Hamilton County Libertarian Party

Parting Message

2011-01-28T09:17:00.002-05:00

Now that my time as Chair is passing, I wanted to share some thoughts on the way out.

On Strategy. In the previous several years, the Libertarian Party was getting beat up locally on issues we share with the Left- opposition to the War in Iraq, and especially to the War on Drugs. My strategic approach in 2003 was to recognize that Hamilton County is one that is predisposed to the Right, so let's outflank the Republicans to the right on economic issues.

I do not lament this course. The economy is today's top issue, and if our policy recommendations were heeded, such as our calls to cut the budgets from 5-10% beginning in 2004, we might have the budgetary discomfort we have today. See today's Indy Star, for Commissioner Steve Dillinger's place on the hot seat as he tries to make savings now, here, and here.

But the sands have shifted. People are beginning to see more clearly the folly of Iraq & Afghanistan, and the War on Drugs. Funny how a change in Administrations can do that. But when even Pat Robertson questions the War on Drugs, and the Indiana legislature is poised to explore marijuana issues, the time has come for the Libertarian Party to push the envelope, and not just on these relatively mothballed issues.

The time is right to call for much larger cuts. The people in our area know how screwed we are. They're ready to hear honest assessment, and to take the 'medicine' of cutting back significantly on this extravagant government. If Dillinger is calling for layoffs, we can call him committed to preserving government and further for the scaling back on benefits to remaining employees and elimination of departments. If Rand Paul is calling for a 30% budget cut, let's call that a nice start and call for a 50% cut. Let's expand the conversation in our direction step by step.

On Candidates. We need candidates for office in this municipal cycle. Yes, Federal offices are sexy and get talked about on the Sunday TV shows, but the mayors in our Hamilton County cities spend huge money on pet projects, and the voters need a November choice for smaller government in Carmel, Noblesville, and Westfield. Libertarian politics is all well and good for discussion, but the candidates on the ballot make it meaningful. It's nice for the County Chair to take issue with arts palaces with a press release and some time on an AM talk radio show, but a candidate for office who pledges never to do anything like that again and to freeze bonding is a clear choice for voters who don't want a tax & spend mayor, and the possibility of unseating that mayor.

Farewell. It has been a pleasure to serve as Chair on and off since 2003. We've had some fine candidates in our county during this time, and we've made the case to the voters on a number of important issues. I'm so delighted at the growth of our base this year that I can scarcely express it. There is an opportunity for the Libertarian Party to continue to grow. We need to tap into those voters who showed up for us this past November. We need to transition more fully from a discussion outlet to an action committee. There's no reason we can't run as many candidates as the Democrats in 2011- or more! There's no good reason why we can't get someone elected in Sheridan or Cicero. Whatever the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County does, I'll be cheering it on, as I develop a business plan and possibly complete that MBA.

In Liberty-
-Mike

Kole Stepping Down As Chair

2011-01-24T15:08:00.002-05:00

The time has come for me to step down as County Chair. Family, work, and continued education concerns make it so.

I take stock in the gains that our organization has made in the past two years:

Libertarian candidates for offices in our county were on the ballot again in 2010 for the first time since 2006.
Our base more than doubled! I have previously crunched the numbers via this link.
We have a full roster of officers in the organization.
Our monthly Meet-Ups are well attended.

It is crucially important that somebody steps up to replace me as Chair. In the seven years I have been involved with the Libertarian Party here in Hamilton County, our organization has been characterized by members who will vote for our candidates, attend our events, financially support the organization, but shy away from being involved in leadership, and for the actions that are the reason for this organization to exist: running for office, and campaigning door-to-door.

We have very capable people in our membership. Libertarians are almost universally self-sufficient and achievers. Please consider bringing your talent to the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County, as a leader and/or as a candidate.

We have a clear momentum we can build upon! People are talking about libertarian policy and philosophy like never before. Hamilton County voters are at last beginning to shift from the old parties towards us. It would be a tremendous shame if the chapter were to fold for lack of participation at the leadership level.

At minimum, the Chair spends about 5 hours/week. This is what is needed to recruit candidates; answer questions from media and the public; watch issues affecting us here. Ambitious Chairs of course spend more time than that.

So, we will host a County Convention for the purpose of electing a new County Chair. Here are the details:

When: Thursday, January 27, 2011; 7-8pm

Where: Claude & Annie’s, 9251 E. 141^st St, Fishers IN 46038

Who Can Vote: Those with current membership in either the national or Indiana Libertarian Party. Membership can be made current at the meeting prior to votes taking place.

I'll look forward to seeing you at Claude & Annie's on Thursday!

Sincerely Yours-
-Mike Kole
Chair, Libertarian Party of Hamilton County

Voter Registration Is Open

2010-12-01T13:14:00.000-05:00

Not long after one election season closes does the ability to register to vote for the next one open up. The next elections focus on municipal elections (mayors, city & town councils).

Next Election Day: Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Link for Voter Registration Form: pdf file

Where to submit your completed form:

Voter Registration Office, basement, Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center from 8:00am-4:30p.m. Monday-Friday.

Noblesville, Fishers, and Carmel License Branches

Any City or Town Clerk-Treasurer's office

Any public assistance office (such as the Division of Family and Children

)

Make sure to register so you can vote for Libertarian candidates in 2011!

If you are unsure of your status, follow this link to check up.

Libertarians will not participate in the Primary Elections in May 2011. Instead, we will host a County Convention where our candidates for municipal offices will be nominated. More details down the road.

Sad News - David Nolan, R.I.P.

2010-11-22T09:22:00.006-05:00

Libertarians across the country were saddened to learn that a co-founder of the Libertarian Party, David Nolan, had died suddenly Saturday night. The Libertarian Party was actually formed in Nolan's living room. There are many articles in response. Here's a small sampling:

Libertarian Party's blog

The Advocates For Smaller Government blog

Tucson Citizen

Freedom's Phoenix

Independent Political Report - the comments are loaded with tributes

David Nolan was on the current Libertarian National Committee, and just recently ran for US Senate against John McCain. He invented the "Nolan Chart", a later version of which is now used by the Advocates For Smaller Government, which we all use for outreach at events.

Greg Noland administers 'The World's Smallest Political Quiz', which incorporates 'The Nolan Chart". Photo from recent Good Earth Festival in Atlanta, IN.

David was apparently driving to an event to support the Advocates. He had created a fundraising event for his upcoming birthday - Tuesday - asking Facebook friends to support the Advocates as a birthday wish. Link to the page to donate in David's memory.

I had the opportunity to meet with David at several LP national conventions. My lasting impressions of him are of his calm demeanor at the microphone during heated platform arguments, as the voice of reason, but as one deeply respected by each of the various factions within the party. The room always got respectfully quieter when David Nolan began to speak.

Post-Election Meetup

2010-11-15T14:11:00.002-05:00

We're hosting this month's Meetup later in the month than usual (it's normally the first Thursday of each month), due to the proximity to Election Day.

Now that we've rested a bit, it's time to celebrate our increasing returns! Also, discuss the intestinal fortitude of the Republicans. Will they raise the debt ceiling and continue deficit spending?

When: Thursday, November 15, 7:30pm-?

Where: Claude & Annie's, SW corner of SR 37 & E. 141st, Fishers

Meetup website link. Make sure to visit the Meetup site and register. RSVP and get regular notices of all Hamilton County Libertarian Meetup activities.

Number Crunching, Precinct Level

2010-11-05T23:10:00.003-04:00

What value going door-to-door and standing at your precinct handing out palm cards on election day? See if you can guess which precinct I live in, and which two voted at the polling place I stood at on election day:

Delaware 1: 7.27%
Delaware 2: 4.29%
Delaware 3: 15.63%
Delaware 8: 5.69%
Delaware 9: 7.17%
Delaware 10: 13.27%

Yes, I live in Delaware 3, and I handed out palm cards at Fishers Town Hall, which housed voting for Delaware 3 & 10. Full precinct results.

This is why County Chairs beg supporters to go door-to-door, and to work the polling place on election day. Message is great. Promoting a great message is vital.

More Unofficial Returns

2010-11-05T21:05:00.005-04:00

While we did not win our ultimate goals- election to office- in the recent general elections, the Libertarian Party can show that our base has grown significantly here in Hamilton County. Let us compare the countywide numbers with the same cycles from elections past:

2010 US Senate Results
Rebecca Sink-Burris
5380 votes, 6.66%

2004 US Senate Results
Al Barger
970 votes, 1%

(In 2006, there was no Democratic candidate for US Senate. Libertarian Steve Osborn got 4,226 votes, 8%, in a two-way race with Republican Dick Lugar.)

2010 Indiana Secretary of State Results
Mike Wherry
5,880 votes, 7.35%

2006 Indiana Secretary of State Results
Mike Kole
1,775 votes, 3%

2010 Indiana Auditor Results
Eric Knipe
3,360 votes, 4.31%

2002 Indiana Auditor Results
Bruce Parisi
1,535 votes, 4%

(The Libertarian Party did not field a candidate for Indiana Auditor in 2006.)

2010 US House, District 5 Results
Chard Reid
7,584 votes, 9.45%

2006 US House, District 5 Results
Shari Conover Sharlow
2,393 votes, 4%

Links to Hamilton County election results: 2010, 2006, 2004, 2002.

It has always been the experience of the Libertarian Party throughout Indiana that the candidates at the top of the ticket, for federal offices like President or US Senate, tended to get the lowest returns, with numbers improving further downticket in local races. So, the numbers pulled by Chard Reid and Rebecca Sink-Burris are positively encouraging.

Both Reid and Sink-Burris earned some broad name recognition, Reid having been endorsed by the Indianapolis Star, and Sink-Burris performing well in three televised debates. This clearly translated into votes for each.

These are huge gains that suggest to me that our base has grown significantly, and that the voters are increasingly comfortable with casting votes for offices perceived to be the most important. This is a source of great pride for me as County Chair!

The Secretary of State race is also very interesting to compare, as Mike Wherry more than doubled up my 2006 results, the Democrats stayed flat, while the Republicans took a hit.

2010 R: 67.03%
2006 R: 71%

2010 D: 25.62%
2006 D: 26%

No doubt the voter registration issues dogging Republican Charlie White were a factor here. Interesting, though, that White's status as Republican County Chair did not help overcome losing support to Wherry. But also, I suspect the fact of the Secretary of State race as the ballot status race for the Libertarian Party was also a factor.

In other races where we had candidates, Libertarians also fared well.

2010 County Council Dist 3 Results
Joe Tucker
2,761 votes, 17.08%

2002 County Council Dist 3 Results
Terry Baker
830 votes, 8%

There was no Libertarian in this race in 2006, and in 2002, Baker ran in a three-way race, so there isn't an apples-to-apples comparison available here. We can compare to a different district though. In 2002, in District 2, Gregg Puls ran in a two-way race for County Council and got 1,079 votes and 11%. It could be that the Noblesville area is more inclined to vote Libertarian than the Fishers area was at that time. It could simply reflect the party's growth, or more likely, some of both.

2010 County Council Dist 2 Results
Mike Kole
1,643 votes, 6.88%

2002 County Council Dist 2 Results
Greg Puls
1,079 votes, 11%

As with District 3, there was no Libertarian candidate in 2006, and there isn't an apples-to-apples comparison, because 2002 was a two-way, and 2010 was a three way race. I take stock in the increase in number of votes, especially considering there was a Democrat taking roughly 25%. No doubt in 2002, some Democratic voters cast votes for Puls lacking a candidate of their own to vote for. What I noticed right away, though, was that my 2010 vote total of 1,643 votes represents just three of the County's nine townships, my 2006 vote totals of 1,775 for the Secretary of State were taken from the entire County. That's pretty remarkable.

2010 Indiana House Dist 36 Results
Greg Noland
29 votes, 4.01%

2008 Indiana House Dist 36 Results
Greg Noland
36 votes, 3.41%

This is a nice one to compare, as we had the same candidate running against the same incumbent Democrat. While the Dem lost 10 points, we went up by more than half a point. This district is primarily in Madison County, but it does extend into White River and part of Jackson Townships.

2010 Indiana House Dist 87 Returns
Joe Hauptmann
1,638 votes, 16.76%

2008 Indiana House Dist 87 Returns
Pamela Hickman (Democrat)
4,991 votes, 31,19%

There isn't an apples-to-apples comparison for this race for 2002-2010, but this one is interesting. In 2008, there was no Libertarian candidate, and Republican Cindy Noe ran a two-way race with Democrat Pamela Hickman. Against the same candidate in 2010, Libertarian Joe Hauptmann got more than half the percentage of the Democrat, who was boosted by a national pendulum swing to the Democrats in 2008.

In Summary: Our numbers are going up despite our candidates not having huge advertising budgets. We do a fantastic job of taking advantage of earned media. The base of the Libertarian Party in Hamilton County is growing at all levels, but most significantly at the top of ticket, where voter confidence was previously very scarce. The key now is to translate more votes into more candidates for future ballots, and more volunteers to walk neighborhoods and work phone banks and polling places. We may be getting near to Malcolm Gladwell's tipping point, where we start electing officials to office in Hamilton County!

Unofficial Returns

2010-11-03T09:59:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, I did not win in my bid for County Council. That's okay- I'll take stock in the positives:

I enjoyed going door-to-door to talk issues with my neighbors. I know that more people have an understanding of what a Libertarian would do in office if elected, and dispelled some misnomers.

We found where some of our supporters are. I am hopeful this will result in more people active with the Libertarian Party.

The support of friends was tremendous! Many, many thanks to friends who braved the cold to pass out palm cards on election day, including Jim Hurst, Mark Kolovrat, Craig Witt, Lars & Pami Noldan, and Matt Mulder.

The unofficial returns have me getting 6.9% of the votes, with the Democrat getting 24.8%, and the Republican 68.3%. This was the first time this Council seat had a three-way race. It was unchallenged in 2006 with the Republican unopposed, and in 2002 Libertarian Gregg Puls got 11%, but there wasn't a Democrat in the race. Now we know where the baselines are for this area.

The best Libertarian showing in a three-way County Council race was in 2002, when Terry Baker got 8% in the district that includes Noblesville.

The turnout was really low. Just 44% of registered Hamilton County voters appeared at the polls. That's disappointing, but consistent. 4 years ago, the turnout was also just 44%. It just goes to show that even though there is more media buzz and more commercials on TV, the result isn't necessarily translating into more voters.

More later on the Libertarian numbers for Hamilton County and across Indiana. Very encouraging!!!

Ready To Vote!

2010-11-02T04:59:00.000-04:00

I'm up early and ready to vote. I hope you will be voting too! The votes we cast are crucial in getting policies that will grow our economies, or our governments. In my Fishers precinct I will be voting for:

Rebecca Sink-Burris, US Senate

Chard Reid, US House of Representatives, District 5

Mike Wherry, Indiana Secretary of State

Eric Knipe, Indiana Auditor

Mike Kole, Hamilton County Council, District 2

The rest will largely be a lot of blanks. Why? I won't vote for a candidate who doesn't represent my views in a high percentage. I don't expect 100% agreement. I know that isn't possible. But nor will I vote for someone I agree with less than half of the time, just because they are 'the lesser of two evils'. The lesser of two evils? Now that's a wasted vote!

Last US Senate Debate Tonight

2010-10-25T14:19:00.003-04:00

Through two debates, Libertarian Rebecca Sink-Burris has been the grown-up in the room while Republican Dan Coats and Democrat Brad Ellsworth sling mud at each other. Get this: Rebecca actually answers the questions! It's really a novel concept to do this and not revert to talking points and personal attacks.

The 3rd and final debate between Rebecca Sink-Burris and the mudslingers will be widely televised in Central Indiana:

WFYI-TV, Channel 20
WRTV-TV, Digital Channel 6.2

Mike Kole's podcast interview with Rebecca Sink-Burris following the first debate:

Congratulations, Chard Reid!

2010-10-23T07:20:00.004-04:00

Chard Reid is the Libertarian candidate for US House of Representatives in District 5. Reid is seeking to replace Republican Dan Burton, and his chances just got a healthy boost as the Indianapolis Star has endorsed him! From the Star endorsement article:

Reid, a young economics teacher at Plainfield High School, has taken the fight to Burton on taxes and the deficit. He maintains that the 14-termer has not worked for systemic change despite his conservative persona. Reid also offers thoughtful ideas for cutting spending, simplifying the tax code and reforming entitlements.

Reid represents the best of Libertarian small-government ideals. He would be a refreshing departure from the incumbent's complacency and cavalier attitude toward ethics.

I couldn't be more proud of Chard! Every Hamilton County voter will be able to vote for Chard, as the 5th District covers our county entirely.

Audio On Fishers Lawsuit

2010-10-18T09:32:00.000-04:00

I was recently interviewed by Chris Spangle, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, for the party's podcast. The lawsuit against the Town of Fishers is discussed in detail.

Your Hamilton County Libertarian Candidates

2010-10-15T15:11:00.002-04:00

Election Day is Tuesday, November 2. Be sure to plan to vote! Every resident of Hamilton County will have at least four Libertarian candidates to vote for.

US Senate - Rebecca Sink-Burris
US Representative, District 5 - Chard Reid
Secretary of State - Mike Wherry
Treasurer of State - Eric Knipe

There are additional candidates for portions of the county:

Indiana Representative, District 36 - Greg Noland (White River & Jackson Twps)
Indiana Representative, District 87 - Joe Hauptmann (part of Clay Twp)
Hamilton County Council, District 2 - Mike Kole (Delaware, Fall Creek, Wayne Twps)
Hamilton County Council, District 3 - Joe Tucker (Noblesville, Jackson, White River Twps)
Fall Creek Township Trustee - Lars Noldan

Election Day polling place staffing is also needed. A smiling face handing out palm cards can be worth a 5% boost! We especially need staffing for Joe Hauptmann in Clay Township, and Mike Kole in Fishers, although when you work your home precinct, you are most effective when you talk with your neighbors prior to their votes. We have materials for Rebecca Sink-Burris, Chard Reid, and Mike Wherry also.

