Category Archives: Libertarianism

Normally I wouldn't waste my time responding to an negative letter to the editor like the one from Joseph McCarthy but I need to set the record straight.

The Free Staters and the Libertarians are the FAKE Republicans a.k.a RINOs: they can't run as Libertarians because New Hampshire doesn't have a Libertarian Party. So, instead they write letters to the editor with their faulty, so-called "Republican advice". Remember, they and the extreme "Far Right" Republicans who blindly follow the Free Staters are truly the RINOs none of them are even close to being true Republicans. Remember, they're the ones who want the state of NH to secede from the Union.

Rather than trying to secede from the Union, they should move to a different country. I was elected to represent all my constituents it doesn't matter their political philosophy or ideals. When the majority speaks out in favor of the nursing home and sheriff's department it is my duty as an elected official to listen and support all the above.

Time and time again we see those who claim to "back the blue" slash law enforcement budgets meanwhile true supporters of first responders like myself co-sponsor bills like 1587-FN that rights the wrong done to our group two firefighters and law enforcement officers with their pensions.

When I was elected I vowed to look out for everyone not just my own personal agenda, again I must state many representatives can learn from this and I pray the public seeks common sense over extremists in any party.

I vowed to support Gov. Chris Sununu and the NH Advantage, Second Amendment rights and to back first responders. Promises made, promises kept end of story. I will never be or support extremists in either party.

Go here to see the original:
Mike Bordes: Free staters and Libertarians are the only RINOs here - The Laconia Daily Sun

Filings closed Tuesday for the August Primary election with a few races forming countywide.

For Presiding Commissioner, incumbent Republican Harold Gallaher is seeking another term. Ryan Cooper has filed as a Libertarian.

For Prosecuting Attorney, incumbent Melissa Gilliam and Blake Dudley have filed on the Republican ticket.

For Recorder of Deeds, incumbent Republican Jay Graf and Libertarian Jacob Reagan Goff have filed.

Kristina Bone and Elaine Easter have filed as Republicans for Circuit Clerk.

For Associate Circuit Judge Division III, Republican Brice Sechrest has filed for election for the position to which he was recently appointed.

For Associate Circuit Judge Division IV, incumbent Pat King and Julie McCarver have filed as Republicans for the position.

Angie Usery has filed as a Republican for St. Francois County Collector.

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For County Auditor, incumbent Republican Louie Seiberlich has filed.

For County Clerk, incumbent Republican Kevin Engler filed.

For the Republican Central Committeeman - Perry Township, Randy Hubbard and Mike Miller have filed.

For the Republican Central Committeeman - St. Francois Township, Ben Bradley, Chuck Dodson and Kyle Smith have filed.

In Madison County, the primary includes Associate Judge 24th Circuit, Prosecuting Attorney, Presiding Commissioner, Circuit Clerk, Treasurer, Recorder of Deeds, Collector and Clerk of County Commission.

Daniel P. Fall filed in the Republican primary for associate judge.

Incumbent M. Dwight Robbins filed in the Republican primary for prosecutor.

For Madison County Presiding Commissioner, incumbent Jason Green and Jim Thompson have filed in the Republican primary.

For Madison County Circuit Clerk, incumbent Tenia Hermann filed in the Republican primary.

For Madison County Treasurer, incumbent Jessica D. Stevens filed in the Republican primary.

For Madison County Recorder of Deeds, incumbent Saundra Ivison filed in the Republican primary.

For Madison County Collector, Sarah B. Garcia filed in the Republican primary.

For Madison County Clerk of County Commission, incumbent Donal Firebaugh filed in the Democratic primary.

For the U.S. Senate seat, a number of candidates have filed for both parties. Republican candidates are Mark McCloskey, Eric Greitens, Hartford Tunnell, Deshon Porter, Dave Sims, Patrick A Lewis, Billy Long, Eric Schmitt, Vicky Hartzler, C.W. Gardner, Robert Allen, Dave Schatz, Bernie Mowinski, Dennis Lee Chilton, Kevin Schepers, Rickey Joiner, Robert Olson, Russel Pealer Breyfogle Jr, Darrell Leon McClanahan III, Curtis D. Vaughn and Eric McElroy. Democratic candidates are Gena Ross, Lewis Rolen, Spencer Toder, Carla Coffee Wright, Lucas Kunce, Scott Sifton, Josh Shipp, Clarence Taylor, Pat Kelly, Tudy Busch Valentine, Ronald William Harris and Jewel Kelly. Libertarian Candidate Jonathan Dine and Constitution Candidate Paul Venable have also filed.

For U.S. Rep. District 8, two Republicans have filed, Jacob Turner and incumbent Jason Smith. Randi McCallian has filed as Democrat and Jim Higgins as Libertarian.

For State Rep. District 115, incumbent Republican Cyndi Buchheit-Courtway has filed for reelection and Barbara Marco has filed as a Democrat.

Incumbent State Representatives Dale Wright, Mike Henderson, Chris Dinkins and Rick Francis have filed for their respective districts with no opposition.

Mark Marberry is a reporter for the Farmington Press and Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3629, or at mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com

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Filings close with races forming in SFC | Government and Politics | dailyjournalonline.com - Daily Journal Online

One idea that seems to have become widespread online is the political compass, a graph dividing political ideologies into four groups: Authoritarian Left (left-wing economically, but socially conservative and/or favoring a strong state), Libertarian-Left (also economically leftish, but more pro-civil liberties), Authoritarian Right (economically and socially conservative, generally favoring activist government in order to ensure law and order), and Libertarian Right (economically conservative, socially tolerant).

