Celebrate Our Year Past And Look Forward

The past year has seen magnificent gains for our county party.

We just celebrated our wonderful volunteers with our annual Volunteer Appreciation Night, and it was a smashing success. We have a lot to celebrate.

2018 saw the Libertarian Party of Ohio return to the ballot after nearly 6 years.

We ran multiple state-wide candidates, supported local candidates across the state and proved the value of our outreach platform.

We’ve sent out thousands of emails, this monthly newsletter and in-between updates, kept our website up-to-date, hosted guest speakers on important topics and delivered candidate yard signs across this county and next!

Many thanks to Ron Hood, Kirsten Pomales and Jim Fedako for their gracious time educating us on topics about right to work, school choice and education funding in Ohio.

We planned, organized and executed a successful Libertarian County Convention with guest speaker Michelle Darnell, conducted county and state party elections, participated in the Stonewall Pride Parade and Festival (our Pride balloons were a big hit!), walked in the DooDah Parade (with an awesome truck!), walked with another great parade float in Canal Winchester, promoted our cause and candidates at the Franklin County Fair, gun shows and helped out with other county and street fairs.

We raised money to pay for these events, bought t-shirts for consistent volunteer appearance, and acquired a smart looking table cloth!

It might seem mundane, but these events, t-shirts, table cloth, this monthly newsletter, the Executive Meetings and monthly socials are all critical elements to building beyond politics and policy. We are building community.

We are serious about working to make things better and put things right.

As we step forward again, with a new year ahead of us, we invite you to join us for a social, post a comment on Facebook, or submit your own commentary for this newsletter. We can’t do this alone, no matter how well intentioned. We need boots on the ground, voices on the phone and hands to wave signs.

Don’t be surprised if you hear from us first!

Safe Journey!

—-
Michael Sweeney
Chair, Executive Committee, Franklin County Libertarian Party of Ohio

The Unknown Future

The election has come and gone and, despite all our efforts, we fell short of 3%. In fact, the combined total of both the Libertarian and Green Parties fell short of 3%.

What does this bode for the future?

Unknown.

By a strict reading of Ohio Election Law we should still have access until the 2020 Presidential Election, but when has government ever followed the law?

Should they deny us access yet again, what then? Do we roll over and play dead? De we surrender to the politics of fear that drive the mainstream Parties?

In a word, NO!

A friend of mine majored in History, with a particular interest in Church History. One night, several months ago, he spent almost an entire hour explaining in great detail his belief that the worst thing that ever happened to the Christian Church was it being not only legalized by the Emperor Constantine but being made the official religion of the Roman Empire. Until that time, he argued, believers had to be committed to the cause because their very lives were at stake. Afterwards, as a legally recognized religion it became fat, lazy and corrupt in just a few generations. He argued that the loss of religious liberty feared by so many today might be the best thing that could happen to the church because the dead wood would be cut away and only those most committed would remain.

So, if we lose ballot access will that spell our doom?

Again, NO.

Some might be tempted to walk away from the Libertarian Party in frustration, believing we will never have a chance, but those who remain will be those most committed. And those most committed can work wonders.

Ballot access or no, our core message of liberty will remain the same. Others will say that our votes are doubly wasted and all we’re doing is shouting at brick walls, but walls have been known to crumble.

All the loss of access will mean is our task will be a little bit harder.

But worthwhile causes usually are.

Ken Holpp, Communications Director, FCLP

Ready, Set, RUN! 2019 Election Starter!

Franklin County needs energetic people to run for office! Libertarian elected officials get to make policy that reduces the scope of government and increases personal liberty.

We encourage first-timers to run for local offices in odd-numbered years. You must file a declaration of candidacy with the Franklin County Board of Elections, with completed petitions containing the number of signatures required for the office you are seeking.

Local offices include city and village council, township trustees, and school board members. See what county, city, village and township elections are in your area.

With a term or two of local office, you will have the experience and credibility to run a successful campaign for county, state, or federal office, but if you have the qualifications to run for a different office, we won’t turn you down! Before starting your campaign, take a quick look at our “Candidate Quick Start Guide” video (27 minutes).

Franklin County Libertarians offer free tools for outreach through our Contactshelper platform. Organize volunteers, donors and voters with tags and create campaigns for easy instant phone and text banking. Import your own personal contacts to get a jump start on organizing, and import voter records from your local Board of Elections to identify walking lists and likely voters.

We also highly recommend getting copy of “How to win a local election“, or one can be provided to you (you just have to promise to read it!).

We can help you. Please complete this form, and our Political Director will be in contact with you.

2019 Local Elections around Franklin County

The following city, county, village, and townships have local elections in 2019! Are you interested in running for office and supporting your community? Get started today!

