Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Libertarians win majority on Colorado City Council
LP News ^ | 13 November 2001 | LP

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.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 201-213 next last
To: corkoman
"I bet you always ask for bumpers at the bowling alley."

Wow!!! Snappy comeback!!!!! Have another puff.

61 posted on 11/13/2001 6:35:20 PM PST by Don Myers
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: anniegetyourgun
Gotta get rid of murder laws then, eh?

If you don't want to answer the questions, nobody is going to make you. You don't have to cower there behind your strawman.

62 posted on 11/13/2001 6:35:21 PM PST by tacticalogic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: tacticalogic
"I take it you subscribe to the notion of government being the architect of society."

It does help when society has someone putting up some rules for people to live together.

63 posted on 11/13/2001 6:36:59 PM PST by Don Myers
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: tacticalogic
"or are there any libertarians reading this who do not like their neighbors? "

Heck, these people are so high, they don't even know they have neighbors.

64 posted on 11/13/2001 6:38:23 PM PST by Don Myers
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: Don Myers
"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,"

Very interesting turn of a phrase for a party that wants government out of our lives.

65 posted on 11/13/2001 6:40:22 PM PST by Texasforever
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: DoSomethingAboutIt; OWK; Demidog; nunya bidness; tex-oma
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.... 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.

"Top of the world, ma"!!

Or is it, "king of the mountain"?

66 posted on 11/13/2001 6:41:20 PM PST by Uriel1975
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Comment #67 Removed by Moderator

Comment #68 Removed by Moderator

To: Don Myers
It does help when society has someone putting up some rules for people to live together.

To a point yes, just like every game has to have rules. If the game gets to having too many rules, then the game itself becomes pointless, and it becomes a contest to see who can work the rules to his advantage.

69 posted on 11/13/2001 6:45:10 PM PST by tacticalogic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: tacticalogic
"...government is amoral and should not be tasked with being the arbiter of moral issues."

But, of course, every law has a moral underpinning. But I ceratinly understand your unwillingness to discuss that.

70 posted on 11/13/2001 6:49:33 PM PST by anniegetyourgun
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: tacticalogic
"To a point yes, just like every game has to have rules. "

From the gist of what I have seen, Libertarians want no governmental intrusion into their lives. They want to do what they want to do without regard to rules and regulations.

71 posted on 11/13/2001 6:49:41 PM PST by Don Myers
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: tacticalogic; Demidog
This is slightly off topic, and may or may not be significant, but I'm going to ask anyway. Does anyone recall ever seeing a libertarian post anything derogatory about his or her neighbors, or are there any libertarians reading this who do not like their neighbors? 28 posted on 11/13/01 6:24 PM Pacific by tacticalogic

That's a plausible theory actually. Look at all those who are first to call the cops, CPS etc on their neighbors.... 31 posted on 11/13/01 6:34 PM Pacific by Demidog

While any matter of Aggressive Force would warrant a call to the local coppers, I suspect that if it is simply a matter of a neighbor being rude, crude, disorderly, or just plain ornery, a libertarian might see if he could resolve the situation by calmly, peacefully field-stripping and cleaning his guns in plain view on his front porch... while whistling a happy tune. "Howdy, neighbor!!"

At least, that's the sort of thing I can imagine L. Neil Smith or Robert Heinlein doing.

"An armed society... is a polite society" -- Heinlein

72 posted on 11/13/2001 6:50:43 PM PST by Uriel1975
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: tacticalogic; Demidog
This is slightly off topic, and may or may not be significant, but I'm going to ask anyway. Does anyone recall ever seeing a libertarian post anything derogatory about his or her neighbors, or are there any libertarians reading this who do not like their neighbors? 28 posted on 11/13/01 6:24 PM Pacific by tacticalogic

That's a plausible theory actually. Look at all those who are first to call the cops, CPS etc on their neighbors.... 31 posted on 11/13/01 6:34 PM Pacific by Demidog

While any matter of Aggressive Force would warrant a call to the local coppers, I suspect that if it is simply a matter of a neighbor being rude, crude, disorderly, or just plain ornery, a libertarian might see if he could resolve the situation by calmly, peacefully field-stripping and cleaning his guns in plain view on his front porch... while whistling a happy tune. "Howdy, neighbor!!"

At least, that's the sort of thing I can imagine L. Neil Smith or Robert Heinlein doing.

"An armed society... is a polite society" -- Heinlein

73 posted on 11/13/2001 6:50:43 PM PST by Uriel1975
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: tex-oma
Then you have the right to organize a means to overthrow the current structure and put something else in its place.
74 posted on 11/13/2001 6:50:50 PM PST by anniegetyourgun
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 68 | View Replies]

To: Texasforever
"Very interesting turn of a phrase for a party that wants government out of our lives."

Wasn't my turn of phrase.

75 posted on 11/13/2001 6:50:59 PM PST by Don Myers
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: anniegetyourgun
We are the government, remember?


Imagine an election in which the most important issues are as follows:

1- Whether to increase taxes to fund arts.
2- Whether to increase taxes to fund schools.
3- Whether to increase taxes to fund FBI.


There are two candidates. Candidate 'A' says yes to 1 and 2, while candidate 'B' says yes to 3.

If you are anti-tax and pro-small government, whomever you vote for, you will never have a government that exactly represents your will ... unless your government is libertarian.

This is a problem called "package deal." The candidates are packages. The more power you give to the government, the more you have to conform to what package the candidate offers you.
76 posted on 11/13/2001 6:55:57 PM PST by parthur
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: DoSomethingAboutIt
God Help this city council. Hopefully their Libertarians are a little more patriotic, intellectual and respectful of America than many of those we find here infecting FR like flees on the back of a dog.
77 posted on 11/13/2001 7:02:21 PM PST by VA Advogado
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Don Myers
Sorry that was from the article. I didn't mean to imply it was from you.
78 posted on 11/13/2001 7:05:03 PM PST by Texasforever
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies]

To: anniegetyourgun
But, of course, every law has a moral underpinning. But I ceratinly understand your unwillingness to discuss that.

Not at all. Every law does indeed have it's basis in morality, or at least the morality of those who wrote the law. But once it is codified into law, it's application is done amorally. Moreover, the question becomes wheather society's morality should conform with the law, or wheather the law should conform with society's morality, and is that relationship consistent?

Is smoking marijuana immoral because it's illegal, or is it illegal because it's immoral?

Is abortion legal because it's moral, or is it moral because it's legal?

Are the two always related?

79 posted on 11/13/2001 7:06:26 PM PST by tacticalogic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: parthur
Best wishes for success in getting 100% of what you want 100% of the time. Especially with those less than single-digit candidates.
80 posted on 11/13/2001 7:07:11 PM PST by anniegetyourgun
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 201-213 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson