2 Libertarians elected to Hanford CA city council

Morrow’s First Action as City Councilwoman is to Make All Businesses in Hanford, California “Essential Businesses” | EIN Presswire (press release):  

December 18, 2020 - "This week on Tuesday evening, the City of Hanford, California swore in two newly elected council members. One of them, Libertarian Kalish Morrow, won the November 3rd election with over 42% of the vote in District B, unseating the incumbent, with the promise of making the city business friendly. She and her supporters ran a positive and unique campaign including park clean ups, charity activities including Habitat for Humanity™ and neighborhood by neighborhood canvassing. She was sworn in by another elected Libertarian, Jeff Hewitt, Riverside County Supervisor District 5.

"In her first action as a councilwoman, Morrow moved to agendize naming all businesses of Hanford essential, not just those that state and county governments deem essential. Morrow said, 'As a result of the pandemic the US economy is in a tailspin due to lockdowns. We cannot continue like this. Families need to put food on their tables and heads of households need to be able to provide that food. Stimulus checks are not the solution, they are not substantial and we will pay for them for decades.'

"Mimi Robson, Chair of the Libertarian Party of California stated, 'Since March politicians have decided which businesses were and weren’t essential, without recognizing that every business is essential to those business owners and their customers. A mom and pop store is more likely to put in place protections for their staff and clients than a big box store, but yet the large corporations that line the pockets of the old parties’ elected representatives are the only ones that have been able to continue doing business. Immediately after taking office Kalish has started the process to change that in her home town and recognize that everyone is essential. This is what Libertarians do!'...

"Hanford City Councilman, Francisco Ramirez, was elected Mayor of Hanford that same night.... Ramirez recently changed his party affiliation to Libertarian from Democrat. Ramirez explains, 'Having been both a registered Republican and Democrat in the past, I became disenchanted in how those two parties limit or remove many of our freedoms. I became a Libertarian because it is the only party that truly fights for our freedoms and it fits my own political and social beliefs best.'

Read more: https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/533044659/kalish-morrow-newly-elected-libertarian-city-councilwoman-is-sworn-in-and-begins-her-business-friendly-plan

Hornberger wins CA Libertarian primary with 18%

Libertarian Super Tuesday: Big Night for Jacob Hornberger, NOTA; John McAfee Drops Out and Backs Vermin Supreme | Reason.com - Matt Welch:

March 4, 2020 - "Libertarian Party primaries and caucuses are nonbinding, which means that no delegates are awarded.... Still, the election results provide a snapshot of what party members are thinking less than three months out.

"So far, the trend line is unmistakable — the Libertarian front-runner at this point is ... Future of Freedom Foundation founder Jacob Hornberger. After previously winning the Iowa and Minnesota caucuses, and getting the second-most first-place votes in the New Hampshire primary as a write-in, Hornberger was the biggest human vote-getter in two of the three Super Tuesday primaries that have posted results so far.

"In California, with 99.9 percent of precincts reporting, Hornberger led a field of 13 candidates with 17.5 percent of the vote. Tied for second with 11.6 percent were former military officer and Honolulu County Neighborhood Board member Ken Armstrong, and political satirist Vermin Supreme, the latter of whom previously won the New Hampshire primary. Lagging just behind at 11.4 percent was 1996 L.P. vice presidential nominee and academic Jo Jorgensen.

""Massachusetts officials don't expect to have an official statewide count until next week. According to unofficial numbers ... comprising roughly three-quarters of ballots, ... 'None of the Above' (NOTA) was leading with around 19 percent of the vote, followed by Vermin Supreme with 11.5 percent and Hornberger with 9.4 percent. Write-ins, which have not yet been broken down, amounted to a combined 29.3 percent....

"And in North Carolina, ... Hornberger again paced the biped field with 8.7 percent, though NOTA stomped with 29.8 percent. (NOTA wasn't on the ballot in California.) Just behind Hornberger with 8.2 percent was antivirus pioneer and international man of mystery John McAfee, who promptly dropped out, threw his support behind Vermin Supreme, and announced his candidacy for vice president....

"Not on any of the three Super Tuesday Libertarian ballots were recent entrants Lincoln Chafee (the former U.S. senator and Rhode Island governor, who finished second in the Iowa L.P. caucus and tied for fourth in Minnesota); entrepreneur/ex-convict Mark Whitney (11th and fourth, respectively, in same), and former million-vote-getting Georgia gubernatorial candidate John Monds (15th and fourth).