CITY OF BEXLEY
4 city council
2 school board

CITY OF CANAL WINCHESTER
Mayor
3 city council
2 school board

CITY OF COLUMBUS
Mayor
4 city council
4 school board

CITY OF DUBLIN
3 city council at large
2 school board

CITY OF GAHANNA
Mayor
City attorney
3 city council at large
2 school board

CITY OF GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS
Mayor
3 city council
2 school board

CITY OF GROVE CITY
Mayor
City council at large, ward 2 & ward 4

CITY OF GROVEPORT
Mayor
2 city council
2 school board

CITY OF HILLIARD – partisan
Mayor
3 city council
2 school board – non partisan

CITY OF NEW ALBANY
Mayor
2 school board

CITY OF REYNOLDSBURG – partisan
Mayor
City attorney
President of council
4 city council – all four wards
2 school board

CITY OF UPPER ARLINGTON
3 city council
3 school board

CITY OF WESTERVILLE
3 city council
2 school board

CITY OF WHITEHALL
Mayor
Treasurer
City attorney
President of council
3 city council at large
2 school board

CITY OF WORTHINGTON
3 city council
2 school board

VILLAGE OF BRICE
Mayor
2 city council

VILLAGE OF HARRISBURG
Mayor
2 city council

VILLAGE OF LOCKBOURNE
Mayor
2 city council

VILLAGE OF MARBLE CLIFF
Mayor
2 city council

VILLAGE OF MINERVA PARK
Mayor
2 city council

VILLAGE OF OBETZ
Mayor
2 city council

VILLAGE OF RIVERLEA
Mayor
Clerk-treasurer
2 city council

VILLAGE OF URBANCREST
Mayor
2 city council
Board of public affairs – 2 spots

VILLAGE OF VALLEYVIEW
Mayor
2 city council

BLENDON TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

CLINTON TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

JACKSON TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

MADISON TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

NORWICH TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

PERRY TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

PLAIN TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

PLEASANT TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

SHARON TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

TRURO TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
Fiscal officer
Trustee

EDUCATIONAL SERVICE CENTER OF CENTRAL OHIO
Franklin county sub-district

Regarding the 2018 election and moving forward

From the Chair, Franklin County Libertarians

Another election come and gone.

We are so very proud of every candidate, volunteer, donor and supporters. We cannot adequately express our sincere thanks and admiration for all of your hard work.
Without your tireless efforts none of this would be possible.

Elections are hard on everyone involved. Someone always wins, lots of people lose. When we win we get to point to the victory, whatever the cost, and say it was worth it. Without a win to wash away all the sacrifice and pain, we only have our imagination to wonder what went wrong.

“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.”

Take a break, be sad, be mad, and be ready to move forward.

After The Election

At this point the Ohio Secretary of State has published unofficial election results and they are not flattering for the Libertarian Party of Ohio.

At last update our campaign for Ohio Governor earned 77,184 votes for 1.79%. This is shy of the 3% widely publicized as required to maintain ballot access for a Minor Party. (Other sources cite higher numbers, notably NBCNews.com at 108,886 with 2.5%) The final count from each county board of elections will be certified in 30 days.
Link: http://vote.ohio.com
Link: https://www.sos.state.oh.us/globalassets/elections/directives/2016/dir2016-26_eom-ch_13.pdf
Link: http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3517.012
Link: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2018-election/midterms/oh

What has not been widely published is the fact that as a newly formed Minor Party, only 118 days old, we are covered by additional rules in the Ohio Revised Code, specifically, Chapter 3501.01 section F, 2, (b).
“A newly formed political party shall be known as a minor political party until the time of the first election for governor or president which occurs not less than twelve months subsequent to the formation of such party, after which election the status of such party shall be determined by the vote for the office of governor or president.”
Link: https://www.sos.state.oh.us/media-center/press-releases/2018/2018-07-12B/
Link: http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3501.01v1

Emphasis ours. “_which occurs not less than twelve months subsequent to the formation of such party_”

What this means, in plain language, is the Libertarian Party of Ohio is an official Minor Party until after the next Presidential election in 2 years, when our status will be reviewed again under the results from that election.
Whether the incoming Ohio Secretary of State decides to follow the law as written, or ignore it again as politically inconvenient, depends entirely on how politically ambitious they are as newly elected to the role. (This particular uncertainty is why we chose to focus so entirely on the 2018 election Nov 6th as our first best option for retaining ballot access.)

What’s next?

The next party primary is May 7th, 2019. It is currently expected that we will be included in this primary and participate as a political party. We are moving forward on this assumption, and will recruit, plan, and fundraise accordingly. This will be the first concrete opportunity to force the issue of party status and we intend to do so.

Anything sooner?

