Posted on 11/13/2001 4:31:37 PM PST by DoSomethingAboutIt
Libertarians have taken over the city of Leadville, Colorado.
On November 6, local voters gave registered Libertarians a voting majority on the seven-member Leadville city council. Four council seats are now occupied by Libertarians.
LP Political Director Ron Crickenberger said this is an "historic event" for the Libertarian Party.
"I think it's fantastic that the LP has achieved its goal of taking over a town with Libertarians -- with the support of the voters, of course," he said."This really is the next political step for the party: Going from winning individual offices to winning enough seats to have a working majority."
The four-person Libertarian majority consists of:
* Carol Hill (Ward 1), who defeated an incumbent and another challenger in a three-way race, garnering 48.6% of the vote. Previously, she had unsuccessfully run for city council in 1995 and for Lake County Commissioner in 1996.
* Ken Cary (Ward 2), who registered as a Libertarian just days before the election. Ward won his election with 52% of the vote in a two-way race.
* Joe Swyers (Ward 2), a Libertarian who had already been serving on the council, elected in 1999.
* Lisa Dowdney (Ward 3), who was also elected in 1999 and registered as a Libertarian on November 8, shifting the balance of power to the Libertarian Party.
Leadville city council members are elected for four-year terms in non-partisan races.
"Congratulations to Joe, Carol, Lisa, and Ken!" said Colorado LP Information Director David Bryant. "Thanks to the four of you, Leadville is poised to become the most Libertarian city in America. Way to go!"
With a Libertarian majority, the city will be "very interesting," said Hill, "especially on financial issues. We should get some reasonable budgets and some sensible policies -- we should be able to cut back."
Specifically, Hill said she would like to cut back the activity of the local planning and zoning board --or abolish the board completely -- and stop spending money from city reserve funds.
Although she said she might meet some resistance from the mayor, she said she is able to hold her own in a debate on local issues.
"The key is to redefine the issue at hand so your political opponents don't have you constantly on the defensive," she said. "Don't try to debate on their terms."
The situation in Leadville is a good sign for future local Libertarian candidates, said Crickenberger.
"I expect situations such as this one to become more and more common in the near future," he said. "And the movement of our American communities in a Libertarian direction will inevitably translate to bigger victories down the road."
This is not the first time that Libertarians have had a working majority on a city council, said Crickenberger. That feat was accomplished in the late 1980s in Big Water, Utah.
Located just west of Denver, Leadville has the distinction of being America's highest incorporated city, at a perch of more than 10,000 feet. It has a population of about 2,800 residents.
Hill and Cary will be sworn into office on January 7, 2002.
Already has plenty of pot plantations in the surrounding mountains.
None for me!!
Very independant people. Beautiful scenery and great fishing.
What do you consider government's role in society to be - is it the function of government to dictate what societal mores should be, or should it conform to the views of society? Is our government merely an extension of our society, and thus any legitimate concern of society is also a legitimate concern of the government?
Personally, I think that it is for society to deal with issues of morality, and not the government - government is amoral and should not be tasked with being the arbiter of moral issues. Society should keep governemnt at arm's length and not embrace it too closely. If you do, you can't see what it's hands are doing behind your back.
You mean training wheels or restraints?
Same effect. Same thing. Take it with you.
The basic difference in attitude I've seen between libertarians and statists is that the former like people but don't trust The People while the latter take the opposite tack.
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