Libertarians flock to Pierres

I went to the anti smoking-ban event at Pierres last night.

I saw a total of seven Fort Wayne Libertarians at the event. Jennifer Griggs and the Allen County Libertarian Party did a great job handing out Libertarian literature at the event and getting the word out that Libertarians oppose this smoking-ban since it is a violation of the property rights of business owners.

NOTE: The smoking ban was approved by the Allen County Commissioners, all of whom are Republican. The smoking ban was then approved by the Fort Wayne City Council. FOUR Republicans and THREE Democrats voted in favor of the smoking ban. One Republican voted against the smoking ban and one Democrat abstained... The Democratic Mayor supports the new smoking ban.

There are seven candidates who spoke at the event. I am going to summarize how I feel about each candidate after hearing their opinions last night

In alphabetical order by last name:

Marty Bender. He is running for City Council at Large and he is running as a Republican. I thought Bender did a good job. I think he is either a moderate Republican or possibly a small government Republican. If I vote in the Republican primary I well might vote for Bender...

Councilman Didier. He is currently the 3rd District City Councilman. He is the ONLY City Councilman to vote against the current Fort Wayne smoking ban. My opinion on Didier has not changed. I think Didier is a moderate Republican. I like him and I think he is an honest and good man. My opinion of him has improved over the last four years...

Karen Golder. Karen is running for the 2nd City Council District and she is running as a Democrat. She is running to be my City Council representative. My opinion of Karen is unchanged, I will be voting for Karen Goldner in November...

Kurt Gutman. Kurt is running for City Council at large as a Republican. Kurt definitely struck me as a moderate Republican. If I vote in the Republican Primary I might vote for Kurt.

Matt Kelty. Matt is running for Mayor as a Republican. I am even more supportive of Matt Kelty today then I was yesterday. Matt truly is a "Goldwater Conservative" and he just might be able to fix the Allen County GOP. The Allen County GOP consistently stands for larger and larger government each and every year. Matt Kelty wants to limit the size and scope of government. I am definitely talking to people about Matt Kelty and I suggest people vote for Matt Kelty for Mayor. If I vote in the Republican primary, the first thing I will do is vote for Matt Kelty... Heck, I am also considering working the polls for The Kelty campaign.

Adam Mildred. Adam Mildred is running for City Council at large as a Republican. I had a fairly positive opinion of Adam before last night. I think Adam Mildred is a small government Republican. If I vote in the Republican primary I WILL vote for Adam Mildred for sure. If I vote in the Republican primary I will vote for Matt Kelty, then I will vote for Adam Mildred, and the rest is not decided yet...

Denise Porter Ross. Denise is running for City Council at large as a Democrat. I thought she came across well. I especially am encouraged by the fact that she has doubts about moving a baseball stadium downtown. I do not know enough about her to form an opinion; however, I thought she performed well last night and I thought she made a positive impression.

I will be posting the rules about voting in the primaries in the next couple of days... I am not sure if I will vote in the primaries or not... As I said I will post more about this soon; however, the basic rule is that you can declare yourself a Republican IF you plan on voting for a majority of Republican candidates in the November election and you can register as a Democrat if you plan on voting for a majority of Democratic candidates in the November election. Libertarians do NOT have primaries. We will be selecting our candidates at the Indiana Libertarian Convention which will be held in Fort Wayne on May 19th, 2007. The Convention will be at The Grand Wayne Center...

Mike Sylvester