We live here, we like it here and we are working together to make it better.
We are members of our local communities and there are opportunities every day to be involved.
We invite you to join us and prove to everyone, we will not stand down, we will not go away, and we will not stop fighting for liberty.

Look for our upcoming Legislative Committee Meeting announcement and agenda.

Join us at our next Executive Committee Meeting, Tuesday Nov 20th at 7pm, LPO Office, 6230 Busch Blvd, 43229

Join us for our Volunteer Appreciation Social, Wed Dec 19th at 6:30pm at Eclipse Ultra Lounge at The Continent 6240 Busch Blvd, 43229

Your friend in liberty,
Michael Sweeney
Chair, Franklin County Libertarian Party of Ohio

The Two-Party Lie

In a world where we have an abundance of choices everywhere:
Paper or plastic? Or did you bring your own?
Would you like fries with that? OR salad, soup, apple, yogurt?
Combinations of sugar-free, gluten-free, peanut-free, allergen-free or sugary, wheaty, nutty, irritating selections are available.

Yet we are often told there are only two choices in an election.

There are many parties to choose from. And even before the mainstream options become unpalatable enough, people should be aware of them. In addition to the more colorful, impromptu organizations, there are a number of solid, established parties that struggle for visibility to the public.

The two-party conundrum is a lie propagated by both major parties to avoid a coalition-style government based on compromise. Mind, there’s enough gridlock in legislation with just two parties refusing to compromise. But with more parties, there should be more motivation to make things work. Because when you don’t have the majority unless you work together, you have to work together, not just bitterly wait it out until the next election where the tide may turn on the popular vote. If there’s never a 50% majority, then there’s no excuse for stalling.

Even today I’m told I’m just throwing away my vote and ensuring that [any candidate’s name here] will lose to [that candidate’s opponent’s name here]. My response is always “Voting for what you believe in is never a wasted vote” and that “If I wanted [said candidate] to win I’d vote for [said candidate]”.

The legacy parties still try to keep us Libertarians out of play. The Republicans kicked us off the ballot in 2014 to ensure the reelection of John Kasich and did everything to keep us off for four years. The only reason we’re back on the ballot now is because we turned in twice the number of required ballot access petition signatures. The bar for third-party petitions is even set higher then for the legacy parties. Even with that our candidates are still often excluded from public debates. Just last month and attempt was made to disqualify Kryssi Wichers not only from running for office in Fairfield County but also from voting. Fortunately the Board of Elections saw through this attempt and unanimously voted in her favor. Nevertheless the opposition continues.

On November 6 we have a chance to step up and speak out and say we will no longer buy the two-party lie anymore.

Jeanette Holpp, contributor

Ken Holpp, Communications Director, FCLP

OHGOP threatens woman’s right to vote.

Candidacy for District 77 questioned over married name change.

Call to Action: Attend, Call or Email!

There is a Board of Elections hearing TODAY at 4:15pm to decide if Kryssi Wichers will appear on the ballot in November and be counted toward winning the race for State Representative for District 77.
If you can attend, PLEASE BE THERE EARLY! If you cannot attend, please call or email the Board of Elections that you support Kryssi against this outrageous accusation and obvious attempt to throw the election to her opponent.

Fairfield County Board of Elections
951 Liberty Dr, Lancaster, Ohio 43130
Call (740) 652-7000
Contact by Email
Facebook Event

The Franklin County Libertarian Party strongly condemns these bullying tactics and demand that the Fairfield Board of Elections look closely at the motives and timing from this complaint as a basis for electioneering on the part of the Ohio Republican Party.
Attacking any persons right to vote is an attack on the foundations of our constitutional republic, and the process of democracy.
We join the Fairfield County Republican Liberty Caucus, the Democratic candidate for District 77, Green Party candidate and Ohioans all over in decrying this blatant effort to discredit a strong, independent woman who lives, works and serves in her community.

Here is what we know so far…

In a bizarre twist in an otherwise run of the mill election for District 77 State Representative, the Ohio GOP has filed complaint with the Fairfield County Board of Elections challenging a woman’s right to vote.
The woman in this question is no other than our own Kryssi Wichers, Political Director for FCLPO, Deputy Vice Chair for LPO and candidate on the ballot for State Representative for District 77.
The OHGOG has filed claim, using the name of a Pickerington resident, that Kryssi is committing voter fraud, misrepresenting herself and asking that she be removed from the ballot.
The claim centers on the fact that Kryssi got married a year ago and went through all the legal channels to take her husbands last name, in a long tradition of marriage.

