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Thoreau Best Fits With Libertarian Ideas Wall Street Journal (subscription) Thoreau Best Fits With Libertarian Ideas. Crispin Sartwell notes that the traditional, left/right paradigm has no place for political philosopher Henry David Thoreau. July 18, 2017 12:17 p.m. ET. Save Article. Sign In to Save Subscribe to WSJ. Text ...

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Thoreau Best Fits With Libertarian Ideas - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Brian Early bearly@seacoastonline.com @briantemprano

DOVER Another Ward 1 resident has declared his candidacy to fill the state representative seat that was vacated last month with a resignation.

Brian Shields, an active member of the Libertarian Party, announced his intention to file for the special election as a Libertarian to fill the seat held by Isaac Epstein before he resigned last month.

Im looking forward to this election, Shields said in a statement. Ward 1 hasnt had a real choice for a representative in quite a few years. I am ready to get out there, shake some hands, meet new people and talk about what the people of Dover need from their representation in Concord.

Shields said he became inspired to run for the seat from the passion of the three elected members of House of Representatives who recently switched to the Libertarian Party. Shields was the communication director for the House Libertarian Caucus.

How can you not want to be a part of legislation that will change lives for the better? Shields said in a press release. The ability to vote on bills that will give people more choice in how to live their lives, save them from higher taxes, and protect their civil liberties? Who doesnt want to be a part of that?

Shields, 37, is currently a student at Southern New Hampshire University working to obtain a communications degree. He also works as an in-store representative for News America Marketing and is a member of the membership committee for the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire and is the vice chair Libertarian Party of Seacoast New Hampshire, a local LPNH affiliate covering Rockingham and Strafford counties. The state's Libertarian Party achieved ballot access in 2016 when gubernatorial candidate Max Abramson achieved more than 4 percent of the total vote.

Shields joins Casey Conley, who announced his intention to run for the seat as a Democrat.

Dover City Manager Michael Joyal said in an email on Monday that the City Council will vote a resolution next week to petition the governor and executive council to hold a special election in the fall to fill the vacancy. With the approval of the governor and council, Joyal said the filing dates for interested candidates would be between Aug. 7-11. If there is more a primary is needed, a primary will occur on Oct. 3, and the general election will then occur on Nov. 21. If not, the general election will be held on Oct. 3, he said.

Ward 1 is comprised part of downtown north of the Cocheco River and runs north to Glendale Avenue and east to the Rollinsford border. It includes neighborhoods off Broadway, Central Avenue and Sixth Street.

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Brian Shields announces run for state rep seat - Foster's Daily Democrat

The race for governor has more than two candidates, although the third man in the race is getting far less attention. Michael Pope spent some time with him on the campaign trail.

Michael Pope has this profile on Cliff Hyra, the Libertarian candidate for governor.

Outside the Clarendon Metro station in Arlington on a sweltering afternoon, a candidate for governor is struggling against the summertime heat to get the attention of voters.

Hi Im Cliff Hyra. Im the Libertarian candidate for governor of Virginia.

Oh yeah?

Yes sir. Im running for a more inclusive and innovative Virginia. I want to reform the tax and regulatory system. I want to reform the criminal justice system, and make things more fair for everybody here in Virginia."

"Thats cool, man.

Cliff Hyra will be on the ballot statewide as a candidate for governor. But you may not have heard of him. The patent attorney from Northern Virginia is running as a Libertarian, a party he describes as conservative on fiscal issues and liberal on social issues. If elected governor he says he would use the power of the office to ramp down the War on Drugs.

Thats something I could do immediately as soon as I came into office I could order law enforcement to deprioritize marijuana use. I dont want to see anybody whos arrested only for marijuna use. Its certainly a very poor use of scare resources.

He would also take aim at the criminal justice system.

The sentences that are handed down are very often disproportionate. If you look at surveys showing the levels of use between African American and other communities and then the levels of arrests are very disproportionate.

The last Libertarian candidate to run for governor was Robert Sarvis, who ran against Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli. He did better than any other third party candidate in the last 40 years. But that still wasnt enough to crack 10%.

Sarvis was out campaigning with Hyra. The problem is that we dont actually have a level playing field. We have to spend a lot of effort just to get on the ballot. Once were on the ballot, theres an effort to keep us out of the debates.

