LPO Press Release (Oct 31)

Ohioans Urged to Vote "NO" on State IssuesIssues Increase Spending, Decrease Accountability

On November 8, Ohioans will be asked to vote on a staggering array of issues. Most of the attention has focused on the five state issues, but there will be 2074 local issues including:

• 36 bond issues,
• 1,076 tax issues,
• 557 local option questions,
• 101 tax changes,
• 183 charter changes
• 65 zoning amendments, among others.

"The Libertarian Party of Ohio urges Ohioans to vote "No" on the five state issues. These issues collectively represent nothing but an increase in the size and scope of government without solving Ohio's problems," declares State Chair Jason Hallmark, "We have good cause to believe that these issues will actually make Ohio's problems worse."

Our reasons are listed below. Unfortunately, the Libertarian Party of Ohio does not have the resources to investigate all 2074 local issues. But we encourage you, the Ohio Voter, to say "NO" to increasing taxes, increasing debt, and increasing the size of your local government. Remember, the road to bad government is paved with good intentions. Consider these two questions before you vote on November 8th:

• Does increasing government truly solve the problems in your area?
• Or is government actually the problem, not the solution?

Issue One
Summary: Issue One is a spending package proposed by Republican Governor Bob Taft to attract high technology business to Ohio. The money will be used to improve infrastructure deemed necessary to attract such business, increase spending for research at state universities, and provide financial incentives for companies moving to Ohio.

Libertarian Reaction: The Libertarian Party of Ohio urges voters to reject this amendment to the Ohio Constitution for the following reasons: The purpose of our state government is to create a friendly economic climate for all Ohioans by keeping taxes as low as possible, protecting our rights and property, and maintaining the rule of law in our court system. This amendment would grant special favor to businesses selected by Ohio's politicians and the rest of Ohio would be forced to help pay for those favors. This will only encourage the majority of business owners to continue moving their production to other states with the end result of fewer jobs for Ohioans.

Issue Two:
Summary: Issue Two proposes that all voters should be able to vote by mail with an absentee ballot for any reason. Currently, voters must show some cause as to why they are unable to vote in person. It has been proposed by Reform Ohio Now, a group sponsored by Democrats from Washington DC.

Libertarian Reaction: While increasing Ohioan's ability to vote is an admirable goal, the Libertarian Party of Ohio recognizes this issue as an effort to relax the rules that protect us from voter fraud. The adoption of this amendment is likely to lead to a significant increase in cases of fraudulent voting in Ohio, as experienced in other states that have adopted similar proposals. The proposed amendment does not contain a reliable method to protect the integrity of votes cast early, nor does it provide adequate safeguards to ensure that only eligible and qualified voters would be able to use these procedures. Secondly, this amendment is not necessary because Ohio law already contains generous absentee voting provisions. Currently, any Ohio voter with a legitimate reason for being absent on Election Day can obtain an absentee ballot. In fact, there are 16 reasons that allow absentee voting under current Ohio law, including: military service; health and physical disability issues; work related issues; being age 62 or older; or, simply that the voter expects to be absent from the county on Election Day for personal reasons.

Issue Three:
Summary: Issue Three proposes to severely limit campaign contributions made by individuals, yet allows unlimited "bundled" contributions from organized labor. This issue was proposed by Reform Ohio Now, a group sponsored by Democrats from Washington DC.

Libertarian Reaction: Limits on political contributions violate citizens' rights under the US and Ohio Constitutions to free speech, peaceable assembly, and petition the government. That is why, in fact, an amendment must be made to effect this new rule. Besides the philosophical implications, it has been demonstrated repeatedly, and most recently By Tom Noe and Gov. Bob Taft that there are innumerable methods to circumvent the intent of these restrictions. Creating more campaign finance limits only discourages honest people from running for public office. Dishonest politicians love to create more campaign finance laws because these laws increase their power over honest politicians.
Secondly, by providing exemptions for labor unions, this amendment shows its true colors as a benefit for Democrats at the expense of others.

Issue Four:
Summary: Issue Four proposes to increase the number of "competitive" legislative districts by removing the legislature's ability to create districts and granting this authority to a new commission appointed by two sitting judges. This issue was proposed by Reform Ohio Now, a group sponsored by Democrats from Washington DC.

