Freedom Lawyers of America

California U.S. House of Representatives Libertarian Party candidate
Maad Abu-Ghazaleh, a Palestinian-American running against incumbent Tom
Lantos and a Republican on a platform stressing foreign non-intervention
and civil liberties, got 7% of the vote - 9,506 total. This was a
greater percentage than other libertarians running against Democratic
and Republican candidates. (The bankruptcy of the Republicans is shown
by the fact that their candidate got 25% even though his campaign
consisted mostly of standing on street corners with signs and ridiculing
Lantos as "the Hungarian Jew.")
Maad's 7% was noted on the LP press release below. See Maad's web
site http://www.maad4congress.org

With final results in in most U.S. House districts, other libertarians
doing almost as well against Democratic and Republicans were:
MA Ilana Freedman 6% 11,663
CO Biff Baker 6% 11,181
AZ Edwin Port 5% 8,471
WA Rob Chase 5% 7,443
UT Kitty Burton 5% 5,405
CA Kelley Ross 5%, 5,128
IL Maggie Kohls 5% 4,328
AZ Amy Gibbons 5% 2,539

A number of libertarian House candidates got 3 and 4%.
+++++
Subject:
LP ADVISORY: Election results
Date:
Wed, 6 Nov 2002 17:19:04 -0500 (EST)
From:
Libertarian Party Announcements
Reply-To:
owner-announce@hq.lp.org
To:
announce@hq.lp.org




-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

===============================
NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org
===============================
For release: November 6, 2002
===============================
For additional information:
George Getz, Communications Director
Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222
E-Mail: pressreleases@hq.LP.org
===============================

Libertarians victorious in 21 local races,
but ballot initiatives fall short

WASHINGTON, DC -- Libertarians emerged from Election 2002 buoyed by a
flurry of local wins and record-setting candidate performances, but
disappointed by the defeat of three high-profile statewide initiatives.

On the positive side, almost two dozen Libertarians were elected to
local office, and Massachusetts LP candidate Michael Cloud set a new
vote-percentage record for a U.S. Senate race.

However, in not-so-good news, all three major Libertarian-led ballot
initiatives - in Massachusetts, Arkansas, and South Dakota - were
defeated, and several Libertarian candidates touted as possible winners
fell short.

In local election victories:

* In Colorado, Bill Masters was re-elected as San Miguel County
sheriff, while Bob Dempsey was re-elected as San Miguel County coroner
in a partisan race.

* In California, at least eight candidates were elected in contested
races for local, non-partisan offices: Vern Dahl (Oceano Community
Services District); Eric Lund (Cordova Recreation and Park Board,
Sacramento County); Ron Gabbart (Ready Springs Union School District);
Melise Manfre (Orangevale Recreation and Park Board, Sacramento
County); Jim Gardner (San Gorgonio Memorial Health Care District);
Larry Torres (Los Alamos Community Services District); Francis
Trowbridge (Rubidoux Community Services District); and Jack Hickey
(Sequoia Healthcare District, San Mateo County).

In addition, incumbent Bonnie Flickinger was re-elected to the Moreno
Valley City Council (District 4), and Lois Engel was re-elected to the
Ophir Hill Fire District.

* Also in California, six Libertarians were elected to local, non-
partisan office -- but did not appear on the ballot because they were
running without opposition: Marshall Schwartz (Eden Township Hospital
District, Alameda County); Lance Rosmaier (Southwest Healthcare
District, Short Term, Kern County); Jerry A. Mercier (Independence
Ranch Community Services District, San Luis Obispo County); William J.
Alley (Shandon Joint Unified School District, San Luis Obispo County);
Carle Hylkema (Guadalupe-Coyote Resource Conservation District, Santa
Clara County); and Michael Wharton (Oxnard Harbor District, Ventura
County).

* In North Carolina, Dave Gable came in first in a four-way race for
two positions as Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor (Mecklenburg
County). Gable won 36,895 votes (26.5%) in the non-partisan race.