It seems to me that the political compass is easy to adapt to arguments about urbanism. For example, one axis of conflict is "status quo vs. YIMBY"- people who favor lots of new housing (colloquially referred to as "YIMBYs") vs. people who favor the zoning status quo. Another axis of conflict is "Sprawl vs. Smart Growth"people who view additional suburbanization as essentially harmless vs. people who view it as environmentally or socially harmful.

So for example, a libertarian purist would be at the "YIMBY/Sprawl" extreme, because a pure libertarian would believe that a) government has no business limiting the housing supply but b) also has no business limiting sprawl. For example, market urbanistScott Beyer is somewhere in this quadrant; he values the benefits of urban life and supports new infill housing, but views suburban development as a legitimate consumer choice that should not be overly restricted.

On the other hand, Todd Litman (who has written extensively on the Planetizen blog) is perhaps in the YIMBY/Smart Growth column; he has written extensively about the benefits of more walkable development, but has also discussed the importance of new housing supply in holding down housing costs. I am instinctively sympathetic towards this group, although in regions with housing shortages, I am more willing than I used to be to support additional suburban housing.

The "Status Quo*/Smart Growth" grouping seems to be very popular among older urbanists. The core idea animating this group is that even though sprawl is environmentally harmful, new infill development should still be carefully regulated. The major constituency for this group is older urban homeowners, who benefit from rising home prices, and who see no obvious benefit from new housing in their neighborhoods. Members of this group seem to be motivated by a variety of concerns, such as fear of gentrification, fear of low-quality architecture, and dislike of tall buildings. Others simply are unwilling to believe that the law of supply and demand applies to market-rate housing. More moderate members of this grouping claim to favor new housing is long as it is "affordable" (i.e. subsidized so it can cater to low- and moderate- income urbanites).

The "Status Quo/Sprawl" grouping tends not to have as much support among planning commentators as the other three groupings, but is arguably popular among suburban homeowners and the politicians who represent them. People in this grouping are perfectly happy with suburbia the way it is, and fear that new housing might bring a variety of unwelcome change. They tend to favor new housing, as long as it is low-density sprawl. President Trumps claims that he was protecting suburbia from civil rights laws was an attempt to cater to this group; similarly, sprawl advocate Joel Kotkin has criticized attempts to add density to existing neighborhoods.

I also note that the two "status quo" groups share a variety of concerns: both urban and suburban opponents of new housing fear that new housing might bring increased traffic, limit automobile parking, or otherwise stress infrastructure.

It also seems to me that the two "status quo" groups tend to be more politically extreme than the two YIMBY groupings: in my experience, YIMBYs tend to be center-left, while right-wingers and socialists tend to be more skeptical of new housing. In New York, the most "YIMBY" candidate was moderate Democrat Kathryn Garcia, while both the leading Republican and the more left-wing candidates tended to favor more obstacles to non-subsidized housing. However, I do not know if New York City is typical of the nation in this regard, so perhaps I am overgeneralizing here.

*More colloquially, NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard). However, this term is a bit underinclusive, since some people seem to be against new housing in anyone's back yard.

View original post here:
The Political Compass of Housing and Urbanism - Planetizen

The primary election is less than six weeks away. That means we have another five weeks of television political ads to sit through. It also means we have five weeks to determine which candidates we think would best represent us in the offices they are seeking.

If you are a registered voter in Dawson County you have probably received a letter from the county clerk explaining the redistricting and how it may affect your voting location and your ballot. Every 10 years government entities are required to adjust their precinct, subdivision and district boundaries based on population data collected from the U.S. Census. Part of the requirement is to make sure that districts, such as county commissioner districts, are equal in population numbers.

We experienced the results of the redistricting in the Legislature as well, as new boundaries were drawn that changed which district the community is in and who our representative is. Dawson County was formerly in the 33rd Legislative District, represented by Sen. Matt Williams. As a result of the redistricting, the county is now in the 44th District under Sen. Dan Hughes.

A native of Imperial, Sen. Hughes is a farmer and businessman who was first elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 2014. He was re-elected in 2018, and has not filed to retain his seat. Two candidates are looking to fill that position - Edward Dunn and Theresa Ibach.

Edward Dunn was born in Spokane, Washington. He served in the U.S. Army from 2004 to 2014. He earned an associate degree from Phoenix University in 2007. Dunn has served as a Joint Operations Committee Board Member for Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, a Finance Committee Board Member for Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, the West Central Nebraska Development District President, the District Governor Elect for Nebraska Lions Multiple District 38L, and the Vice President of the Perkins County Chamber of Commerce. He is affiliated with the Grant Lions Club and the Grant Rotary Club.

Dunn will face off in the May 10 primary against Theresa Ibach, who has not yet completed a candidate survey or provided a biography.

Candidates you will see on the statewide primary ballot include: for Governor of Nebraska - Carol Blood and Roy Harris, Democratic candidates; and Republican candidates Donna Nicole Carpenter, Michael Connely, Charles Herbster, Brett Lindstrom, Lela McNinch, Jim Pillen, Breland Ridenour, Theresa Thibodeau and Troy Wentz. Libertarian Scott Zimmerman is also on the gubernatorial ballot.

No candidates will appear on the primary ballot for Lieutenant Governor, and for the office of Nebraska Attorney General two Republican candidates have filed: Jennifer Hicks and Mike Hilgers. There are no Democratic candidates for attorney general, and one third party candidate - Larry Bolinger, representing the Legal Marijuana Now Party.

