Press Releases

9/16/2006 10:11:44 AM Vermont Libertarian Party Nominates Candidates for 15 Races Vermont Libertarian Party http://www.vtlp.org Hardy Machia chair@vtlp.org 802-238-3437 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 15, 2006 Vermont Libertarian Party Nominates Candidates for 15 Races (Montpelier, VT)  The Vermont Libertarian Party nominated candidates for fifteen races spanning nine counties this November. The candidates consenting to the Libertarian nomination are Ben Todd of Barton, State Representative, Orleans-Calendonia-1 David Atkinson of Braintree, State Representative, Orange-Addison-1 Hardy Machia of Grand Isle, State Representative, Grand Isle-Chittenden-1-1 Don O'Donnell of Marshfield, State Representative, Washington-6 Bob Wolffe of Randolph, State Representative, Orange-Addison-1 Jeff Manney of Rutland, State Representative, Rutland-5-1 Thomas Carpenter Jr. of Rutland, State Representative, Rutland-5-3 Kevin Volz of Rutland, State Representative, Rutland-5-4 Andrew Thomas of South Burlington, State Representative, Chittenden-3-8 Kelly Todd of Barton, State Senator, Essex-Orleans Milton C. DeGeorge Jr. of Island Pond, Probate Judge, Essex County Milton C. DeGeorge Jr. of Island Pond, High Bailiff, Essex County Dwight Duke of Marshfield, Sheriff, Washington County  Don O'Donnell of Marshfield, Assistant Judge, Washington County Cindy Myrick of Bridport, Assistant Judge, Addison County Candidate photographs and links to candidates' websites are available here: http://www.vtlp.org/main/campaigns.asp -30- (full story)

9/15/2006 12:25:36 PM Vermont Libertarians Batting .750 in Contested Primaries The National LP issued the following press release... Vermont Libertarians Batting .750 in Contested Primary Races Libertarian Fusion Candidates Win Three State Representative Primaries in Green Mountain State (Washington, D.C.) Benjamin Todd and Jeff Manney are running for Vermont State Representative seats on a Libertarian-Republican fusion ticket. As their races were uncontested, they easily won Tuesday's Republican primary elections for their districts. Vermont's other four LP fusion state representative candidates had to fight a bit harder, but still pulled off an impressive win/loss ratio. Vermont Libertarian Party Chair Hardy Machia was responsible for recruiting most of the candidates and orchestrating the state representative campaigns. He stated that he is "very pleased with the showing of our candidates in the major parties' primaries." Two of the winners were Bob Wolffe and David Atkinson in the Orange-Addison-1 district. According to the latest election returns, Atkinson won his race by one vote. Machia wasn't merely coordinating campaigns; he was running in the Grand Isle-Chittenden-1-1 race himself - a race which he won. "Running a fusion campaign as a Libertarian-Republican makes it easy to talk to Democratic and Independent voters who are very frustrated with the Republicans in DC, because I can empathize with them against the war in Iraq, against out-of-control spending, and against infringements on our civil liberties," Machia said. "The voters I talked to want to see change. They want the property taxes problem fixed." The Wolffe and Atkinson campaigns were assisted with GOTV calls from the national Libertarian Party's Ballot Base. Machia felt confident enough about his potential to win his own race that he insisted the other candidates receive the priority for GOTV telephone calls. The single defeat these Libertarian candidates took isn't a complete loss. While Kevin Volz lost the Democratic primary in Rutland-5-4, he will still be on the ballot as a Libertarian in the November General Election. In addition to their fusion candidates, the Vermont Libertarian Party will be running three more candidates for state representative positions on the Libertarian Party ticket: Thomas Carpenter, Jr. in Rutland-5-3, Andrew Thomas in Chittenden-3-8, and Don O'Donnell in Washington-6. Recent polling has shown Libertarian candidates performing at higher than normal levels in multiple states and races around the country. In Vermont, the combination of voter discontent, an effective state strategy and the Libertarian Party's Ballot Base program was the deciding factor in this set of Libertarian victories. "The incumbents have been ineffective and are not addressing voters' concerns," Machia said. "A lot of people are ready for change. It's time to take the momentum from this win into the general election." (full story)

8/20/2006 9:17:40 PM Bob Wolffe Enters VT State Representative Race FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Bob Wolffe, 802-728-9913, wolffeman@adelphia.net Bob Wolffe Enters Vermont State Representative Race (August 7, 2006) Bob Wolffe this week announced his candidacy for the Vermont House of Representatives in Orange-Addison1 District that includes the towns of Braintree, Brookfield, Granville, and Randolph. He will appear on the Republican primary ballot in September and is seeking the Libertarian nomination as well. Alarmed by a state government that is out of touch with thea people, Wolffe promises action, "I want to be part of the solution. I have been involved by writing letters and calling our representatives for years. I’m running in order to be a voice for the forgotten working Vermonter. Standing up and being counted is my way of protecting the future of my family and other working families in Vermont." Wolffe, 48 years old, is married and has three grown children. He served in the U.S. Army during the post-Vietnam era and has 19 years of military and Federal civil service. From 1995 to 1998 he owned the Pittsford Village Store in Pittsford, Vermont. Remembering those years, Wolffe lamented, "I know how unfriendly Vermont is to businesses of all sizes; if Vermont is going to maintain its world class quality of life, that attitude has to change for the better." "We need more accountability from our government in order to reduce the tax burden on the people. People in Vermont are tired of paying high property tax. It raises our cost of living and makes our paychecks smaller. Good paying jobs in Vermont are becoming harder to find because of government regulations which are too complicated and deter large corporations from establishing businesses in the state. Better paying jobs will raise the standard of living and will make health care more affordable." He believes Vermont should be a leader in this nation in the development of renewable sources of energy. "We must promote these enterprises for our future growth as well as for a cleaner environment". Currently working for local full-service Energy Company, Wolffe sees first-hand how high fuel prices are affecting Vermonters. "I know the hardships of those trying to maintain their household budget in the face of higher heating fuel and gasoline costs". Wolffe grew up in the Randolph area and attended Randolph schools until enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1976. Wolffe is confident he can have a positive effect in Montpelier, "I have the life experience, the understanding of how government operates, and a willingness to challenge the establishment to make things better for hard working Vermonters and their families." (full story)

