December 1995
Election '95: Libertarians elected in local races
The Libertarian Party continued to solidify its position as America's third-largest and fastest-growing party during the 1995 elections.
From a good showing by Libertarian Party presidential candidate hopeful Harry Browne in the national CityVote presidential preference poll to victories in local elections, the 1995 results demonstrated what the media is finally recognizing -- more and more Americans identify with the libertarian philosophy.
Two members of the Georgia LP won election to city councils in hard-fought races. Bruce Van Buren was elected to the Avondale Estates City Commission, placing first in a field of five candidates vying for two open seats. Although a non-partisan race, much was made of Van Buren's party affiliation by the other candidates, including last-minute hit pieces.
"This essentially made it a partisan race for Bruce, but a non-partisan race for the other four candidates," said Ron Crickenberger, LP national campaign committee chair and Van Buren's campaign manager.
The campaign spent about $2,200 to win 428 votes. Turnout was high at more than 55 percent.
"We out-walked, out-talked, out-mailed, out-issued, out-spent, and out-thunk the forces of evil, and beat an entrenched small town political machine," said Crickenberger.
Avondale Estates Mayor John Lawson, upon learning that Van Buren had beaten all of his hand-picked candidates, said simply, "Well I'll be damned."
Dewayne Metheney placed second in a field of six candidates vying for two spots on the Auburn City Commission. Metheney had come close to winning a seat on the council in a special election earlier this year. Metheney's campaign was managed by veteran LP campaigner Larry Bolin.
Also in Georgia, LP members were instrumental in helping to defeat sales tax increases in the two counties where the LP candidates won election. The defeat of the tax increases saved taxpayers more than $1.5 billion.
In Colorado, Doug Carlsten now occupies a seat on the Brighton City Council. Carlsten, a longtime Libertarian, ran unopposed for his Ward 3 seat.
In Indianapolis, IN, Libertarians fielded a slate of 10 candidates in the city/county elections. Steve Dillon, the LP's mayoral candidate, made a very good showing of 6.5 percent of the vote in a three-way race against a very popular Republican mayor.
In New Jersey, Janice Presser, LP candidate for state assembly who spent only $22.50 in her campaign, received the endorsement of the local Courier-Post newspaper, as well as support from several radio stations. In the endorsement, the newspaper wrote: "We go outside the two dominant parties to recommend Janice Presser, a Libertarian Party member. Presser impressed us with her vast knowledge of the issues and her willingness to consider alternatives to the usual stopgap measures. Neither Democrats or Republicans have implemented corrections to lighten the burden of taxes on the average family."
Presser finished third in a four-way race, but said, "I'll be back next year. With the support of the press and radio, my name and more important, my positions, will be more familiar."
In Arizona, Libertarian candidates fared well in city races in both Phoenix and Tucson. Richard Duncan received 19 percent of the vote in his race for Phoenix City Council, and Ed Kahn, LP candidate for mayor in Tucson, received 10 percent of the vote in his three-way partisan race.
In Michigan, Glenn Barr, who ran a very active campaign, got 37 percent of the vote in his race for Walker City Council. Barr was in a two-way race against a 16-year incumbent.
In Maine, LP member Wayne Leach finished second in a three-way race for Winslow City Council. In the partisan race, Leach had to run as "undeclared because of Maine not recognizing the Libertarian Party, yet," he said.
Leach defeated the Republican challenger in the race.
Harry Browne finished 11th in a field of 21 candidates in CityVote, which was billed by its organizers as "the first national urban presidential primary." Hampered by sabotage attempts from the Democratic Party and snubs from the Republican Party's major candidates, and marginalized by minimal media coverage, CityVote nonetheless wound up with nearly 210,000 voters participating -- more than will vote in the New Hampshire primary in February.
Browne polled 1,974 votes (0.94 percent) placing ahead of four current "well-known" Republican candidates-Alexander, Dornan, Lugar, and Specter -- as well as independent Lowell Weicker, Democrat Lyndon LaRouche, and Natural Law Party candidate John Hegelin.
"Overall, we're pleased with these results," said Browne's national campaign director Sharon Ayres. "However, we feel Harry could have done substantially better if all three planned televised debates had actually taken place.
"While at first glance 0.94 percent doesn't seem impressive, we have to put that number in perspective," she said. "It's comparable percentage-wise to what Ed Clark received in the 1980 election, but with two very big differences -- the actual election is still a year away, plus this ballot had 21 candidates on it to split the vote."
Those cities in which Browne actually campaigned -- Boulder, CO, Tucson, AZ, and Fayette, MO -- produced his best results. He placed seventh in Boulder (2.2 percent), ninth in Tucson (1.6 percent), and sixth in Fayette (5 percent).