There are no Democratic candidates in the primary for the office of Secretary of State. The three Republican candidates are Bob Evnen (Incumbent), Robert Borer and Rex Schroder. There will also be no Democratic candidates on the primary ballot for State Treasurer. Republican candidates are John Murante (Incumbent) and Paul Anderson; and Katrina Tomsen is also running for the office representing the Libertarian party.

The seat of State Auditor has two Republican candidates - Larry Anderson and Mike Foley. Also on the ballot for that position are Libertarian Gene Siadek and L. Leroy Lopez of the Legal Marijuana Now Party.

The State Board of Education is divided into eight districts, with Dawson County located in District 7. Currently we are represented on the Board by Robin Stevens of Gothenburg, who is seeking re-election. Opposing him on the primary ballot are Pat Moore and Elizabeth Tegtmeier.

Dawson County is also located in District 7 on the State Board of Regents, which has three candidates on the primary ballot for that seat. Those three are Nolan Gurnsey, Matt Williams and Kathy Wilmot. For Public Service Commissioner District 5 there are three Republican candidates: Mary Ridder (Incumbent), Dakota Delka and Kevin Stocker.

To register to vote in Nebraska, you must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the Nebraska county in which you are registering, and at least 18 years old by the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. A voter registration application can be completed in person at the county clerk or election commissioner's office, the Department of Motor Vehicles, or other state agencies. In-person registration must be completed by the second Friday preceding the election - which this year is April 29. Applications returned by mail must be postmarked by April 22, and online applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on April 22.

Polls for the primary election on Tuesday, May 10 will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you have questions about your polling location contact the Dawson County Clerks office.

More:
ELECTION 2022: Statewide Seats on the Primary Ballot - Gothenburg Leader

This map shows the 17 North Carolina counties in which unaffiliated voters now outnumber registered Republicans and Democrats.

North Carolina marked a major milestone last week. Unaffiliated voters surpassed Democrats and Republicans as North Carolinas largest group of voters.

Independent now make up 34.6% (2,503,997 ) of North Carolinas registered voters. That edges out Democrats at 34.5% (2,496,434) and Republican at 30.3% (2,192,073). Libertarians (48,654) make up 0.7% of the states voters.

Meredith College political science professor David McLennan tells NC Policy Watch that while people might register as unaffiliated, they still can hold strong political leanings.

Really only about 10 percent of the unaffiliated group are true independents, McLennan said. Its also worth saying they dont vote necessarily at the same degree as registered Republicans and Democrats. Theres about a 10 percent drop-off.

McLennan said the drop-off could be the result of a lack of engagement in the election process or frustration with the two parties.

As we see the two parties to some degree move to the extremes, I think a lot of people in the unaffiliated group are just people who consider themselves more moderate, he explained. The real question is what do candidates do to try to get at the true independents, but also the people who arent party regulars. I think you need a different message, and maybe different policy positions to stir-up those unaffiliated voters.

For this weeks Monday numbers column, we take a closer look the 17 counties in North Carolina where unaffiliated voters top Democrats and Republicans. (Numbers are based on State Board of Elections data from March 19, 2022.) To see which party holds the majority in your county, click here and visit the NC State Board of Elections.

1. Buncombe CountyDemocrat 75,307Republican 45,791Unaffiliated 81,668

2. Cabarrus CountyDemocrat 44,089Republican 51,286Unaffiliated 54,195

3. Camden CountyDemocrat 1,485Republican 2,908Unaffiliated 3,433

4. Chatham CountyDemocrat 21,184Republican 14,030Unaffiliated 22,972

5. Dare CountyDemocrat 7,581Republican 10,470Unaffiliated 12,352

6. Haywood CountyDemocrat 13,322Republican 15,769Unaffiliated 16,111

7. Henderson CountyDemocrat 17,528Republican 31,876Unaffiliated 36,836

8. Jackson CountyDemocrat 9,014Republican 8,208Unaffiliated 11,540

9. Lee CountyDemocrat 13,122Republican 11,687Unaffiliated 13,406

10. Madison CountyDemocrat 5,436Republican 4,690Unaffiliated 6,563

11. New Hanover CountyDemocrat 51,218Republican 53,590Unaffiliated 69,097

12. Perquimans CountyDemocrat 3,156Republican 3,330Unaffiliated 3,446

13. Polk CountyDemocrat 3,740Republican 5,955Unaffiliated 6,249

14. Swain CountyDemocrat 3,114Republican 2,972Unaffiliated 3,713

15. Transylvania CountyDemocrat 6,072Republican 8,490Unaffiliated 11,481

16. Wake CountyDemocrat 288,365Republican 179,911Unaffiliated 319,913Libertarian 6,477* (*Wake also holds the distinction have having the largest number of registered Libertarians in the state.)

17. Watauga CountyDemocrat 11,548Republican 12,691Unaffiliated 19,410

Follow this link:
Monday numbers: A closer look at the counties where unaffiliated voters top Democrats and Republicans - ncpolicywatch.com

The Insiders Segment 1

DES MOINES, Iowa A new project could keep more beef in Iowa, bring another major employer to the state and pay hundreds of workers a better-than-average paycheck, the owner of a Des Moines cattle industry construction firm said.

Cattlemens Heritage Beef Company owner Chad Tentinger said his beef-processing facility in Mills County near Council Bluffs could process 1,500-head-per-day and approximately 400,000 per year.

Because of the states current limited capability, nearly one million head of cattle has to go outside the state to get processed. That increases costs for producers. Tentinger has requested $150 million from the state to help with the costs of the proposed facility.

COVID-19 has amplified issues with the food supply chain across a variety of industries. Tentinger believes that his operation could ease some of the issues by saving producers both time and money to get their beef processed.