8/3/2006 6:51:50 AM Benjamin Todd Enters State Representative Race (Orleans-Calendonia-1) 7/30/06 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Benjamin Todd of Barton is pleased to announce his candidacy for the Vermont house in the Orleans-Caledonia 1 district. This includes the towns of Albany, Barton, Craftsbury, Glover, Greensboro, Sheffield and Wheelock. He is seeking both the Libertarian Party nomination and the Republican Party nomination. The Libertarian Party will nominate candidates on July 31 2006, and the Republican Party primary will be held in September. I would like to touch on a few issues that are important to me. Property rights: Current Vermont septic law forces anyone who is building a house to hire an engineer to design a septic. The problem being that there are not enough engineers, and they are very costly. My solution is to offer a licensing program for contractors, builders, and /or homeowners. They could take a course in septic design and then would be able to build a septic system for a fraction of the cost of an engineer. Vermont needs to have a policy on wind towers. Instead of tying up companies for years only to deny the permit we should have a streamlined legal process to either quickly approve or deny the application. Taxes: Property taxes are out of control. We need to find a better way to fund education then property taxes or give control of schools and how they are funded back to the towns. Even since the state "fixed" the education problem by taking property tax money and then doling it back out we have seen huge tax increases that are much more then people bargained for. Currently state federal and local governments take over 40% or the average Americans income. That means you work for over 1/3 of the year just to pay taxes. Although I can not do anything about the federal government, I will work to cut taxes across the board by privatizing many of the services that the state now offers. A private company will be much better at stopping abuse, and will be able to manage many programs in a fiscally responsible manner. Healthcare: A big problem for many Vermonters is a lack of decent health insurance. Laws passed restricting insurance companies in Vermont have driven all but a few out of the state. Many candidates are supporting a Canadian style health care system where the government pays all medical bills. If anyone watches the Canadian news they would hear constant stories about people on 6 month waiting lists to see a doctor. I am supporting a Swiss style health care system. First we would eliminate all restrictions on health insurance companies. Second we would build a safety net to cover the costs above 10% of a person's income. This would insure that seniors, disables persons, or people with pre-existing conditions would have quality private health insurance while keeping rates low for others. Personal freedom and responsibility: I believe that individuals have the right to live their lives as they see fit as long as they do not infringe on the rights of others to do the same. Individuals are also solely responsible for their own actions. Benjamin Todd lives in Barton with his wife Kelly and their two children Gabrial and Brooklyn. He ran for state house on 2004 as a Libertarian, and is a member of the Vermont Libertarian Party state committee. He is a member of the Castle coalition (citizens against eminent domain abuse). To join the Todd for house email list just send an email that says "subscribe" to toddforhouse2006@gmail.com To volunteer you can email me at the same address. (full story)

7/28/2006 3:08:38 PM Atkinson Enters Vermont State Representative Race July 28, 2006 David Atkinson of Braintree this week announced his candidacy for the Vermont House of Representatives in the Orange-Addison-1 District, which includes the towns of Braintree, Brookfield, Granville and Randolph. He said the focus of his campaign will be to address the growing cost of government on working families and small businesses by reducing taxes and burdensome regulation, to advocate the development of green energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro, and to promote the restoration of local decision making powers in the education of our children. (full story)

6/26/2006 4:38:47 PM US Supreme Court sides with Libertarians, Upholds Political Free Speech As Vermont Libertarian Party Chair Hardy Machia predicted in February, the US Supreme Court overturned Vermont's onerous campaign finance laws. Libertarians in Vermont are cheering upon hearing the news. A 6-3 decision in the Randall v. Sorrell case by the US Supreme Court threw out the restrictive spending and contribution limits on candidates and political parties passed by the Vermont legislature in 1997. (full story)

6/1/2006 6:16:57 AM VTLP Releases Local Official Survey Results Montpelier: The Vermont Libertarian Party announced the survey results of local officials for 2006. There were 12 questions ranging from eminent domain to death with dignity. Responses were received from 31 towns across Vermont. (full story)

5/25/2006 4:26:40 PM Vermont Libertarian Party Adopts New Platform Vermont Libertarian Party Adopts New Platform. Hardy Machia stated, "We taken another step into the realm of practical politics with our new platform. It lays out a sensible middle ground toward more freedom, lower taxes, and smaller government-which a majority of Vermonters support." (full story)

5/4/2006 4:09:29 PM Hunter Melville appointed Town Grand Juror in Woodstock Congratulations to Hunter Melville for his appointment to Town Grand Juror in Woodstock. (full story)

4/25/2006 3:18:14 PM Speakers Line for Vermont Libertarian Party Convention The lineup of speakers at the 2006 Vermont Libertarian Convention has been updated. (full story)

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