What should I run as? City council race

[christagious]

I'm running for city council in my city in 2009 and I'm torn between what to run as. I originally planned to run as a Republican because I now consider myself to be a "Ron Paul Republican" and I agree with the goal of getting the GOP back to its roots. But..... my city is for the most part anti-Republican. The mayor is Dem., the entire city council is Dem., and people are dying to get any and all Republicans out of office for the sake of "change" (and they love their handouts, I live in a "ghetto" city). I was hoping to enter the race to show people what true Republicans are all about. Being Republican certainly hurts my chances of winning, but I want to change things and change peoples' minds about what the GOP is supposed to stand for. Besides, we all know that being in one of the two major parties makes it easier to win.
Well, here's my dillema: I got a newsletter in the mail today from the Libertarian Party of Ohio and it basically said that the LPO has achieved something great. For years if you were running for office under the Libertarian Party, Constitution Party and any other third party, you were simply labeled as an Independent. Well now the Libertarian Party is finally recognized and will be labeled on the ballots. This gives me an opportunity to instead run as a Libertarian; although many people in my city may not know what Libertarian is, it'll keep that bad Republican label from being associated with me; so I won't be associated with Bush, McCain, etc. But even though the Libertarian Party of Ohio has finally been recognized, their still small and I won't get as much attention as if I was running as a Republican.

What should I do? What would you do?

 

[RickyJ]

Run as an Independent. It will be your best bet of winning in that district.

 

[Matt Collins]

In my city (Nashville) city elections are nonpartisan.


I would shy away from running as a "libertarian" because that word scares a lot of people.


The important thing is to see how much money it has taken to win that seat in the past. And to also look to see by what margin the winner has won. Then look at your dollars per vote and see if you have a realistic chance of winning.

 

[Andrew-Austin]

I would shy away from running as a "libertarian" because that word scares a lot of people.

?

Not nearly as much as the word Republican does, well it really depends where you live, and he said his city is very anti-Repub.

Chris I'd test the waters in your area first, see if you can get people to understand that your a different kind of Republican, before you choose.

 

[robert4rp08]

I'd go with independent. Pull a Lieberman.

 

[AutoDas]

What have been the voting records of your city? Are the elections a close 50% to 48%+2%?

 

[kojirodensetsu]

?

Not nearly as much as the world Republican does, well it really depends where you live, and he said his city is very anti-Repub.

From people I've talked to anyways, people tend to think of libertarians as loners who live in their mom's basement.

 

[Roxi]

i guess it will depend on your incumbents... find out if they are popular/rich etc....

 

[Conza88]

How I won in the Election

 

[noxagol]

I'm thinking of running for city council myself, though to be honest, I'm scared of doing it.

 

[Conza88]

I'm thinking of running for city council myself, though to be honest, I'm scared of doing it.

What you got to lose? Have you listened to the audio above?

You don't need to be elected; to WIN...

 

[ForWhichItStood]

I'd say run as an independent, just make sure everyone knows where you stand (as a libertarian).

 

[noxagol]

What you got to lose? Have you listened to the audio above?

You don't need to be elected; to WIN...

I have a hard time accepting the stupidity of others and am quite anti-social in the face of strangers. Silly fears, I know, but crippling none the less. I'm not even quite sure how to get started.

 

[Alex Libman]

There's also the Boston Tea Party, which seems to be the leading more-libertarian-than-LP party out there. Just a thought.

 

[JosephTheLibertarian]

I'm running for city council in my city in 2009 and I'm torn between what to run as. I originally planned to run as a Republican because I now consider myself to be a "Ron Paul Republican" and I agree with the goal of getting the GOP back to its roots. But..... my city is for the most part anti-Republican. The mayor is Dem., the entire city council is Dem., and people are dying to get any and all Republicans out of office for the sake of "change" (and they love their handouts, I live in a "ghetto" city). I was hoping to enter the race to show people what true Republicans are all about. Being Republican certainly hurts my chances of winning, but I want to change things and change peoples' minds about what the GOP is supposed to stand for. Besides, we all know that being in one of the two major parties makes it easier to win.
Well, here's my dillema: I got a newsletter in the mail today from the Libertarian Party of Ohio and it basically said that the LPO has achieved something great. For years if you were running for office under the Libertarian Party, Constitution Party and any other third party, you were simply labeled as an Independent. Well now the Libertarian Party is finally recognized and will be labeled on the ballots. This gives me an opportunity to instead run as a Libertarian; although many people in my city may not know what Libertarian is, it'll keep that bad Republican label from being associated with me; so I won't be associated with Bush, McCain, etc. But even though the Libertarian Party of Ohio has finally been recognized, their still small and I won't get as much attention as if I was running as a Republican.

What should I do? What would you do?

Why limit yourself? Secure the LP nomination, run for the GOP nomination.

 

[mediahasyou]

go independent.

 

[Conza88]

I have a hard time accepting the stupidity of others and am quite anti-social in the face of strangers. Silly fears, I know, but crippling none the less. I'm not even quite sure how to get started.

Well... kind of the opposite for me, gladly... IRL that is. Here it's different.

Preparation wise.. all the talking points etc, what the journalists ask of politicians - note the questions.... compile on each issue.. and have your answer...

Should know it all from just watching RP vids

Maybe.. go to uni, and hand out literature... debate people? Go to the socialist club... and ask them for a friendly debate some time? *shrugs*

Shopping centers.. just get talking to people.. maybe do a survey as an excuse to engage others.. "Hi, I was wondering if I could quickly ask you a few questions about the General Election.." - "Do you think there is a big difference between the two major parties?"

"What would you say if someone wanted to get rid of the income tax and Irs?"

WELL thats what I want to do!

 

[cindy25]

if your district is Democratic run in the Dem primary.

Primary turnouts tend to be very low in off year elections, and you have a far better chance to upset the applecart than you would than in a general election as either a Republican or Libertarian.
A Republican primary is harder to win because Republicans tend to be smarter than Democrats. so an upset would be harder and the nomination not as useful anyway.

 

[christagious]

"What would you say if someone wanted to get rid of the income tax and Irs?"

WELL thats what I want to do!

Well, a city councilman can't really get rid of the irs, but I do want to get rid of the city income tax

 

[Nietzsche's Stache]

Depending on if you're truly a Goldwater Republican with a Libertarian background of beliefs, this is what I'd suggest...

You undoubtedly don't want to run as a Republican unless your entire goal is to make a statement during the campaign process rather than actually get elected. If your district is similar to a couple in my neck of the woods (or even is one of these districts), not only will you not have a chance at winning the election, you will likely be immediately written off regardless of how effective/reasonable your message.

You also do not want to run as a Democrat. Elected or not, people will eventually realize that you are misrepresenting yourself thus completely destroying all of your credibility. Once again, if your campaign is about the message and the revolution, this is an exceptionally poor idea.

I'd run as a non-party affiliated independent. People in this type of district naturally draw to new age ideas and “message of change” which is currently being taken advantage of by the Obama campaign. I would run under a campaign of change emphasizing the unique social aspects of Libertarianism. This is the type of activism that would appeal to those in your district and not misrepresent yourself.

Once elected, hopefully you understand the back-bone of your Libertarian-oriented belief systems and apply these beliefs to every decision you are called to make.