: common sense and fairness. I believe in following the Constitution, limited government, listening to constituents, reading the bills and cutting out needless and duplicitous laws.

Reason for Seeking Public Office:

Born in St. Louis, MO in 1953, I grew up in South St. Louis City with four brothers and one sister. My late father Victor Zotta was a great family man with a tremendous work ethic and worked several jobs to provide for his family. He was a teacher, an accordian player and a WWII hero of the U.S. Army. My mother also worked multiple jobs as a waitress to support
six children.

Family is and always will be the most important aspect of my life. I will be happily married for 32 years this October to my best friend and #1 supporter Marsha Zotta. I also am the proud father of two wonderful children, Jessica and Kyle, who are both graduates of the University of Missouri - Columbia. Jessica received her MBA at SLU and is employed as a Contracts Administrator. Kyle works as a Senior Associate in the institutional investing industry with his CFA designation.

I have always been active in sports as a player and a coach and believe in the team concept. In 1972, I graduated from St. Mary's High School and enjoyed coaching St. Mary's ice hockey team after graduation for two years. I went on to become a St. Louis City Police Officer in 1977 and served proudly until 1990.

Some of my awards and achievements as a police officer include the following:

-Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Certificate of Appreciation, which awards officers who possess the highest ideals of law enforcement in maintaining, preserving, and protecting the lawful rights of all citizens.

-Department Award of Excellence for discovering a car that provided valuable information in a homicide investigation.

-Accommodation for saving a man from ending his life.

My career as a police officer ended in 1990, when I was injured in an attempt to arrest a car thief. I then retired on disability. Besides being a police officer, I owned rental property, owned a vending business, and a construction company as a homebuilder /rehabber. When not working to provide for my family much like my father's example, I also participate as a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Men's Club.

Throughout my life, I have always sought justice and looked out for the welfare of the citizens of St. Louis. I have always stood up to bullies and for what is right and voiced my opinion. If I see something that is wrong, I take action to correct that wrong.

As a police officer, I stood up to the St. Louis City Police Board and voiced my concerns when they changed the pursuit policy regarding roadblocks to end pursuits. Under the new policy, police officers could no longer use their vehicles as roadblocks to end a pursuit, because of the costs to replace the vehicles. I suggested they re-think their policy, because the longer the pursuit lasts, the greater chance that civilians will be injured or killed. Unfortunately, it was ignored and the policy was not changed.

When I worked as a Department Manager at Home Depot, I sent a letter to the new CEO Robert Nardelli with suggestions that would be beneficial to the employees, customers, and shareholders. I followed up with numerous phone calls that were not returned. The ex-CEO of GE Jack Welch stated that you should listen to anybody and everybody, because you never know where the next great idea will come from, and I concur. Robert Nardelli did not heed Welch?s advice, destroyed the morale of the employees, sunk the share price, and alienated the shareholders. He ended up leaving his position with Home Depot and 200 million dollars. I went on to work at Lowes.

Due to the housing crisis, I am no longer in the homebuilder/rehab business. In August 2009, I was laid off from Lowes because of the economy. With the construction industry in a downturn, I decided on a career change. I am pursuing an Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies at St. Louis Community College, at Meramec with an expected graduation date of May 2011. Currently, I am running as the Republican Candidate for Missouri Senate District 22.