Libertarian Up
When Ann Arborites cast their votes for city council on Nov 7, they will find Libertarian Party (LP) candidates-along with Democrats and Republicans on the ballot, in every ward except the first ward. If Libertarians were to be elected to city hall, it would dramatically change the debate about city politics as we know it. And if the LP ever garnered enough votes to actually set policy, we could expect enough votes to actually set policy, we could expect services traditionally handled by the city such as trash collection, recycling, public transportation and water to all be put in private hands. We could anticipate other changes as well consistent with the Libertarian maxin: "Best government is less government."
But the chances of the Libertarians winning even one seat-much less taking over city council-are slim. For the last 20 years, Ann Arbor city council has been a two-party game (excepting Peter Nicholas' recent defection from the Democrats to "Independent" status). The only third party in recent history to be represented on council was the Human RightS Party in the early '70s. For five years, this party-which had roots in the anti-war student movement-held up to two seats at a time on council. No other party or independent candidate since that time has even taken enough of the vote to act as a spoiler in any race, let alone win.
But in these times of disillusionment with the two-party system, the national trend is for voters to favor independents or third-party candidates. In part, it is the sentiment which has made the LP the nation's third-largest party. On Nov. 7 the Ann Arbor Libertarians hope that this national wave translates into local results.
The Libertarian Party
According to Chair of the Washtenaw County LP James Hudler, the LP has been active in Ann Arbor since 1976. They began running for city council seats 15 years ago, and in every election for the past five years they've run candidates for council in almost every ward and for mayor. They have polled as much as 15 percent of the vote.
Libertarian candidates in Michigan , over the past 20 years, have run for nearly every statewide seat and for U.S Congress. In these races they have polled as high as 4.5%. They've never won a statewide race in Michigan, however, in 1994, their U.S. Senate candidate Jon Coon received nearly 130,000 votes (4.5%).
Nationally, since their 1971 inception, LP candidates have received millions of votes in a multitude of races and have won a handful of statewide (three in the Alaska state legislature and four in the New Hampshire state legislature), county and local seats. In 1980 their presidential candidate Ed Clark appeared on the ballot in all 50 states and received almost one million votes. In 1992 the LP's presidential ticket was once again on the ballot in all 50 states. Each time the LP was the only third party to achieve this status.
What are the cornerstones of this up-and-coming political force? The LP's national platform claims that "government's only role is to help individuals defend themselves form force and fraud." It calls for a free-market economy; civil liberties and personal freedoms; and a foreign policy of non-intervention. They are for the decriminalization of drugs, guns, and abortion (and all other victimless crimes); the deregulation of industry; the privatization of government services; and the repeal of all taxes. Their emphasis is on self-reliance over social welfare. Libertarians believe that the government has creates most of our social problems and is thus unable to solve them.
City Politics