Contact Mike Kole to schedule for AM rush (6-9am) and PM rush (4-6pm) and for materials pick-up.

The Grown-Ups In The Room

2010-10-14T14:23:00.001-04:00

I've been watching the debates for Congress across Indiana and one thing keeps striking me: The Republicans and Democrats sling mud at each other and dance around the questions, and the Libertarians are the grown-ups in the room. From Indiana Public Media, on the first US Senate debate:

Both Democrat Brad Ellsworth and Republican Dan Coats were on the offensive during last night’s Senate debate in Indianapolis… while Libertarian Rebecca Sink-Burris remained more focused on questions and responses.

As a Libertarian, I'm going to prefer the Libertarian candidate's answers 95 times out of 100, but the glaring difference in demeanor gets me. The electorate is fed up with Washington insiders and their nonsense. Here were two Washington insiders and their nonsense, and a grown-up in the room. I hope the voters are really taking note.

Not affecting Hamilton County, but I love the coverage Scott Wise got on a Fort Wayne TV station along these same lines, in his debate in Indiana's 3rd Congressional District:

Rebecca Sink-Burris will debate two more times with fellow candidates for US Senate. Well, she will debate. The others will no doubt sling more mud. I hope she tells them to knock it off and behave.

Fri Oct 22, at Fort Wayne
Mon Oct 25, at Vincennes

These should be widely televised again. If you missed the first US Senate debate, see it by clicking here.

Lawsuit Against Fishers

2010-10-11T09:44:00.003-04:00

I recently joined a tri-partisan lawsuit against the Town of Fishers, regarding the ballot status of the question, "Should Fishers remain a Town, or become a City".

It is my opinion that the City Yes petitioners had followed the law in gaining an adequate number of signatures, and that the law therefore triggers a response by the Town in putting the issue on the ballot as a public question. The Town did not do this, so I joined the suit.

I believe that the form of government is something that the Town's voters should have the final word on. Right now, it appears that the Town Councilors are trying to preserve that for themselves, and to preserve political power.

My interest is in representative government, and good government.

I do disagree with the position that city government would be better, though. Yes, the people should have their say, but in my opinion, and additional layer of government will not provide checks and balances as the City Yes people hope. Certainly, that has not worked out in Carmel or Westfield, where the mayors have championed expensive pet projects, and the city councils have largely acted as rubber stamps. One party rule is one party rule, regardless of how many layers of government you have.

I believe there should be a compromise, as I stated on my September 23 post. Remain a Town, but eliminate the at-large voting, and re-draw the district map in seven concise districts.

But, one thing at a time. A petition was filed. It deserves its' place on the ballot. Once there, we can make the case for remaining a Town, eliminating the at-large vote and redrawing the map.

The tri-partisan nature of the suit speaks to the way the issue cuts across party lines. The people should have their say.

Promote Libertarian Candidates

2010-09-30T09:53:00.005-04:00

We're about 5 weeks away from the upcoming elections. Sad to say, but many people are only now beginning to pay attention to candidates. Help them out! Get stickers for your vehicles and be a moving billboard for our Libertarian candidates

Does your car look like this yet?

Contact me with a mailing address, and I'll send bumper stickers to you. I have them for Mike Wherry (candidate for Secretary of State and continued Libertarian ballot access) and Chard Reid (US Congress, District 5).

Greg Noland Campaigns In Atlanta

2010-09-27T20:47:00.005-04:00

Greg Noland is the Libertarian candidate for Indiana House in District 36, and was good enough to set up a booth at the Good Earth Festival in Atlanta this past weekend.

Greg Noland give 'The Quiz' to a voter.

No, Greg didn't travel to Georgia. Out of state campaigning is something Republicans do. Atlanta is a small town on Route 19 in the northern part of Hamilton County. Greg's district is primarily in Madison County, but it does extend into parts of White River and Jackson Townships in out county.

Greg has a great touch when speaking with voters. It was a pleasure for me to spend a little time with him, promoting his campaign and all of candidates on our ballot in November.

Greg Noland with Hamilton County Chair Mike Kole, and Mike's son Ethan.

Make sure to vote for Greg Noland for Indiana House in District 36!

Fishers Town Council Map Woes

2010-09-23T10:31:00.006-04:00

For several years, the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County has decried the electoral politics of the Town of Fishers, as expressed in the District Map, and the at-large nature of electing Town Councilors.

For many years, it has been apparent that the Town Council conveniently redrew the map to accommodate the moves of the Council members within the Town, but out of their original Districts. How else does a Town get to a map that looks like this?

The issue came to light again recently, when Charlie White resigned from the Town Council, because he was unaware of where he lives. From the Indianapolis Star:

White, who also is the Hamilton County Republican chairman, said Tuesday in a news release issued by the town that he simply didn't realize his new condo in Fall Creek Township was well outside the borders of his district, which is primarily in Delaware Township.
Indiana law requires council members to forfeit their seats if they move out of their district.
"Because of my statewide campaign for secretary of state and recent marriage, I failed to realize that my new residence was outside my Council district," White said. "Once notified of the situation, I took immediate action to correct the issue."

I truly hope that White's participation in any vote while not eligible to be on the Council does not have the effect of nullifying those votes, rendering ordinances passed as invalid. That would represent a cost burden on the taxpayers of the Town- an unfair one- to cover legal review costs.

The time has come to redraw the District Map. Delaware and Fall Creek Townships are nearly fully populated such that a simple geographic drawing is both possible and overdue. We will be happy to furnish a sample map in the near future.

The other change that needs to happen is the elimination of the at-large nature of voting. Currently, a candidate challenging for a Town Council seat can win every vote in their District and still lose in a landslide. This is because every resident of Fishers can vote on each Council seat, even though that voter will only be represented by one Councilor. Fishers has a base of approximately 70%, and the Councilors know full well that when voting on a person that won't be your representative, the voter is more inclined to simply follow regular voting inclinations, and not cross party lines.

The Democrats have been pushing for city status for Fishers for this reason. The Libertarian position is halfway between the Republicans and Democrats. We do not want to add an executive layer of government, as we have seen how it has led to greater spending and pet projects in Carmel and Westfield. Remain a Town, but eliminate at-large voting, tying the votes strictly to the District.

Libertarians have been talking about these issues for nearly five years. It is sad that the issue comes to light in this manner, but it becomes a blessing in disguise if it leads to the opportunity to being about better, more representative government.

Chard Reid Billboard Ready

2010-09-14T20:20:00.004-04:00

Chard Reid is the Libertarian candidate for US House in Indiana's District 5. Reid is attempting to unseat long-time incumbent Dan Burton, a Republican. Reid will be on every ballot in Hamilton County. Link to District 5 map.

This billboard is going up in the Castleton area this week. Here's what it will look like:
Reid is running a very good campaign, reaching out to young voters in particular. He is a high school economics teacher, so this comes as no surprise.

If you want information on Reid's campaign, please follow this link!

Deadline To Register To Vote Approaching

2010-09-12T23:28:00.002-04:00

October 4 is the deadline to register to vote in this year's elections.

If you need to register to vote, you can follow this link for forms to download. Or, if you would prefer to receive the forms by mail, contact me and I will send one to you.

Register now to be sure your registration is accepted and valid! You don't want to miss the opportunity to vote this year!

Business Meeting Coming Soon!

2010-07-16T13:40:00.002-04:00

The next business meeting of the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County is fast upon us:

When: Tuesday, July 27, 7-9pm
Where: Delaware Twp Govt Ctr, 9090 E 131st St, Fishers

Please plan to attend, as we have a very interesting guest speaker in Debbie Driskell. She is the Delaware Township Trustee, and I've asked her to discuss with us the pro's and con's regarding the fight over township government.

Many of us are inclined to be in favor of the elimination of township government as a knee-jerk reaction. But does it eliminate any functions of government? Does it result in cost savings? Does it consolidate power in the hands of fewer officials? And it so, is that a bad thing? Driskell will give a presentation and take questions.

Kole Campaign Blog Posted

2010-07-01T13:38:00.000-04:00

Look for Mike Kole's new blog, posting items specifically relevant to his run for Hamilton County Council, District 2. To view his blog, click this link.

If you support Mike's campaign, become a follower of his blog and subscribe to the RSS feed.

Retail Politics

2010-05-19T10:42:00.004-04:00

We had a good meeting of the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County last night. One thing that came out of it was a move towards greater activity at the precinct level.

While the other parties elect Precinct Committee chairs, the Libertarian Party is not so formal. As County Chair, I am asking all Hamilton County Libertarians to function as a "Precinct Leader".

Every Libertarian in our county needs to at least own the block on their street. Outstanding if you are willing to work the entire Precinct! But, at minimum, own your street, or your block, or your building. Here's how:

Visit each of your neighbors, and introduce yourself as the Precinct Leader for the Libertarian Party. Invite them to get involved, to visit our Meet-Ups, the get on the mailing list, and of course- to vote Libertarian in November. Take 'The World's Smallest Political Quiz

Those wanting to cover the whole precinct will probably want to send a letter or postcard. We are working on templates for use right now, and these will be available to you shortly.

If we work on this level, we will see some very positive outcomes:

Our vote totals for our local candidates will be higher than ever.
Our vote totals for Secretary of State candidate Mike Wherry will be high enough to boost the ballot access cause.
We will have more poll workers, which improves our visibility.
We will increase our number of activists, and future candidates.
You will discover political allies right near you that you may not have known were there.

Contact me to get involved in precinct level politics. email: mikekole @ comcast.net

Business Meeting Upcoming

2010-05-17T01:05:00.002-04:00

The next business meeting of the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County comes up this week.

When: Tuesday, May 18, 7-9pm

Where: Delaware Twp Gov't Center, 131st St, west of Nickel Plate RR

No need to RSVP, just show up.

Current Libertarian Candidates For Indiana Elections 2007

2010-05-01T20:46:00.000-04:00

Hamilton County Candidates

Lars Noldan - Fall Creek Township Trustee

Mike Kole - Hamilton County Council, District 2

Joe Tucker - Hamilton County Council, District 3

Statewide Candidates

Rebecca Sink-Burris - US Senate

www.electrebecca.com

Mike Wherry - Secretary of State

www.mikewherry.com

Eric Knipe - Treasurer

(Co-Chair, Libertarian Party of Hendricks County)

Chard Reid - US Representative, District 5

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Chard-Reid-for-Congress/111063262263586?ref=ts

chardreidforcongress@yahoo.com

Greg Noland - Indiana House, District 36

Allison Maguire Needs Your Help!

2010-04-30T09:08:00.003-04:00

Speaking of School Board contests, my friend Allison Maguire is running for School Board in Pike Township, in northwest Marion County.

Allison is a fantastic Libertarian. She organized and ran what was arguably the most successful- certainly most profitable- LPIN State Convention last weekend. She is the District 7 representative to the LPIN Central Committee. She brings a solid plan of fiscal responsibility to the table, and will ably represent all of the taxpayers of her District.

If you are available to work the polls for Allison on Tuesday, May 4, contact her by email or phone:

email: maguire_ar@hotmail.com
phone: 317-410-1988

There are no Libertarian school board candidates in Hamilton County this time, so by all means, go to where the help is needed. Your boost at a polling place could be the difference between this good Libertarian being elected and falling just a whisker short.

Primary Voting For Libertarians

2010-04-29T10:18:00.003-04:00

I've been asked about voting at Indiana's Primary Elections May 4 as a Libertarian, so I thought to post some pointers.

Most Libertarians will want to ask for a 'School Board Ballot'. This ballot will not have any partisan 'R' or 'D' voting attached to it, only the non-partisan school board candidates, and any local issues. This is what I will do.

Some Libertarians may be tempted to vote on the Republican or Democratic ballot, for a variety of reasons. Be advised of this: If you pull a partisan ballot, you are making a legal statement. Pulling a partisan ballot legally commits you to vote for a majority of that same party's candidates in the General Election in November.

So, if you take a Republican Primary Ballot in May, and you vote straight ticket Libertarian in November, you will be guilty of perjury, by law.

Also, if someone at the polling place recognizes you as a Libertarian, and you are asking for a partisan 'R' or 'D' ballot, and they challenge your affiliation, you may be barred from taking that partisan ballot, or reduced to casting a provisional vote. Only a member of that party can challenge you, but they can in the interest of protecting their party's private business.

See: Indiana Code 3-10-1-9.

Why is the challenge possible? Why can't people just vote however they like? Some think it is merely rhetorical when Libertarians declare the Primaries to be largely private, partisan political party business. This law is the proof that it is not mere rhetoric. Republicans and Democrats see fit to foist the cost of their business onto all of the taxpayers. They wrote it into the law as a bi-partisan effort.

There is no Libertarian ballot. We conducted our business at our county convention, at our expense. The law also dictates that, but as a matter of principle, that's the way we think it should be done.

So, look into your school board candidates. See if there are local issues. Please vote in the May 4 Primary Election.

Mike Wherry & Rebecca Sink Burris on Radio

2010-04-27T20:52:00.003-04:00

Be sure to tune in to WXNT 1430-am, and the Abdul In The Morning Show to hear Libertarian Secretary of State candidate Mike Wherry, and Libertarian US Senate candidate Rebecca Sink-Burris.

When: Wednesday, 8am
Where: 1430-am in Central Indiana
Web: http://www.wxnt.com/

Mike Wherry needs at least 2% to maintain automatic ballot access for The Libertarian Party of Indiana and its' candidates through 2014.

www.mikewherry.com
www.electrebecca.com

LPIN Convention Notes

2010-04-26T10:59:00.001-04:00

I had the pleasure and privilege of serving as a Delegate from Hamilton County to the annual convention of the Libertarian Party of Indiana this weekend. I was honored by State Chair Sam Goldstein's personal request that I should open the convention with a reading from the Declaration of Independence. I had to stave off the emotion when I got to the phrase,

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

The important business of the convention was to nominate candidates for the ballot. I am happy and a bit relieved to pass the baton to Mike Wherry, who was nominated our candidate for Secretary of State. As was the case when I ran, Mike will have to achieve a minimum of 2% statewide in order to retain automatic ballot access for the Libertarian Party through 2014.

Mike Wherry's campaign website.
My podcast interview with Mike Wherry.

While all the races are important, the Secretary of State race is crucial to the Libertarian Party. The difference between having ballot access and not is the difference between real political party and supper club. It's huge. All Indiana Libertarians need to line up behind Mike Wherry and promote him. We need to plan to be at our home polling places on election day to hand out Wherry literature. The 2% result cannot be taken for granted.

Rebecca Sink-Burris won the nomination for US Senate, defeating Tamyra D'Ipolito in the contested race. When Evan Bayh announced he wasn't seeking re-election, it changed the thinking about that US Senate seat from 'safely blue' to 'up for grabs'. No doubt there will be much scrutiny paid the US Senate race. Rebecca has been an excellent Libertarian candidate in the past, and I am confident that she will do a great job once again.

Rebecca Sink-Burris' campaign website.

In the 5th Congressional District, high school economics teacher Chard Reid won the nomination. I had the opportunity to sit down with him for several hours prior to the convention to vet his views on Federal issues, and was very satisfied that he will be a solid candidate. He already has students that wish to walk door-to-door for him, which excites me a great deal.

I interviewed Rebecca and Chard for the podcast, and will post those as they are completed.

The Party has a candidate for all nine Congressional Districts, plus the Senate seat. Not all of the Indiana House & Indiana Senate positions were filled, which was a bit disappointing, but the Part leadership will continue to recruit candidates to fill vacancies.

Indiana's delegate count at the convention made the event the largest such in the USA. Indiana had more Libertarians in the room than even California or Texas had! A very good show of growing strength in every way this weekend!

Final Reminder - State Convention

2010-04-22T21:05:00.003-04:00

The Libertarian Party of Indiana is hosting its' annual convention this weekend! All events will be held at the Drury Inn & Suites at Castleton.

Friday, April 23: Welcoming party, hosted by the Marion County Libertarians. Cash bar, open to the public. 7pm - ?

Saturday, April 24: Business meeting to nominate candidates for US Senate, US Representative, Indiana Senate, Indiana House, and statewide offices, notably Secretary of State. Also lunch & dinner speakers.

Sunday, April 25: Breakfast with LNC Chair candidate and 2008 LP Vice Presidential candidate Wayne Root.

More info: http://www.lpin.org/

County Convention Results

2010-04-16T10:30:00.004-04:00

Our annual County Convention was held yesterday, and I can report with pride that it was the best attended Convention in the affiliate's history! Mark Rutherford gave an inspiring speech about the state of the national party and his candidacy for LNC Vice Chair, and we were honored to have State Chair Sam Goldstein and Executive Director Chris Spangle in attendance.

Important business was conducted. Notably, three candidates for office won nomination:

Lars Noldan, Fall Creek Township Trustee
Mike Kole, Hamilton County Council, District 2 (Fishers)
Joe Tucker, Hamilton County Council, District 3 (Noblesville)

I am excited to be on the November ballot with Lars and Joe! We will represent the party well, and give Hamilton County voters the opportunity to vote for limited government and personal responsibility this Fall!

Note: While the Convention is concluded, the County Chair can fill vacancies until the end of June. That will be a top priority. So, if you would like to run for office, it's not too late. Contact me (mikekole @ comcast . net) to get the process rolling. Getting candidates for office in the Carmel & Westfield areas is important.

In other business, I am proud to report that Hamilton County will send a full delegation to the Libertarian Party of Indiana's State Convention, April 23-25. The elected Delegates are:

Laura Rutherford
John Rutherford
Rob Place
Mike Kole

Alternates: Pamela Noldan, Lars Noldan

If other Hamilton County Libertarians wish to plan to attend the State Convention, and wish to be Delegates in unfilled delegations, please contact Chris Spangle (
cspangle @ lpin . org) ASAP, and register at www.lpin.org.

The last news item is another exciting one that points to the organization's growth. Two new executives were elected to leadership positions in the county Party:

Tim Gilliam, Vice Chair
Pamela Noldan, Secretary

Along with Treasurer Rob Place, I am looking forward to working together as a team to advance the cause of Liberty in Hamilton County. With these great people, we're going to move forward in great strides!

Schools Need Greater Local Control

2010-04-05T15:43:00.001-04:00

Indiana Senator Luke Kenley (R-District 20) helped clog my mailbox today with his latest propaganda. The headline of the second item reads "Lawmakers give schools funding flexibility, more local control".

He's touting the greatnetss of House Enrolled Act 1367, which was passed in the recent legislative session. What's the big deal?

"Under this new law, schools can claim up to 5 percent of funding normally dedicated to capital projects and use it for instructional purposes. Schools agreeing to pay freezes for staff, with exceptions for built-in raises based on experience and new degrees, can use up to 10%"

5%? 10%? Yeah, big deal.

I can't see why the state has any say on how the districts spend their money. The capital needs of a school district that has 100-year-old buildings is vastly different than one that has 10-year-old buildings, such as Hamilton County. Alas, the state dictates a formula in a one-size-fits-all cramdown.

Another large part of the problem schools in Hamilton County face is the manner of directing the dollars. Because the tax dollars are collected here, sent to the state, and then have some value skimmed off by the state government, and still more redistributed to urban and rural counties, Hamilton County is a donor county.

It's interesting to me that Kenley touts this new law to voters here. What becomes clear is that he does a rotten job of representing the interests of the people in his district on this issue.

Things have been so bad here in Fishers that the voters passed a referendum for additional taxation in support of the schools. If local dollars stayed in the locality, the referendum would have been unnecessary. I've never heard Kenley say a thing about defending local interests or about removing the state from the equation. As far as I can tell, he's part of the problem.

Last Chance For Convention Discounts

2010-03-29T19:45:00.004-04:00

This is convention season for the Libertarian Party at all levels- locally, state, and national. The latter two charge fees to attendees, but offer early bird discounts.

Libertarian Party of Indiana - Register before April 1 for $20 off. Follow this link.

Libertarian Party, national - Register before April 1 for discounts. Follow this link. There are also hotel stay discounts on that page.

But the Hamilton County Convention of the Libertarian Party is the first one to happen. Be sure to attend!

When: Thursday, April 15
Where: Claude & Annie's, SR 37 & E.141st in Fishers
Times: Dinner at 6pm, Business Meeting at 7:30pm
Speaker: Mark Rutherford, ex-State Chair, candidate for national Vice Chair
Cost: Dinner as ordered from the menu; Business Meeting is free

RSVP to mikekole (a) comcast . net is greatly appreciated, especially for dinner head count.

Kole On WXNT, Monday

2010-03-27T23:17:00.000-04:00

Be sure to tune in at 7am to WXNT 1430-am to hear Mike Kole on the Abdul In The Morning Show.

Host Adbul Hakim-Shabazz has also invited State Chair Sam Goldstein and Executive Director Chris Spangle to join Mike in talking all things Libertarian. Kole will promote the upcoming Meet-Up & County Convention, plus the platform the county party will adapt at the convention.

Directing The Anger

2010-03-22T10:52:00.004-04:00

I know that many of my fellow Hamilton County Libertarians are furious with the vote to more socialize health care in the United States. I am too.

The thing to do now is to channel that anger and energy in a positive way, that will help lead our country back in the direction it needs to go- in favor of free markets, and away from increasing government control. The thing to do now is to become a candidate for office yourself.

As a candidate for office, you can speak to the virtues of free markets on a public stage until November. Then, you can put the principles into action should you win.

If we don't run, only the two statist parties will have their say. We cannot allow them to have the stage to themselves.

You can run at any level of office, from Township office right through US Senate. Contact Mike Kole for more info on becoming a candidate. Cell: 317 - 709 - 3874.

County Convention Announced

2010-03-14T13:42:00.002-04:00

It is time for our annual convention of the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County!

We will take care of a great deal of important organizational business at this convention, including:

Nomination of local candidates
Adoption of a platform for the 2010 election season
Nomination of officers, in the positions of Vice Chair and Secretary
Nomination of delegates to the State & National conventions of the Libertarian Party

There will also be speakers of interest at our convention:

Mark Rutherford, ex-State Chair of the LPIN, is a candidate for Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. He will speak during dinner about all things related to the LNC, and about his candidacy
All filed candidates for legislative, statewide, or federal offices are invited to speak during the business meeting. There will be opportunities for Q&A from our members.

This will be an outstanding event that you won't want to miss. Here are the details:

When: Thursday, April 15
Time: Dinner at 6pm, Business Meeting at 7:30pm
Where: Claude & Annie's, SW corner of SR 37 & E. 141st, Fishers

RSVPs to Mike Kole are greatly appreciated, so we can have a head count for the restaurant. Email mikekole (at) comcast.net, or call 317 - 709- 3874.

If you wish to be a delegate to any of the other conventions, it is important that you be present in order to secure nomination. We will fill our delegate allocations for both the state and national conventions. Don't be left behind!

Great Meet-Ups!

2010-03-13T13:37:00.000-05:00

Be sure to attend the next Hamilton County Libertarian Meet-Up! The last had 15 in attendance. Conversation was very lively, and the fellowship outstanding. Come out for a fun, stimulating evening!

When: Thursday, April 1, 7pm (Always the 1st Thursday of the month)
Where: Barley Island brewery & restaurant, 639 Conner St, Noblesville IN 46060
Cost: None, although most choose to order food and drinks from the menu

To sign up to Meet-Up for email notices, follow this link.

Hamilton County Convention Approaching

2010-02-24T22:19:00.003-05:00

Mark your calendar and plan to attend the annual Libertarian Party of Hamilton County convention!

When: Thursday, April 15, 2010
Where: Claude & Annie’s, southwest corner of SR37 & E. 141st St, Fishers
Time: Dinner at 6:00pm, Meeting at 7:30pm
RSVP to Chair Mike Kole is greatly appreciated, for dinner head count.

It's the dreaded tax day. We just might have something to talk about over dinner.

Libertarians do not select candidates in taxpayer funded Primary Elections. Rather, we host a convention for member delegates to vote in, at our own cost. This saves the taxpayers the cost of this private function- something the other two parties should take note of.

Importantly, we will come out of the convention having adopted our platform for the 2010 election season. Our platform will feature planks that address the most pressing issues of the day, and our solutions for them.

Other business includes the nomination of delegates to the State and National Conventions.

There is no cost to attend the business meeting. For dinner, each person will order from the Claude & Annie's menu.

RSVP to Mike Kole by email (mikekole at comcast.net) or at 317-709-3874

Meetup Thursday

2009-09-04T19:50:00.003-04:00

The Libertarian Party of Hamilton County will be hosting its' monthly Meet-Up on Thursday, September 10. This is a change from the usual Meet-Up schedule of the first Thursday of any month. Details:

When: September 10, 2009 7:00 PM
Where:Barley Island / 639 Conner St Noblesville, IN 46060
(317)770-5280

Let's discuss Obama Care, public school addresses, the jobless rate, and anything else!

The Meet-Ups are not exclusively for Libertarian Party members, or even small-l libertarians. If you are curious to learn more about libertarian policy solutions for the issues of today, or the philosophy, come on out! We always have robust, lively discussions!

Libertarian Party of Indiana's Weekly Podcast - Hamilton County Edition

2009-06-12T00:27:00.003-04:00

I was recently interviewed for the Libertarian Party of Indiana's Weekly Podcast to talk about my plans for growing the Hamilton County LP.

LPIN Executive Director Chris Spangle is a radio pro, a former producer at Indy's WXNT for the Abdul in the Morning show. I answered Chris' questions about my plans, and the challenges in reaching voters in a traditionally Republican county, and one that is split between the highly developed suburban landscape of Carmel, Fishers, and Noblesville, and the rural and small towns of Sheridan, Atlanta, and Strawtown.

Here's the spoiler: The goal is a full ballot for 2010. The plan is to continue to recruit qualified candidates, but especially disaffected small business owners. We will also begin to work at the precinct level to build our base.

You can hear the entire interview by following this link to the podcast archive.

You can also subscribe to get every podcast episode downloaded to your iTunes or other service. Follow this link to subscribe. All 30 podcasts are available!

It was fun to be interviewed. Certainly, it was a turning of the tables, as I am the regular host of the Podcast. Many thanks to Chris Spangle for being the guest host!

June Meet-Up

2009-06-03T16:07:00.004-04:00

Hamilton County Libertarians meet on the first Thursday of each month, for an informal discussion of the issues of the day. June's meetup is tomorrow!

Thursday, June 4, 2009
Barley Island, Noblesville
7pm - ?

Link: RSVP on the Meetup website

Our group is a good one, and is growing! We had Barley Island ask us to let us know when we meet, so they can have a server just for us.

Be sure to join the fun, even if only for an hour. We'll talk about the GM bailout, the Indiana budget, and anything else you wish to bring to the round table! The food and beer is good, so be sure to stop by!

Libertarian Party's Prosperity Plan

2009-05-30T11:32:00.007-04:00

The Bush & Obama Administrations have brought us false stimulus and offensive bailouts. So, what is the Libertarian Party's alternative? Its' 3-point Prosperity Plan:

1)    Repeal the income tax: Adopt legislation repealing the income tax and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service. Until the income tax is repealed, adopt legislation preserving the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and enacting across-the-board income tax cuts.
2)    Adopt the Balanced Budget Amendment: Adopt a constitutional amendment requiring the federal budget be balanced, and balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, not by raising taxes.
3)    Abolish corporate welfare and bailouts: Adopt federal legislation prohibiting any federal spending program that provides payments or unique benefits and advantages to specific companies or industries, terminating programs that provide direct grants to businesses, eliminating programs that provide research and other services for industries and ending programs that provide subsidized loans or insurance to businesses.

Taxes are a drain on productivity. Sure, some taxation is necessary in order to fund the proper functions of government, as enumerated in the Constitution. But, that's the limit, for the greater the tax burden, the greater the drain.

We keep hearing that cuts will be 'painful'. Painful? You mean, more painful than our disappearing purchasing power? More painful than having to work longer to keep more of the money you earn? If you have a job at all? Let's try that 'pain' that cuts are alleged to bring.

The bailouts are just wrong. Every parent knows that if you reward a child's naughty behavior, you get more of it. We know that bailing out businesses that make lousy decisions corrects nothing, it only encourages more bad decisions. So, why are we doing it? Ask a Republican or a Democrat.

Those two parties have proven their ineptitude. The more they do, the less prosperous we are.

Get involved. Become a Libertarian candidate. Support Libertarian candidates. Only then will you get real change, and better than that, real prosperity.

Outreach Opportunity - Vans Warped Tour

2009-05-20T11:12:00.004-04:00

The Libertarian Party will have a booth at the Vans Warped Tour this year. We need volunteers to staff the booth.

Here's the info:

Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Location: Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre, Noblesville
Link to Vans event

We have two free entrants, but will assemble a larger team of volunteers who pay their way.

The list of bands playing is huge: Bad Religion, Flogging Molly, Anti-Flag, Alexisonfire, Escape The Fate, NOFX, The Devil Wears Prada, Underoath- 67 bands currently listed!

This is an excellent opportunity to share the message of individual liberty to a crowd ready to hear it. Contact Mike Kole by email at: mikekole (a) comcast.net to sign up.

State Convention Notes

2009-05-17T21:34:00.002-04:00

I'm pleased to report that Hamilton County sent a full delegation to Clarksville, Indiana for this past weekend's annual convention of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. The strength of our county affiliate was evident to the state organization and its leadership.

The top convention news is that Sam Goldstein was elected to a 2-year term as State Chair. Sam is an Indianapolis resident and long-time Libertarian activist, having run for several offices and having previously been the Party's Vice Chair to Mark Rutherford. I have worked together with Sam, when he was Marion County's Chair, and I was the Vice Chair, in 2003-04. I can tell you this: Sam is tenacious and driven. When he gets behind an initiative, it gets done. I'm very excited for some of the fundraising plans he has, and can't wait to see them implemented.

Todd Singer is the outgoing Chair, having served a full 2-year term. Todd's wife is pregnant with their second child, and family concerns obviously come first.

I appreciate the heavy lifting Todd has done behind the scenes to build a very sound foundation to the organization in the very unsexy, and therefore sometimes not emphasized, areas of business organization, database management, and membership retention. These are not the sort of things that make news, or sometimes are even apparent, but will be showing up in useful ways like the number of candidates we run, and the financial support Sam is going to be able to generate because of the groundwork laid by Todd.

Continued Borrow and Spend in Carmel

2009-05-15T14:34:00.003-04:00

The Libertarian Party has for several years been pointing out the folly of Carmel's mad bonding spree, to pay for everything from pointless road reconstructions, to civic toys that aren't even the proper role of government, such as amusement parks and arts districts.

We have been warning that borrow and spend is merely tomorrow's tax bill. We have been warning that it's been out of control.

Now even the City Council is beginning to notice what was plain in 2003. Carmel spends too much money. From an Indy Star report:

Carmel has pledged so much money to so many projects that a proposal by Mayor Jim Brainard to borrow an additional $28 million ultimately could cost the city $91 million.

Finance professionals say the city will not need to raise taxes to pay off the loan now under consideration by the Finance Committee. But several City Council members wonder whether Carmel has become stretched too thin and lost its fiscal way.

If City Council members are on record at last with this tone, the horse is prbably long out of the barn. Hmm. Maybe a few of us could round up $28 million and loan it to Carmel for $85 million. Just looking out for the taxpayers, unlike some folks.

And a municipal finance expert said such a loan, which is akin to a buy-now-pay-later offer one might receive from a furniture store, is a last resort.

"It says to me that there's a level of desperation for them to even want to go to the market and do a bond like this," said Craig Johnson, an associate professor at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. "I guess they just really need the money."

Why the city needs the money troubles some council members, who maintain that a good portion of it would be used to bail out the over-budget and under-funded Performing Arts Center.

And yes, Libertarians predicted that the Arts Center would be over budget. Big surprise.

The sick thing is, Westfield seems bent to outdo desperate Carmel, with an even more desperate, perhaps fiscally suicidal sports palace.

The Libertarian Party is running candidates to compete with the borrow-and-spend Republicans. You have to get behind us if you want to stop this madness.

Now Westfield Considering Smoking Ban

2009-05-13T08:23:00.002-04:00

The trend towards Republican nanny-state government extends into Westfield, as the City considers a smoking ban. From the Indy Star report:

An ordinance that would prohibit smoking in several establishments -- restaurants, bars, businesses and 80 percent of hotel rooms -- was introduced Monday to the Westfield City Council.

The ban would extend to outdoor seating areas at restaurants and sports venues. People and businesses could be fined $50 to $500 if they violate the ordinance.

...

The council will have a public hearing on the ordinance at its June 8 meeting. City Council President Ken Kingshill expects council members and residents will have a wide range of opinions.

"It's probably one of the issues I've gotten the most e-mails on over time, and telephone calls for that matter, too," he said.

I don't smoke. Smoking is obviously unhealthy. However, this is still America, where tobacco is a product legal to adults. Moreover, I respect the right of the property owner to set their own policies within their property lines. This is an overreach of government, plain and simple. Indeed, any business owner who wishes to set a no-smoke policy is perfectly free to do so.

It is very telling that Republicans have been enacting these bans, in places like Carmel, and now perhaps in Westfield. Republicans obviously believe that government should intrude into the minute affairs of business operations.

Who needs Democrats when we have Republicans like these?

I hope to see strong support for liberty at the June 8 meeting.

Meetup Thursday

2009-05-06T14:11:00.003-04:00

The first Thursday of the month brings another informal Meetup.

Where: Barley Island, Noblesville, south side of SR 32, west of 10th St.
When: Thursday, May 7, 7pm-?
Link to Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/NoblesvilleLibertarians/

Politics and beer go so well together! Be sure to join us for the conversation, as we discuss the state legislature's failure to pass a budget, the economy, and the other issues of the day.

Libertarian Party of Indiana's Weekly Podcast

2009-03-16T12:43:00.003-04:00

Just to toot my own horn a bit, I have been producing the Libertarian Party of Indiana's Weekly Podcast beginning in late January, and there are already 15 podcasts posted, mainly because while nominally weekly, there has been much of interest to talk about.

Here's the link to the podcast archive.

You can subscribe to the podcast on the archive page, and have each new episode downloaded whenever you open iTunes or other MP3 file programs.

The idea behind the podcast is to talk with the stars of the LPIN. For now, that means recent and past candidates, party leaders such as State Chair Todd Singer or various county chairs, and libertarian activists. As we get nearer to the 2010 elections, interviews will increasingly feature candidates for the 2010 ballot.

So far, I've spoken with 2008 candidate for governor Andy Horning, LPIN Executive Director Chris Spangle, Hagerstown Judge Susan Bell, Indianapolis City-County Councilor Ed Coleman, IU Southern economist and Congressional candidate Dr. Eric Schansberg, and many more. I'm proud of the work. Check it out!

County Convention Announced

2009-03-09T10:47:00.003-04:00

To all Hamilton County Libertarians!

The county party is hosting a convention for the purpose of electing officers and delegates to the upcoming state convention, which will also elect officers. Mark your calendars now and plan to be at the county convention!

Event: Hamilton County LP County Convention
What: Business Meeting
Host: Hamilton County Libertarians
Start Time: Saturday, April 11 at 2:00pm
Where: Delaware Township Office Bldg - 9191 E. 131st St, Fishers

You can RSVP at the county party's Facebook page. See you there!

Libertarian Meet-Up

2009-03-04T18:37:00.003-05:00

It can be pretty depressing being aware of our world today, as we move ever closer to socialism. Relax and engage in stimulating conversation with liberty-minded people at the monthly Hamilton County Meet-Up!

When: Thursday, March 5
Where: Barley Island, Noblesville
When 7pm-?

You don't have to be a Libertarian Party member to attend. Just get a beer and a chair, and join the fun!

Libertarian Party Congratulates President Barack Obama

2009-01-20T14:38:00.002-05:00

“Congratulations to President Barack Obama on his inauguration as the 44th President of the United States," says Libertarian Party National Chairman William Redpath. "I think all Americans ultimately want what libertarians want—peace, prosperity and freedom. If President Obama and the 111th and 112th Congresses succeed in bringing us all that, they will truly be heroes to this nation."

“However, because so many people, including libertarians, are skeptical that they will do so with the current and proposed public policies," says Redpath, "the Libertarian Party will continue to exist and grow, and propose and diligently work for the policies that we think will bring this nation peace, prosperity and freedom.”

“I hope President Obama is extremely serious about terminating government programs that are found to be ineffective, as he stated in his inaugural address," Redpath continues. "He’ll have to be to succeed in doing that. If fair judgments are made about all federal government programs, we should see a reduction in the size of the federal government that the Republican Party was never able to achieve.”

“I also was heartened to see President Obama speak of respect for market economies and responsibility to oneself before responsibility to the nation and the world," says Redpath. "But, to induce the American people to be more responsible, they will need to be given more freedom from government coercion. Responsibility and freedom are the two sides of the same coin.”

“President Obama has distinguished himself as a great orator, and in that regard, I respectfully ask him to do one thing: not to cheapen the word ‘freedom,’ as so many of his predecessors have done. While I am not suggesting that the United States become something other than a democratic republic, past presidents have suggested that because we have a democracy that we are 'free.' Freedom means living one’s life as one chooses, as long as one does not harm other people or their property, and the simple existence of democracy does not guarantee that. Only proper public policies will," Redpath explains.

“If President Obama pursues policies of economic freedom, which is the historical fundamental reason of this world’s prosperity, and personal freedom, we will have a prosperous, harmonious and just society—and he would go down as a great President,” says Redpath.

There are many things Libertarians can hope to see from the Obama Administration: The elimination of programs; an end to the Patriot Act; an end to the wasteful War on Drugs; a swift draw-down from Iraq, among others.

Our national trend has been towards ever larger government, and it is easy to suspect that the Obama Administration will give us just that. And, as with the outgoing Bush Administration, we learned that our hopes for delivering on areas of agreement Libertarians share with Republicans went without being delivered upon, it could as well happen here.

But let us work to promote the areas where we have common ground with Democrats. Who knows? We might just get government moving in our direction this time around.

If the new Administration fails to deliver, let us remind our friends who voted for Barack Obama that elected Libertarians do deliver- especially on liberty and freedom. It's in our name.

Vote Libertarian!

2008-10-31T16:00:00.000-04:00

While Hamilton County is among Indiana's most prosperous, these declining economic times are a matter of grave concern. If you think government hasn't been doing right by you or by your country, now is the time to cast a vote for real change. After all, this mess has been brought to us largely by the Republicans, but no thanks also to the Democrats.

Wanted justice for the bad actors in the financial crisis? You got bailouts that punish us and reward the same bad actors, and their bad decisions instead
Wanted smaller government? You didn't get it.
Wanted lower taxes? You got shell games.
Wanted an end to an over-reaching foreign policy? It still over-reaches.
Wanted greater civil liberties? You're joking, right?

The best way to vote pro-liberty is to cast a straight ticket vote for the Libertarian Party. Do this by pushing the button opposite the Libertarian Party name, in the third position from the top, on the first page.

Here are the Libertarian Party candidates on the ballot in Hamilton County:

President - Bob Barr
Vice President - Wayne A. Root
Governor - Andy Horning
Lieutenant Governor - Lisa Kelly
Indiana Senate, District 30 - Steve Keltner

This is no time for the argument about the Wasted Vote Syndrome. If you want socialism, don't waste your vote. Vote McCain or Obama. The only difference is the speed by which you get socialism- tomorrow or next week. If you favor capitalism, individualism, and justice, vote for Bob Barr and his fellow Libertarian candidates, because these are the only ones who will do everything to deliver.

Steve Keltner Shows Up

2008-10-24T13:05:00.000-04:00

Steve Keltner is the Libertarian candidate for US Senate in District 30, a portion of which extends into Hamilton County. Haven't heard him speak yet? Click below! (Might need to turn the volume up a bit.)

Here's one of Steve's ads:

One Candidate Was Against The Bailout

2008-09-30T17:05:00.000-04:00

Yes, that was Bob Barr. He was consistently against any bailout, from the onset.

Bad decision making must not be subsidized. Barr has the right solution: Prosecute those engaged in fraudulent lending, and privatize Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac.

Barr Polls Well in Ohio

2008-09-02T17:25:00.001-04:00

Bob Barr is taking a big chunk of votes away from McBama in our neighbor state to the East. From the Sandusky Register Online:

Libertarian Barr close to double digits in Ohio

Friday August 29 2008, 11:08am

A Zogby International poll released Aug. 22 showed Libertarian Bob Barr is drawing support from 8 percent of the Ohio's voters. (The poll placed Barack Obama at 41 percent and John McCain at 36 percent, Ralph Nader at 1 percent and "Not Sure/Other" at 13 percent.)
It's just one poll, but members of the Ohio Libertarian Party are pleased and hope the poll numbers show they can become a player in state politics.

8 percent is going to be about 4 times the margin of victory. It suggests that McCain and Obama are failing to win over Americans, and are off-base on some keys issues with voters.

Can't wait to see how Barr's doing here in Indiana!

Update: Barr is currently polling at 7% here in Indiana, with McCain at 40%, Obama at 39%. Zogby shows both Ohio and Indiana as undecided right now. Here's a link to Zogby's 50-state daily polling map.

Barr Says We Should Create Private Social Security Accounts

2008-08-17T22:39:00.000-04:00

President Bush dipped his toe in the Social Security reform waters a few years back, but at the first sign of political difficulty, he retreated and then gave up. Nary a peep from McBama on the reforms Social Security desperately needs. Enter Bob Barr. He would promote private accounts, and the option for young people to opt out!

August 14, 2008 11:27 am EST

Atlanta, GA - “The U.S. is facing a financial tsunami as the Baby Boomers retire,” warns Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, on the 73rd anniversary of Social Security being signed into law. “The total unfunded liability for Social Security and Medicare is more than $100 trillion—that is ten times the official national debt! The longer we wait to act, the harder it will be to reform the system,” says Barr.

“Social Security was sold to the American people as a system of social insurance, but that was merely a polite fraud to win their votes,” notes Barr. “It is a pay-as-you-go system. If it was run by a private company rather than the government, the managers would be jailed for running a Ponzi scheme, one of the classic investment swindles. The so-called trust fund doesn’t exist: in reality, it is a file cabinet full of IOUs rather than a vault full of cash,” he explains.

“The system is headed towards financial collapse,” Barr adds. “It starts running a deficit in 2017 and the red ink piles up fast. In essence, to keep the system afloat we will either have to double taxes or halve benefits. Neither is an appealing option.”

“Moreover, the rate of return for beneficiaries keeps falling. Many Americans are now losing money. Over the long term the most the majority of people can hope for is to make a percent or so—compared to 5.5 percent a year on average for a private investment in a mixture of bonds and stocks,” Barr observes. “The U.S. government is literally stealing people’s retirement from them.”

“I am proposing a system of private retirement accounts,” explains Barr. Younger workers will be able to put increasing amounts of their tax payments into individual accounts. New workers entering the system will be able to exit Social Security entirely. The transition will be paid for in part through savings from adjusting benefits to account for the erroneous use of a wage rather than price index for setting payments and the fact that beneficiaries are living longer. Other savings will be achieved by cutting nonessential programs throughout the government, including corporate welfare,” he adds.

Just more evidence that the "Maverick" candidate and the "Change" candidate are both Status Quo candidates, while Bob Barr is the one who would shake things up for the better.

Link to full statement.

Paying For The Opposition

2008-08-14T15:38:00.000-04:00

If you are a Libertarian, you are still paying to subsidize the Republicans and Democrats, and their conventions. Where are the moral objections, from either of those parties, on the grounds that it is wrong to be forced to fund one's political opponents? Where are the small government Republicans? Where are the Jeffersonian Democrats? Crickets.

Bob Barr comments:

August 13, 2008 9:35 am EST

Atlanta, GA - “My party has already held its convention without a single taxpayer dollar in its support,” notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party presidential nominee. But the Republican and Democratic conventions live on federal subsidies. Each party is receiving $16 million for operating expenses and another $50 million for security. But even this might not be enough in the view of some people. Colorado officials are talking about trying to pry some additional money from the feds.

“It probably doesn’t surprise a lot of people that Sen. Barack Obama’s party is trying to pry more money out of government. After all, Democrats have perfected the art of using a political crowbar to bust open the Treasury’s doors. But why is Sen. John McCain, supposed maverick and reformer, going along with the raid? How is he any different than any of the other people who fill Washington clamoring for a bailout?” Barr asks.

“Unfortunately, too many people spend too much time prying money from the feds,” observes Barr. “And both parties are to blame. It’s easier to list the groups that don’t get federal handouts than those that fill their pockets every year. With a half-trillion dollar deficit and a $9.5 trillion national debt, we obviously can’t afford to have all of these people breaking into the Treasury all the time,” says Barr.

“But what can be more obnoxious than forcing taxpayers to underwrite other people’s political opinions? As Thomas Jefferson told us: to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions that he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical. You’d think someone who postures as an opponent of special interests and government pork wouldn’t expect the taxpayers to subsidize his own very special interest political campaign,” notes Barr.

Link to entire statement.

The Libertarian Party staged its' national convention in Denver earlier this year, where it nominated the ticket of Bob Barr and Wayne Root. The convention was staged strictly with private money.

Gubernatorial Debates

2008-08-08T07:23:00.000-04:00

Three gubernatorial debates have been set, allowing Hooiser voters to compare Libertarian Andy Horning side-by-side-by-side with Democratic challenger Jill Long Thompson, and incumbent Republican Mitch Daniels. From the Indy Star report:

The debates, which will be televised live, will be Sept. 16 at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville; Sept. 23 at the Jasper Arts Center in Jasper; and Oct. 14 at the Indiana University Auditorium in Bloomington.

Specific times, yet to be announced. Stay tuned!

Barr on Real ID

2008-08-06T09:45:00.000-04:00

Barr Says No National ID

2008-08-06T07:33:00.000-04:00

Yet another way Obama and McCain agree- instituting a National ID. Bob Barr opposes a National ID, and other expansion of government data collecting, unlike the Republican and Democrat.

Atlanta, GA -- “’September 11’ has become the catch-all excuse for virtually every proposed expansion of government power,” notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party nominee for president. “One example is a national identification card and data base, long desired by some in government, and which was mandated by legislation passed by the Congress in 2005 with the support of both Senators McCain and Obama. Although I was no longer in the Congress when this bad legislation was passed, I had vigorously opposed it in the years since it became law, just as I led the successful effort to rescind a previous mandate for a national ID card.”

Unfortunately, he explains, “the Real ID Act establishes a new and privacy-invasive national ID card program. By forcing states to standardize their driver’s licenses and creating a vast national data base of private information on the citizenry, the law establishes through the back door something Americans would never have accepted directly—a National Identification Card.” In fact, “there was no open and honest vote on Real ID. The mandate was slipped into a supplemental appropriations bill, discouraging any real debate over the issue.”

Link to entire statement.

President Barr Would Veto This

2008-07-28T09:32:00.000-04:00

The bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appears set to happen. What does it mean to every taxpayer in the US and their share of the national debt? About another $1,300.

The bill passed the House of Representatives and will be taken up in the Senate and once through that pork factory, President Bush has said he will sign it. If I were your President I would veto it so fast, heads would spin.

The bill - and that’s exactly what it is - is a bill you are going to be expected to pay! It’s for an estimated $400,000,000. That is, of course, $400 Million that we don’t have, so more borrowing is ahead. Your share of this expense? About $1,300.

And that’s on top of the more than $31,000 you already owe!

McCain and Obama have tip-toed around this. Barr is plain: No bailout for failed lenders!

Link to full Barr statement.

Barr Says DC Should Respect Heller Decision

2008-07-22T10:07:00.001-04:00

July 21, 2008 3:25 pm EST

Atlanta, GA -- “Citizens of Washington, D.C. and firearms rights organizations must be prepared to file a quick and clear challenge to the new Washington, D.C. gun control law designed to keep them disarmed,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. “The City Council is attempting to flout the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Heller that explicitly affirmed an individual’s right to own firearms. The Council is disingenuously doing this by appearing to legalize gun ownership while restricting the right into ineffectiveness.”

For instance, explains Barr, “the District of Columbia will continue to ban semi-automatic weapons, the most common kind of handgun in America. Moreover, residents will be required to keep their guns unloaded and either disassembled or disabled with a trigger lock. Unfortunately, most criminals aren’t going to give homeowners the courtesy of waiting for them to make their weapons operational before striking.”

Link to full post.

The right to bear arms is correctly an absolute. Heller was a 'mostly good' decision, but fell short of ensuring this most basic liberty.

Dick Heller is considering a run for office as a Libertarian candidate.

Bob Barr Says Privatize Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac

2008-07-16T21:42:00.001-04:00

Bob Barr isn't talking about bailing out bad decisions, like some other candidates are. He's talking about ending a disaster:

Oklahoma City, OK -- The latest financial crisis involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guarantee home mortgages, demonstrates yet again how government intervention in private markets almost always comes to grief. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are nominally private, but were created by Congress and enjoy significant advantages over truly private companies, including cheaper borrowing, lower capital requirements, and an implicit federal guarantee.

As a result, the two organizations behaved irresponsibly, confident that they were “too big to fail.” They own $5.1 trillion in mortgage debt, almost half of the nation’s total. With the sub-prime lending crisis in full swing, their losses are up, their capital is down, and their ability to borrow is falling. Immediate privatization is difficult because the markets doubt the organizations can survive without government support. Insolvency and a forced asset sale would roil both the housing and financial
markets.

These problems are almost entirely the fault of the federal government. Congress created programs to artificially inflate the housing market, established Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be exempt from normal scrutiny, oversight, and competition, and expanded their activities in response to the sub-prime lending meltdown. Government must get out of the mortgage business, but must do so in a way that least harms taxpayers and the economy.

Link to Barr's full statement on Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac.

Update: McCain & Obama campaigns have ties to Fannie Mae & freddie Mac. That could explain their interest in bailouts.

Andy Horning's Platform

2008-06-17T11:24:00.000-04:00

Our Libertarian candidate for Indiana governor has a unique platform- The Indiana Constitution.

Andy's assertion is that, just like our US Constitution is ignored in the making of laws by the Congress, our state's Constitution is likewise ignored by our state legislature. Where does the governor come into play? The governor signs, or refuses to sign, bills into law. Andy Horning would not sign unconstitutional bills into law.

For more, check out this link to Andy's blog, where he has commented on the entire Indiana Constitution.

A Libertarian Primary Voting Guide

2008-05-05T12:48:00.002-04:00

Because the Indiana Primary is a closed election, meaning, a voter takes either a partisan Democratic or Republican ballot, the way I and most other partisan Libertarians vote in the primary is to walk in, sign the book, and leave.

This isn't very satisfying, so many will be tempted to participate in one primary or the other. This is understandable, as the Democrats have contested presidential and gubernatorial races, and the Republicans have contested county offices- and a libertarian named Ron Paul running for president against John McCain.

Because the Ds and Rs are clear that they want the primaries to be their publicly funded private business, they have passed this law to burden any voter outside their ranks:

IC 3-10-1-6 Eligible voters
Sec. 6. A voter may vote at a primary election:

(1) if the voter, at the last general election, voted for a majority of the regular nominees of the political party holding the primary election; or
(2) if the voter did not vote at the last general election, but intends to vote at the next general election for a majority of the regular nominees of the political party holding the primary election;as long as the voter was registered as a voter at the last general election or has registered since then.

As added by P.L.5-1986, SEC.6.

The parties are free to challenge the eligibility of any voter at the polling place. The Democrats, fearful of Rush Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos", have indicated that they will look to challenge Republicans who cross over.

The following is opinion for those who would take an 'R' or 'D' ballot in the primary. It is not to be construed as an endorsement by the Libertarian Party of Hamilton County, but presented so that readers might begin to make a pro-liberty appraisal of the candidates. The candidates from President down to County Council are reviewed here.

Republican Ballot

Candidates for President: Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney.

Easy pick for libertarians: Ron Paul. Dr. Paul is the only libertarian in the major party field, and was the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate in 1988.

John McCain would extend the failed war in Iraq, would continue to build ever-larger government, would continue his random support for government that contributes to his personal notion of "national greatness", and was the co-author of the speech-stifling McCain-Feingold campaign finance "reform" law that McCain himself has sought to circumvent.

Although Huckabee and Romney have folded their candidacies, they remain on the ballot.

Candidates for US House, District 5: Clayton Alfred, Dan Burton, Bob McGoff.

Another easy pick: Clayton Alfred, who is a Ron Paul supporter, and tops his campaign website with "Less Government", "Less Spending", "Less War", "More Individual Liberty", and "No Income Tax".

McGoff wants a few things libertarians want, and a few we don't. He wants to reduce our tax burden and protect the 2nd Amendment, but he believes government has a role in health care, and supports the misguided War on Terror.

Incumbent Dan Burton, as I have stated previously, is less desirable than a can of Alpo. On the plus side, he does miss a lot of votes. When he does show up, he casts his votes in odd ways, as when he was the sole vote against ethics reform.

Candidate for Governor: Mitch Daniels is unopposed.

Candidates for Indiana Senate 20: Ken Geesaman, Luke Kenley.

No clear choice here. Geesaman is a critic of Kenley on spending and especially on property taxes, Kenley certainly didn't deliver meaningful property tax relief, but presided over a shell game that saw an increase in the state sales tax. Geesaman supports a marriage amendment and pro-life legislation. On his campaign website, Kenley touts his record on tax issues, pointing to bills he has authored that have passed. I guess if you feel your tax burden is lighter, you should vote for Kenley.

Candidates for Indiana Senate 28: Beverly Gard, Michael Terry.

No clear choice. Incumbent Gard defended Geist residents (to a point) against forced annexation by Fishers. Her website carefully avoids listing any positions she holds, and refused to answer issue questions with Project Vote Smart. Challenger Terry lacks a website (a minimal requisite for any candidate in the last 10 years) and also refused to answer issue questions with Project Vote Smart. The only item found online on Terry is a blog article that was followed up with negative comments.

Candidates for Indiana Senate 30: Teresa Lubbers, Ken Morgan.

Edge, Morgan. Incumbent Lubbers has a curious set of positions- supports charter schools, but also supports No Child Left Behind; touts a tax policy as good for business and "personal security", yet supports taxing internet sales and maintaining status quo on most other taxes- while supporting deep cuts on property taxes. I guess she knows which way the wind blows. Morgan is in support of eliminating property taxes, as a virtual single issue. If you're only going to do one thing, may as well do it right.

Candidate for Indiana House 29: Kathy Richardson is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 32: Eric Turner is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 35: Jack Lutz is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 38: Jim Buck is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 39: Jerry Torr is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 86: Adam Neilson is unopposed.

Candidate for Indiana House 87: Cindy Noe, Brian Sweeney

Edge Sweeney. Cindy Noe doesn't have a campaign website, and did not respond to Project Vote Smart on issue questions. She appears content to allow the taxpayers to fund her website at the statehouse. The only issue visible there is taxes, and with a solid anti-property tax position. It would be nice if Noe let us know about some less safe positions she might hold, rather than hide. Sweeney is in at least the same position as Noe, but lets us know on his website that he is in favor of privatizing the lottery, and loosening restrictions on Sunday liquor sales and gambling on an individual rights basis.

Candidate for Indiana House 88: Brian Bosma is unopposed.

Candidates for Judge, Circuit Court: Paul Felix, Sonia Leerkamp.
I have no opinion to offer on either. Felix's website offers non-specific info to the voter, while Leerkamp's website essentially touts her as an ex-prosecuter, with Felix not being an ex-prosecutor. Where do they stand on forced annexations? Etc.

Candidate for Judge, Superior Court 3: William Hughes is unopposed.
Candidate for Judge, Superior Court 4: J. Richard Campbell is unopposed.
Candidate for Judge, Superior Court 5: Wayne Sturtevant is unopposed.
Candidate for County Auditor: Dawn Coverdale is unopposed.
Candidate for County Treasurer: Kim Good is unopposed.
Candidate for County Surveyor: Kenton Ward is unopposed.

Candidates for County Commissioner, District 2: Steve Dillinger, David Whiteman.

No clear choice: Dillinger has been elected since the mid-1980s, enjoying the spoils of the at-large nature of the vote: He has routinely lost his district, but because the whole county votes on each Commissioner seat, the rest of the county has carried him. He gets huge campaign contributions from spouses of engineering firm principals, which looks fishy, at best, and is aggressively pro-growth. Whiteman wants to add more public trails and parks, and engage county government in recycling. Both give the nominal nod to low taxes that is expected, but without specifics.

Candidate for County Commissioner, District 3: Steven Holt is unopposed.

Candidates for County Council, At Large (Elect 3): Brad Beaver, Jim Belden, Ford Hebner, Rick McKinney.

McKinney resisted a tax: Leave some blanks on the ballot. Hebner is the challenger, while the others are incumbents, with one large, telling tax item on their records- the food & beverage tax adopted by the County to give the gift of a socialized football stadium to Jim Irsay. McKinney was the sole vote against, while Beaver and Belden caved into the pressure exerted by Mitch Daniels. Hebner didn't say much about what he was about on his sparse website.

Democratic Ballot

Candidates for President: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama.

No clear choice for libertarians. Both Clinton and Obama favor so much big government that libertarians oppose, that it's hard to single one or the other out. The big issues right now are the war in Iraq, health care, and the economy. Both have offered tepid, often conflicting answers for Iraq, each would grow the government involvement into health care that adds layers of cost and inefficiency, and each would offer policy sure to be an ever-greater drag on a slumping economy. One could debate endlessly which is more harmful.

Candidates for US House, District 5: Chester Kelsey, Mary Ruley, Kenny Stall.

No good choice, as all three feature anti-liberty policies.

Ruley could be a choice for Libertarians, as she touts her associations with libertarian icon Dr. Milton Friedman as well as Dr. Alan Greenspan. Alas. Looking beyond into issues, we find that not enough of these legends rubbed off, as Ruley supports the building of a high-speed rail network , increasing the minimum wage, and declares health care to be a patient's right.

Kelsey calls the public financing of elections "the single most important issue in America" on his website. Iraq? Health care? The economy?

Dr. Stall has the most curious way of enunciating position, promoting policy on immigration and tax reform, but then saying they couldn't advance in the Congress. So, why put him there? Also, in his "defense" of the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms, Dr. Stall recommends a health care premium, a tax, on gun licenses in order to fund health care for firearm injuries.

Candidates for Governor: Jim Schellinger, Jill Long Thompson.

No clear choice, as there isn't too much to get excited about. For all the complaint about Mitch Daniels from Indiana Democrats, one might have expected clear, concise policy.

Schellinger's website has identified four top issues: jobs, health care, education, and government reform. He has lengthy white papers for the three subjects, which beget hope that specifics can be contained. Alas. I've never read so much that says so little. For instance, the top thrust of Schellinger's government reform plan is essentially to form a committee and perform external audits looking for efficiencies. That's it? No ready-made ideas of where inefficiencies lie, or departments that seem outside the realm of the proper role of state government? No wonder the reputation of his campaign is that it is a muddle. Beyond that, anyone who suggests the state should be involved with education for a longer span of years than is already the case scares me greatly. Government schools are a cauldron of failure. The longer we can delay the introduction of our children to this maw of making mediocre, the better. Schellinger's plan is called "Pre K to 80".

Thompson has a plan with specifics. That's an improvement in terms of understanding what she's proposing, but it's bound to leave libertarians just as non-plussed. She wants to focus on areas outside of Central Indiana. Why alienating any segment of the state population is good strategy is beyond me. Thompson wants to attract jobs by manipulating the tax code with breaks for companies that would set up shop in Indiana. She wants to have government extend broadband service statewide to unserved areas.

Candidate for Indiana Senate 28: Mike Brinegar is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana Senate 30: Todd DeGroff is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 29: Joe Weingarten is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 35: Lee Mengelt is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 36: Terri Austin is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 38: Bob Snow is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 86: Edward DeLaney is unopposed.
Candidate for Indiana House 87: Pamela Hickman is unopposed.
Candidate for County Commissioner, District 2: Jeff Curts is unopposed.
Candidates for County Council, At Large (Elect 3): Christopher Brown is unopposed.

There are many other ballot options available, including non-partisan school board races, and arcane items that are obviously private business, such as delegates to the parties conventions and precinct committeemen.

The Libertarian Party does not take part in the primary election process. It nominates its' candidates at its' privately funded conventions.

Libertarian Party candidates are still eligible to be added to the ballot post-convention.

Libertarian Party Of Hamilton County 2007 Convention

2007-04-20T11:53:00.000-04:00

Saturday May 12, 2007 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM at the Delaware Township Government Center, 9090 E. 131st Street in Fishers, Indiana.

If you are interested in a more fiscally sound, socially tolerant local government then please take the time to join us for our annual County Convention.

We will be nominating candidates for local races, including city and town council seats for Carmel, Noblesville, Fishers, Westfield, Arcadia, Atlanta, Cicero and Sheridan.

We will also be selecting officers for the LPHC, these include County Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer at this convention. Now is your chance to step up and take part in the important process of moving liberty forward.

For more information or to inquire about a nomination, please contact County Chairman Rob Place at 317-776-1042 or email him at rob@robertplace.com.

We look forward to seeing our fellow Hamilton County Libertarians at the Convention.

Burton, or a Can of Alpo?

2007-02-06T07:55:00.000-05:00

Which would you rather have, District Five voters? I ask because each seems as capable as showing up for votes these days. From an Indy Star report:

U.S. Rep. Dan Burton skipped 19 House votes, including measures to reduce college costs and cut oil industry tax breaks, so he could play in a golf tournament last month in Palm Springs, Calif.

Burton also missed hearings on Iraq and North Korea to play in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, which pairs top golfers with politicians and celebrities such as actor and director Clint Eastwood.

A review of House votes for the past decade shows the Indianapolis Republican has been absent every year votes coincided with the tournament: 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2001. This year in January, he missed a total of 20 out of 73 votes.

Keep in mind that Dan Burton was the sole vote against ethics reform. People were scratching their heads and asking why he would do that. All is now made clear.

So, District Five: Are you happy with this "performance"? Is it time for you to stop blindly voting 'R' yet? Burton hasn't been voting for smaller government, so what is the point? This is a guy who makes Julia Carson's attendence record sparkle.

Don't expect the man to change his ways unless you act. He knows he is in the most safely gerrymandered Congressional District in the State of Indiana. He refused comment on this issue from all media who have inquired. That's some kind of contempt. Worse, it's disinterest in performing even the simplest role outlined in his title- "Representative".

Everyone knows that because of the gerrymandering, you can run a can of Alpo in District 5, and it would win so long as it wore the 'R' label, and you had a reincarnated Barry Goldwater wearing a 'D', and a reincarnated Ronald Reagan wearing an 'L'. District Five, you are asleep at the switch! You need to pay attention to what the candidates stand for and what their record is. Voting on what you think the labels used to stand for isn't getting you anywhere good, and it certainly isn't making Dan Burton show up.

Eminent Domain Watch, SR 32

2007-01-27T12:14:00.000-05:00

At what cost will we widen a road? At the cost of chasing a good Westfield business to Florida. From the Noblesville Daily Times report:

When David O. Nelson opened the doors to Performance Feeders, the plant was located on Westfield Road in Noblesville - the same spot where Backyard Archery now stands. Thirty-three years later and a move down the road into Westfield, the plant is closing its doors for good in Hamilton County and moving its operation to another location in Oldsmar, Fla.

Westfield plant president Carl Nelson, son of founder David Nelson, said the whole thing is 'horrible.' He said the reason the plant is closing is because the state of Indiana has taken the property by eminent domain to widen Indiana 32.
Nelson explained that the plant's septic system lies in the 10 to 15 feet of property the state wants for the expansion, and there is no other place on the firm’s property to install new sewers, in essence condemning the building."So because of that is why they have to take the building - it's only over, literally, like 15 feet, but you can't operate," he said.

A dose of common sense would have been a good thing here. For 15 feet, why not shift the road at Performance Feeders so that it could stay? Is that less important than a perfectly straight road? I guess so. Nelson is understandably upset:

"The governor works awfully hard to bring manufacturing here, and they just don't work too hard to keep it once they get it," he said. "When you listen to them with their big deals with all these tax breaks and stuff, but with the small manufacturing companies - mom and pop companies with under 50 employees, that's not really where they're interested."

The man speaks the truth. If you have a flashy name, like "Indianapolis Colts" or "Lucas Oil", then you get fabulous considerations. If you are just the salt of the earth Hoosier, you can go pound sand with our government of Republicans and Democrats.

Libertarians oppose mindless use of eminent domain such as this. Libertarians were on the forefront of the opposition to the Kelo v. New London decision, the attempt to take the NK Hurst bean plant in Indianapolis, and countless other less notable cases. We will grudgingly concede the use of eminent domain in true public need cases, such as dams, roads, and bridges, but we insist on fair compensation for the property owner, and we insist on common sense.

Too bad there isn't any common sense here. I hope this is an isolated case, but I imagine this is the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Kathy Richardson's Legislative Survey

2007-01-22T09:45:00.000-05:00

We recently received Indiana House member Kathy Richardson's 2007 Legislative Survey in the mail at the Kole household, and we filled it out. The questions found in these surveys often point to issues that are important to the legislator, or to issues the legislator really is undecided on but are perhaps part of their party's agenda. I think there are a little of both on Richardson's survey. Most would make government bigger, more expensive, or more intrusive. Here are the questions:

1. Would you favor giving local governments the ability to assess a local option sales or income tax as a partial alternative to property taxes? Double-edged sword. It is time to eliminate antiquated property taxes that make sure you only rent your property from the government, not own it. However, I fear municipalities raising taxes above what property taxes are now. Begrudgingly favor, but this has the significant potential for making government more expensive in the by-and-by of the shell game.

2. Do you support the creation of civil unions for same-sex couples? Government has no business regulating marriage, which is a private concern that churches should govern. But, as long as government is in the business, the next best thing towards the greater ability of all people to enter into the agreements they choose. Regardless of outcome, this issue demonstrates the intrusiveness of government.

3. Would you support a 40-cents per pack cigarette tax increase if the funds were only used to provide health insurance for Indiana's uninsured, as well as anti-smoking campaigns? If you want proof that Republicans are not fiscal conservatives, here it is. This shouldn't even be a question for them, as this is a reinforcement of socialized medicine. This is the worst possible bill as it is the unholy trinity: it would make government bigger, more expensive, and more intrusive.

4. Do you support the use of embyonic stem cells for research? Typical government-speak. The question assumes there is no difference between privately funded research and publicly funded research. Libertarians oppose publicly funded research as a matter of principle, regardless of the nature of the research. Does this question reflect a ban on publicly funded research? Privately funded? We'll have to find the bill that discusses this to see what is being proposed.

5. Would you support the creation of a central Indiana bypass that would be funded by tolls if it eliminated the potential need for tolls on the I-69 expansion from Indianapolis to Evansville? Another twisted government shell game. Let's sort this out. Libertarians oppose the expansion of I-69 through new terrain. If an upgrade is truly warranted, Libertarians support using the existing highway and upgrading it to interstate quality. We have no opposition per se to toll roads. They are user fees. Problem is, we already have a user fee in the gasoline tax. One or the other, please. Libertarians oppose the new terrain Central Indiana bypass as a huge pork project that nobody is clamoring for. This all stands to make government much bigger and much more expensive.

6. Would you support a program that gives more funding and control to local law enforcement to detain illegal aliens for deportation? No. Border control is a federal issue. The issue of illegal immigration is much deeper than catch and release. Local employers might be more inclined to hire US citizens if the tax and compliance burdens placed on employers were reduced. This proposal would make government bigger and more expensive at the least.

7. Would you support a requirement that limits state-funded college tuition increases to the rate of inflation? Again, this is coming from Republicans? It may feel good to cap tuition hikes, but the reality of state-funded colleges is that either the student pays tuition, or the taxpayers subsidize that tuition. Capping tuition hikes is a clever way of saying 'tax hike'. The user of education should pay for their education. This proposal makes government more expensive.

8. Do you support the creation of a state-funded full day kindergarten program? Another of the unholy trinity proposals that would make government bigger, more intrusive, and more expensvie. FTK is just another means for warehousing kids, providing extra free day care, and extending the period of state indoctination. The last place I want my little girl is in the hands of the state for an extended period of time.

9. Would you support voluntary teacher competency testing if teachers who chose to be tested received bonus compensation for passing the test? This is patently absurd. Teachers should be competent in order to receive a paycheck, let alone a bonus. Feast your eyes on this government-think. This would obviously make government more expensive.

10. Would you support a "Truth in Sentencing" law that requires those sentenced to state prison to serve at least 85% of the time demanded by the sentence? This is coming from the tough-on-crime GOP? What a joke. An excellent bill would demand 100% time served of all violent criminals- those committing murder, rape, arson, assaults, etc. At the same time, the bill would de-criminalize non-violent offences and unclog the system. Sending a non-violent drug offenders to prison for 15 years makes no sense when rapists get out in 8 years. Priorities, please. This proposal would make government more expensive.

Nothing to back strongly here. It is hoped that most of this legislation goes to die in a bi-partisan struggle, or by a veto. Alas, Governor Daniels is backing much of this nonsense, so we're in the unfortunate situation of hoping Democrats will kill these items so as not to make government bigger, more intrusive, or more expensive. Hoosiers must really like big government to keep voting Republican and Democrat as they do.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Republican, Indiana Legislature

State of the State Review

2007-01-16T22:18:00.000-05:00

This was Governor Daniels' third State of the State speech, and I call it 'The Kumbaya Speech'. Governor Daniels repeatedly made clear overtures to the Democrats, urging bi-partisanship and cooperation. Daniels could have sounded these themes before the Republicans lost their majority in the Indiana House this past November, but it didn't seem necessary then as it does now, especially if he wants his agenda advanced. Interestingly, Democrats had been calling for bi-partisanship, but here Daniels called for it and they played it cool, remaining seated while Republicans gave an ovation on the cooperation tone.

But that's not the substance. It was impossible to miss the idea that Mitch Daniels, allegedly a small government arch-conservative, clearly believes in government as the best solution to so many of our problems.