If he can secure funding, he hopes to have his plant fully operational by late 2023 or early 2024.

Tentinger said that he isnt concerned about finding the 750 workers that his plant will require, despite a national workforce shortage. He said that he believes the plant can draw employees from the nearby Council Bluffs and Omaha markets. And since his positions will average $55,000 annually plus benefits, he said that should make them appealing to the rural Mills County area.

The Insiders Segment 2

Rick Stewart collected the signatures, now he needs to gather the support to be a competitive candidate in the 2022 race for governor. Stewart is a Libertarian and has previously unsuccessfully run for office four times. Libertarians lack the structure statewide that Republicans and Democrats have, which can make fundraising and organization challenging.

But Stewart claims that he will be much better funded during this campaign and sees an opportunity.

The Insiders Segment 3

Rick Stewart said that he supports using tax dollars to help some students attend private school. He also has an idea that he said will help the most successful teachers. He wants to see districts pay teachers based on the number of students who choose to be in their class.

The Insiders Segment 4

Libertarian candidate for governor Rick Stewart takes this weeks Insiders Quick 6.

Follow The Insiders host Dave Price on Twitter: @idaveprice

Excerpt from:
$450 million plant needs funding and workers, candidate for governor has plan to raise pay for best teachers - WHO TV 13 Des Moines News & Weather

Challenges are set in three state House races and three County Council races forthe June 14 primary election, according to the final list of candidates who filed for office in Spartanburg County by the noon Wednesday deadline.

The general election is Nov. 8.

Three incumbent Republican state House members in Spartanburg County will face challenges, according to the S.C. Election Commission.

In District 33, Bill DeVore has filed to run against incumbent state Rep. Travis Moore.

In District 35, Joseph Pellegrino has filed to run against incumbent state Rep. Bill Chumley.

2022 SC Elections: Register to vote

And in District 36, Rob Harris has filed to run against incumbent state Rep. Rita Allison.

Districts 35 and 36 include portions of Greenville County.

No one filed to run against Democratic District 31 state Rep. Rosalyn Henderson-Myers; and Republicans District 32 Rep. Max T. Hyde; District 34 Rep. Roger A. Nutt; District 37 Rep. Steven Long; and District 38 Rep. Josiah Magnuson.

Donald Trump's influence:Trump's influence in South Carolina could be tested

For Spartanburg County Council, there will be challenges in the Republican primary for three council seats.

In District 2, O'Neal Mintz filed to run against incumbent Councilman Jack A. Mabry. Constitution Party candidateand Kathleen K. Wright also filed.

In District 5, Republicans Jeffrey A. Horton Jr. and Louis Nespeca filed to run against Republican incumbent Bob Walker.

In District 6, Republican Alex Turner filed to run against Republican incumbent Jessica Coker.

Republican incumbent County Council Chairman Manning Lynch is the only one who filed for his at-large seat.

Other Republican incumbents who have filed for office in Spartanburg County include Ponda A. Caldwell, probate judge; Sharon H. West, auditor; Oren L. Brady III, treasurer.

Henderson-Myers is the only Democrat out of the 23 candidates who filed in Spartanburg County. Twenty-one are Republican, and one is a Constitution Party candidate.

Incumbent Republican Gov. Henry McMaster filed for re-election. He faces a primary challenge from Republicans Harrison Musselwhite and Mindy L. Steele.

Also filing for governor are:Jokie Beckett Jr. andMichael Copeland, Independence Party; Carlton Boyd, Joe Cunningham, Mia S. McLeod, Calvin CJ Mack McMillan and William H. Williams, Democratic Party; Bruce Reeves, Libertarian Party; Gary M. Votour, Labor Party.

Incumbent Republican Tim Scott filed for re-election and faces no opposition in the primary.

Also filing for Scott's seat are Democrats Catherine Fleming Bruce, Angela Geter and Krystle Matthews.

Incumbent 4th District Republican U.S. Rep. William Timmons faces a primary challenge from George Abuzeid, Mark Burns andMichael Mike LaPierre. Also filing for Timmons' seat areMichael Chandler, Constitution Party; and Ken Hill, Democrat.

The 4th District covers large portions of Spartanburg and Greenville counties.

Contact Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com. Please support our coverage of Spartanburg County with a digital subscription.

Originally posted here:
2022 election: Who is on the ballot in Spartanburg County Council, SC State House races - Spartanburg Herald Journal

By Dan Murphy

A Zogby poll for NY Governor in February had democrat Kathy Hochul at 50%, republican Lee Zeldin at 29%, and Libertarian party candidate Larry Sharpe at 6%. We wondered who Larry Sharpe is and why he is running for Governor.

Larry Sharpe is a businessman, consultant, Marine Corps Veteran, Native New Yorker, and active member in the Libertarian Party. In 2016, Sharpe wanted to be the Libertarian Party nominee for vice-president. He lost the party nomination to Bill Weld.

In 2018 Sharpe ran as the Libertarian candidate for NY Governor, and received 95,033 votes, (1.6%). This total entitled Sharpe and the Libertarian Party automatic ballot access in NY for the next four years.

But in 2019 former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, angry at the Working Families Party for endorsing Cynthia Nixon for Governor, changed the election laws in NY to make it harder for minor parties like the Libertarian Party to stay on the ballot.

Last year, the Libertarian Party and three other minor parties lost their ballot status in NY. Sharpe is running for Governor of NY in 2022 but at the same time, working to collect the 45,000 signatures needed to run on the Libertarian Party line.

We spoke to Sharpe about his run for governor. Im running to show the people of New York that there is another option. We started this in 2018 and we got on the TV news shows, the Joe Rogan show, and made a real campaign. And to get 2% on the Libertarian Party line in NY, the deepest blue state, is amazing.

