Advice to Libertarians who wish to run for City Council:

You may or may not follow my path.  It’s a change of life and a lot of work.

Find a leadership area in your community that’s of interest to you.  Seek a volunteer or appointed position in a community organization such as PTA, charity, local committee, city board or commission.  Attend City Council and commission meetings regularly.  Know the agenda topics. Write and speak to the City Council. Write letters to the editor.  Establish name recognition.

After you have a community resume and some name recognition, start a city council campaign 6-12 months before the election.  Know approximately how many votes it takes to be elected and focus on getting those votes.  Votes are all that matter.

Form an organizing committee.  Recruit campaign committee members to coordinate volunteers, manage a bank account, file state forms, and prepare your printed material (brochure/door hanger, signs, newspaper ads, campaign mailer).  You the candidate must do fund raising (about $15,000 for my successful re-election campaign for the Nov 2012 election).  You also must develop your campaign priorities and platform to reach voters, answer questionnaires, attend press interviews, attend candidate forums and walk precincts to meet voters.

Those are the essentials.  As an elected official you do not need to preach everything that is contained in the Libertarian Party Platform. There are enough bad policies and squandered taxpayer dollars to reasonably argue against.   You must have complete command of the facts involving a wide range of Council agenda topics and just use common sense in policy making.

Email all of your supporters and remind them to vote.  Don’t just assume they know the election is Tuesday, or that they will even remember to vote for you.  Your supporters are intelligent, but they are also busy people with families, jobs and businesses.

Prepare your election night speech and press statement for three potential outcomes: a win, a loss and an inconclusive result.

Use your email, Twitter account and Facebook to post updates and tweets throughout the election day.

The minute the race is called, post a thank you note on your website, and any social media feeds, thanking your volunteers and donors.

Prepare list of people you must call after the results are announced.  The first should be your opponent to either congratulate (should he or she win) or thank (should you win.)   The next on the list should be your biggest donors.

BEFORE Election Day, contact an attorney experience in election law.  Let him know you may need his services should your voters or poll workers need assistance.

Speaking of which, if your race is called, and the margin is close enough to be in doubt, DO NOT CONCEDE!  Simply tell the press and your supporters very politely and professionally you will wait until all the votes are counted AND VERIFIED before declaring victory or defeat.  Immediately contact an attorney experienced in election law.

No matter the result, be gracious and professional.  Remind your supporters of the same.

“They did. They gave us five tax proposals — plus one change to the criminal code — that every one of them could support wholeheartedly, from left to right.”

What were they?

1. Eliminate the mortgage tax deduction
2. End tax deductions for health-care
3. Eliminate the corporate income tax
4. Eliminate all income and payroll taxes
5. Drop the income tax, tax consumption
6. Legalize marijuana

Libertarians are the only party dedicated to eliminating income taxes and ending costly drug prohibition, and many Libertarian officeholders

Please go here to chip in $25 or more to help Brett win on July 31!

Can I count on you to help Libertarian Brett Bittner win his race, which is just a few days away?

Brett is running for the Marietta School Board in Marietta, Georgia.

And I can tell you few places need Libertarians more than government schools.

Brett is running a hard-charging campaign that is competing for a win.

Brett has been an active Libertarian for over a decade.

You’ve probably seen him supporting candidates, tackling issues, and working for solutions.

And As a member of the school board, Brett will continue to stand for his libertarian principles and ideals, seeking to do what’s right for the students and the taxpayers of Marietta.

Brett is no unknown.  He’s served as an appointed member of Marietta’s Historic Board of Review, as well as its Historic Preservation Commission, representing Ward 1 on both since 2010.  He is also active in county and state politics.

Brett is also partner in Forward Focus Media, a libertarian strategic web consulting firm with offices in Atlanta and Birmingham.

Needless to say, Brett is just like our hundreds of elected Libertarians.

But he needs Libertarians like you to push him over the finish line.

With just days left until voting, Brett needs help getting out the mail, getting literature on doors and driving voters to the polls.

Please go here to chip in $25 or more to help Brett win on July 31!

Thirty-one percent (31%) say “the economy” is “the most important problem facing this country today.”  The second most pressing issue is “jobs,” coming in at 26 percent.

Combined, 57 percent of Americans cite jobs or the economy as the issue most in need of attention.  Immigration garnered only three percent.  Drugs, war and climate change did not even register on voter’s list of concerns.

The poll also found:

* “Seniors as well as Americans in households earning less than $30,000 annually join blacks in putting the greatest emphasis on unemployment and jobs as the nation’s top problem. By contrast, middle- and high-income Americans and those aged 18 through 64 are more likely to name ‘the economy.’”

* “Blacks focus more than either whites or Hispanics on unemployment as the nation’s top problem. However, whites worry more than blacks or Hispanics about the federal budget deficit…”

* “About 10% of adults in every major age group mention the federal budget deficit as the top problem, but it is of particular concern to Republicans (16%), adults earning $75,000 or more (12%), whites (11%), and men (11%). Relatively few blacks, Hispanics, low-income Americans, or Democrats mention the issue.”