With everything else going on we wonder why the Ohio Republican Party is suddenly so very interested in Mrs. Wichers and what name she used to legally petition, file and appear on the ballot on Nov 6th?
Sources close to the OHGOP have revealed that District 77 is far from the “hum drum” race would we be led to believe.
Apparently, internal Republican polling has Mrs. Wichers in the lead, or very close, in a three way race.
With this knowledge the desperate and incredible accusation becomes clear. The Ohio Republican Party is using the Board of Elections as a pawn to eliminate a real contender for a seat they assumed was theirs.
They put no effort into backing their candidate, a washed up career politician with little to no real interest in his community or finding solutions to the problems he helped create. After a year of phoning it in and expecting an easy win, this opposing candidate is in total panic that they may lose to a better choice for the community, who has had less than two months to campaign and let people even know they exist.
The Franklin County Libertarian Party strongly condemns these bullying tactics and demand that the Fairfield Board or Elections look closely at the motives and timing from this complaint as a basis for electioneering on the part of the Ohio Republican Party.
Attacking any persons right to vote is an attack on the foundations of our constitutional republic, and the process of democracy.
We join the Fairfield County Republican Liberty Caucus, the Democratic candidate for District 77, Green Party candidate and Ohioans all over in decrying this blatant effort to discredit a strong, independent woman who lives, works and serves in her community.

Kryssi is endorsed by the Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom. The Fairfield County Republican Party and Democratic opponent for District 77, among many others, have strong and publicly disagreed with the action taken by the OHGOP.

Elections Matter

November 6 is fast approaching.

After four years of hard work, thousands of volunteer hours, more than $250,000 in donations and over 102,000 signatures, The Libertarian Party is back on the ballot in Ohio. Now we have to keep it on the ballot. If, on November 6, Travis Irvine fails to get 3% of the Ohio vote, all of that will be lost and we will have to start all over again from scratch.

WE MUST NOT LET THAT HAPPEN!

The Democrats and Republicans would love to see that happen and continue to put roadblocks in our way. Irvine is currently being excluded from all Gubernatorial debates making it that much harder for the voters to hear his message. Once again, it falls on us to help get that message out.

In Irvine For Ohio (IFO), we have a volunteer campaign team that all works full-time jobs and commits hundreds of hours (cumulative) so far to the campaign.

But we need more.

More volunteers to call and text potential voters. More volunteers to get out and knock on peoples’ doors. And more people to attend rallies.

And, of course, we need more donations. Campaigns cost money, and while the Republicans and Democrats have huge war chests, we do not.

We need donations to run newspaper ads. We need donations to run radio ads. We need donations to run TV ads.
We’re down to the last few weeks and we need to finish strong. While we hope to receive more than 3% of the vote that will only happen with lots of help.

We can’t let the last four years be for nothing.

If you are interested in donating time and money please see our Volunteer and Donation pages.

Ken Holpp, Communications Director, Franklin County Libertarian Party

Excluded from the debate?! Travis will tweet!

Travis Irvine will not be silenced.

Despite being excluded from the Governor’s Debate tonight, and no invites yet for the two coming next month, Travis Irvine will make his answers available for everyone.
Help us get Travis trending! Follow along, comment and retweet at:

travisirvineusa

Let’s make a noise that can’t be ignored!

Please consider donating!

Volunteer Texting with Contactshelper!

Working as a volunteer is easy with Contactshelper!
Let’s get started.
Sign into your Contactshelper account with the Login Name and Password you were assigned.
Your Volunteer Coordinator will have added contacts for outreach to text. When you sign in, click “Start Texting” to be assigned contacts.

As a volunteer you don’t need to worry about who you’re texting or even what to write to get started. Click on the “Send Text” button to the right of the contact name and the template shown at top will be sent to the contact.

That is the Contactshelper system connecting you to the voter or donor.

Work through the list of contacts on the page, when all have switched to “Sent” click on Refresh to load more.

When you run out of contacts or need to be done, you can check on the Replies page to see who has answered your texts. As people respond to your texts a number next to the Replies link will increase. While you are chatting with voters or donors new replies will appear at the top of the page and show with a green chat bubble that they have a message you have not seen. Clicking on Show Chat will reveal the chat sidebar and mark that message as seen. Use the chat sidebar to answer questions, share links and inform the voter or donor about our campaign.
When the contact sees your text on their phone they will see the main campaign number, not your number. If they text back later, the text will be added to the chat and the volunteer coordinator will follow up.
When texting with Contactshelper you don’t see their phone number and they do not see yours.

When chatting with a contact you may also use “quick chat” templates provided by your volunteer coordinator for this campaign. These appear below the chat box and button. These links place text into the chat box, often with the contact’s name merged, sharing links or event information.
In addition to chatting with the contact you can leave notes. Please take the time to note the response you received for your outreach, even marking “No Answer” is helpful for the campaign coordinator to keep track of your effort and success.
Thank you for volunteering! Your help is appreciated!

Contact Information * Required
Name: *
Phone:
Email: *
What office do you want to run for? (required) : *