"Here's to another elected Libertarian in North Carolina!" said Gable.

* In Vermont, Hardy Macia was elected as a Justice of the Peace in
Grand Isle. Macia, who finished sixth out of seven winners in a 12-way
race, won 417 votes.

* In Indiana, Ed Dilts won an unopposed race for a partisan seat on the
Needham Township Board (Johnson County).

In other significant races:

* In Nevada, James Dan lost by 65.2% to 34.8% to incumbent Democrat
Vonne Chowning in the race for State Assembly (District 28). Dan had
won 45% of the vote in a similar race in 2000.

"His opponent mailed a hit piece using our platform against James,"
said local activist Tim Hagan, explaining the disappointing results.

* In Wisconsin, Ed Thompson won 10.4% of the vote (183,352 votes) in an
eight-way race for governor. It was the second-best result for a
Libertarian candidate in a gubernatorial race against a Republican and
Democrat in LP history.

"We hoped we would do better," Thompson told the Wisconsin Radio
Network. "I think people just didn't have a chance to see me like the
other candidates and it made a big difference."

However, Thompson won his home town of Tomah (55.9%) and Monroe County
(45.4%) -- and hinted he might run again in the future.

"I want to express my thanks to the countless volunteers and
contributors who helped make this campaign the most successful third-
party campaign for Wisconsin governor in 60 years," said Thompson.
"This race is just the beginning."

* In Illinois, GOP legislator-turned-LP gubernatorial candidate Cal
Skinner won 2% (73,287 votes) -- well short of the 5% required to gain
the LP major party status in the state.

* In Massachusetts, Michael Cloud won 19% of the vote in a two-way race
against incumbent Democrat John Kerry. It was the best U.S. Senate
result for a Libertarian in party history, and the best by any third-
party candidate in a U.S. Senate race since 1932, according to Richard
Winger, publisher of Ballot Access News.

* In Massachusetts, Carla Howell won 1% of the vote in a five-way race
for governor.

* In Missouri, Jeff Foli won 14.1% of the vote in a three-way race for
State Representative (District 7).

* In California, at least three statewide LP candidates appeared poised
to win at least 2% of the vote, the threshold required to maintain the
LP's major party status: Dale Ogden (Insurance Commissioner), Gail
Lightfoot (Secretary of State), and Marian Smithson (Treasurer).

* In Vermont, Hardy Macia won 22.5% in a four-way race for two seats in
the state legislature. Running on both the Libertarian and Republican
lines, Macia won 1,340 votes -- just 208 votes behind the second-place
Democratic finisher.

* In Colorado, a number of Libertarian candidates earned double-digit
percentages, according to state LP Media Director Mike Seebeck.

John Berntson won 16% of the vote for State House (District 14), Steve
Gresh earned 15% for State House (District 20), and Rob Roberts won 14%
for El Paso County Commissioner (District 1).

And in a three-way race for State Senate (District 11), Jeff McQueen
won 9.6% -- three times the difference between the Republican and
Democrat.

"Local Libertarian candidates showed the major parties once again why
they are a force to be reckoned with, improving their vote totals for
the second year in a row," said Seebeck.

* In Florida, 23 LP candidates won over 20% in two-way races for the
State House, reported Florida LP activist Michael Gilson de Lemos.

Candidates breaking the 20% barrier included Barbara Bujak, 20.0%
(District 2); Grier Ellis, 20.3% (District 3); Scott Palmer Carter,
21.7% (District 12); Ty Price, 20.9% (District 17); Brooks H. Nelson,
22.0% (District 23); Lida C. Throckmorton, 23.4% (District 24); James
T. Coakley, 21.5% (District 33); Christopher Michael Wheeler, 24.3%
(District 34); Timothy Moriarty, 24.0% (District 37); John T. Conway,
23.0% (District 40); Louis A. Cashmer, 20.6% (District 41); Mark A.
Howard, 23.2% (District 56); Jason A. Downs, 22.3% (District 63);
Michael A. Krech, 25.1% (District 64); James C. Clifford, 25.8%
(District 65); Dirk Clary, 20.1% (District 72); Travis L. Larson, 24.3%
(District 79); Ronald B. Cadby, (21.5% District 80); John P. Roszman,
24.4% (District 81); Brian Kuszmar, 20.5% (District 91); Michael J.
Guidry, 26.2% (District 113); Thomas William Glaser, 26.3% (District
115); and Mark S. Eckert, 27.9% (District 119).

