Free Republic

Reflections on the deceptive silence of local elections... In November of every even year, American citizens go to the polls. Those federal elections get press coverage, avalanches of campaign funds, public service ads encouraging participation, televised debates and perhaps best of all, partisan labels to simplify one’s choices. The spring and fall elections of odd years like 2021 enjoy no such star power. When we go to the polls this year – in Illinois, for example, the magic date is April 6 this year; the “early voting” period is already in full swing – we have none of those attention-grabbing...

2020 punctuated the generations-long decline of our republic. Will that half of America that sent Trump to drain the swamp care anymore after believing themselves disenfranchised in 2020?“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” Never has...

Americans ought to be thinking a lot harder about their local, down-ballot races. This year, more than any other in recent memory, we got a bitter taste of the power of local officials to enable, and even promote, rioting and mayhem in America.Many of us have watched aghast as mayors of blue cities like Portland, Seattle, Chicago, and New York turned a blind eye or even encouraged mob rule that resulted in wide-scale violence, vandalism, looting, injury, and, yes, murder. They have flatly rejected all offers by President Trump to bring it under control by calling in the National...

Americans must turn their eye to local contests and boot the feds out of the county and state where they don't belong The onslaught to destroy home rule, replacing state authority with federal overlordship, is being waged with a vengeance by the Administration in D.C. Tenthth Amendment be damned is Obama’s mantra. He has encouraged the Department of Justice to go after states working to secure First Amendment rights and individual privacy rather than enforce law by charging the presumptive democrat nominee with the felonies she’s unequivocally committed. Judicial terrorism against states has become the trademark of Obama’s tenure, from...

Residents of Brattleboro, Vermont, will vote on a ballot item that would let 16- and 17-year-olds vote in local elections. Vermont’s current voting age is 18, and that wouldn’t change for state and federal elections. The proposal by Brattleboro resident Kurt Daims would move the minimum age two years younger for town elections. …

The former national Chairman of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) was approved for a 2nd term on Jacksonville’s Human Rights Commission despite overwhelming opposition from the general public and almost a third of the Council members making a motion to delay the vote until March 4th, which may have allowed for Council Member’s to question Parvez Ahmed. The Council meeting and subsequent vote, was reminiscent of the “Three Ring Circus” of 2010, with old guard Councilmen tripping over each other in an effort to avoid the controversial facts surrounding this nomination and making a mockery of our city’s...

For the first time since the leftists convinced the voters to move the local elections to November, the citizens have a chance to regain control of Chico. To begin with, the campaign against Measure A does not tell you is that the local elections were originally moved to November so that the leftists could gain the support of students who lived here only to go to college, but went home after completing each semester. This was done so that the wealthy fat-cat university professors could control the agenda of Chico's city council by stacking it with leftists socialists who would...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez is vowing to accelerate his drive to turn Venezuela into a socialist state and urging his supporters to become "true revolutionaries" as they prepare for crucial political battles ahead. "Radicalize the revolution!" Chavez trumpeted in a newspaper column published on Sunday, calling on his allies to "create truly revolutionary groups; the vanguard of the people, a party and movement that guarantees the construction of socialism." The president's party is gearing up for next weekend's local elections of two state governors and eleven mayors, including the head of Maracaibo, Venezuela's second-largest city. Pro-Chavez candidates hope...

I am hearing reports that Republicans are making huge gains in local elections in areas like Kane County, Lake County and McHenry County. Who have trended democrat last few elections. Many of these upsets were over multiple termed democrats who were thought to be unbeatable. This is incredible news that if true, shows how the left is lying in their polls and ideas.

In last March’s local elections in the Netherlands the immigrant vote tipped the balance in favour of the Socialists. The same phenomenon marked yesterday’s local elections in Belgium’s major cities. In Antwerp the Socialists became the largest party. They jumped from 19.5% to 35.3% of the votes, winning 22 of the 55 seats in the municipal council – a gain of ten seats. Seven of the Socialist councillors, almost one third of the total, are Muslim immigrants: Fatma Akbas, Karim Bachar, Ouardia El Taghdouini, Youssef Slassi, Fauzaya Talhaoui, Güler Turan, and Sener Ugurlu. Six of the seven are new in...

David Cameron's crusade to put the Conservatives back on the map in the cities was boosted last night amid signs it had won some crucial London boroughs.But on a night of mixed fortunes for the party, it appeared the Tories had failed to make a breakthrough in the big northern cities like Manchester, Liverpool or Newcastle where the party does not have a single councillor. Jubilant Conservatives were predicting victory early this morning in the pivotal London battleground of Hammersmith and Fulham, for the first time in nearly 40 years, as well as in Croydon. In another significant result, the...

The Conservatives look to be on course for their best local election performance since they last won national power in 1992. On the projected share of the votes if the local polls were held nationwide, the Tories are on 40%, ahead of the Lib Dems' 27% and Labour's 26%. As well as net gains of more than 200 seats, the Tories have won control of councils like Crawley and Merton. But opponents say they have failed to breakthrough in northern cities. Ealing gain There have been Tory wins in areas such as Shrewsbury & Atcham, Bassetlaw and Mole Valley. The...

Elected to the 68th Assembly District, Van Tran is the first Vietnamese-American to serve in the California State legislature. Throughout his term in the Assembly, Van Tran has enjoyed national media exposure, and has become one of the most popular figures in Orange County Republican circles.

I'm running for mayor of my small town, mostly because I want to offer voters a change from the same clique of guys who are always running city hall and the city council. I have a pretty good idea what I want to run on, but I'd like any Freepers' help brainstorming ideas to differentiate my candidacy, maybe stand out a bit. 1) What do you like about your town's/city's mayor? 2) What do you hate about your mayor? 3) What kinds of thing do you expect your city to accomplish? 4) How has your city been able to attract...