Now in 2022 the work continues. We are a real third party. Most of the minor political parties are puppet parties, they follow the democrats or republicans. And while fewer and fewer people are registered democrat or republican, the Libertarians are growing.

My campaign is traveling to every county in New York State. We are building a real party. In 2019 we elected libertarians across the state. The biggest win for Libertarians in New York State was when Michael Korchak was elected District Attorney of Broome County. We have a DA in New York who is a libertarian. That used to be unheard of, said Sharpe.

Now they made it harder for us to run statewide. We now must collect 45,000 signature and we have to get 130,000 votes every two years. In 2018 I did what the state told me to do, we would give you ballot access for four years if you got more than 50,000 votes. The state said screw you and reneged on their agreement.

The decision to cancel our party resulted in disenfranchising registered libertarian voters. If you dont like Larry Sharpe then dont vote for me. But dont put harm on thousands of New Yorkers who lost their party. We are the only political party that allows people from the left and right to come join us. We only ask that we dont let government impose their views and leave us alone.

Sharpe recently picked up the endorsement of former Presidential candidate Andrew Yang and the Forward Party that he created.

Another small political party in NY, the UniteNY party, is also considering endorsing Sharpe, who is hoping to have three ballot lines in November, Libertarian, UniteNY, and Forward Party, but all three parties have to go out and get 45,000 signatures between April 19-May 24, to get on the ballot.

Im taking a year from my life to raise the money and get on the ballot. But for regular New Yorkers, how can they do this? Only the wealthy and the establishment can do it, and thats the way they want it, an elitist system. And we have to raise and spend $150,000 to do it, said Sharpe.

If elected, I will change the rule overnight, and return to the old rules, they were good enough. I think what we have now is unconstitutional and embarrassing.

Sharpe supports three electoral reforms that he says, will open up the election system in our state.

In New York, its 3 to 1 democrat, and in New York City its 6 to 1 democrat. That means that republican have a zero chance at winning statewide. Its either a democrat or an outsider, and the states getting bluer. One million republicans went to Florida and turned Florida republican red.

Im the outsider, and if you are a republican or a democrat you need to think about what it would take to vote for the other guy. And democrats wont vote for a republican, but they would vote for me.

One hurdle that Sharpe knows that he has to overcome is, A lot of people dont want to vote for me because they think I cant win. They think why waste my vote?

Sharpe said that his campaign strategy centers on preparing to be ready, if Hochul stumbles, those pissed off democratic will never vote republican, but they would think about voting for me. And in a three-way race, you dont need 51% you can win with 35%. That is possible.

And what if I come in 2nd? And beat the republican? Now I have the attention of the media and of New Yorkers and we can begin to talk about actual solutions to our problems. And I do have solutions, as opposed to republican who have no ideas and democrats who have bad ideas.

Sharpe wants to cut property taxes in half by raising money to pay for schools in part by leasing naming rights to MTA properties, bridges and tolls. Right now, neither side is offering solutions. It will only be when there is a viable third party that both sides will try again to help you and solve your problems.

I want to help the working poor, the middle class and the entrepreneurs. If we fix those three parts of our state, we can save our state. Sharpe added, I hope Andrew Cuomo runs because that hurts the democratic candidate. He will have to create his own party to run.

Sharpe also distinguished himself from the other candidates by pointing out, Im the only candidate not getting a government check. I dont have a government job or a government pension. Your tax dollars dont pay a dime to me. Im the only one suffering with you.

I say to those New Yorkers who are pissed off at our government, come to me, Im the anti-establishment candidate. Im trying to make New York a better place, visit LarrySharpe.com for more information.

See more here:
Larry Sharpe, and Libertarians, Want New Yorkers to Look Beyond Democrat and Republican Parties - Yonkers Times

Interior of the Liberland Metaverse City Hall, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects for the Free Republic of Liberland (all images courtesy ZHA and Mytaverse)

In the lingo, this imaginary place is known as the Metaverse, Neal Stephenson wrote in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, whose protagonist, Hiro, spends most of his time in virtual reality. There is a reason that the modern-day and ever-growing metaverse takes its name from Stephensons seminal work of science fiction: 30 years later, the book no longer reads as excitingly futuristic, but more like prophecy. If the fictional negotiation between escapism into virtual spaces and a physical world that increasingly struggles to support terrestrial existence felt like a stimulating thought exercise in the 1990s, it feels downright terrifying now, as we crest the rollercoaster and begin the plunge.

If Stephenson hears about plans for the new cyber-urban Liberland metaverse, revealed this week by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), he will no doubt experience the kind of grim satisfaction that comes from being right about something terrible. The curving cityscape design features the soft, yonic structures for which the firms founding architect became internationally famous, and embodies the kind of paleo-futuristic aesthetics that weve been worshipping since 2001 (the Space Odyssey, not the year).

But its not the design that is troubling about this corner of the metaverse, so much as the fact that its meant to be the meta-counterpart to the real-world Free Republic of Liberland. Situated as a sovereign state between Croatia and Serbia on the west bank of the Danube River, Liberland declared itself a state in 2015 and prides itself on personal and economic freedom for its people. Per a statement on its website, this includes limited power given to the government to ensure less interference with the freedom of the people and the nation as a whole. It is not currently recognized by any other nations.

The citizenry is comprised of 7,000 online applicants, chosen from a pool of 700,000 by the nations founder, Euroskeptic Czech politician Vit Jedlika. According to reporting by CNN, the country itself is an uninhabited patch of land stretching a little over four miles, which is politically contested, heavily forested, and contains only badly maintained access roads and an abandoned run-down house. Extremely fitting, since that is exactly the amount of infrastructure that can be supported under the principles of Libertarianism.

