Mediaboss Marketing

Breadcrumb Trail Links

Libertarian candidate says pandemic revealed political path

Michelle Lashbrook never saw herself as a politician.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

But the candidate for the Libertarian Party in the June 2 provincial election didnt like what she saw happening around her.

I have been very much involved in the community, Lashbrook says, working with the Womens Business Network of North Bay, with international exchange students through the Rotary Club and helping seniors at the Chartwell Barclay House.

You get to know people, really enjoy people when you work with them like that, Lashbrook says. You see what makes people tick.

Everyone has a story.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, there was so much that wasnt right, she says.

We locked down in the first three weeks. But why were Wal-Mart and the LCBO open? Why could the big corporations stay open while small businesses were shut down? Why did our politicians continue to get raises? They were imposing their will on us. Friends were charged because they were hugging someone.

It was a huge abuse of power.

Lashbrook, the chair of the Northern Freedom Riders who spent several weeks in Ottawa earlier this year when truckers and protesters descended on the city to oppose the mandates surrounding COVID-19, said the only good thing to come out of the mandates was exposing the cracks in the system.

Education, hospitals, government, they were all faulty. COVID brought everything to light. A lot of things (government enacted) were taken right from the Nazi handbook.

She went to Ottawa during the protests to see for myself the stuff that was reported from the Northern Freedom Alliance.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

It was frustrating, she says, when you see some of the stuff that is reported.

She said a protest in North Bay which ended up at the North Bay Mall in 2021 was nothing like what really happened.

Several of the protesters were charged with theft and vandalism, but there were zero thefts. Nothing was damaged. There were zero threats.And it took the police four months to charge seven people, mostly women over 60 years of age.

A North Bay business person was also charged under the COVID-19 protocols, she says, although those criminal charges were vacated. When she and other supporters of the business woman protested at the North Bay courthouse, they tried to run us off the grounds.

The political leaders, she said, do absolutely nothing to help the general public.

The PCs (Progressive Conservatives) are like the Liberals, the Liberals partner with the NDP.

The Libertarian Party has been in existence since 1975, and its major focus, Lashbrook says, is very much about freedom of choice.

That freedom, she says, comes with responsibility, and brings back accountability to political leadership in the province.

Nobody now is accountable. The buck keeps being passed. Government has created massive issues in the province.

There is too much government. There is too much over-reach. We need less government, fewer mandates. When you cut those things, local business is able to thrive. There is more money in their pockets.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Right now, she says, just being able to build a house is overburdened with regulations and codes, slowing down the approvals and making a home more expensive than it should be.

That should be on me. Government doesnt belong there. Government shouldnt be able to tell us how to raise our kids.We need less restriction.

And while the country was gripped by the pandemic, little was done to tackle issues such as the opioid crisis.

Right now is a critical time in our history. There are a lot of unhappy people. The (protest) convoys attracted thousands of people.

People are just done. They are looking for options.

Its time people take their country back.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Continued here:
'COVID brought everything to light' - The North Bay Nugget

Incumbants Kim Schrier, Phil Fortunato, Drew Stokesbary and Eric Robertson will all see competition this year.

Candidates in Washington state officially filed for the 2022 election last week, several of them seeking local offices. The primary election this midterm year is August 2, while the general election will be held November 8.

Heres a breakdown of whos running for what.

State Legislative District 31 (Represents Enumclaw, Buckley, Bonney Lake, Sumner area)

For state senator:

Incumbent Phil Fortunato (Republican, Auburn), Chris Vance (No party preference, Sumner) and Clifford Knopik (No party preference, Bonney Lake)

For state rep. position 1:

Incumbent Drew Stokesbary (Republican, Auburn), Brandon Beynon (Republican, Bonney Lake) and Holly Stanton (Democrat, Tacoma address given)

For state rep. position 2:

Incumbent Eric E. Robertson (Republican, Sumner) and Ted Christie (Democrat, Edgewood)

U.S. Congressional District 8 (Represents Issaquah, Maple Valley, Auburn, Enumclaw, Buckley and Bonney Lake area)

Incumbent Kim Schrier (Democrat, Issaquah)

Emet Ward (Democrat, Covington)

Keith Arnold (Democrat, Auburn)

Reagan Dunn (Republican, Issaquah)

Matt Larkin (Republican, Sammamish)

Dave Chapman (Republican, Auburn)

Jesse Jensen (Republican, Bonney Lake)

Scott Stephenson (Republican, Fall City)

Ryan Dean Burkett (No party preference, Issaquah)

Justin Greywolf (Libertarian, Renton)

Patrick Dillon (Concordia party, Issaquah)

Original post:
Here's who you can vote for in the August primaries | Courier-Herald - Enumclaw Courier-Herald

The contest for CD-5 is going to result in a conservative congressman, regardless of the outcome.If incumbent Democrat Josh Gottheimer, captaining a multi-million dollar campaign warchest, is returned to office, the congressman frequently bashed by CD-5 based progressive groups as being a Republican-in-all-but-name (he isnt) will serve another two years.Following re-districting, the new CD-5 will have more of a Bergen County orientation, although there is still plenty of territory in Passaic and Sussex Counties to be represented.This change may require a slight ideological shift left for Gottheimer, but the congressman who prides himself on being a bipartisan champion, should remain, for the most part, a case of what you see is what you get.

Love him or hate him, there are no surprises when it comes to Gottheimer.He wont be aligning himself with The Squad and hes not a Bernie Bro but that doesnt mean the CD-5 Republicans wont throw everything they have at him.

The question is, which of the Republicans will be the one to do it?