"Meanwhile, the leading fundraiser in the race, activist and veteran Adam Kokesh, finished sixth in California with 7.9 percent, tied for eighth in Massachusetts with 4.4 percent, and ninth in North Carolina with 3.5 percent."

Read more: https://reason.com/2020/03/04/libertarian-super-tuesday-big-night-for-jacob-hornberger-nota-john-mcafee-drops-out-and-backs-vermin-supreme/

Libertarian POTUS nominee David Bergland dead

David Bergland | Libertarianism Wiki:

June 9, 2019 - "David Peter Bergland (June 4, 1935 - June 3, 2019) was an American politician, who was the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party in 1984.

"Bergland was born in Mapleton, Iowa.... A resident of California and a lawyer, Bergland ran unsuccessfully for office several times, always as a Libertarian. He also served as the party's national chair from 1977 to 1981 and from 1998 to 2000.

"In 1974, he ran as a write-in candidate for California Attorney General. He received the party's vice-presidential nomination in the 1976 presidential election, sharing the ticket with Roger MacBride.... In 1978, Bergland ran for the California state senate district 36, receiving 5.8% of the vote.... In 1980 he ran for the United States Senate, finishing 3rd of 5 with 202,410 votes (2.4%).

"At the 1983 Libertarian National Convention, Bergland won the Libertarian Party's nomination for president of the United States in the 1984 presidential election. Bergland and his running mate, Jim Lewis, received 228,111 votes (0.3%).

"In the early 1980s Bergland wrote a book on libertarian philosophy, Libertarianism in One Lesson, which he used as a campaign book for his 1984 presidential run....

"Bergland died on June 3, 2019, one day short of his 84th birthday, after a bout with prostate cancer."

Read more: https://libertarianism.fandom.com/wiki/David_Bergland
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Libertarians see progress in midterm elections

Is the Libertarian Party Glass Half Full or Half Empty? - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Matt Welch:

December 12, 2018 - "Last Friday, after a lengthy ballot count, Libertarian Jeff Hewitt was declared the winner of one of five officially nonpartisan seats on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, giving him one of the largest constituent bases of any elected Libertarian in the party's 47-year history. On Saturday in this space, we posted a far less upbeat assessment of the L.P.'s current electoral situation....

"In a teleconference with party activists before the Hewitt announcement last week, Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark laid out the numerical case for optimism.

"'We ran 833 candidates for public office in 2018 in the November elections. We ended up with 52 [now 53] elected Libertarians….That's an increase from the last general election year 2016, where we only elected 34 people," said Sarwark, who finished in fourth and last place in November's Phoenix mayoral race, receiving 10.5 percent of the vote. "In 2016, the Libertarian Party ran 593 candidates around the country….2017's our last odd-numbered year; we ran 135 candidates for both state and local races, but of those, we ended up electing 48'....

"In a press release Friday, the party exulted over Hewitt's win, calling it 'arguably the largest, most momentous win in Libertarian Party history.' The release went on to list the other winners from November, including four municipal officials who won partisan races in Indiana.

"Mark Rutherford, a longtime activist in the comparatively successful Indiana L.P., and former vice chair of the national party (2010-12), says there has a been a sea change in approach to nuts-and-bolts campaigning. 'I've never seen canvassing taken so serious by Libertarians since I first started paying serious attention to the LP in 1994,' Rutherford wrote in an email to me this week.... 'Right now, change is happening in the LP as I see it becoming a party that finds libertarians and gets them elected or appointed to office. I hope it continues'....

"'As far as how we came out of the 2018 election, ballot access-wise,' Sarwark said, 'we are on in 34 states for 2020 for a presidential candidate. That is the best situation we have ever been in after a non-presidential general election, and it's actually the best situation that any third party has been in in history.' The party maintains its expectation to be on the ballot in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, 'which would be one of the first times, maybe the first time, that anyone's done that back to back as a non-Republican-or-Democratic party'....

"'The original Libertarian Party had only 70 members, but today exceeds 130,000,' the L.P. noted yesterday in a birthday press release. 'The membership of the Libertarian Party has increased by 92 percent during the past 10 years. The presidential ticket of Gov. Gary Johnson and Gov. William Weld in 2016 received a record number of votes for the Libertarian Party. Perhaps most importantly, the Libertarians are the only party on the political spectrum defending both economic responsibility and social acceptance.'"

Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2018/12/12/is-the-libertarian-party-glass-half-full
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Libertarian Hewitt elected co. supervisor in CA

Libertarian Party celebrates their 'most momentous win' after California votes finally tallied - Washington Times - Jennifer Harper:

December 7, 2018 - "California officials have spent weeks counting provisional and absentee ballots following the Nov. 6 election, and have at last determined who will be the next supervisor for the 5th District of Riverside County.

"Libertarian Jeff Hewitt on Friday was declared the winner with 51.9 percent of the vote, besting his Republican opponent Russ Bogh, who garnered 48.1 percent.

"'This is arguably the largest, most momentous win in Libertarian Party history,' the Libertarian Party said in a celebratory statement. 'The population of Riverside County is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau at 2,423,266 for 2018.... Hewitt’s district alone has a population of more than 438,000.... Other Libertarians have been elected to state House positions over the years, including Andre Marrou in Alaska and several in New Hampshire. All of them, however, were elected in districts with populations of less than 50,000.'

"Riverside County has appropriated spending of $5.6 billion in 2018-19 on revenues of $5.4 billion....

"'Hewitt will have 20 percent of the board’s vote. His considerable persuasive abilities will aid him in doing something about that budget shortfall going forward,' the party noted, citing numerous cost-cutting measures Mr. Hewitt previously deployed as ... mayor of Calimesa, some 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

"They included trimming 'bankruptcy-inducing pension obligations' and paring down administrative costs.

"Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark emphasizes that his party is in it for the 'long game,' adding that out of the 833 Libertarians who ran for office this year, 53 won. 'What we’re trying to do is keep advancing down the field regardless of the other things that are happening in the world or in politics,' Mr. Sarwark said. “We have to show up to every election.'"

Read more: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/7/libertarian-party-celebrates-their-most-momentous-/
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5 Libertarians on California general election ballot

As GOP, Dems squabble, Libertarians, Greens and others see opportunity – Whittier Daily News - Kevin Modesti:

July 25, 2018 - "Christopher Stare, a 28-year-old Silver Lake resident with a new PhD in cognitive neuroscience who is making his political debut by running for the state Assembly as a member of the Libertarian Party ... came in second as a write-in candidate in the June 5 primary and advanced to the Nov. 6 general election against Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, a Democrat from Los Angeles. The sobering footnote: Stare advanced because he was Carrillo’s only opponent. In California’s 'top two' primary system, he could have moved on by getting one vote. He wound up getting only four votes, including his own and his wife’s — trailing Carrillo by more than 42,500....

"Five Libertarian candidates finished second in their primaries and advanced to November ballots, all in races for the Assembly, including Stare in the 51st District, Autumn Browne in the 69th District (Orange County) and Honor “Mimi” Robson in the 70th District (L.A. County). Three Green candidates finished second and moved on to November.... Statistically, these were Libertarians’ and Greens’ best showings in the primaries since California voters approved the top-two system in 2010....

"But the third parties’ chances of actually winning any offices appear small.... Hurdles remain, ... among them the top-two system that usually is — pretty much by definition — bad for third parties....

"Stare’s goal is to use his campaign to win attention for Libertarian ideas — promoting fiscal responsibility in California government, opposing the state gas-tax increase, easing business and occupation licensing, fighting the housing crisis by allowing more home construction, loosening restrictions on immigration and decriminalizing drug use.

“'I think this is a time in our country when people are starting to look at other options,” Stare said. 'Donald Trump isn’t popular, even in his own party. People are fleeing the Republican Party. Democrats are seeing the rise of democratic socialism, and that’s kind of antithetical to our system'.... Stare thinks he could get a substantial number of votes 'by just being the "not Democrat" on the ballot'....

"Greens and Libertarians in California have achieved most of their electoral successes in local races ... and a Libertarian is mayor of Calimesa. Each party holds council seats in three small cities, among them Palm Desert and San Gabriel. A Green is on the board of supervisors in Mendocino County, and Calimesa Mayor Jeffrey Hewitt is running for Riverside County supervisor.

"In the latest voter registration data, Libertarians comprise 0.74 percent and Greens 0.45 percent of the state’s voters, far behind Democrats (44.4 percent), Republicans (25.1 percent) and people listing no party preference (25.5 percent)."

Read more: https://www.whittierdailynews.com/2018/07/25/as-gop-dems-squabble-libertarians-greens-and-others-see-opportunity/
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