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Friday, September 27, 2019

Canandaigua GOP vice-chair joins Libertarians

Political Roundup: Is Ontario County red, blue or Libertarian gold? - News - MPNnow - Canandaigua, NY - Julie Sherwood, Canandaigua Daily Messenger:

September 26, 2019 - "Eric Cooper, vice chairman of the city of Canandaigua Republican Party, has left the GOP to join the Libertarian Party. The announcement during a press conference last Saturday drew a number of county Libertarian Party officials as well as notables Larry Sharpe, Libertarian candidate for New York governor in 2018, and Andrew Hollister, 2018 Libertarian candidate for New York lieutenant governor.

“'Anybody who has lived in New York for a number of years will tell you the pessimism that regular people feel is incredible. It shouldn’t be that way,' said Cooper from the steps of the Ontario County Courthouse. 'The Republican Party and the Democratic Party have been complicit in the deterioration of New York state for a long time. The Libertarian Party is the only one that has real choices, options, and the principle to get things done. I’m happy to change my party to the Libertarian Party. It’s exciting for me to join the people working so hard to make these changes. I think it’s inevitable that something good happens in New York state.'

"The Libertarian Party of New York gained ballot access last November when Sharpe made history by tallying 90,739 votes in his bid for governor — surpassing the 50,000-vote threshold to secure the Libertarian line on the ballot in New York for the next four years. The result: Pursuit of serious Libertarian candidates to challenge ... the two-party system, and to gain members.... Sharpe spoke at other events in upstate New York last weekend, where several candidates announced their switch to Libertarian....

“'People often ask why in the world would I still be coming to towns and villages across upstate New York when I’m no longer running for anything,' said Sharpe, a Marine Corps veteran and native of New York. 'I’m doing this because I want to change this state. This state has so much potential. Think of New York state like a business. If I’m running a business and I’m losing over 100,000 customers every single year for nine years in a row, I’m doing something wrong. There’s something wrong with how they’re running New York state. Last year, I covered every single county in New York state. I found a lot of Democrats and Republicans who believed what I was saying, but they were afraid to leave their party and join the effort. I want to be sure New Yorkers know there are other people out here who are bravely leading the way.'

"On Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation making it easier to change party enrollment ahead of a primary election.... Voters now have until Feb. 14 to make changes to party enrollment and still vote in the April presidential and June congressional and state primaries."

Read more: https://www.mpnnow.com/news/20190926/political-roundup-is-ontario-county-red-blue-or-libertarian-gold
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