But in the metaverse, oh ho! Liberland can flourish, unconcerned with having to maintain tedious infrastructure, since its already been provided. Certainly, there are bound to be many Stephenson fans in the mix, spending cryptocurrency, visiting business incubators, and attending a gallery for NFT art shows (just to make things extra insufferable). ZHA principal architect Patrik Schumacher proposes that the metaverse is such a good match for Libertarians because both prioritize goals of decentralization and autonomy.

Its a very lively scene of contributorsa lot of IT and crypto and tech entrepreneurs who find the world too restrictive, he told CNN. (If there is one category of people who are incredibly oppressed and never get to do whatever they want, its tech entrepreneurs!)

Plans for Liberland are still developing, but the virtual city hopes to distinguish itself from the rest of the metaverse by creating certain zones which will be free of collective rulemaking, according to Schumacher. Again, it is hard to imagine what Libertarian tech bros need to get up to that they are not already rampantly allowed to do, but one suspects it may not be fully legal.

The Liberland metaverse is currently in beta, being tested on two virtual floors in one of the buildings. Invited guests may explore the space as avatars, chat with each other, and share their screens on one of the rooms windows. An opening party for 100 attendees is planned for April 13, which is the birthday of the third United States President and libertarian hero Thomas Jefferson (eye roll emoji). In the meantime, if youd like some light reading, Ill leave you with another Snow Crash excerpt that feels not-at-all relevant, in terms of the toxic culture of doing whatever you want.

All these beefy Caucasians with guns! Get enough of them together, looking for the America they always believed theyd grow up in, and they glom together like overcooked rice, form integral, starchy little units. With their power tools, portable generators, weapons, four-wheel-drive vehicles, and personal computers, they are like beavers hyped up on crystal meth, manic engineers without a blueprint, chewing through the wilderness, building things and abandoning them, altering the flow of mighty rivers and then moving on because the place aint what it used to be. The byproduct of the lifestyle is polluted rivers, greenhouse effect, spouse abuse, televangelists, and serial killers. But as long as you have that fourwheel-drive vehicle and can keep driving north, you can sustain it, keep moving just quickly enough to stay one step ahead of your own waste stream. In twenty years, ten million white people will converge on the north pole and park their bagos there. The low-grade waste heat of their thermodynamically intense lifestyle will turn the crystalline icescape pliable and treacherous. It will melt a hole through the polar icecap, and all that metal will sink to the bottom, sucking the biomass down with it.

Science fiction, am I right?

Link:
Architects Reveal Bizarre Plans for a Libertarian City in the Metaverse - Hyperallergic

Its easy enough to get on Nevadas ballots if youre a Republican or a Democrat. Its both a little easier and considerably more complicated if youre not.

The easy part, if youre not a Republican or a Democrat and youre running for partisan public office most elected offices youve heard of, like governor or assemblyperson, in other words, plus a few others is you dont have to think about primaries. Those, according to statute, are reserved for what the law calls major political parties the two political parties youve heard of who have won nearly every partisan election in this state since the Silver Party stopped being a going concern during the Taft Administration. Consequently, assuming you meet the minimum requirements to file and serve for public office, you can rest easy, secure in the knowledge your name will be on your voters general election ballots in November.

The harder part, however, depends on how you want to run for partisan office without being a Republican or a Democrat.

If youre planning on running as a nonpartisan candidate as someone without any party affiliation at all for a partisan office, then the law requires you to run as an independent candidate (not to be confused with the Independent American Party). To do so, you either need to get a petition supporting your candidacy signed by 250 voters (if youre running for statewide office), 100 voters (if youre running for county or district office), or one percent of the number of registered voters in your county or district whichever is lesser. In some races in rural Nevada, you might run out of signature lines before you run out of fingers and toes.

If youre planning on running as what is colloquially referred to as a third party candidate, however a minor party candidate, in statutory terms then you better hope your party of choice has ballot access.

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Creating a political party in Nevada is almost laughably easy. Just write a certificate of existence with the name of your party, the names of its officers, the names of the members of its executive committee, and the name of the person authorized to file the list of candidates for partisan office, then submit it to the Secretary of State.

Its not hard. Heres a free template:

Todays Date

Your Political Party

Certificate of Existence

Nevada Secretary of State

ATTN: Election Division

101 North Carson Street, Suite 3

Carson City, NV 89701

This certificate of existence, pursuant to NRS 293.171, hereby declares the existence of a new political party, named Your Political Party, to the office of the Secretary of State. The First Officer of Your Political Party is Your Name. The Second Officer of Your Political Party is Their Name. The First Officer and Second Officer constitute the Executive Committee of Your Political Party. The person authorized to file the list of candidates for partisan office for Your Political Party is the First Officer, Your Name.

For any questions regarding this submission, please contact First Officer Your Name at Your Phone Number or Your Email Address.

Sincerely,

You

Go ahead copy and paste that into the word processor or text editor of your choice, personalize it a bit, and mail it to the Secretary of State. Tell them The Nevada Independent sent you.

Legally, the only real requirement is plurality since the law says your certificate of existence must have names (plural) of officers (plural), then your new political party must have at least two members. Even that modest requirement was seldom adhered to strictly, however if the Legal Marijuana NOW Nevada Party ever had more than one member when they filed their certificate of existence in 2016, the acting chairperson, treasurer, and secretary never bothered to commit their names to electronic paper.

