November 2, 2014
Here are candidates which have been nominated or endorsed by the Libertarian Party of Minnesota in this year’s election. We hope this voter’s guide will assist our membership and supporters in choosing the most pro-liberty candidates in the November 4 general election.
LPMN Voter’s Guide 2014
Candidates may seek nomination or endorsement at the annual LPMN State Convention, from the LPMN Executive Committee, or from a regional affiliate if applicable. Included are a brief summary of the deliberations and other background, the endorsement vote result, and websites or other useful links. An endorsement indicates that convention delegates, the Executive Committee, or a registered affiliate has interviewed a candidate firsthand and found them to be substantially pro-liberty, enough to deserve special attention from our members and supporters. Our vetting of candidates is intended to serve as a guide, and we advise voters to do their own due diligence before making their decisions. In addition to nominated candidates running under our Libertarian banner, the LPMN welcomes candidates from any party or political affiliation to seek our endorsement.
STATEWIDE RACES
GOVERNOR & LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Chris Holbrook & Chris Dock (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: Mr. Holbrook is advocating a “legalize and minimize” platform for the top issues that he’s pressing during his campaign. Namely, to legalize Sunday alcohol sales, fireworks sales, and marijuana, and to minimize state encroachment. That includes eliminating the business tax to keep enterprises in Minnesota and to attract new ones, reducing the personal income tax, and minimizing government spending. He will begin a complete audit of all state departments, almost certainly leading to across-the-board spending cuts of at least 10% where waste and inefficiency can be found, allowing those funds to be returned to individual Minnesotans, and he would the stop awards of no-bid contracts.
Decision: Endorsed by delegates at State Convention.
Resources: [Facebook] [Website]
U.S. SENATE
Heather Johnson (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: Ms. Johnson pledges to fight government corruption and cronyism, and she will find plenty of it in Washington. She is the only candidate of the four in her race who would end our military involvement overseas and end the prohibition on marijuana.
Decision: Endorsed by delegates at State Convention.
Resources: [Facebook] [Article]
STATE AUDITOR
Keegan Iversen (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: Mr. Iversen would be a staunch defender of constitutionally-protected rights. His goal is to shed a new accountability on state programs which has not been done under past adminstrations. He cited the mere $449,000 recovered from audits as minor compared to the total $60 billion in programs, as evidence that more aggressive work is needed from the State Auditor to find misuse and theft of public funds. It should be added that Mr. Iversen has been an exceptionally hard-working candidate, logging over 30,000 miles on his car by traveling to every part of the state on almost every night of the week since the spring convention.
Decision: Endorsed by delegates at State Convention.
Resources: [Facebook] [Website]
SECRETARY OF STATE
Bob Odden (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: The primary role of the Secretary of State office is to oversee elections, and in that capacity, Mr. Odden would serve as a neutral referee not affiliated with either of the two dominant parties. He would work to ensure the integrity of elections by investigating any allegations of fraud until resolution, and would also ensure that information is available to voters about all candidates on the ballot in each race.
Decision: Endorsed by Executive Committee 7-0.
Resources: [Website]
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Mary O’Connor (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: As Attorney General, Ms. O’Connor is pledging to defend the rights of individuals, especially against unlawful seizures and eminent domain cases. As a member of the state Pardon Board, she would work to pardon nonviolent people incarcerated for victimless offenses.
Decision: Endorsed by Executive Committee 7-0.
Resources: [Website]
CENTRAL MINNESOTA RACES
FOLEY – CITY COUNCIL
David Nick (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: Mr. Nick has chosen to run to address some serious matters in Foley. He will fight corruption and heavy-handed tactics by the current mayor and his supporters on the city council, who voted to shut other elected council members out of city business. He also cites high levels of local taxation, controversy surrounding the city’s wastewater treatment facilities, and complaints by residents about local law enforcement. He would repeal several restrictive ordinances and a need to end the practice of residents being charged for fire, medical, and police calls despite the fact that these services are already paid for out of local taxes.
Decision: Endorsed by CD6 Affiliate.
Resources: [Facebook]
PAYNESVILLE – CITY COUNCIL
Bill Fuchs (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: A top issue for Mr. Fuchs is proposed city spending of $1.2 million for a municipal liquor store; he believes the city government should stay out of for-profit businesses. He is also opposed to a proposed 2.3% property tax increase intended to pay for a $60,000 renovation of the city council chamber which is in good condition and in no need of repair. As city councillor, his focus would be on basic services such as water and the streets, and with the city’s industrial park nearly full, creation of a new industrial area ready for development.
Decision: Endorsed by CD6 Affiliate.
METRO-AREA RACES
BURNSVILLE – CITY COUNCIL
Cara Schulz (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: Ms. Schulz would work to create proceedings that are more open to citizens, including a thorough summary of how and why she voted on each issue. She would work to help change the city’s police department from “law enforcement” to the role of “peace officers” with a focus on defusing situations rather than issuing fines or making arrests. As city councillor, she is opposed to the use of property tax levies and would seek to find ordinances to repeal.
Decision: Endorsed by Executive Committee 9-0.
Resources: [Facebook] [Website]
CHANHASSEN – CITY COUNCIL
Brad Karels (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: A top concern of Mr. Karels is pushing for the budgeting of road work with adequate time for community input, to avoid the current practice of assessment increases upon homeowners with no advance warning. He would address the city’s tax level by looking for ways to cut costs, including the use of two leased police officers from Carver County, and would eliminate an ordinance that restricts portions of homeowners’ property that can be rented out. He is willing to consider construction of light rail but only if it is not subsidized.
Decision: Endorsed by Executive Committee 7-0.
Resources: [Facebook]
CRYSTAL – CITY COUNCIL
Elizabeth Dahl (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: Ms. Dahl is running in Ward 1. She will work toward three major issues: increased transparency of city government so citizens are informed about the issues before a vote is made, finding ways to cut bureaucracy, and minimizing city spending. She vows to represent all of the city’s residents no matter their party affiliation.
Decision: Endorsed by CD5 Affiliate.
Resources: [Facebook] [Website]
Olga Parsons (L) – nominated by LPMN, endorsement granted
Deliberation: Ms. Parsons is running in Section II. She is pushing for open conduct by the city council and offering better communication with residents. She is a strong supporter of fiscal responsibility, less bureaucracy for city businesses, and protection of privacy and property rights.
Decision: Endorsed by Executive Committee 10-0.
Resources: [Facebook] [Website]
MINNEAPOLIS – CITY QUESTIONS
Proposal 1 – Increase Candidate Filing Fees
Recommendation: Vote No on 1 – opposed by LPMN resolution
Deliberation: While there has been a general trend toward expanding the ease of voting, there has also been a trend toward increasingly restricting voters’ choices. This is just such a measure. Proposal 1 would increase the filing fees from $20 to $500 for Mayoral candidates, to $250 for City Council candidates, and to $100 for candidates of the Board of Estimate & Taxation and the Parks & Recreation Board. This is an attempt to limit candidates to those who belong to the city’s political elite or who are wealthy. The LPMN supports the ability of the average citizen to affordably run for office.
Decision: Opposed unanimously by Executive Committee.
Resources: [Website]
Proposal 2 – Abolish Food-to-Drink Ratio for Restaurants
Recommendation: Vote Yes on 2 – supported by LPMN resolution
Deliberation: In some areas of Minneapolis, restaurants are held to a mandatory 70/30 ratio of food-to-alcohol sales by City Charter. This requirement has been burdensome to both restaurants and customers. The requirement to serve food with every order of wine or beer does not allow serving alcohol to those waiting to be seated, and restaurants have had difficulty meeting this requirement to serve this high ratio of food with every order of wine or beer when a bottle of wine can quickly outweigh food purchases. The LPMN supports abolishing this regulation.
Decision: Supported unanimously by Executive Committee.
Resources: [Website 1] [Website 2]
STATE HOUSE – DISTRICT 41B (NORTH METRO)
Tim Utz (C) – endorsement granted
Deliberation: As a state legislator, Mr. Utz pledges to defend the freedoms protected by both the US and Minnesota constitutions. Two of his goals are to reduce the power of the Metropolitan Council and to eliminate multi-issue bills that are often not read by legislators voting on them. He is a supporter of the right to self-defense and he opposes the War on Drugs. He does not support our stance on marriage equality, but as this issue has been settled in Minnesota, it is believed that Mr. Utz would be a strong advocate for liberty in the legislature in many areas and that he is the most pro-liberty candidate in his race.
Decision: Endorsed by Executive Committee 5-1.
Resources: [Facebook] [Website]
STATE HOUSE – DISTRICT 50B (SOUTH METRO)
Zavier Bicott (R) – endorsement granted
Deliberation: In general, Mr. Bicott’s goal is to seek less coercive and more voluntary solutions to state governance. He will push for more local control and choice over education and a free-market healthcare system that lowers costs and improves access. He supports marijuana legalization, would eliminate the Metropolitan Council, and seek to make light rail privately-funded. We know Mr. Bicott well, as we’d endorsed him previously during his run for Bloomington City Council, and although he is running under the Republican banner in this cycle, we consider him to be a small-l libertarian.
Decision: Endorsed by Executive Committee 6-0.
Resources: [Facebook] [Website]
Party affiliations are (L) Libertarian Party, (C) Constitution Party, (R) Republican Party. Candidates who were denied an endorsement are not listed. Several races are officially nonpartisan, however, nominated candidates with an (L) will be considered an elected Libertarian if successful.
To find your voting location, you may use the Secretary of State’s Polling Place Finder. Voters who are not pre-registered can register to vote on Election Day by bringing proof of residency. Polls will be open from 7am to 8pm.
We hope this voter’s guide will assist our membership and supporters in making their decisions on November 4. Each individual’s voting decision will be entirely up to them. However, we wish to highlight an important imperative: our goal of securing “major party status” this year! We can only attain this based on results from the statewide races, where one or more statewide Libertarian candidates must surpass 5% of the total vote. We do not know which of our candidates may reach that threshold, so we request that our supporters vote for all Libertarian statewide candidates, if possible. Major party status is critical to giving Libertarians a seat at the table in Minnesota politics, increasing public awareness of our ideas, gaining serious coverage of our key issues by the media, and expanding our party beyond 2014. We will not have another reasonable chance to obtain major party status until 2018. We ask that our supporters take this “big picture” view into consideration before making their personal voting decisions.
We wish the best of luck to all of our endorsed candidates and congratulate them on taking a personal stand for liberty!
Concerned about the expansion of government control and the erosion of individual liberty? Please consider consider joining and becoming active with the Libertarian Party of Minnesota. Libertarians support liberty on all issues, all the time! Libertarianism is a philosophical and political movement to promote personal freedom, strong civil liberties, a genuinely free marketplace, and peace.
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