Peter Gounares

Peter Gounares is a real estate developer in the resort town of Orange Beach, Alabama, and is currently running for public office in the U.S. House of Representatives, District 1 Alabama.

Life

Gounares was born in Mobile, Alabama and was raised in Mobile and Baldwin County. His family's roots in the area go back 100 years; his grandfather Alex Gounares emigrated from Greece in 1909. Alex's son George grew up in Mobile, served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, and returned to Mobile to take over the family shipping business. He and his wife Martha welcomed Peter, their second son, in 1974.

After growing up in the Mobile and Baldwin area, Peter moved to Coral Gables to attend the University of Miami. He received his degree in Marine Affairs after four years of studying international trade and shipping business. He then returned to Baldwin County and opened his first business, an information forwarding company. He soon became a partner of his father George in developing the Village of Tannin, a New Urban community.

He married Bethany Johnson in 2008. His first son, George Kendall, was born on June 17, 2009.

Campaign

Peter announced his candidacy for U.S. House of Representatives, District 1 in February 2009. His opponent is a Republican incumbent, Jo Bonner.

The Gounares campaign is based on a set of ten conservative principles called "Republicans 2.0." Starting with "Balancing the Budget," the list includes "Stop Government Bailouts," "Big Government is not the Answer," "Allow Energy Exploration in the U.S.," "Protect our Borders," "Create Responsible Climate Policies," "Eliminate the Death Tax," "Personal Responsibility," "Reduce U.S. Troop and Monetary Involvement in the UN," and "Congressional Term Limits." Gounares remarked in an interview that the most important of these is reducing the size of the federal government, saying, "If you shrink the federal government, then you reduce spending, increase personal responsibility, and promote growth in the private sector."

The Republican Primary is June 1, 2010, and the general election is November 2, 2010.