Getting your new political partys candidates on any of Nevadas ballots, however, is a bit more involved, which is why only two minor parties have succeeded at doing so since 2010. NRS 293.1715 doesnt grant ballot access to just any group of nobodies who send the secretary of state a letter. Instead, it provides minor parties three options to earn and maintain ballot access.

If your party is extremely lucky, at least one percent of Nevadas voters will voluntarily choose to register to vote under your party affiliation if they do, you automatically get to file your candidates for partisan public office. This is why the Independent American Party which has attracted nearly 100,000 very confused voters who think theyre not actually registered with any political party at all will remain on our ballots until either the heat death of the universe, the end of electoral politics in this state, or until someone finally makes them remove Independent from their name.

If your party is moderately lucky, at least one percent of those who vote for a Nevadan congressional candidate will also vote for one of your partys candidates somewhere on their ballot. This could be any of your partys candidates it could be your presidential candidate, it could be a candidate for Clark County District Attorney, or it could even be a Washoe County commissioner candidate. This, with a couple of exceptions well get into shortly, is how the Libertarian Party has kept its candidates on Nevadas ballots since the law was changed in 1993 to require a minor party candidate to receive only one percent of Nevadas congressional votes instead of the three percent originally required in 1987.

One of the exceptions happened because the Libertarian Party was extremely lucky in 2020 none of the partys candidates met this threshold in 2018, but ballot access was maintained because just over one percent of Nevadas voters were registered Libertarian on January 1, 2020. They were considerably less lucky, however, when none of the partys candidates reached the one percent threshold in 2000 and consequently lost ballot access going into 2002.

After the 2000 election, the Libertarian Party had to earn ballot access for its candidates in 2002 the same way the Green Party tried to earn ballot access for itself in 2016 they put together a statewide petition drive. Unlike a nonpartisan candidate, however, they had to collect far more than 250 signatures. A political party without existing ballot access needs at least as many signatures as one percent of the congressional voters in the last election for any of its candidates to show up on a single ballot. Because 1,355,607 Nevadans voted for (or against) a congressional representative in 2020, minor parties without ballot access need to collect at least 13,557 signatures this year and, as many signatures are duplicates or invalid, they should probably collect another 7,000 signatures or so just to be on the safe side.

The deadline for turning those signatures in, by the way, is 10 days before the third Friday of June (June 7, this year), long before most voters are even thinking about an election. If your party doesnt have enough signatures, or if too many of your signatures are thrown into the trash (sorry, Green Party), none of your candidates will make it onto a single Nevadan ballot.

This is where most candidates give up or, more accurately, decide its not worth betting their presence on Nevadas November ballots on the petitioning skills of the Green or Legal Marijuana NOW or whatever other minor party. If a candidate runs as a nonpartisan, they need no more than 250 signatures, and frequently far fewer. Run as a nonpartisan candidate in either an Esmeralda or Lincoln county commission district race and you only need about as many signatures as you have fingers. If you want to run in the same race as a Green Party candidate, you better hope someone can miracle 20,000 signatures or so for you by the beginning of June.

Losing ballot access in Nevada, in other words by failing to have enough registered voters and failing to secure enough votes in an election is catastrophic for minor parties. To overcome the loss, minor parties have to commit to spending tens of thousands of dollars (well in excess of what a minor party can usually expect to raise in a decade) on a statewide petition drive with no guarantee of success. Failing that, they disappear off of the ballot entirely, never to return.

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The Libertarian Party of Nevada might maybe run the risk of losing ballot access this year.

To understand why, we need to take a look at how the Libertarian Party has secured ballot access for itself in the past:

During presidential years, the Libertarian Party has been incredibly fortunate. Gary Johnson ran some truly impressive campaigns, for a minor party candidate, in 2012 and 2016, and Jo Jorgensen enjoyed a bit of afterglow from those runs in 2020.

Support for the rest of the partys candidates, however, has been lackluster for over a decade.

Part of the problem is Nevadas status as a swing state because every election in Nevada feels like it could go to either major party, both of the major parties are far more likely to run candidates in every partisan race than they were in the past. In 1998, for example, there were no Democratic candidates for secretary of state or treasurer consequently, those who werent interested in voting for Republicans Dean Heller or Brian Krolicki had to either vote for a minor party candidate or vote for None of These Candidates.

Nowadays, however, there are Republicans in every partisan race in the state and Democrats in most of them (except in rural Nevada, where there arent enough voters to reach the necessary threshold to maintain ballot access even if a Libertarian won something for once). Consequently, there are fewer races, like Kim Schjangs run for state Senate against David Parks in 2016, where a Libertarian can get double-digit percentages of the vote in a race by being the only opposing candidate.

The other part of the problem is that Americans are frankly just less likely to vote for minor party candidates than they used to be. From 1980 to 2000, minor party presidential candidates earned over five percent of the popular vote three times once when John Anderson ran in 1980, followed by Ross Perots two runs in 1992 and 1996. Not a single minor party presidential candidate has repeated the feat since Gary Johnsons most successful run, in 2016, only netted him 3.28 percent. Ralph Nader, meanwhile, didnt even earn that much in 2000 he only received 2.74 percent of the popular vote.

Even those modest percentages are enough to secure ballot access in Nevada, however provided the rest of the partys candidates can achieve even that much. Other than its presidential tickets, however, the Libertarian Partys statewide candidates have routinely failed to even reach the necessary 1 percent threshold for over a decade. The last time a non-presidential Libertarian candidate won over 1 percent of Nevadas votes in a statewide race was in 2004, when Thomas L. Hurst ran for Senate. Jared Lord came closest since then in 2018 during his run for Senate, but he only picked up 0.96 percent. Art Lampitt, Jr. didnt even earn 5,000 votes from his gubernatorial run in 2010 he needed at least another 2,000 votes to reach the necessary threshold.