Libertarian reaction: No one except politicians like gerrymandered districts, and this issue will worsen the problem. There is a two-party monopoly on political power in Ohio and this amendment is a desperate fight from the party currently out of power to obtain more legislative seats. This proposed amendment defines "competition" by creating districts that are 50% known Republicans and 50% known Democrats without recognizing independents or minor parties. This proposed amendment boldy assumes that Republicans and Democrats own the voters and demand that these voters be divided up equally between them.

Secondly, We believe that forcing districts to be 50% Republican and 50% Democrat will actually make gerrymandering even worse than it is today. Democrats tried this before with the idea of "minority majority" districts in the 1990's. They made a mockery of the system, and led to the polarization of the electorate. Democrats have now apparently changed their minds and prefer their own definition of "competition".

Thirdly, Libertarians are generally opposed to granting more power to appointed bureaucrats at the expense of elected officials. This amendment would take away legislative power and grant it to an unelected and unaccountable board.

Fourthly, Libertarians know that there will be real competition only when Ohio is free to have more than two political parties.

Issue Five:
Summary: Issue Five proposes to end the Secretary of State's duties to supervise and conduct elections and grant this authority to an appointed board composed of four members appointed by the Governor, four members appointed by the political party other than the Governor, and one non-partisan member appointed unanimous vote of the Ohio Supreme Court. This issue was proposed by Reform Ohio Now, a group sponsored by Democrats from Washington DC.

Libertarian reaction: This is yet another example of the "sour grapes" found in these four amendments sponsored by Reform Ohio Now. It proposes to remove power from the elected Secretary of State and grant that power to an unelected and unaccountable appointed body of bureaucrats. History has shown that granting power to unelected individuals has a tendency to encourage corruption and discourage transparency. This amendment would also create a new bureaucracy that would need additional tax dollars from the legislature to operate.

Conclusion
Ohioans are faced with five state issues this year. One of them is a pork barrel project to increase spending and borrowing by Governor Bob Taft. The others are desperate attempts by Democrats to wrestle for control over Ohio while boldly presuming to own the votes of Ohio's residents. The Libertarian Party of Ohio urges you to vote "No" on all five state issues.

For more information on the state issues, including arguments for and against please visit: http://www.sos.state.oh.us

Three Reasons to Vote "No" on Ohio's Issue 1

1. It will send the state of Ohio deep into debt. It may not require a tax hike now, but there is no assurance that one will be needed down the road. This measure will cost $1.85 billion ($163 per Ohioan). If tax revenues do not increase by that amount over the next few years, there will certainly be future tax increases.
   
2. This requires our politicians to decide which companies will survive. If this had happened in the late 1990’s, the cutting edge business would have been internet based dot.coms. Many of those companies have since gone out of business. How do we know that the state of Ohio is not about to give money to industries that are destined for failure? Would you trust Gov Bob Taft to make that decision?
   
3. It gives over $500 million in corporate subsidies. That may be good for the companies that receive the hand outs, but it puts an unfair burden on small businesses. Big businesses who can afford to wine and dine our politicians are the ones who will be getting this money, not the small company that can barely afford to pay its Worker’s Comp premiums. That will put big businesses at an unfair advantage over small competitors.
   

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Unfortunately, our politicians are trying to pass off Issue 1 as being free money. We keep hearing promises of more money, more jobs, and a stronger economy. In reality we are placing a mortgage on our future by investing in very risky investments.

LPO Petition Drive

Libertarians

We are in the process of getting our Gubernatorial candidate on the ballot in Ohio. Ohio's tough ballot access laws require that we collect all of our signatures one day before the May primary election (that will be May 1). That means that we need to get some volunteers together to get started on this now. The sooner we can get our candidate on the ballot, the sooner we can begin to promote our candidate.

In 2004 we were able to get Michael Badnarik on the ballot in a matter of 2 months, however, that was during the summer months. With the warmer weather and all of the outdoor festivals, we were able to collect 10,000 signatures in a short amount of time. Winter time is always a more difficult time to collect signatures, but it can be done if we have the manpower.

Over the next few months, the LPO Southwest Region will be planning a large number of petitioning events. We will be going to gun shows, political rallies, community meetings, and even standing on street corners in an attempt to get a Libertarian to run for Governor of Ohio, for the first time in 24 years! We need help.

If you are willing to help out, please let us know. we are required to get 5,000 signatures from Ohio registered voters. That means that we will need to collect 10,000 raw signatures, to make sure we have enough. If 50 people collect 200 signatures, we will have more than enough signatures to get our candidate on the ballot. Obviously not everybody will be able to donate enough time to get 200 signatures, but if you are willing to get just one signature a day, then that means you have collected 61 signatures in November and December. And if you are able to give just 2 hours at a gun show to collect signatures, that means you got 100 signatures for the campaign. If 100 people do just that, then we will have enough signatures to get our candidate on the ballot, with 11 months remaining devoted to campaigning!

