January 1998
Election '97: What We Learned
Pennsylvania's secret: Decentralization
By Tim Moir
Pennsylvania LP State Chair
In 1997, 25 Libertarians were elected in Pennsylvania. No previous election has ever elected this many Libertarian victories in the entire country. Why was Pennsylvania so successful in electing Libertarians to office? What did we learn in the process, to have more victories in the future?
Decentralization was the key for us. We had 55 candidates on the ballot in Pennsylvania along with eight write-in campaigns, for a total of 63 candidates. We had winners in 12 different counties. Someone from out-of-state asked me how I was able to keep track of all these campaigns. I told him I wasn't. I couldn't. My involvement was limited to campaigns where I lived. All the campaigns were organized and funded by local groups.
I could not plan where our victories were going to come from. Mark Wicks won as Township Supervisor in Upper Tulpehocken Berks County by getting more votes than his Republican and Democratic opponents combined. Very few Libertarians have beaten two major-party candidates without cross-filing or running non-partisan. Before the election, I only knew Mark as one of our 55 candidates. I never counted him among our prospective winners. Mark and his local supporters did all the work.
I only expected us to win about 10 races. Twenty-four hours after the polls closed I only knew of 14 victories. In some cases I didn't even know local groups had Libertarian candidates on the ballot until they wrote to tell me they had won. I didn't learn of our 25th winner until December and wouldn't be surprised to learn of more.
Inspired to recruit
When a Libertarian steps forward to become a candidate, other Libertarians follow suit. When one county committee declares they are running 13 candidates, other county committees are inspired to recruit their own slate of candidates. It is the local candidates and the county committees who must find and groom new candidates, not the state board.We plan to continue the momentum in Pennsylvania into 1998. We need 75 to 80 candidates for State House to gather enough petition signatures to get on the ballot statewide. My job is to empower the local groups to field candidates, to lead by example and foster friendly competition between the various county committees. Decentralization, not central planning, will build our army of candidates and winners in 1998.
Editor's note: Tim Moir was one of three Pennsylvania Libertarians on the ballot in 1993 and one of 55 in 1997. He won both races.