While Democrats snipe about 'selling' assets like the Toll Road, Daniels has really privatized very little and actually eliminated nothing. It's nice that state government is off the hook for a handful of employees on the Toll Road, and potentially at the Hoosier Lottery. A good start, but a very short list, and nowhere was he talking of eliminating departments or even cutting budgets.

The structural deficit may be gone, but has any of that money been returned to the taxpayers? If a large structural deficit can be erased on one year, couldn't real property tax relief be coming? Or an elimination of the state income tax? The Governor is not a Libertarian. He's a Republicans, and his commitment has been made to spending.

Daniels could be at the fore of getting government out of the business of education, but instead works to expand the role of the state in calling for full day kindergarten. He could be at the fore of moving Hoosiers towards self-responsibility in the area of health care, but instead reinforces budding socialized medicine by working to impose another tax on cigarettes and earmarking the proceeds for providing care to those who choose to be uninsured. Listening to the speech, one got the complete abdication of the principle of self-responsibility, and typical of today's Republican.

Indeed, the worst thing is the predictable, badly misplaced invocation of Ronald Reagan. While the late President was more a smaller government man rhetorically than in reality, at least he had rhetoric. Daniels actually said that he is eager to"reinvest our bonanza". Both in word and deed, the man is about growing the size, scope, and expense of government. He may balance the budget, thereby claiming the phrase "fiscally responsible", but clearly Mitch Daniels is no "fiscal conservative".

"Investment," curiously enough, is the word Democrats currently use when they want to talk about spending, and Daniels is using their word. It apparently never crossed his mind to cut the budget and taxes, to return the money to the taxpayers.

It's time to retire Mitch's nickname, "The Blade", or at least modify it for some truth in advertising. Make we can call him "The Penkife", or "The Clippers". Many of us had hoped in 2004 that we would see "The Chainsaw" slashing through the budget behind a deep commitment to smaller government. Alas.

So, I expect the new era of cooperation and bi-partisanship to move full steam ahead. Democrats have long been in favor of more government. Now they sing Kumbaya together and expand the size and scope of government together.

They have just the man to help them to that end, and Pat Bauer has his back.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Indiana, Mitch Daniels, State of the State Address

State of the State Reviewer

2007-01-11T14:19:00.000-05:00

I will represent the Libertarian response to Governor Mitch Daniels' State of the State Address, Tuesday evening on WXNT 1430-am, heard throughout Central Indiana, including Hamilton County.

As I understand it, WXNT's Abdul Hakim Shabazz will host a special evening edition of his show with representatives of the three parties issuing a preview of what we expect to hear, and then a re-cap with our takes on the speech.

These are fun events, as the Republican can be expected to rah-rah or at least spin everything Mitch says, the Democrat will assail or spin everything, and I'm free to simply analyze- does it make government smaller, less expensive, or less intrusive- on those merits.

HSE School Calendar

2007-01-10T09:13:00.000-05:00

My son is a Freshman at the new Fishers High School. When we received his school year planner, I was astonished at the calendar. School started on August 16th, the Thanksgiving break was three days, the Fall Break (Fall Break?) was one week, and the Winter Break was nearly three weeks.

Back in my day (yes, when we went barefoot to school in the snow, walking several miles uphill, both to and fro), school started after Labor Day, Thanksgiving break was two days, there was no Fall Break, and Christmas Break (ahem) was 1-2 weeks, depending on which day Christmas and New Years fell.

Mainly, it sure looks like an attempt to stretch the school year out for the whole year.

This does bother me. I don't like the idea of children in the hands of the state all year round, teaching to the ISTEP test, ignoring economics and real civics in favor of something called 'social studies'. I like kids having Summer to goof off, to take a job, to daydream, or a little of all three. But the impetus for it all seems to be to get the kids out of the homes, or in too many cases off the streets, and into the system. Sad how few parents stay home to be with their kids, or even to provide for their own day care. I truly believe this is the reason for full-day kindergarten, also.

So, I was glad the school district posted a survey on the HSE website. I didn't really care for the limited questions, though. They definitely seemed intent on leading the respondent towards the expanded schedules. I also didn't care for the push for teacher training during the school year, resulting in half-days or full days off. Again, that's what Summer is for. Teachers get a paycheck year round. A little training during that long vacation is appropriate.

Still, an attempt at collecting feedback is appreciated. If you are a Delaware or Fall Creek Township resident, and especially if your kids are students or you are a student, take the survey.

Full Legislative Session- Hide Your Wallet!

2007-01-07T10:59:00.000-05:00

This new year presents us with the dreaded full legislative session in Indiana. Only after seeing what kind of tax-and-spend is possible under Republican majorities can we sigh relief at the new narrow majorities of Democrats and the gridlock that creates, because neither Ds & Rs are either fiscally conservative nor fiscally responsible.

"No man's life nor liberty is safe while the legislature is in session."
-Mark Twain

They convene beginning tomorrow, Monday, January 8. Hold on to your wallets!

We can expect the Statehouse Democrats to try to introduce bills which feature more spending. We can also find Republicans doing the same. The mad rush to warehouse the children, er, create full-day kindergarten, is a prime example. There will be more bills to keep track of than our legislators can actually read. So, it's important to know what's important to you, and what your own legislators are up to.

Here are the Indiana Senators and Indiana House members that represent Hamilton County, with email links and page with legislation they are promoting:

Senator Luke Kenley, R-District 20 (Noblesville, Atlanta, Cicero, Arcadia, Delaware Twp. north of 116th). Email link. Legislative link.

Senator Jeff Drozda, R-District 21 (Western Washington Twp north of SR 32, Sheridan, and into Boone and Tipton Counties). Email link. Legislative link.

Senator Beverly Gard, R-District 28 (Fall Creek Twp.) Email link. Legislative link.

Senator Mike Delph, R-District 29 (western Clay Twp, Washington Twp south of SR 32). Email link. Legislative link.

Senator Teresa Lubbers, R-District 30 (Delaware Twp south of 116th, Clay Twp south of 116th and east of Springmill Rd, then into Marion County) Email link. Legislative link.

Representative Kathy Richardson, R-District 29 (most of Noblesville Twp, Delaware Twp north of 116th, Fall Creek Twp). Email link. Legislative link.

Representative Jack Lutz, R-District 35 (goofy district that begins at Adams Twp & Sheridan to west, meanders through a slice of Jackson Twp, into Wayne Twp, and then into Madison County). Email link. Legislative link.

Representative Terri Austin, D-District 36 (White River and Jackson Twps). Email link. Legislative link.

Representative Gerald Torr, R-District 39 (meandering district bordered at north by SR 32, at west by the county line, then southeasterly into Carmel north of 116th and east into Delaware Twp south of 116th). Email link. Legislative link.

Representative David Orentlichter, D-District 86 (Clay Twp south of 116th, but mainly in Marion County). Email link. Legislative link.

Representative Cindy Noe, R-District 87 (Washington Twp and western Noblesville Twp). Email link. Legislative link.

Drozda is the legislative king of the Hamilton County Statehouse denizens with eight bills, including the very important bill addressing the weighty issue of 'battery by body waste'. Noe, Lutz and Austin are authors to no legislation, which makes them a-ok in my book, to the point that they aren't initiating the erosion of liberty.

Look for comment shortly on all of the proposed legislation authored our Hamilton County legislators. Don't be surprised when we support some of it. Unlike Ds & Rs, Libertarians call good law good law, on the rare occasions we find it, and regardless of who wrote it.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Indiana, Politics, Republicans, Democrats, Spending

Re-Inventing IndyGo

2006-12-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

Who needs Democrats when you have liberal tax-and-spend Republicans occupying all three county commissioner seats?

Very quietly, Hamilton County is developing a mass transit system that resembles the failing IndyGo system in every way: there are few riders, and rider fares fail to cover even a quarter of the operating expense. Check out the numbers for the expanded service, per the Noblesville Daily Times article:

A pilot program - the Hamilton County Express - began early last year and covered Noblesville Township as well as Carmel and Fishers. With slightly more than 2,000 riders traveling countywide in the course of nine months, officials wanted to combine the two services into one.

Huffman said it will cost almost $550,000 to operate the service after the expansion with more than half of that amount going to labor expenses, benefits and materials and supplies.

They will make most of that money back through funding from the Hamilton County Commissioners and state and local grants with about $20,000 coming from fare revenue.

Let's do some math. $20,000/$550,000 = 3.6%

That means that 96.4% of the operating costs are borne by taxpayers. Well! That has IndyGo beat! (IndyGo's 2004 balance sheet showed fares covering 16% of costs. See page 27 of their online balance sheet.) Congratulations, Hamilton County. Proportionally, you have a bigger suckhole than Marion County. Why are our County Commissioners so unaware of the math? Why are Hamilton County Repiblicans such fiscal liberals? Will the county's voters ever begin to look beyond the Elephant uniform and vote on the actual substance of the candidates?

Here's the baseline question: Why are we doing this? I get the initial reason for Janus and it's transportation mission. I won't argue that. But using that mission of assisting the handicapped for the purpose of helping them find employment, and then expanding beyond that to create a more full-blown mass transit system is a scam on the taxpayers.

Adult human beings who are not mentally handicapped should be providing for their own transportation. Taxpayers should not be providing subsidies for public transportation. Indeed, if public transportation was a winning proposition, you might see a private company get into the business of bus service.

Hamilton County must stop re-inventing Marion County. IndyGo is the worst model to re-invent, and yet, our County Commissioners fearlessly, mindlessly stepped up to the plate. Heaven help us all.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Mass Transit, Hamilton County, Indiana

Crazy Train

2006-12-21T16:31:00.000-05:00

This item tears me up. Understand that I am a rail fan. I love railroads and trains. I find them endlessly fascinating, whether studying their place in American history, or simply admiring massive machines moving massive tonnage.

But I am a Libertarian, and I do not for a second believe that because I enjoy railroads that society is on the hook to provide it for me. I can't stand Amtrak and its enormous subsidies. My impression of the Indiana transportation Museum just slipped a notch, for the same reason. From the Noblesville Ledger report:

The Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau will give $200,000 to the Indiana Transportation Museum (ITM) to help the volunteer-run train museum embark on a new journey.

"We are working with the Indiana Transportation Museum on a plan of action to make it a professional organization," said Brenda Myers, the visitors bureau's executive director. "It's pretty much all volunteers now, and we want to help them get to the point where they have a professional staff and ratchet up their volume of work."

It's ironic. I appreciate what ITM does, so I visit and I make a donation every year. This is how a museum is supposed to function. Alas, Hamilton County is reinventing Marion County and every other liberal city in every way, via taxes. You may recall my December 8 post that points to where the money is coming from, but we'll just use this handy sidebar from the Ledger:

Tourism funding
The Indiana Transportation Museum isn't the only beneficiary of the Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The bureau will announce the recipients of another $375,000 in grants this week, said Brenda Myers, executive director. That wouldn't have been possible, she said, without the county council's decision Dec. 6 to raise the innkeeper's tax on the county's 33 lodging properties from 3 to 5 percent.

The visitors bureau also plans to release another $85,000 in 2007 in marketing and sports grants.

The idea of "taxing other people" just isn't as clever as some on county councils think. We don't live in a vacuum. Hate to break it to you, but it's getting to where most cities or counties slap taxes on tourists, via taxes on hotel rooms or rental cars. We get nicked too, as soon as we hit the road.

It isn't necessary or proper. I love the trains. But if there isn't sufficient support from the paying customers, it isn't up to the County Council to create a Convention and Visitors Bureau, and then to prop up some local museums and destination points. It's up to those destinations to sufficiently attract enough paying customers and/or donors to supply themselves with enough operating capital.

The reputation of Hamilton County as a place of fiscal conservatism is completely unearned by the Republicans who hold the majority of office. This is just another unfortunate example.

Star Has It Wrong

2006-12-20T11:48:00.000-05:00

The Indy Star published an opinion on annexation this morning. It's the usual Star brand of milquetoast, taking no solid position, aiming for some amorphous, gray, middle of the road.

Along the way, they said some stupid things:

But lawmakers should use caution in hobbling annexation efforts. Had Indianapolis been foreclosed from annexation, it could be a Byzantine collection of tiny communities. Resistance to annexation led to the passage of Uni-Gov, effectively a wholesale annexation that many credit with helping Indianapolis become the Cinderella of the Rust Belt.

Wow, that's chock full of stupid.

For instance, what's wrong with a Byzantine collection of tiny communities? Tiny communities tend to be tighter-knit, with more common ground from one side of town to the other, and better still, with a government small enough to be responsive.

When the whole region is one municipality, many decent areas suffer being dragged down by the worst areas in town. Consider: Why do people from Lawrence, Washington, and Pike townships flee for Hamilton County? To escape the higher Uni-Gov taxes, to escape higher sales tax rates, to escape the horrible IPS schools, to escape the higher auto insurance rates, to escape the higher home insurance rates, to escape the domination of Center Township politics... just for starters.

You might consider how Crows Nest, Beech Grove, and Speedway are pleasant oases within Marion County. Yes, it's those Byzantine tiny communities, with their sense of identity and pride- and of not being Indianapolis.

Cleveland is a good counterpoint to Indy. Yes, Cleveland is one dismal city, but people there tend more to flee the city, not all of Cuyahoga County. Sure, the lousy suburban communities suffer flight, but that's as it should be. For the most part, people still happily reside in most of Cuyahoga County's inner and outer ring suburbs, embracing their schools and their communities. If Strongsville or Bratenahl suddenly became incorporated into Cleveland, you would see for sale signs spring up and wholesale flight throughout the formerly independent towns, because the well-to-do would want to get their kids out and to protect their assets. Annex Beech Grove into Indy and you would see the same thing. On the other hand, offer the Broad Ripple area the opportunity to break away and become its own municipality and you would see an amazing flowering happen there, beyond the interesting things that are already there.

In fact, Marion County would be greatly served by dismantling Uni-Gov, and creating a Byzantine collection of tiny communities. You might start to see better schools, less government waste, and less flight as people have more reasons to choose to identify with their communities. I'm proof. I fled Indy after just two years. I removed my son forevermore from IPS schools after just one semester. There was absolutely no way I would permit my family to live within the city limits of Indianapolis so long as I had children.

Indianapolis, the Cinderella of the Rust Belt. Bwaahahaha! Just check out the murder rate for a reality check on that puffery. Then, the schools.

Then, let the people decide whether or not they want to be a part of a city. They chose to live where they are on the basis of what the place is. In Geist, Home Place, and Southwest Clay, it's township living. It should be almost impossibly hard for a city or town to annex. The burden of petitioning should be on the entity that wants to gobble its neighbor, not on the defenders.

Being annexed into Carmel or Fishers is obviously not as detrimental to one's bottom line or safety as is being annexed into Indianapolis. Still, the right to self-determination should be paramount. And no matter how good a government is, the smaller it is, the more responsive it is. Thus, the urge to annex should be curbed.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Forced Annexation, Indianapolis, Geist, Indiana

Happy Birthday LP!

2006-12-12T09:28:00.000-05:00

35 years ago on December 11th, 1971 the Libertarian Party was formed! Happy Birthday!

Here's to greater success in the next 35 and to an expansion of liberty in our country!

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, 35th Anniversary, Politics

Anti-Forced Annexation PAC Formed

2006-12-10T19:59:00.000-05:00

I was delighted to learn that the statewide anti-forced annexation political action committee (PAC) is at last being formed.

While forced annexation has been a hot topic here in Hamilton County as Carmel tries to forcibly annex Southwest Clay and Home Place, and Fishers does likewise with Geist, it is not isolated to this part of the state. It is in fact a statewide issue, with actions and remonstrances also happening in the Muncie, Fort Wayne, Jeffersonville areas, just to name a few.

Geist resident Rachel Quade has been a driving force in opposing Fishers' largely unwanted advances, and in forming the PAC. From the Indy Star report:

Working with like-minded residents across Indiana, Quade plans to form a political action committee to push for annexation reform. Though Quade has no way of knowing how many will join the PAC, she figures it will represent the interests of more than 5,000 property owners.

"I started calling these people saying, 'Would you guys want to work together in getting the law changed?' " Quade said.

Vanessa Smith, who heads an anti-annexation group from Southern Indiana, agreed. Her group is trying to avoid annexation into Jeffersonville.
"We are working on our own legal strategies and we hope that we can delay the Jeffersonville annexation long enough to get the laws changed," Smith said.

Geist resident and PAC member Pete Peterson was quoted in the Noblesville Ledger story, hitting just the right philosophical notes, so foreign to our local Republicans:

Peterson said it is unfair for a municipality to annex an unincorporated area populated by residents who do not have the power to vote for that city's or town's government. He likened the scenario to early American colonists' cries of "No taxation without representation."

"Put this to the citizens. Let them have a say in this," Peterson said. "It really doesn't go along with the way this country was founded to not give people a say."

Libertarians have been strong in their opposition to forced annexations from the beginning. We believe a forced action, one that denies the right to self-determination, is not merely wrong, it is anti-American.

A voluntary annexation is perfectly acceptable. Libertarians believe that the laws regarding annexation should be changed thusly:

Municipalities should no longer be permitted to initiate an annexation.
Only citizen petitions voluntarily brought forth should be permitted to initiate an annexation.
The citizens of the receiving municipality, not merely their city or town council, should then have a vote on whether or not to accept the petition.

I am inspired by Rachel Quade and Pete Peterson, and their genuinely grassroots effort. I am further delighted that legislators are starting to hear the pleas of those being forcibly annexed. Democratic Rep. David Orentlicher is offering legislation that would change the laws, as is Republican Senator Beverly Gard. Both are to be commended for their willingness to be responsive.

This stands in contrast to the tax & spend Hamilton County Republicans, who have been initiating these forced annexations as mayors or town councils, and ducking from taking a conservative position against them. The Hamilton County GOP had a laughable non-position posted on its website earlier this year.

