BEDFORD — Art Halvorson, a Republican taking another shot at U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster’s seat, is creating a campaign platform centered on giving the public a voice and power back to the people.

At a forum hosted Tuesday evening at the American Legion Post in Bedford, the retired Coast Guard captain shared and exchanged ideas on various policies.

“The power is in the hands of the people,” Halvorson said. “It’s we the people and that’s how we’re established. I think people need to be reminded that the power was vested with them and their job is to elect the best person to represent them.”

Halvorson said, “I want to be out with the people and make myself more accessible more than on a one-on-one basis, but with groups so that we can have interaction and we can share ideas and have conversations on how to best govern.”

Some topics covered during the forum included potential congressional district remapping, immigration, border security and economic policies.

Halvorson said he agrees with many of President Donald Trump’s policies and “would like to go to Congress to support those policies.”

If elected to Congress, Halvorson said he would like to improve conditions for American veterans, restrain “out-of-control” and “special interest” spending, help break individuals from a cycle of co-dependency on the government and give more power back to the states.

“The federal government has gotten too large,” Halvorson said. “They control too many aspects of our lives. … We need to bring power back to the states, which is what the 10th Amendment postulates — that the power would be in the states and it shouldn’t be in the federal government.”

The Republican candidate also pledged to not raise taxes if elected.

Halvorson sought election to Congress in 2014 and 2016.

In 2016, Halvorson narrowly lost the Republican primary to Shuster, but Halvorson did receive enough write-in votes to win the Democratic primary and ran in the general election, which Shuster won by a large margin.

Highlighting his military and entrepreneurial experience, Halvorson said he is a leader uniquely qualified to sit in the House of Representatives.

Halvorson graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and management. After completing a naval flight training program, he served as a rescue helicopter pilot, flight instructor, test pilot and commanding officer of Coast Guard Air Station Houston. While working for the Coast Guard, Halvorson invested in real estate, which led him to retire from the Coast Guard in 2006. Halvorson now owns four companies and manages real estate throughout the country.

Halvorson also has an MBA from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and a Master of Science in strategic studies at the U.S. Air War College in Alabama.