Last night, Election Day, our little band of libertarian brothers at the CDLP agreed to share the administrative burden of the LPNY petition drive in 2012. That usually entails five weeks of collecting signatures in the middle of a hot and muggy New York summer. At the end of which we fire up computers, sharpen pencils and deal with the carny like atmosphere of the hired guns left to collect the remaining signatures towards our 15 thousand valid requirement. I’ve done it twice statewide (2008 & 2010) and there is always something you’d rather be doing during this period in the summer.
In 2012 the Libertarian Party will field a Presidential candidate and will need to be on the ballot in New York. I will help that eventual person achieve that goal for the party regardless of our ideological differences. I also hope to be the nominee of the LPNY for Senate to help that process. That’s the primary goal of the campaign. The campaign will raise money based on previous donor lists from past campaigns. I hope to raise one thousand dollars by the end of the year and five thousand by LPNY convention time in April. We’re already 20% of the way for the first goal from last night without even trying.
We are faced with a Democratic opponent already with millions in the bank and a system geared towards the re-election of incumbents on a high level of probability. This fight will not be to win, but that doesn’t mean you don’t try to with the limited resources available. In the past I’ve been in debates and polls. I was the campaign manager for the most successful gubernatorial bid in LPNY history, almost acheiving the goal of fifty thousand votes.
I would like to eclipse the 50K figure and approach the levels reached by the previous most successful Libertarian bid in NYS. Norma Segal who got over 100K votes in 1992. We need to hold the Libertarian place in the voters minds and only a campaign can do this. With the proper amount of fundraising we can run professional commercials in various localities and keep the name out there for a successful attempt by someone in 2014.
This will probably be my last attempt at public office. My previous two tries ended in ignominious defeat at the hands of opposing party lawyers and operatives, not the ballot box. I am a certain threat to the establishment parties and it will be in their interest to see me similarly removed. I believe we can make an end run on them with a statewide petition.I’m still itching for a real fight to the wire without apparatchik interference.
In the next few weeks I will be establishing a Campaign Committee, website, a Facebook page and developing a team to compete. Our access to media is quite decent and no doubt someone will pick up our story before long.
Oh yeah. The issues. Everyone likes those. Aside from my ballot access pitch, I will be focusing on the ‘wars’ and the Fed. That’s it. The average voter and media type rarely focus on the multi-levels that a libertarian is capable of presenting. While there is certainly no limit to the amount of government I would eliminate, primary focus will be those two hallmark and securely libertarian issues, war and the banks. I will certainly engage in any level of discussion about principle and ideas as a good libertarian should in any environment, but I will never let an inquiry or question go without those two primary issues.
Special thanks to my dear wife Katy who has internalized the premise of this campaign and agreed not to divorce me in the quixotic attempt. I certainly promise to her that I will focus on my family, business and home in that order.
Sincerely,
Eric Sundwall