"Liberty is local" was a recurring theme of speakers today at the inaugural convention of the Genesee County Libertarian Party.

Some 30 people gathered Homestead Event Center in the Batavia City Centre to ratify the party's charter and nominate the party's first two candidates for office.

Jim Rosenbeck and Lisa Whitehead will be on the November ballot as candidates for at-large seats on the Batavia City Council.

"The Genesee County Libertarian Party is going to represent trust, transparency and truth," said Phil Ricci, party chairman. "We're not going to tell you what to think. If you disagree with our position, we will try to educate you on why we believe what we believe. The Republicans and Democrats will tell you that we're on the fringe, but we will show people we're on the local level, we're here to represent you."

Guest speakers included Drew Beeman, Greater Rochester Libertarian Party chairman, attorney Paul Wolf (first inset), and Mark Axinn (second inset), chairman of the New York Libertarian Party.

Beeman congratulated the Genesee County libertarians for coming together with an energy and numbers that is unique to the region.

His group represents all of the counties surrounding Rochester and he said he would welcome more counties breaking way and forming their own parties. It will take that kind of energy, he said, to reverse the trend statewide and in the nation to constrain individual liberty.

"Gary Johnson got one present of vote," Beeman said. "Are you going to have a Libertarian Party president any time soon? Probably not. But we could have a Batavia City Council member. We could have a school board member. Liberty is local."

Picking up on Ricci's comment about the propaganda of the major parties to portray libertarians as on the political fringe, Beeman noted that when you sit down and talk with people about their views of individual liberty, they actually believe what the Libertarian Party believes.

Original post:

Libertarians says their message resonates locally, ready to compete in City Council race