And Libertarians are getting better at raising money.

“The Libertarian Party of Connecticut has raised $15,000  in the past few weeks, a record-breaking amount,” the Norwich Bulletin reports.

“The party, known for its support of limited government, had never raised more than $10,000 in any single year, Reale said. Fundraising through an ongoing ballot access drive is expected to surpass $60,000, said Reale, who is also the party’s candidate for Congress in Connecticut’s 2nd District.”

• 65 percent overall worry a great deal about gas prices; 63 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of Democrats agree.

• 60 percent overall worry a great deal about the budget deficit; 84 percent of Republicans and 42 percent of Democrats agree.

• 60 percent overall worry a great deal about the affordability of health care; 46 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of Democrats agree.

• 55 percent overall worry a great deal about unemployment; 61 percent of Republicans and 55 percent of Democrats agree.

• 46 percent of Americans overall worry a great deal about the size and power of the federal government; 71 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Democrats agree.

Source: A Gallup poll of 1,024 U.S. adults conducted March 8 to 11, reported by The Washington Times Jennifer Harper.

Here’s what voters want to hear from you on.  So what is your campaign talking about?

United Liberty

These facts should stop dead any further pushes to defend and keep public pensions sacrosanct. The left and public unions may get up and toot their own horn, but they can bleat about it until they’re blue in the face: the simple fact is we have no money. Eventually, people are going to get sick of the reductions in service and the hiking of taxes in order to pay for these pensions, and they’re going to come at them with hatchets.

Yet, for some inane reason, public unions cannot recognize this fact. They cannot see ahead even just ten years.

The good times are over. We all need to make cutbacks in order to get through this, and that includes our government. No matter what the left likes to think, reality does not have a liberal bias. It has a libertarian one.

Libertarian National Campaign Committee Chairman Wayne Root has long been speaking out about the need for public pension reform.  It’s an issue that threatens to lead our nation down the same road as Greece, toward riots and flames.

Republicans consistently fail to address the issue.  Democrats won’t touch it.  There’s only one way to save America from bankruptcy and economic collapse — support Libertarian candidates.

Go here to chip in $10 or more to support Libertarian candidates.

Go here to learn more about running for office as a Libertarian.

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-77% oppose raising the federal gas tax

-Only 33% think transit should get more funding than its share in travel

-By a margin of 62% to 30% Americans favor more spending on roads because people and goods use them, as opposed to shifting funding to transit and other non-driving alternatives to try to get people out of cars.

-58% think new lanes or new highways should be funded with tolls rather than tax increases, and 59% say they would pay a toll if it would save them a significant amount of time

-57% support converting HOV lanes to HOT lanes, meaning letting single-occupant vehicles use carpool lanes if they pay a toll.

-55% support public private partnerships to build new roads and other infrastructure

-By 55% to 34% they support private companies funding and building high speed rails lines rather than the government.

Professional Background: Bob’s resume consists of 25 years of human resource management (16 years at 3M as well as ten years in the electronics field.) He also has been the owner of a successful small business (A Perfect Fit Alteration Shop), which he sold at a profit. His background in HR taught him to listen to all sides of an issue before deciding on the fairest and most equitable solution. This willingness to listen to opposing viewpoints will be invaluable as City Council tackles some of the major issues facing Springfield in the next four years.

Volunteer Positions: Bob has always felt that Springfield is a great place to live and that we all have an obligation to make it better. He has long been involved in volunteer positions—most of them involving Board service.

In the past, he has served on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Ozarks, the Springfield Family Y, and the Board for Camp Fire Boys and Girls. Most of his volunteer positions have dealt with enhancing the quality of life for Springfield’s young people.

In addition, his municipal government experience includes two terms on the Springfield Art Museum Board, including one year as Chair during a major building renovation project. He also completed an unexpired term on the Springfield Personnel Board because of his background as  an HR professional. These two positions have given him a working knowledge of how our municipal government operates.

Family: Bob and Cindy have been married for 14 years. She is an administrator in Workforce Development at OTC. Bob is dad to two daughters: Alicia is married, lives in Denver, and is a certified Physician’s Assistant with an Master’s Degree from St. Louis University. She assists with spinal surgeries and was recently selected to be Denver Nuggets cheerleader for 2008-2009. Rebecca graduated from MU with a double major in International Business and Accounting. She works as a Financial Analyst in Kansas City and she and Jason have presented Bob and Cindy with their first grandchild. The Stephens household is also ruled by a somewhat rotund cat named Tristan.

Education: In addition to his degree from SMS, Bob also holds a Master’s degree in Communication from Drury University and a Specialist Degree in Technical Communication from California State University. He has taught courses in HR Management at Phillips Junior College and a number of Communications courses at Drury University. Also, he has conducted numerous workshops and training sessions based on his background in management and human resources.