If you can help out, please respond to "joshweitzman at yahoo". We are not asking you to donate a lot of time (but feel free to if you are able to!), but if everybody here can donate a little bit of time, then we will be able to make this a painless petition drive.

In Liberty

Josh Weitzman
Libertarian Party of Ohio, Southwest Region Chair

Help Wanted

Just because there is no major Libertarian campaigns in progress, doesn’t mean that we have to stop being Libertarians. In fact, now is the time that we have to put some elbow grease into growing the party. Here are some upcoming events

Upon the nomination of a Gubernatorial Candidate, we will be going into overdrive to get our nominee on the ballot. That means through the winter months, we will need people to help collect signatures. It looks like we will need 10,000 raw signatures by this May, and the sooner we can get those 10,000 signatures, the sooner our candidate can spend full-time spreading the libertarian message

With the new membership and dues structure with the national Libertarian Party, the state and local parties will be taking a more active role in finding new party members. Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana all will be having membership drives in the coming months. If you have not joined your state party yet, you can do so by visiting http://www.lpo.org (Ohio), http://www.LPIN.org (Indiana), http://www.ky.lp.org (Kentucky), or you can wait until you hear from your state party.
With the membership drive, each state will need volunteers to stuff envelopes and to make follow up phone calls. If you can donate even one hour of your time, that helps out.

These things are the basics required to get more members, a larger bankroll, and to be better organized for future races. If you are willing to help out with anything listed above, feel free to send me an e-mail

Josh Weitzman
LGC Chair
Joshweitzman@yahoo.com

John Stossel Article

As you may have realized, I am a fan of John Stossel's. Here is a wonderful article about how Government is hurting the rebuilding of New Orleans. Now, President Bush is proposing that the area hurt by Katrina have less government. John's article, as well as every Libertarian, knows how government regulations helps special groups, yet hurts everybody else. I keep thinking about how this information would help out Cincinnati if there were less government

http://www.townhall.com/

A bit of background, John Stossel has been a reporter for ABC News for about 25 years. He got started by being a consumer reporter, obviously with a liberal business-is-bad slant. Then, as he put it, he put government to the same standards that he was putting businesses, then eh realized that it was government causing all of the problems they intended to fix. His book, Give Me a Break is a must read for any Libertarians and anybody interested in libertarianism.

Ft. Wayne to host Small Business Conference

The Second Regional Small Business Conference will be held at Don Hall’s Guesthouse & Conference Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The conference will occur on Saturday November 19th, 2005. If you are interested in the Small Business Initiative, it is suggested that you try to attend.

Don Hall's Guest House and Conference Center, is immediately off I-69 on the north side of Fort Wayne. It's address is 1313 W. Washington Center Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46825.Here's the web site link for Don Hall's Guest House:http://www.donhalls.com/

Rooms can be rented for $69 a night if you mention that you are affiliated with the Libertarian Party event being held on November 19th.

There will be an informal meeting and dinner on Friday night at Don Hall’s restaurant. We will reserve a large table and each person will pay their own tab. We will meet at 7 PM and spend a couple of hours eating, drinking, and brainstorming.

The conference itself will run from 11 AM until 4 PM on Saturday November 19th. Please make sure you eat before attending the event. The cost for attending the conference is:
If paid in advance $15
Paid at the door $20

Please send payment to (Please make checks payable to Mike Sylvester)
Mike Sylvester
625 Windrift Lane
Fort Wayne, IN 46845

After the Conference there will be an informal get together at the house of Jack and Hillary Evans. Maps and directions will be provided at the Conference. A large (And I do mean LARGE) dinner will be served. Children are welcome to attend! The party at Jack and Hillary’s house will run from 4:30 until? We will collect donations at the door.

Please feel free to contact Mike Sylvester if you have any questions regarding this event. You can reach Mike at 260-338-0833 or at Mike.Sylvester@Verizon.net

Visit www.LPIN.org for complete conference schedule.

Help us nominate a Libertarian for Governor!

Special Nominating Convention Moved to November 12

The Special Nominating Convention to select our Libertarian candidate for Governor has been moved to 6:30PM, November 12th at the
Hyatt on Capitol Square,
75 East State Street,
Columbus,
Tel: 614 228 1234.
http://www.capitolsquare.hyatt.com

The convention is free for all members, but a $30 contribution is suggested.

We apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause. We were obliged to change the date by two objections from the NE Region that they did not recieve 30 days notice per the rules of our party.

Please feel free to call me 800-669-6542 or reply to this email if you have any questions or comments.

In Liberty,
Robert Butler
Executive Director LP Ohio

Dr Bill Peirce in Butler County

Sorry about the short notice, but this was arranged at the last minute

Event:

Wednesday, October 5, 1:00 - 4:00PM
Fairfield Chamber of Commerce Business Showcase
Receptions Conference Center
5975 Boymel Drive
Fairfield, OH

Contact:
Robert Butler,
Executive Director Libertarian Party of Ohio
700 Morse Rd. Suite 208,
Columbus, Ohio
43214-1879
hq@LPO.org
(614)547-0290

Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Peirceto Address Fairfield Chamber of Commerce Business Showcase Ohio Gubernatorial candidate Dr. Bill Peirce, Professor Emeritus of Economics from Case Western Reserve University, will address the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce Business Showcase and explain how his new economic plan "Freedom to Prosper" will benefit the residents of Butler county and Cincinnati.

"I have spent my entire career studying economic development, and that’s what Ohio needs now. I am well aware of the linkage between low employment and high tax rates," declares Peirce, "there is a growing consensus among many economists that economic freedom is closely linked to economic growth. The only way to get more rapid growth is to get more economic freedom."

"High taxes, burdensome regulations, government corruption, and the monopolistic Bureau of Worker's Compensation have made doing business in Ohio very difficult," says Jason Hallmark, State Chair of the Libertarian Party."

The Peirce campaign plans to raise and spend $1 million in advertising," confides LPO Executive Director Robert Butler, "That's the first time a Libertarian has ever done that in Ohio. Combine that with the growing scandals among Ohio Republicans, and we have a very good chance of winning."

LPO's new membership plan

The Old Membership Plan
Until recently, membership in the national Libertarian Party was unified with the State and County parties. The Libertarian National Committee voted to end this agreement with the states at its August 2005 meeting. By ending this agreement, the national Libertarian Party freed the states and counties to create their own membership plans. Under the old plan, national membership included the right to vote and run for party leadership positions at local meetings, state conventions, and national conventions.

The New Membership Plan
The new membership plan is local, here in Ohio. Your contributions will directly benefit Ohio public policy (such as the current fight on eminent domain) and help us build a sound state party.
As an LPO Member you will be qualified to: 1. Vote at the State and National conventions as a delegate. 2. Receive the LPO News. 3. Be invited to special LPO events. 4. Run for a leadership position within the LPO.Please click on the following link if you would like to continue your membership with the Libertarian Party of Ohio: http://www.lpo.org/Membership/MembershipMain.php
If you prefer to join the Party through normal mail please call Robert Butler at (800) 669-6542 for a membership application. Please feel free to call or email any questions you may have regarding the new membership plan.

Yours In Liberty,
Robert Butler
Executive Director Libertarian Party of Ohio

The Pork on Fountain Square

One thing always seem to stick out in my mind with the Fountain Square debacle. $42,000,000 is being spent to move the fountain 15 feet, lower the ground by a couple of feet, a lot of retail space will be added, and the Skywalk will be eliminated.

Some points that always stick out in my mind:
- There is already a surplus of retail space in Downtown Cincinnati.
- The lack of skywalk will make pedectrian traffic move from the Skywalk to the street. This will make traffic even worse, and of course it will be tough for a Downtown worker to run across the street to grab a bite to eat during a 30 minute lunch break.
- People don't come Downtown because of a fear of crime and a shortage of affordable parking. This will not address the problem.

So who's idea was this? 3CDC (City of Cincinnati Center Development Corp). 3CDC is a non-profit group that aims to revitalize the city center. So who makes up of 3CDC? A group of downtown merchants? Small business owners who are committed to staying in Downtown? Actually, you can see who the Board of Directors are here (http://www.3cdc.org/files/uploaded/Board%20Roster%20072505.doc)
I find it odd that not a single small business owner is in a decision making position with 3CDC. Not a single Downtown merchant is a part of this. 3CDC is a well intentioned group (just like how most government programs are well-intentioned), however, it certainly seems like they do not represent the groups who they claim to be helping. And 3CDC certainly has a lot of political connections to get city council to finance their projects.