Thank you for visiting my website, and hopefully for your support. As the title says, my name is Chris Cantwell and I am running for congress in the first congressional district of New York. I did not come to this decision lightly, nor will I shy from it. John F. Kennedy said "In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it.". I believe that we are that generation, and now is that time to defend our Liberty, and for the first congressional district of New York, I am the candidate to do it.

I am 28 years old, I was raised in Stony Brook, NY by my parents Marianne and Charles (Roy) Cantwell. I went to school in the Three Village School District, until, at the age of 16, I left Ward Melville High School early to go to college at Suffolk Community College. This was a really great opportunity for me, but ultimately, too big a responsibility for me to handle at that age. I dropped out of school, and I made a series of very poor decisions that ultimately landed me in jail on misdemeanor charges at the age of 19 for 4 months. Now more than 9 years later, I find myself in the criminal justice system again, this time fighting false DWI charges, which I will take to trial before a jury and be found not guilty on. If you intend to judge your candidate for what he did as a teenager, or unproven allegations, I am probably not your candidate.

But if you are still reading, there is a story of redemption to be told. I obtained my GED while I was incarcerated, and when I was released in November of 2000, I went to Boces for a computer technicians class, and later began working for a datacenter called EZZI.net where I began as an overnight technical support representative. In only 6 months I was promoted to Operations Manager.

In that position I answered directly to the CEO of the company and was in charge of all day to day operations. I had a great deal of responsibility, in a fast paced 24/7 environment. I thrived in this position, and I learned a lot about leadership and responsibility. The company moved to Brooklyn and for a time I moved with it, but later decided city life wasn't for me. I resigned from my position there, and returned to Long Island to find myself back in another management position, as a Project Coordinator for Data Path Inc. in Hauppauge. Data Path also provided me with a fast paced, challenging leadership role, this time managing teams in field operations instead of the stationary role I played with EZZI.net.

As a result of my pre-conviction license suspension I resigned my position at Data Path because the position required me to drive frequently, but I still maintain a good relationship with them as I have with all my previous employers. I am currently working for myself under the name of DoItAllConsulting.com, and managing to make ends meet with the help of my family.

I had been paying attention to politics ever since I watched the towers fall in 2001. That day truly changed my life, as I'm sure it did for many of you. I watched President George W. Bush stand atop a pile of rubble and say "I can hear you!" and I believed him. I supported the "War on Terror" and voted for him in 2004. But it seemed like immediately after, he wasn't even trying to fool me any more. The idea of a shadowy enemy, laying in wait to kill as many Americans as possible because they hate our freedom didn't really sound plausible, especially when he had to threaten those freedoms with things like the Patriot Act.

After the first round of bailouts I was so disgusted I tried to turn off my television, I didn't want to know about politics anymore. My choices for President didn't look so good and I didn't vote in the 2008 elections. After Barack Obama was Elected, I figured I would turn the TV back on and even though I disagreed with pretty much everything he said, I figured I can be proud that America has elected their first black president, and see how things go. I was met with what looked to me like the most irresponsible spending spree in world history. I was outraged, and again I found myself yelling at my television.

While studying for my defense in the previously mentioned DWI case, I saw some constitutional issues with DWI laws and enforcement policies. This lead me to do more extensive research on the constitution and I realized that my prosecution, and my political beliefs were the least of my troubles. I realized that my country was in serious danger, because our constitution has been so completely disregarded, that it was nearly unrecognizeable.

I began looking for ways to take action. I found the Libertarian Party and I realized they had the best solutions for America, and that they truly believed in the constitution. From there I got involved with the tea party and town hall movement through Campaign for Liberty and Conservative Society for Action and the 9/12 Project. I have been hooked ever since and I have been very active. I was recently appointed Director of Recruiting and Organizing for the Libertarian Party.

I attended some Tim Bishop town hall meetings, and I was disgusted by his view of the constitution. As I looked to see who would replace him, I have been dissapointed to say the least. Someone who intends to swear an oath to uphold the constitution must first understand the constitution, someone who intends to fix our problems, needs first to understand the problems.

I believe that as things currently stand, I am the best person for this job, and that if you read some of the other things I have written here, watch some of the videos, and meet with me, you will agree. I will apply myself fully to restoring the constitution, cutting spending, and returning The United States of America to the great American Principles of Constitutionally Limited Government, Sound Monetary Policy, Liberty, Justice, and a non-interventionist Foreign Policy.