Buckeye RINO

Editor’s note:  Joyce Early is the Libertarian candidate for Lorain City Council’s 3rd Ward seat.  If you would like to make a donation to her campaign, you may do so at the bottom of this page at the Joyce Early website. The early voting period for the general election has already begun.  Election day is November 3rd.  Buckeye RINO endorses Joyce Early.

I’m running in a city known for Democratic Party majorities but I’m not running as a Democrat or Republican, I’m running as a Libertarian.  I can’t in my right mind identify with either of the big two so I chose the third party option.  It’s strange to be a Libertarian because only four years ago I didn’t even know the party existed, but then 4 years ago I was in a voter coma over politics so I wouldn’t have noticed anyway.  I was always unaffiliated as a voter never declaring a party and then in the same two year span declared both parties for candidates on the ballot.  In America we can switch back and forth every year if we choose.  I explain my actions by saying the two existing parties are not that much different in ideology.  But today I find myself able to identify with the “L” party because of their ideology.

My voter coma was induced by watching the nightly news.  I took their word and chose my candidate on their recommendation not really thinking about the direction that party was going.  Just three years ago I found myself with an insatiable appetite for politics.  I wanted to know history and how our government operated.  I was a victim of a public school education and knew very little about my government.  My self education was intense and enlightening.  For the first time in my life I was able to look at publications from the right, the left and the fringe and objectively hypothesize what really occurred.  Most people only read and listen to information from the side they identify with and so begins the voter coma.

The government we have is a wonderful meld of two sides of every issue.  We see a sprinkling of both sides in the House and Senate.  The check and balance style of government is an important one.  If only one side was represented we would see even more corruption than we do today.  Even a majority sometimes closes the discussion and still hurts America and the political process.

In our original Constitution, the President of the United States was the candidate with the most votes and the Vice President was the person who came in second.  This was a really clever idea because it forced two seemingly different philosophies to watch over each other and work together.  Imagine Obama and McCain having to run the country together?

The check and balance approach keeps communication open and honest.  Both sides have to defend their position and work together.  In Lorain, we have almost every elected position representing one party.  I feel this opens our city up to corruption because nobody at the table is asking questions and keeping the predominant side honest.  I’m not suggesting Libertarians should run our city or Republicans; I’m suggesting voters take an honest logical approach to how they would best be represented.  Even in a labor situation, labor and management have to work together and compromise.

For example, in the recent filing issue at the board of elections, would the voters have known a candidate hadn’t met the requirements if only one party worked at the board?  If we had a mixture of parties on city council, would the illegal borrowing (documentation p1, p2, p3) from the water department have ever taken place?  If we had a Republican law director rather than a Democrat would the CRA debacle ever have happened?  The city in all of these cases was a victim of corruption in a predominate party power structure.

I think voters need to look at the power structure of city government.  Certain positions can provide a check and balance.  A few city council members representing different parties would keep that arm of city government honest.  A law director could and would keep the cities dealings honest if they represented a different party.  And these positions aren’t powerful enough to change things, only influence and expose potential corruption and ultimately protect the citizen’s and save them from embarrassment when the truth comes to light like the CRA disaster.

If voters exercised their power to enforce a check and balance approach there would be less frustration and heartache.  Voters could be assured the two apposing sides were balancing things out so the best solution was arrived at.  Many of the challenges we have faced as a city were a direct result of absolute power. And everyone knows absolute power corrupts absolutely.

So my challenge to the voters of Lorain is to sprinkle in some checks and balances so you finally get the government you can be proud of.  A few players from the opposing team will only strengthen your government and make sure all players are following the rules with your tax dollars.

Joyce Early

Candidate for 3^rd Ward City Council in Lorain, Ohio