Sarvissays he should have been included in the debates. I was polling at 10%. I got 145,000 votes and I still wasnt allowed in the debates, and I think thats a tragedy.

"If this race is as close as I think it could be, then the Libertarian candidate could play the spoiler and in that case he would hurt Ed Gillespie."

So far, Hyra has yet to receive an invitation to any of the debates this year. The Virginia Bar Association will be conducting the first debate this weekend, and they wont be including Hyra because he doesnt have the necessary polling numbers and he hasnt raised enough money.

But Christopher Newport Universitys Quentin Kidd says that doesnt mean he wont have an influence over the outcome of the election.

"Remember the last time Ed Gillespie came within 17,000 votes of beating Mark Warner. If this is a 17,000 vote race then you could be in a situation where the Libertarian candidate does in fact play the spoiler.

If this race is as close as I think it could be, then the Libertarian candidate could play the spoiler and in that case he would hurt Ed Gillespie.

On some issues, Hyra and Gillespie arent all that far apart. Take the issue of expanding Medicaid.

Expansion is forever. Its almost a poison pill because once you get that expansion its really hard to roll it back."

And then there's abortion.

In general, on abortion issues I would defer to the legislature. So the exception to that would be if theres something that I feel is unconstitutional.

But then theres the controversial issues of the pipelines.

Well Im opposed to the pipelines, and Im opposed to them mainly for property rights reasons. You have the federal government, and theyre taking private property and its for the benefit of a private company, Dominion Power.

Back on the campaign trail in Clarendon, Hyra is making an elevator pitch at the top of an escalator.

I think its very unfortunate some of the rhetoric that weve seen recently thats been very discouraging to people who want to visit here from overseas. But I think they are a wonderful asset, and I hope that we can reverse the trend in that respect."

Thats cool, man.

OK, very nice meeting you.

I really hope you make it.

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Meet Your Libertarian Candidate for Governor, Cliff Hyra - WVTF

Local Libertarians join petition opposing Orleans Parish traffic cameras Mid-City Messenger Nearly a year after the Orleans Parish Libertarian Party first launched opposition to the city's plan to double traffic cameras, the group is still finding avenues to remove them. One of those avenues, by way of petition, is gaining steam. The Orleans ...

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Local Libertarians join petition opposing Orleans Parish traffic cameras - Mid-City Messenger

On Saturday, gubernatorial candidates Ralph Northam and Ed Gillespie will debate at the Homestead in Hot Springs as guests of the Virginia Bar Association.

Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra wont be on the stage.

The Bar Association says Hyra failed to meet its criteria, which are spelled out in its debate policy. But Hyra does meet those criteria, except one. He is legally qualified to hold the office, and he will be on the ballot. The only criterion he does not meet is subjective: The candidates candidacy must, in the sole and exclusive judgment of the VBA, be significant; he or she must have a reasonable chance of being elected. To be a significant candidate, a candidate must, at least 30 days before a scheduled debate, have demonstrated substantial voter interest and support.

The Bar Association is a private organization, and has every right to make whatever rules it cares to. Whats more, its significant candidate requirement mirrors the rules of many other organizations that sponsor debates which is why debates for high office such as governor and president almost never include third-party candidates.

But the requirement also creates a Catch-22 for Libertarians and other third parties: To get the exposure provided through debates and in media coverage, they first need to be significant but in order to be significant, they first need the exposure provided through debates and media coverage.

Whats more, the VBAs policies undermine one of its stated principles: The VBA debates are not intended to in any way promote or advance one candidate over another. Shutting out one qualified candidate does precisely that.

Were not trying to pick on the VBA here. As noted above, just about every sponsoring organization has similar rules. But those organizations profess to hold debates for the purpose of educating and informing the public. Shutting out a qualified candidate who will be on the ballot achieves the opposite. Most people know generally where Democrats and Republicans stand. They know less about where third parties stand. If sponsoring organizations are truly interested in educating the public rather than enhancing their own perceived prestige then they will invite every candidate on the ballot, not just the big two.

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Editorial: Libertarian Cliff Hyra has earned a spot in gubernatorial debates - Richmond.com