I look forward to this PAC taking part in the process of endorsing and financially supporting anti-annexation candidates in the 2007 municipal election cycle.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Forced Annexation, Indiana

Hamilton County Online Forums

2006-12-10T08:38:00.000-05:00

While the Indianapolis Star has had a lively user forum, I had sometimes lamented the lack of a forum that was oriented to Hamilton County, and populated mainly by Hamilton County residents. Sure, the star has topic sections devoted to Westfield, Noblesville, Fishers and Carmel, but the users there are often Marion County residents who like to take cheap shots based on their perceptions of Hamiltonians as aloof snobs. Who needs that? Much?

The Noblesville Daily Times has its own user forum! There is very little on the forum right now (just six posts!), as it was recently launched. Sign up and contribute, Hamilton County Libertarians! Registration is free.

Now all they have to do is get their print edition back online...

Here They Go Again

2006-12-08T09:09:00.000-05:00

Our tax & spend liberal Republicans are at it again, raising taxes. This time, it's the Hamilton County Council who is raising the innkeepers' tax. They have raised the rate on hotel/motel uses (including convention or conference uses) from 3% to 5%, effective January 1, 2007.

There was a telling quote in the December 7 Noblesville Daily Times (link not available):

"Of the 65 tax-levying counties which collect an innkeepers tax, Hamilton County is in the bottom 10," said Brenda Myers of the Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Make that was. Now Hamilton County is in the upper 46.

But the notable item is Myers' explanation. Hamilton County Republicans love to state how we are, or were, in the lowest range of taxes for a particular tax relative to other locations. So what? That we have the tax at all shows that the conservative reputation Hamilton County has is not earned. Myers was in no hurry to point out that 36 other counties do not even have an inkeepers' tax.

I truly believe that a solid 40-50% corps of Hamilton County's elected officials would be Democrats if they ran for office in Marion County, but they stifle an honest exposition of their beliefs and run as Republicans because they believe that is the only way they can be elected. GOP officials don't vet their candidates at all. Just run on the elephant banner and win, baby. Ideology be damned! Maybe it's more like 83%, if the County Council vote is any signal.

The vote was 6-1 in favor, with Brad Beaver casting the sole dissent. Kudos and thanks to Mr. Beaver for being the only fiscal conservative on the County Council of tax & spend liberal Republicans.

Hamilton County LP Meetup

2006-12-07T12:20:00.000-05:00

The next Meet Up for the Hamilton County Libertarian Party will be December 27th, 2006 at 7PM. We will be meeting at Fionn MacCool's in Fishers. Everyone is invited to attend for an evening of talk and the finest food in Fishers, Indiana! Come discuss the latest in local politics, the election just past and the shape of things to come.

While you're at it take a moment to sign up for our Hamilton County Meetup group at Meetup.com. Stay abreast of future happenings and meetings. While you're at it if you'd like to be notified when the HCLP site updates then please take a second to sign on with Blogarithm by clicking the link on the right. They will notify you whenever we update the site.

We look forward to seeing you at the Meetup!

Milton Friedman: 1912-2006

2006-11-16T18:01:00.000-05:00

Milton Friedman has passed away at the age of 94.
The Hamilton County Libertarian Party sends its sorrowful best wishes to the friends and family of Milton Friedman. Mr. Friedman was a noted free market economist and libertarian icon who espoused the ideals of free market capitalism. He was an adviser to Presidents and politicians and a true friend of liberty.

He, along with his wife Rose founded the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation in Indianapolis and advocated school choice as the norm, not the exception. In a statement from the Foundation, Gordon St. Angelo spoke to, and for all of us who admired Mr. Friedman.

America has lost a true visionary and advocate for human freedom. And I have lost a great friend.

Milton’s passion for freedom and liberty has influenced more lives than he ever could possibly know. His writings and ideas have transformed the minds of U.S. Presidents, world leaders, entrepreneurs and freshmen economic majors alike. The loss of his passion, incisive mind and dedication to freedom are all national treasures that we mourn for today.

Milton never chose to slow down; even at 94 he kept fighting to bring educational equality to all of America’s children. And it’s this vision, this drive for educational liberty that the Friedman Foundation will continue to bring to families throughout America.

His impact on my life over the last 33 years was significant. His impact on the world was momentous. Without a doubt, few people have done more to advance civil and economic liberties throughout the world during their lifetime than Dr. Milton Friedman.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Milton Friedman, Education,Economics, Indianapolis

November 7th, Election Day!

2006-11-05T21:00:00.000-05:00

The Hamilton County Libertarian Party wishes the best of luck to all of our candidates this election cycle! We are looking forward to seeing the vote totals for Mike Kole and Wayne Kirk in their bids for office. Mike has worked tirelessly for almost 2 years on his campaign and has shown what it truly means to be a serious candidate for political office. We here in Hamilton County are very proud to call Mike one of our own!

Best wishes also go out to all the other candidates in their State, Federal and local races. A special shout out to Rex Bell for also running an exemplary campaign and making his opponents sweat as he sprints towards victory!

Remember, for those of you who vote....vote early and often! (That's a joke for those of you Republicrats and Democrats who may have no sense of humour).

Misguiding Voters

2006-10-25T10:54:00.000-04:00

The Indianapolis Star has seen fit to exclude the Libertarian Party of Indiana from their "Voter Guide" as posted on the front page of their website. Missing from the guide are notable candidates such as Libertarian Secretary of State candidate Mike Kole, House candidates Eric Schansberg and Sheri Connover Sharlow, State Senate candidate Kenn Gividen and many others. The egregious and deliberate exclusion of the only third party with ballot access in Indiana is indicative of the Gannett run papers political agenda and their obvious goal of retaining the political status quo in Indiana.

As is easily discernable by their editorial stances and calls for action the Indianapolis Star has no interest in promoting smaller, fiscally conservative government. This is yet one instance of the Star promoting the current political paradigm and maintaining the status quo. It is also a grave disservice to the voters of Indiana and serves to cheat them of total and accurate information for purposes of voting.

The Hamilton County Libertarian Party calls upon the Indianapolis Star to correct this grave disservice to the voting public by removing their so-called Voters Guide until such a time as it accurately reflects the true voting choices available to Hoosier citizens.

The Hamilton County LP also calls upon voters and Indianapolis Star readers to contact the Star, its editors and officers and urge them to remove their guide until it reflects the true ballot status of candidates in Indiana.

For more on this issue please visit Kole Hard Facts.

Technorati Tags:
Indiana, Election 2006, Indianapolis Star, Libertarian, Politics

Hearing the "Back-up Beeps"

2006-10-22T08:15:00.000-04:00

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard felt the need to offer Indy Star readers damage control on his pet project, the socialized arts center, and its funding woes. Telling item from the Mayor's letter:

The performing arts center will be one of the most important structures built in Indiana this century with the first acoustically superb dedicated concert hall in the Indianapolis area. It will hold 1,600 and the theater will hold 500. This type of project spurs economic development by attracting the kind of employees that top employers seek. When we can no longer attract businesses to the area because employees don't want to live here, we lose.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, trying to tax yourself into prosperity is like standing in a bucket and then lifting it up. It's nutty, because Carmel is as prosperous a city as Indiana, or America, can offer.

Is Carmel really suffering in the area of attracting jobs? Why go to extraordinary, expensive lengths to solve a problem that doesn't exist? Oh- that's right. Brainard loves classical music. This is his pet project.

Well, Brainard is just representative of today's tax-and-spend, fiscally liberal Republicans.

Glad he set the record straight on that!

Fishers Town Council Meeting Tonight

2006-10-16T10:10:00.000-04:00

The Fishers Town Council will be meeting tonight and their smoking ban will likely be the primary piece of business for them. Please make plans to attend if you are able. Visible opposition to this means a great deal in defeating what is likely to be a done deal.

Also, please plan to attend the next meeting of the Hamilton County LP, which will be held at Claude and Annie's in Fishers on October 25th at 7PM. This meeting is the final chance to get together before Election Day and also a chance to plan for future office runs. The Fishers Town Council would be a good target in the next cycle.

If you haven't already done so, please sign up for our Meetup.com notifications to keep yourself informed as to meeting dates. It's free and easy, just click on the Meetup.com icon to the right.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Fishers, Indiana, Smoking Ban, Hamilton County Libertarian Party

Big Kole Campaign Event

2006-10-09T22:09:00.000-04:00

Remember the NK Hurst Company's fight to keep their property in an eminent domain battle with the State on the Colts stadium project? The Hursts have remembered Mike Kole's defense of them and all property owners, and are backing his Ham & Bean Fundraiser Dinner.

Even if this were not so, where else would you get your beans from?

The Kole Campaign is proud to announce its Ham & Bean Fundraiser Dinner, featuring NK Hurst's 15-bean soup.

When: Thursday, October 19th, 7-9pm
Where: Marrott Ballroom, Fall Creek & Meridian, Indianapolis
Cost: $15/person
Menu: NK Hurst's 15-Bean Soup, ham, corn bread, veggies, Coke products, plus cash bar.
Speaking: Libertarian state chair Mark Rutherford, and candidate for Secretary of State Mike Kole

Mark your calendars. Email your RSVP. This is a big event you will want to attend.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Mike Kole, Indiana, Election 2006, Eminent Domain, NK Hurst

More Info On Fishers Smoking Ban

2006-10-09T16:39:00.000-04:00

Last week the Fishers Town Council heard from the opponents and supporters for the proposed smoking ban that Scott Faultless and his Council wish to impose upon business owners in Fishers. Libertarians, concerned citizens and business owners showed up and voiced their opposition to the proposed ordinance and we can only hope that the Council will heed public sentiment over the voices of special interests.

Opposition to the proposed ban continues in other circles, as well. Kevin Hood, of atFishers points out a disturbing fact concerning the ban which was passed in Zionsville resulted in a 50% decrease in business at their American Legion. Other businesses, as we well know have also seen drops in their revenues since the imposition of that ban. The same is true across the board in Indiana where we have seen this plague of bans imposed on businesses which cater to smokers. Some small businesses have even closed their doors due to these revenue losses. The loss in tax revenue is also obvious to those who choose to see, too.

Do you want local Fishers businesses that you don't even visit to lose 50% of their patrons? If you're that selfish, hate smoking and don't care, let's think about the fifty percent of taxes that these businesses won't be paying to help your next check to the tax man.

While the Fishers Town Council rewrote a portion of the ban to accord a modicum of leeway to some bars and restaurants, (as Mr. Hood is careful to point out in his article), they did not go far enough and abandon this proposal. They were within the powers granted them when they emplaced their ban on smoking on city property, but this draconian measure goes far beyond anything the voters in Fishers granted them when they were elected.

If this Republican assault on property rights is allowed to pass we can expect to see a reduction in revenues for businesses which allow smoking. This is an indisputable fact . Given that many businesses, such as restaurants already operate on small margins of profit, especially those which are true small businesses and not mega chains. Scott Faultless and his Council are preparing to show their true colours where this issue is concerned. Given Mr. Faultless' penchant for increasing taxes, (as we saw last year) we can fully expect him to lead the charge to impose his will upon the small business community of Fishers when they meet again on October 16th.

Mr. Faultless and his Council should pay heed to the words of folks such as Mr. Hood. They vote. They contribute. They also tend to run for office against people who do all the wrong things and the Fishers Town Council has an election year coming up very soon.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Smoking Ban, Fishers, Indiana, Republican
Property Rights, Small Business, American Legion

Smoking Ban News

2006-10-02T15:23:00.000-04:00

The Fishers Town Council will today consider whether or not to adopt an ordinance that would ban smoking on private property.

My position on the matter is simple: If you own the property, you set the policies. It's a property rights issue.

I debate the health arguments against smoking or smoke in the air. I don't smoke and forbid it in my house for these reasons. I am just not willing to sweep away the property rights others in the quest for smoke-free air. Sadly, many Americans are. We'll see where the Fishers Town Council falls on this, pro-property rights, or anti-property rights.

Everyone should read this article, in Sunday's South Bend Tribune, before they do anything. It reveals the effects one smoking ban has had on restaurant owners and workers. From the article:

For many eateries, the ban's effects have apparently been anything but pleasant.

For instance, take Tradewinds Restaurant. Before the ban took effect in early April, owner Joe Kazmierczak had hoped it would lead customers who smoked from his Mishawaka location to his Osceola location, where foot traffic was already low.

But that didn't happen, and Kazmierczak closed the Osceola restaurant about a month ago.

Meanwhile, he saw business fall more than 10 percent initially at his Mishawaka location. In the past month, it has improved, he said, but it's still not as good as it was before the ban."You don't notice the regulars you had as smoking customers coming in anymore," he said. "That we lost."

Well, the proponents say they want to make sure employees don't have to work in a hazardous environment. It is assumed that the unemployment line is a much safer place to be.

Important: Fishers Council Meeting Oct. 2

2006-09-29T13:21:00.000-04:00

As we have previously mentioned the Fishers Town Council will be meeting this coming Monday, October 2 at 7PM in the Fishers Town Hall Auditorium to pass what is likely to be the most draconian anti-smoking and anti-property rights ordinance in Central Indiana. The Republican led Town Council has already shown a willingness to bow to the pressure of special interest groups on this matter, as evidenced by the recent passage of anti-smoking regulations in public parks and buildings in Fishers. There is no reason to believe that these Council members will not step in and attempt to regulate legal behaviour in private venues, as well. As it is the first item on their agenda for ordinances it is imperative that opponents arrive early.

What can you do? Join with us and local business people by showing up for the meeting this Monday and voicing your opposition to this over stepping of political boundaries by the Town Council of Fishers. Show your support for our local small businesses by standing with them as we face off against big government Republicans and their misguided attempts at social engineering. Please show up at this very important meeting! Activism is the only recourse we have to put a halt to the ever growing intrusiveness of government the area of private property rights. If this passes and the Fishers Council takes away the rights of our small business owners to self determine their relationships with their customers and employees then it is a small step into your living room.

Please join with the Hamilton County Libertarian Party in opposing this Republican led assault on property rights, self determination and freedom of choice by attending this meeting. If you cannot attend to voice your opposition the Fishers Town Council members may be contacted via e-mail at the following addresses:

Scott Faultless (President):faultless@fishers.in.us
Eileen Pritchard: pritchard@fishers.in.us
Stuart Easley: easley@fishers.in.us
Daniel Henke: henke@fishers.in.us
Charles White: white@fishers.in.us
David George: george@fishers.in.us
Arthur Levin: levine@fishers.in.us

Libertarians who can attend are urged to do so, as a united front on this issue is a necessity. Please help us put a stop to runaway government interference by joining us in opposing this big government intrusion. If you cannot attend then please contact the Fishers Town Council and let them know you stand against them in this matter.

Draft of Ordinance (.pdf)

Technorati Tags:
Smoking Bans, Libertarian, Republican, Fishers, Indiana, Politics

Brainard's Folly In Need Of More Money

2006-09-19T14:10:00.000-04:00

Those of us who are familiar with Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard's legacy building ways are hardly surprised to hear that Brainard's Folly is in need of more cash to the tune of $50 million. This is on top of the $80 million that the people of Carmel will have to shell out to pay for the core project. Honestly? We saw it coming and, if things hold true to course this will be the tip of the iceberg where Mayor Brainard's ~~money pit~~ project is concerned. What could possibly go wrong with a project that is already in need of $50 million before a final design has even been drafted?

The folks of Carmel, Indiana can look forward to many long years of paying for, and subsidizing this folly, all so Mr. Brainard can have his name attached to a plaque somewhere. So-called "arts" venues are notorious fiscal drains on communities that require constant subsidising in order to function. Carmel's Performing Arts Center will be no different than any other in this regard. The people of Hamilton County will likely have a bill tendered to them at some point, given the regionalistic outlook of Mayor Brainard.

Brainard is confident that pockets in Carmel and across Central Indiana are deep enough to support what he says will be a concert hall unrivaled in Indiana.

Not content to siphon off money from the people of Carmel, Mr. Brainard is apparently looking to reach out and touch everyone in Central Indiana to fund his legacy. Unfortunately, Mayor Brainard is not up for election until next year, along with his City Council. If luck holds out, tho they could be replaced by fiscally responsible individuals before this project becomes the budgetary equivalent of a cancer. No doubt the Hamilton County Libertarian Party will field a qualified candidate in 2007.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Carmel, Indiana, Mayor Jim Brainard, Politics

Fishers To Reject Business Property Rights?

2006-09-17T08:37:00.000-04:00

If you asked members of the Fishers Town Council, they would counter that the question is, will Fishers ban smoking in restaurants and bars.

It's the same question. Banning smoking in restaurants and bars takes away the right of the business owners to choose whether or not to permit the use of a legal product in their establishments. That the Town Councilors might not see the two as the same reveals two things- the lack of intellectual depth found within that body, and the extent to which Republicans and Democrats are philospohical equals on the issue of property rights: Mainly, government has the first and last say.

The Noblesville Daily Times recently had a surprisingly on-target editorial, asking very astutely, why in such a conservative county as Hamilton have the smoking bans, assaults on property rights, not raised more opposition?

Unfortunately, even in a place where property rights are generally recognized, all too often Americans will now happily subvert the property rights of another when it suits them. Observe:

2006: I don't smoke, so I'm glad government will make restaurants suit me. If that means trampling the property rights of the owner, that's fine. I don't own a restaurant or bar. Just because someone owns a property doesn't mean he gets to set the policy. We who do not own the property get to!
Throughout American History: I don't smoke. I don't even like smoke, but I'll support a property owner's right to set his own policies. If I don't like it, I'll go somewhere else.

Sadly, I will not be able to attend the Fishers Town Council meeting on Monday, September 18, where the proposed smoking ban will be discussed and perhaps voted on. (I'll be campaigning in Fort Wayne.)