During non-presidential years, however, there has been a comparatively surefire way for the Libertarian Party to maintain ballot access, at least when the party could be bothered to execute it run someone for a Clark County partisan race.

The reason is mathematics more than 70 percent of Nevadas voters live in Clark County mixed with a greater willingness for voters to vote for a minor party candidate as they get closer to the bottom of their ballots. When a minor party is lucky, they stumble into a two-way race in Nevadas most populous county, like the Libertarian Party did in 2014 when Jim Duensing ran for district attorney against the man who was prosecuting him for resisting arrest at a traffic stop. Even if theyre less lucky, however, like in 2010, minor party candidates for offices like county assessor, county recorder, or public administrator routinely get nearly 2 percent of the vote. That doesnt sound like much, but 2 percent of 70 percent of the states voters works out to 1.4 percent not enough to make much news, but more than enough to secure ballot access and allow your partys candidates to run for office without a petition drive in the subsequent election season.

When the Libertarian Party hasnt thrown someone at a Clark County partisan office during a non-presidential year like 2022 their luck has been pressed to the wall. In 2018, they only kept ballot access because, for the first and last time in state party history, over 1 percent of the registered voters in the state registered as Libertarians they are currently 14 voters shy of that threshold now. In 2006, it took Tom Koziol securing over 5 percent of the vote in his run for Washoe County assessor to reach the necessary 1 percent statewide threshold and he barely made it.

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The reason I bring all of this up is two-fold.

The first reason is, just like in 2018, the Libertarian Party of Nevada chose not to run anyone for a Clark County-wide partisan office. Theyre not even running anyone for a Washoe County-wide partisan office. The closest theyre coming to running anyone that far down-ballot is a Clark County commissioner candidate (not a single one of those has ever secured ballot access for the Libertarian Party) and a Washoe County commissioner candidate (one of those somehow actually did keep the Libertarian Partys ballot access alive Ernest Walker pulled the improbable off in a two-way race for county commissioner in 1996). Instead, theyre running candidates in every statewide race, from senator and governor to controller races which, historically, the party has historically struggled to get more than a few thousand votes in.

Additionally, only one race Darby Lee Burns candidacy against Richard McArthur (R-Las Vegas) in Assembly District 4 is a two-way race. Securing ballot access from an Assembly race isnt impossible Nate Santucci received enough votes to secure ballot access in his run for Assembly District 22 in 2008 but its not exactly probable. Despite earning nearly 40 percent of the vote and running a comparatively energetic campaign, by minor party candidate standards, Dennis Hof still fell 100 votes short of the necessary threshold when he ran against James Oscarson in 2016.

If a single paper candidate a candidate who paid the filing fee and then disappeared for the rest of the year filed for Clark County clerk before the filing deadline, that candidate would be in a three-way race at the bottom of the ballot where a few extra voters will happily vote for a minor party candidate because the stakes are, in their minds, nonexistent. Instead, the partys ballot access fortunes likely rest upon two three-way statewide races the attorney general race, which is likely to be high profile this year (and, consequently, one voters are less likely to vote for minor party candidates) and the race for controller, which might maybe have a low enough profile in Nevadas voters minds for a few thousand voters to vote for a Libertarian while they vote for major party candidates farther up their ballots.

Maybe.

The second reason is admittedly personal. I used to be a member of the Libertarian Party of Nevada, and while I was one, I was usually in a position to strongly influence where we filed our candidates (unlike major parties, minor parties in Nevada actually get to pick and choose who runs under their banner and where). In 2018, however, my colleagues, who were flush with confidence following Gary Johnsons unprecedented success in 2016, talked us out of running any paper candidates for a Clark County-wide partisan office we were, you see, beyond running paper candidates and worrying about ballot access.

In retrospect, we were most certainly not.

After 2018, I started to wonder if I was sinking my energies into something which did some long-term good, or if I was just wasting my time. Two years later, I developed severe ideological differences with some of the new activists and leaders who joined after the pandemic and grew increasingly dissatisfied with the systemic dysfunction of the national party. Finally, tired of spending time on a project I no longer believed in anymore, I left the Libertarian Party.

Even so, even with all of the differences Ive developed with the party through the years, I spent over a decade organizing and running for office with the party to, if not succeed on my or our own merits, to at least ensure somebody could succeed under that banner under their own merits at some later point down the road. I may not agree with what the party stands for today, I certainly have no intention of voting for their candidates, and I certainly wont encourage anyone else to but, for purely personal and sentimental reasons, I would still miss seeing Libertarian Party candidates on my ballot.

It would mean all of my efforts for the party all of them were ultimately for nothing.

Which perhaps they were.

Perhaps, given the direction the party is taking these days, its for the best if they were.

Whether its really for the best or not, though, Nevadans are seeing fewer and fewer choices on our ballots, and thats not something I can cheer for. If past experience the experience of the Green Party, the Natural Law Party, the Tea Party, or the other minor parties who no longer place candidates on our ballots anymore is any guide, if the Libertarian Party doesnt earn ballot access this year, we may never get their choice back.

David Colborne ran for office twice and served on the executive committees for his state and county Libertarian Party chapters. He is now an IT manager, a registered nonpartisan voter, the father of two sons, and a weekly opinion columnist for The Nevada Independent. You can follow him on Twitter @DavidColborne or email him at [emailprotected].

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Nevadans may have one fewer political party on ballots in 2024 - The Nevada Independent