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Brendan Cox bcox@norwichbulletin.com, (860) 425-4225 bcoxNB

Two years ago, Norwich Republicans in a coup secured a supermajority on the City Council, riding voter frustration over burdensome local taxes. But if the voters who elected them want to take it a step farther this year and if theyre willing to take a big gamble on an untested radical ideology they may get an opportunity in the Libertarian Party.

Bill Russell, the Libertarian who ran for mayor in 2013 and may mount a campaign again this year, is not interested in wimpy scalpels and the surgical budget cuts they effect: He said the citys $120 million-some-odd budget needs the meat cleaver treatment. When I egged him on, he upgraded to power tools.

Lets take a chainsaw to the budget. Lets take a chainsaw to the regulations. Lets get government out of peoples lives so they can start enjoying their lives again, Russell told me.

Norwich Libertarians held a town committee meeting last week, an event Russell said wasnt as well-attended as hed hoped. Nonetheless, he hopes the party can put up a full slate in Norwich, and unless Russell finds someone else to run for mayor, he said, I guess I will have to do it.

State party Chairman Dan Reale, of Plainfield you may remember him from his runs at the 2nd Congressional District seat held by Democrat Joe Courtney said there are now Libertarian committees in 33 Connecticut towns. The party has been engaged in unprecedented levels of activity and organization, Reale wrote in a party newsletter recently.

I was unable to get in touch with Reale, who I expect to run for selectman in Plainfield, last week. But if Russell is any indication, the party focused on individual liberty would use local power to eviscerate government with various kitchen and lawn implements, rescuing the taxpayer from the injustice of having to pay for ample firefighters and police. (And good luck convincing the rest of the council of the insidious evil of the government they represent.)

Russell was light on details the party is just starting its work on the 2017 election but one was to eliminate Norwichs paid fire department.

Moreover: Theres a lot of things we can do with the police station to make it more efficient and make it so we never have to move the police station, Russell said. What those things are is anyones guess.

But Russell, at least, is firm in his convictions: Government has grown way too big, way too intrusive. Its time for government to take a back seat to liberty or freedom or whatever you want to call it.

And government only stays in the front seat because voters keep electing Democrats and Republicans, who just want to control peoples lives, Russell said. When you control peoples lives you end with Nazi Germany, is what you end up with. (I seem to recall a certain White House spokesman getting into some trouble for using that nasty Nazi reference last week.)

Russell is serious about slashing and burning the city budget, though this philosophy doesnt really merit being taken seriously. But I do agree with him about one thing.

The city of Norwich is damn near a ghost town right now The Democrats and Republicans have really screwed this town up, he said. Given a chance, perhaps Russell, or whoever ends up running on a Libertarian line, could prove just the wake-up call the city needs, or thinks it needs.

What do we have to lose? Well, we can only find out if we hand a Libertarian the keys to City Hall and an oilcan for that lawn tool.

Politically speaking, 2016 was an outlandish year. Norwich could continue the theme if theyre willing to risk the Norwich Budget Chainsaw Massacre. Who doesnt love a good horror movie?

Brendan Cox is The Bulletins opinion page editor. Email him at bcox@norwichbulletin.com or follow him on Twitter: @bcoxNB.

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Brendan Cox: Norwich Libertarian vows budget massacre - Norwich Bulletin