I am a Fishers resident and I urge the Town Council not to trample the property rights of business owners. Banning smoking on public property, which the Town does manage, is one thing. Banning a legal activity on private property is un-American and wrong.

Technorati Tags:
Fishers, Indiana, Smoking Ban, Libertarian, Republican

Carmel School Board Raising Homeowner Taxes

2006-09-16T10:29:00.000-04:00

With no comment and no true representation the homeowners in the Carmel Clay School District can look forward to an increase in their property tax rates. Their proposed budget calls for the increase to fund such "necessary" items as renovating a weight room and replacing busses and a roof. Add in the fact that property taxes have increased, and shall continue to increase due to the states machinations in the area of "tax reform" and Carmelites will be paying huge increases for things which could, and should be wholly or partially funded by private donations.

This is just the latest increase in property taxes by a Hamilton County School board and unless their funding formula changes significantly homeowners will continue to be burdened by ever rising taxes. That change can only come when School Boards and those who levy property taxes are forced to once again obey the Constitution of the State of Indiana where schools and funding are concerned. Nowhere in our State Constitution are property taxes allowable for the funding of government sponsored schools.

Republicans and Democrats have no desire to eliminate the current property tax system that makes home "ownership" nothing more than a modern system of state sponsored vassalage. Only one political party in Indiana has the desire strengthen property rights, eliminate unconstitutional funding and taxation and work towards better educational opportunities for the children of Indiana and that is the Libertarian Party of Indiana.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Carmel, Indiana, Property Taxes, Republican
Democratic, Hamilton County, Schools

Governor Daniels And Republicans Getting A Thumbs Down In New Poll

2006-09-15T13:38:00.000-04:00

A new poll released by WISH-TV in Indianapolis is getting quite a bit of airplay in the area by pointing up some facts that Indiana's big government Republicans should take to heart. It shows a decided lack of confidence in the current administration in the capitol and in Governor Mitch Daniels in particular.
It seems that "Their man Mitch" currently enjoys a 38% approval rating from Hoosiers and they have little faith in his ability to fix some of his most current issues, like the BMV debacle.

The poll also shows a lack of confidence in the Republican legislators with a majority of people polled looking to elect more Democrats than Republicans. While pollsters forgot that the Libertarian party is running outstanding candidates in many races in the state, and thereby skewed the results somewhat in favour of the dominant ~~party~~ parties the data is fairly clear about what we may expect this election cycle. Fewer big government Republicans re-elected to office and more big government Democrats elected in their stead.

Governor Daniels and his Republican majority should pay heed to this poll and act accordingly. Start truly reducing size of government, reduce spending across the board, reduce and eliminate taxes and State interference in local issues, work to eliminate property taxes and eliminate the current educational system which has become a national embarrassment to Indiana. The legislature needs to focus on the real business of the people and not pander to issues such as prayer before meetings, gay marriage and other irrelevant issues.

Indiana needs serious legislators who will tackle eminent domain, property rights, self determination, taxation, education and substantive support for our small business community. The big government Republicans currently in office at all levels have shown zero inclination to tackle issues that are relevant to Hoosier voters, as this poll shows. The Democratic candidates are unlikely to be much better, if and when they replace the current regime. Fortunately, Indiana voters have a real choice in some races this cycle and will have even more in the next cycle as voter dissatisfaction continues to mount.

Neither the Democrats, nor the Republicans have what it takes to turn things around in Indiana and this poll shows that the people of the Hoosier state are cognizant of that fact. November 3rd is likely to be a wakeup call for a lot people currently in office. Indiana's Libertarians are looking forward to dialing that number for them.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Indiana, Election 2006, Republican, Democrat

Fishers Passes 1st of 2 Smoking Bans

2006-09-08T15:55:00.000-04:00

The Fishers Town Council voted 6-0 to ban smoking on public property, in public buildings and in government owned vehicles yesterday. The Republican dominated Council, spurred on by special interest groups such as Smoke-Free Indy passed the new ordinance and imposed a penalty of $100 for violators. They are setting up smoking areas for employees, at the discretion of their town manager's "discretion", but those areas are, according to the Noblesville Times only for the use of employees and not for visiting taxpayers.

The Fishers Town Council has scheduled a September 18th meeting at which they will discuss imposing a 2nd ban which...

"...would ban smoking in virtually every private business, including restaurants and bars."

They will allow public commentary on their proposed ban at an October 2nd meeting, according to Republican Town Council President Scott Faultless.

"It's not been scheduled, but I expect to be in the first meeting in October", said Town Council President Scott Faultless. "Unless something unforeseen happens that causes a delay."

Something like public opposition to the further destruction of private property rights, personal responsibility and self determination, Mr. Faultless?

Fishers is likely to follow in the footsteps of other localities which have imposed anti-smoking ordinances, given their penchant for bigger government and intrusion in the private sector. That this comes from a Republican dominated council is no surprise to Libertarians and others who value concepts such as the free market and individual responsibility. People who do not like smoke are not forced to conduct business with establishments which allow smoking and establishments which forbid smoking do not force smokers to do business with them. This is a cornerstone of the free market and one which no local government has any business interfering in.

The Libertarian Party of Hamilton County will be attending the upcoming meetings and will speak out against any ordinance that removes the right of property owners to determine their own course where this subject is concerned.

Concerned parties may contact the Hamilton County LP via email at: HamiltoncountyLP@gmail.com

The Fishers Town Council members may be contacted via their website and we urge all concerned citizens to voice their opposition to this ban.

Technorati Tags:
Fishers, Indiana, Smoking Ban, Libertarian, Republican

Regionalism Rears Its Ugly Head

2006-09-07T10:32:00.000-04:00

Increasingly, we have heard elected officials in Hamilton County talk about regionalism. It is surprising to some in that the elected officials are all Republicans, and regionalism is code for taxing one citizen to serve another.

The first topic to raise the banner of regionalism was public transportation. Elected Republicans, such as Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, County Commissioner Christine Altman, and Fishers Town Council President, among others, went on record in favor of regional taxes to extend public transportation into the doughnut counties.

Republicans! They say they are for personal responsibility, but that would mean each individual providing for his own transportation, either with his own car, or a full-fare on a bus or train that pulls the system out of subsidy. IndyGo is supported to the tune of 80% in tax dollars. Why would any sane person want to extend this mess?

The second was the forced annexations. The arguments have been made that despite living in a neighborhood outside municipal limits, people benefit from municipal services, but aren't paying their fair share.

Where I come from, we call that "a stretch". By that logic, if Geist residents should be incorporated into Fishers, then Fishers should likewise be incorporated into Indianapolis. After all, there isn't a Fishers resident alive who doesn't use Indy streets and thus, its services. Pay up!

Right- it's nonsense. So, here is the latest: Crime.

Your first reaction might be that apart from the rash of gas station robberies in Fishers, crime is not much of a problem in Hamilton County. I would agree with you on that. But Indianapolis, complete budgetary failure that it is, is struggling with crime. Indy wants suburbanites to help pay to put more police on the streets.

I moved out of Indy because I could see that it was a city in decline. I just could not justify the investment in a city that was going the wrong way on taxes, infrastructure, and yes, crime.

I moved to Fishers because it is relatively free of crime, has a lower tax burden, and has more sound infrastructure. As it is going right now, Fishers probably has about 30 years before it goes south reinventing Marion County.

That's exactly what would occur if a new plan for a regional sales tax goes through. From the Indy Star report:

Philip Borst, the Republican minority leader of the City-County Council, has floated the idea of a regional tax. Borst has been trying to get the city to consider long-term solutions rather than temporary fixes for a number of years.

He has said a regional sales tax would shift some of the tax burden to people who do not live in the county but use its public safety services. That group includes tourists and people who work in Downtown Indianapolis but live in the surrounding counties.

Phil Borst is a Marion County Republican, but he seems to think just like Hamilton County Republicans like Scott Faultless and Charlie White. Come on, Phil! Why not just annex Fishers?

Scott Faultless, president of the Fishers Town Council, said he would be more likely to support a regional tax for a problem like transportation improvements. He said he's not sure public safety is a regional problem.

"I don't think the town would be supportive of a tax for that purpose, but I would want to learn a lot more of what it is," Faultless said.

So, Faultless has no solid position on regional taxes, except on transportation. There, he will gouge the region gladly. On crime, he will have to wet his finger, stick it up in the air, and see which way the wind is blowing, and then he'll know. Great.

Carmel Mayor Brainard is much clearer:

But Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said crime truly is a regional problem.

"Criminals don't know city boundaries, and problems facing Indianapolis spill over into surrounding areas," he said in a statement.

He's clear, but he's wrong. Criminals do know where city boundaries are. They always have, beginning in the days when you merely had to cross town lines to dodge the law, to today where a petty crime committed in Indy is likely to result in quick release due to jail overcrowding. The same petty crime committed in Carmel or Fishers is more likely to result in arrest, because of the increased number of police per capita; and jail time because of lower crime rates.

Problems facing Indy do not spill over so much when it is well known that there is an aggressive police force in the adjacent town, and waiting at the boundary line. The problems do spill over when fiscally liberal politicians like Briainard want to take the problems of Indianapolis and make them the problems of the people Hamilton County.

What do I have to do to escape the ruinous policies of Marion County, and too many Republicans? Must I go to Tipton County?

I would rather put these liberal Republicans out to pasture.

Technorati Tags:
Indianapolis, Libertarian, Republican, Taxes

Indiana Attorney General Forbids Free Speech

2006-08-30T10:46:00.000-04:00

The Indianapolis Star reports that Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has warned Indiana political parties, with the exception of the Libertarian Party of Indiana that candidates for office may not make use of auto-dialers to send messages to their constituents. Citing a 1988 law concerning the commercial use of auto-dialers Mr. Carter has decided that it also applies to political speech. Imagine our surprise that an incumbent Republican would decide to place impediments to protected speech during an election year that holds the promise of change in the political make up at the State and Federal levels.

Attorney General Carter would do well to pay attention to a few things other than legislative whims that were clearly targeted at commercial enterprise. The Indiana Constitution is quite clear on matters of free speech and the creation of laws which restrict it. Section 9 of our State Constitution makes it abundantly clear that Mr. Carter is not only wrong but is also in violation of his oath of office.

Section 9: No law shall be passed, restraining the free interchange of thought and opinion, or restricting the right to speak, write or print, freely, on any subject whatever: but for the abuse of that right, every person shall be responsible.

If Attorney General Carter is concerned with upholding the law, it would be prudent were he to begin by moving to strike down this particular law and with it his erroneous interpretation. It is clear that this "law" applies only to commercial transactions via auto-dialers and not political speech as he and his battery of state sponsored lawyers would contend.

It is our hope that Mr. Carter will see the error in his offices misinterpretation of this ill conceived legislation and remove any restrictions he has seen fit to attempt to impose upon Indiana's candidates for public office. Alternatively, if Mr. Carter fails in his duty to uphold the Constitution of the State of Indiana we would hope to see him removed from his current office, forfeit his posted bond and be returned to public life. Indiana already has an absurdly high bar to meet when running for public office and Mr. Carter's attempt to raise that bar ,in an area which his office should be holding no sway is an egregious abuse of power which does nothing other than aid and abet incumbents in their bids to retain power.

The people of Indiana deserve better and Mr. Carter should be made aware of that. Those wishing to contact Mr. Carter may do so at:

Office of the Indiana Attorney General
Indiana Government Center South
302 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317-232-6201
Fax: 317-232-7979

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Indiana, Politics, Republican
Indiana Attorney General, Steve Carter

Citizen Anger in Carmel Surrounding Gramercy

2006-08-26T08:51:00.000-04:00

The southern third of Hamilton County has been in a race to develop for at least the last 30 years. The first residential developments in Clay, Delaware, and Fall Creek Townships made the transition from farm land to low density usages, on either beautiful estate lots, or in spacious subdivisions.

Much of the recent residential development has been higher density usage. There are two primary reasons for this- one is the exceptional cost of the land involved, whereby the developer can only recoup via volume sales or luxury price tags. The other is the desire of municipal governments, such as in Carmel and Fishers, to drive up assessed value on property, so that it yields the highest amount of dollars at the lowest rate possible.

Because the developer could go either way with housing product, and because there is only a tiny market for extreme high-end housing, this government policy in conjunction with its zoning laws makes it particularly easy for development to choose to undertake higher density develoments.

Next time you see a city sign proclaiming, "Zoned for your protection", please be sure to scoff out loud.

It's one thing to add high density development in an existing inner city. It's expected and desired there. But in bedroom communities where estate lots and large subdivision expanses are present, people deeply resent high density development, especially when people have an estate lot right next-door to the proposed high density development.

So, it was no surprise that the Carmel residents near the proposed Gramercy development turned up in numbers to voice their opposition to the plan.

It was also no surprise when Carmel ignored these residents. For municipal government officials, it's all about assessed value.

Of course, the residents have had some choice words of late. From Robert Francis' letter to the Indy Star:

Time and again people were asking to just send it back to committee for further study on the density. Sadly, the council members ignored their wishes and the development was approved in its entirety. The mayor, who is no better, called the members courageous. Better adjectives would be arrogant, egotistical, condescending and elitist. I completely lost any respect or admiration I had for these individuals.

Mark Lushell's letter gets to what elected officials understand:

The mayor stated after the vote Monday night that it took courage from the council to vote for this. I believe the real courage will come from the residents of Carmel. That courage will be in the form of voting these people off the board and out of the mayor's office. Until that happens, we will continue to have dense developments crammed down our throats.

So, why are they arrogant? Because the City Council runs unopposed. In 2003, not one Carmel City Council member had a general election challenger. Without any real ballot box pressure they can behave in public as described in Dawn Mast's letter:

Several people spoke before the board with heartfelt issues. I just wish the councilmen would have listened more intently. It's obvious that they already had their minds made up regardless of what these citizens had to say. Some of the councilmen got up to get a drink or left the room for some unknown reason, not to mention the whispering that went on among them. The Auman/Newark additions take this matter seriously.

Arrogant, egotistical, condescending, and elitist attitudes from Carmel led long-time Republican supporter Dean Barkley to run for mayor as a Libertarian. Barkley owns the Extreme Outfitters shop on 116th between Rangeline and Keystone. Carmel shut down the road, and access to his shop, without so much as a letter to notify him. When Barkley sought answers, he found arrogance, ego, etc. Because he always held libertarian beliefs- limited government, lower taxes, defense of small business- he ran and gave the Mayor a good challenge, earning 27% of the vote on a shoestring budget.

I hope some of these citizens will channel their anger and run for Carmel City Council in 2007. If they get on board now and start building support in runs against the five who voted this way. Even if they ultimately lose the race, a strong challenge can result in important changes in the attitudes and the council votes.

Contact the Libertarian Party about running for office today!

Carmel, Indiana, Libertarian, Politics, Election 2007, Hamilton County, Indiana

Kole Fundraiser at Pinheads

2006-08-24T13:58:00.000-04:00

Fishers Resident Mike Kole is the Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State. A fundraiser for Kole is being held tonight at Pinheads in Fishers, with bowling starting at 6:30pm.

Cost is $30/person, or $100/foursome. Cost includes free shoe rental.

Pinheads is located at 13825 Britton Park Rd. Mapquest link.

Pinheads is a great new family fun spot. They have a no-smoke policy- by their choosing, not government imposition. Big thanks to supporter Todd Singer for staging this event.

Technorati Tags:
Mike Kole, Libertarian

Fishers Council Looking To Ban Smoking

2006-08-24T09:37:00.000-04:00

The Fishers Town Council is, once again acting in a typically nannyish manner. This week they have proposed a new town law that would ban smoking in "public spaces" including, but certainly not limited to municipal buildings, open air parks, rights of way and sidewalks. They are also planning on drafting a second law which would take away the rights of business owners to determine whether or not smoking was allowed on their premises.

It becomes readily apparent that the "Republican" dominated Fishers Town Council is more than willing to abandon such concepts as personal responsibility, property rights, liberty and self determination. Social engineering of this sort is supposedly the domain of the leftist party in this country. How is it that "Republicans" are now indulging in this odious behaviour?

This time around their President, Scott Faultless isn't even bothering to pretend to take a conservative position on the matter. Unlike his previous foray, where he voted to increase taxes in Fishers, this time Mr. Faultless wants a no smoking law...

"...to protect children and other nonsmokers from second-hand smoke that the U.S. surgeon general said in June poses a health hazard."

That's right folks a "Republican" wants to do it "for the children". How many times have we heard this same rallying cry from the social engineers on the left side of the aisle and how many times have we heard the condemnation issuing from the mouths of the pundits on the right? More than we care to mention, that's for sure.

The Council is more than willing to impose a $100 fine on smokers who happen to be disobeying their law, standing on a corner or even walking on one of their sidewalks while smoking. As savvy readers are more than aware, it often benefits government to create new classes of criminals and Mr. Faultless, aided by his comrades on the Council are all set to create a new "crime" problem where none exists. We are certain that the Fishers Police have more than sufficient time to tackle the newest crime wave which this law will create. Think of the revenue which will be generated by the numerous foot patrols of local bars, restaurants and neighbourhoods! Will Fishers see "smoking raids" and street sweeps to round up the smoking scofflaws?

Fishers is set to follow in the footsteps of other municipalities which have decided that politicians know best how individuals and businesses should conduct themselves inprivate and in public. While Libertarians have long contended that there is no discernable difference between the two parties it is issues such as this that make it abundantly clear that we are correct. Republicans in Hamilton County have abandoned the last vestiges of their public face and are happily embracing their true nature.

Libertarians, elected to office will never vote to take away anyone's rights to self determination, property rights, liberty or personal responsibility.

.....Advocates of a police state believe anything not under government control is, by definition, out of control.-Claire Wolfe, author

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Libertarian, Fishers, Indiana, Hamilton County, Indiana, Republican
Smoking Ban, Property Rights