We’re Recruiting A Candidate For November Public Advocate Election And Beyond

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Thanks to the heroic efforts of 2018 Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Larry Sharpe, the New York Libertarian Party (“NYLP”) has become an officially recognized party under New York State election law. This means people can finally register to vote as “Libertarians”, ballot access has become much easier for LP candidates and the NYLP will hold primaries the same Democrats and Republicans do.

Over the course of the next four years, the now official Libertarian Party in New York City will have the opportunity to field candidates for approximately 100 city and state elected offices.

Our first election as an official party will be the November 2019 election for New York City Public Advocate. This election will set the tone for the 2020 federal and state and 2021 city election cycles.

That’s why we need to make a uniquely strong push to recruit potential Public Advocate candidates who can raise the bar for the type of candidates the LP fields in New York City.

We’re looking for libertarian candidates who have track records of success in business, media and/or government. This city has dozens of libertarian media personalities and hundreds (maybe thousands) of libertarian business leaders. Will one or more of them step up to establish the newly official Libertarian Party in New York City as a legitimate and respected political party by running for office?

The Libertarian Party is the third-largest and the fastest growing political party in the United States. Over 20% of Americans hold libertarian views. As the GOP under Trump’s leadership abandons many libertarian ideals, and the Democratic Party drifts leftward, we fully expect the LP to continue its growth streak nationally and in New York City.

We believe that the LP can offer an economically-aware, entrepreneur-friendly alternative to the policies of the Democrats, which are hostile and dismissive of business and development, and a socially conscious and culturally progressive alternative to the Republicans, who consistently run on and appeal to cultural conservatism.

The LP affiliates in New York City, which operate as local parties in each borough, boast youthful, devoted and diverse leadership excited about building a party that rejects the cronyism of traditional politics and offers instead transparent party operations with limited hierarchy and a meritocratic process for selecting candidates.

As such, we, the undersigned officers of LP county affiliates, are excited to invite people to register their interest in running for Public Advocate in 2019.

We will provide people who register:

  • Information about any and all relevant LP meetings;
  • Invitations to meet with LP leadership and donors about their campaigns;
  • A liason who will help ensure they meet all Board of Elections requirements; and
  • Our focused and best efforts to make the candidate’s campaign a success

Please fill out this form if you or someone you know is interested in running as a Libertarian.

Signed:

If you have any questions please email us at [email protected]

Official Ballot Access Means We Continue the Fight

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During the latter part of the campaign, the devoted Larry Sharpe supporters were dubbed “Sharpies”

The bad news?  Many of us close to the Larry Sharpe campaign thought we would make more of a numerical impact.  With a few districts outstanding, 90,739 New Yorkers cast their vote for Larry Sharpe, representing about 1.6% of voters.  The last Sienna poll had Larry at 3% and campaign-paid polling was much higher.  Some of us were blinded, I believe, by the boundless enthusiasm and excitement that we and Larry encountered throughout the state.  Of course, this must be happening everywhere, right?  Unfortunately not.

The good news?  Having exceeded 50,000 votes, the Libertarian Party of New York has won automatic ballot access and official party status in this state for the first time in history.  Make no mistake, we are on an upward trajectory.  The challenge is this:  we have built an amazing core of supporters who brought love, hope, and support to the Larry Sharpe campaign.  We need to build on the core.  One great candidate, without preexisting name recognition, cannot break through the New York establishment, perhaps one of the most powerful in this country.  A devoted core, however, ready and willing to show up, campaign, and provide a platform can do a great deal to put a dent in it.

Here in New York City, we have a plan and we would like you to join us.  Larry Sharpe won 11,189 votes in the Five Boroughs.  In 2014, Michael McDermott won only 3,695.  We need to show people that there is a base here; a veritable movement.  We will do this in three ways:

  1. Government engagement.  New York City is a one-party town.  The City establishment sees little engagement from the electorate, but quite a bit from activists.  We will attend hearings on bills; we will submit testimony; and we will establish a presence in that community.  When there are no advocates for personal freedom and government restraint, our voices ring loud and we may become a constituency officials would look to satisfy or at least not alienate.
  2. Activism.  We will engage with the press on the issues of the day.  We will protest when necessary.  We will educate the populace.  Follow us on Twitter @LibertariaNYC where this is already happening, reach out if you would like to write, draw, or produce video, and watch out for new content.
  3. Elections.  We endeavor to run serious campaigns like Larry’s.  This is the Party’s wheelhouse and now with party status, we no longer have to expend our efforts on petitioning.  We now need quality candidates, volunteers, and fundraisers.

What can you do now?  Come to a county meeting or join us on the Slack (link in the Contact Us page) where we are coordinating our work.  Currently, we are looking to submit a report to the City Council’s Charter Revision Commission and any and all are welcome to assist.

We are a diverse group able to bridge communities and build an alliance for individual liberty in the face of an ever expanding municipal, state, and federal government.  Only we can unite the groups victimized by the progressive state–the middle class, immigrants, sex workers, family court and ACS victims, drug war victims, gun control victims, renters, and on and on.  Only we can offer hope for the individuals who see the information age as an opportunity for less government, not more.  Only we can appreciate the City as society’s flourishing, not the government’s.  Welcome to the new Freedom Base.  Please stay with us and, even better, get involved.