"The results are more remarkable in that they ran deliberately
extremely low-budget, meet-the-neighbors campaigns," said Gilson de
Lemos.

* In Iowa, gubernatorial candidate Clyde Cleveland won 24,512 votes
(2.4%), coming in third of four candidates.

* In North Carolina, Rachel Mills -- the creator of the nationally
publicized "N.C. Ladies of Liberty" calendar -- won 2,892 votes (19.3%)
in a two-way race for State House (District 31).

In notable U.S. House races around the USA:

* In California, Maad Abu-Ghazaleh (District 12) won 7%.

* In Massachusetts, Ilana Freedman (District 5) won 6%.

* In Colorado, Biff Baker (District 5) won 6%.

In initiative news:

* In Massachusetts, voters rejected, by a surprisingly narrow margin, a
sweeping proposal to eliminate the state's income tax.

The proposal, called Ballot Question 1 and sponsored by LP
gubernatorial candidate Carla Howell's Committee for Small Government,
lost by a 53% to 47% margin, shocking political pundits who predicted
it would lose by 20 percentage points or more.

"It goes to show that you can't trust polls," said Howell. "It also
demonstrates that the reporting of how big government must solve
everyone's problems is clearly not representative of what all the
people believe."

The liberal Boston Globe suggested the close vote sent "a strong signal
to Beacon Hill about distaste for future tax increases as a way to
solve the budget crisis."

Had it passed, the initiative would have trimmed state government
revenues by 40%, and saved Bay State taxpayers about $9 billion
annually.

* In Arkansas, voters rejected a Libertarian-led initiative to abolish
the state's 5.125% sales tax on food and over-the-counter medicine.

With about 50% of the vote counted, the "Ax the Food Tax" initiative
was losing 62% to 38%.

Those numbers were in sharp contrast to pre-election polls, which
showed the proposal winning the support of up to 70% of voters.

"It's a testament to how strongly all the powers of government would
come against us [with a] massive scare campaign," said Karl Kimball,
chairman of the Committee to Ax the Food Tax.

Had it passed, the initiative would have saved state taxpayers about
$400 million a year.

* In South Dakota, a FIJA-style amendment that would have given
criminal defendants the right to argue the merits, validity, and
application of laws was heading for defeat.

With 39% of the precincts counted, Constitutional Amendment A was
losing 79% to 21%.

In other election news, a constitutional amendment to legalize
marijuana in Nevada, which was endorsed but not sponsored by state
Libertarians, was decisively defeated.

Question 9, which would have allowed adults to possess up to three
ounces of marijuana, was rejected by 61% of the state's voters. The
initiative would also have required the legislature to regulate,
cultivate, sell, and tax marijuana.

In Virginia, Libertarian-turned-independent Jacob Hornberger won 7% in
his race for U.S. Senate, losing to both incumbent Republican John
Warner (84%) and independent Nancy B. Spannaus (9%), who is affiliated
with convicted felon Lyndon LaRouche. [NOTE from Carol Moore.
Spannaus told everyone she was a DEMOCRAT not a Larouchie.]

In South Dakota, voters rejected, 63% to 37%, an initiative to legalize
industrial hemp. That proposal, Initiated Measure 1, was supported but
not sponsored by state Libertarians.

In Texas, Republican Ron Paul easily won re-election for U.S. House
(District 14) with 68.05% of the vote, defeating a Democratic
challenger. In 1988, Paul was the LP presidential candidate.

For continually updated results, visit: www.lp.org/campaigns/results/

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posted by FLoA  # 11/08/2002 08:49:45 AM