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Libertarian Redpath hopes to beat third-party curse

When Virginians enter the voting booths in November to choose their next governor, many may be surprised to see three names on the ballot.

Most will recognize Republican candidate Mark Earley and Democratic candidate Mark Warner, but they may not know that William Redpath and Gary Reams are running for governor and lieutenant governor on the Libertarian Party ticket.

With the election fast approaching, the Libertarian Party, founded in 1972, is using its limited resources to inform voters of its platforms and candidates. As of Aug. 31, Redpath has only raised about $16,000 for his bid for governor while Warner and Earley have raised millions.

Gubernatorial candidate William Redpath is a vice president of consulting at the BIA Financial Network in Chantilly. His main campaign issues are education and transportation.

One of Redpath's ideas is to end general fund subsidization for universities.

"I'm not against education, but some people who go to Virginia state colleges tend to be more affluent,"Redpath said. "I don't think middle class and less well-off people should have to pay for the wealthier people to go to school."

Instead, Redpath supports giving parents a Universal Tuition Tax Credit that they could use to send their children to any college in the world.

To alleviate Virginia's traffic problems, Redpath proposes abolishing the retail sales tax that pay for public roads and exacting user fees directly from drivers, through mechanisms such as tolls on high occupancy lanes.

He also supports ending laws that restrict the use of drugs, lowering taxes, and changing the state voting system so that third party candidates have better chances to get elected.

"I think the single-member legislative districts, where the person with the most votes wins, is frustrating for third parties and for the voters," Redpath said. "People feel disenfranchised our voting system boxes out everyone except the people from the two parties."

Redpath's platform reflects the main message of the Libertarian Party of Virginia: "Government is best that governs least."

Other examples of Libertarian platforms are abolishing the income tax, supporting a free market economy unregulated by the federal government and dramatically lowering state spending.

In contrast to Redpath, Reams, the director of quality for NEC, an international telecommunications supplier, is running a much more unconventional campaign. His entire platform for lieutenant governor against Republican candidate Jay Katzen and Democrat Tim Kaine is a referendum on marijuana prohibition called the "Reams Reeferendum."

According to Reams spokesman Jim Turney, Reams wants people to reconsider current marijuana prohibition laws in Virginia.

"The number of arrests for simple possession go up every year. It's the wrong direction to deny medical help to people who are sick, and it's the wrong direction to deny farmers the ability to grow a valuable cash crop," Turney said.

Libertarians hope that Reams' controversial platform will help establish the party in Virginia, where historically, third parties have not fared well.

"The lieutenant governor position is a ceremonial position and so we feel this race is an appropriate and effective place to have a proxy for a referendum," Turney said.

Second-year College student Virginia Quist a member of the University Libertarians, Students for Reams and Students for Individual Liberty said many college students would be interested in Reams' message because of current laws which restrict financial aid.

"If a student gets a marijuana conviction, he or she is automatically denied loans. If someone gets a rape or murder conviction, it is not automatic," Quist said.

But Libertarians say they have had trouble getting their message to Virginians because of exclusions from gubernatorial debates and polls.

Quist said she thought many people would support reconsidering marijuana laws, but the party's lower profile status makes it difficult to advertise that cause.

"I think reforming marijuana laws has popular support, but it's hard for the Libertarians to contact people," she said. "We don't have lots of money available like the two big parties do."

Turney said media outlets largely have ignored Libertarian candidates. Both candidates were excluded from debates with their major party opponents, which puts voters at a disadvantage because they can't learn about all three candidates, he said.

Redpath said he was excluded from the various gubernatorial debates by groups such as the Virginia Capital Correspondents' Association, the University's Center for Governmental Studies, the NAACP and Republican candidate Mark Earley.

"They give reasons like you're not getting 15 percent in the polls," Redpath said. "Earley excluded me from the Wednesday [Oct. 3rd] debate."

However, Earley spokesperson Yooree Oh said the host of the debate Virginia Commonwealth University neglected to invite Redpath to the debate, not Earley.

"Earley would have welcomed the participation of third-party candidates" if he would have known Redpath wanted to particpate in time," Oh said.

Turney added that the Libertarian candidates have not been getting good numbers in polls, often because polls do not include them as an option.

"People have called me and told me that when they were called for a poll, the pollsters didn't even mention Redpath or Reams," he said.

The party had to fight to be named on the Virginia ballot. After the candidates each collected more than 20,000 signatures from registered Virginia voters this summer, they were allowed to be included.

They also filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth to have an "L" printed next to their names on the ballot, rather than being labeled simply as independents.

If Reams receives at least 10 percent of the state vote for lieutenant governor, the state officially will recognize the Libertarian Party, said James W. Lark, National Libertarian Party chairman and a University systems engineering professor.

"It's not likely, but it's possible," he said. "Reams has done hardly any TV or radio ads but he has been showing up in polls lately."

Political experts agree that third parties generally have a hard time making a noticeable impact on elections.

Political Science Prof. Robert Holsworth, director of the Center for Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the role of the Libertarian Party in Virginia's gubernatorial election is limited.

"They have a relatively limited impact in terms of both poll numbers and how they affect the candidates," Holsworth said.

Holsworth said the Libertarian Party does not have a real chance to grow because third-party candidates must have an independent constituency or fan base in order to be successful in elections.

"It's very difficult for a new party to compete, especially when the two major parties are as established as they are here," Holsworth said. "If a party attracts a standard bearer with a name, money or notoriety then the public will consider them." H. Ross Perot, 1992 presidential candidate, and successful 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Jesse Ventura, both of the Reform party are two examples.

Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, an online newsletter dedicated to getting third parties on state ballots, said third parties are a vital force in some parts of the country, including California, New Hampshire and especially Vermont. In Burlington, Vt., both the current and previous mayors are members of the state's Progressive Coalition, a successful third party. Also, one of Vermont's congressmen, Bernie Sanders, is an independent.

To promote awareness and visibility for the Libertarian cause, members of the local Jefferson Area Libertarians sponsored a protest against the current marijuana laws at the Downtown Mall on Sept. 28. They also hosted a screening of the movie "Dazed and Confused" at the University Amphitheater that night.

J. David Gillespie, author of "Politics at the Periphery: Third Parties in Two-Party America," said that right now is the best time for third-party growth since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

"Despite prosperity, there is general disaffection with politics as usual. The Clinton scandals and the bad economy are some of the things that make people consider other options," Gillespie said.

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