They say to win the Republican nomination, you lean to the right; to win the election, you lean to the left.In the purple region of north-east New Jersey, that is certainly a truism.Looking at CD-5s Republican primary candidates, they seem to be swaying together in almost perfect synch.Nick De Gregorio, a former marine who saw action in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the Bergen County Republican Organizations favorite.The Fair Lawn father-of-two is running against Frank Pallotta, a businessman and banking executive whose resume includes Phil Murphy-familiar turf such as Goldman Sachs, but also Morgan Stanley.He has also founded financial firms of his own, including one which focuses on Canadian residential assets.

Also in the race is Sab Skenderi, a libertarian Republican from Wyckoff, Gottheimers hometown.Skenderi was a Ron Paul delegate when the former congressman made his last bid for the presidency a decade ago.

Fred Schneiderman, who earlier said he was undaunted by his poor showing with the BCRO, cited family matters anddropped out of the race.

Pallotta tried to unseat Gottheimer in 2020, besting John McCann in the primary and coming up 45% to Gottheimers 53% in the general.Bergen County establishment support for Pallotta fizzled out in the years since.De Gregorio swamped Pallotta in the BCRO vote for the line, taking 69% to go up against Gottheimer.Passaic County, however, went for Pallotta.

The exchange between Pallotta and De Gregorio turned sour.The latter accused the former of denigrating his military service in saying that Pallotta was better qualified for the job.Pallotta countered, saying he did not mean any disrespect to De Gregorios military background, but that his background in finance made him the better choice for handling CD-5s economic challenges.

By their own words, from policy perspectives, De Gregorio and Pallotta seem very similar.The Englewood Cliffs debate, (which did not include Skenderi, a candidate who most likely wouldve shown some interesting deviations from Republican Standard) demonstrated that they both essentially agreed with President Bidens commitment to stand by Taiwan, but took swipes at Biden anyway.They both agree with the idea of concealed carry and their interpretation of the 2ndAmendment.Both believe that parents should have input on what kind of potentially controversial gender-identity material is taught in classrooms, although that is a state issue and they are running for a federal office.

Pallotta touted his NJ Right to Life endorsement and posited himself as the ultimate pro-life choice between the two, but De Gregorio is on the same page, saying he would support a bill to ban third trimester abortion, and require parental notification if a minor is to have an abortion.

On border security and immigration, they seem to be in lockstep; likewise in support of SALT deductions, using the tried-and-true Republican talking points of high taxation and how expensive New Jersey is to live in.Few people can argue that.

All in all, there does not appear to be all that much daylight between the two candidates as far as policy goes.

Pallotta, who calls himself an outsider and a reformer, although his financial background shares some similarities with former Governor Corzine and Governor Phil Murphy, has put himself forward as the guy with the best resume to take over Josh Gottheimers job.He claims he has the business expertise to address CD-5s biggest issues, which he says are fiscal onesClinton strategist James Carville said it crudely but accurately in 1992, Its the economy, stupid.Pallotta also has tried to make lemonade from 2020 electoral lemons, asserting that he has traveled around the district and is campaigning on behalf of the whole, while trying to frame De Gregorio as having his focus just on Bergen County.

De Gregorio, younger than Pallotta, is new to politics and is a politically fresh clean slate.By touting his experience as a Marine Corps officer, he says that he is the man best equipped for the task.He also characterized himself as a suburban everyman, concerned for the well-being of his family and those of other families with young kids.

Looking at the numbers, according to the FEC as of March 31, De Gregorio had $454,466 cash on hand to Pallottas $83,216.Gottheimer had $13,071,464 to put to use.De Gregorio assailed Gottheimer, saying that he is afraid, and has been interfering with the Republican Primary on behalf of his 2020 rival, Pallotta.Pallotta denies this and says, perhaps unsurprisingly, that Gottheimer is actually afraid of him, and trying to erode at his base of support.

So, in essence, De Gregorio and Pallotta seem to agree more than they disagree on the issues, so Republican voters should be reasonably content with whomever the winner is.Each candidate also agreed to support the Republican nominee as well, echoing one another in saying that defeating Gottheimer was more important than their own victory.Bold rhetoric, indeed, but perhaps comforting for CD-5s casual GOP rank and file.Where they do disagree appears to be on themselves: specifically, matters of qualification and experience.They also seem to disagree as to whom Gottheimer is more worried about, but that is a given.Ultimately, the voters will determine whether Gottheimer goes for a second round against his banking executive rival, or head to head with the combat veteran determined to carry the flag forward and victoriously plant it on election day.

(Visited 350 times, 350 visits today)

See the original post:
Who Will Face Gottheimer? - InsiderNJ

(Photo by MyWestNipissingNow.com staff)

The MyWestNipissingNow.com newsroom reached out to all the candidates that will be on the ballot for the June 2 provincial election to get their thoughts on the issue that matters in the riding.

Each week leading up to election day, we will publish a story with each candidate answering a question that residents have as they head to the polls.

According to social services and municipal agencies, homelessness, opioids, mental health and addictions have all been intertwined into a major issue affecting communities and constituents right across the riding. What is your partys plan, including concrete actions, to deal with this complex issue?

John Vanthof Ontario New Democratic PartyNew Democrat John Vanthof says if elected, his party would put mental health services available under OHIP, so everyone would have access.Vanthof says that would make many services available to many families in our riding and Ontario who cant currently afford help. Vanthof says thats not right in our society, and publicly funded services would help in the long-term dealing of the addictions and mental health crises.

Gary Andrade New Blue Party of OntarioNew Blue Candidate Gary Andrade says pop-up clinics, and bringing mental health experts to the north are not quick fixes, but would help people get on the right track.He says it is a long process, but getting more people trained in the mental health field, and bringing them north is a start.Andrade says we also cant be lock people up again. He says locking people in their homes for two years was damaging, and people who were on the fringe before the pandemic, saw their symptoms worsen. He says looking at decisions the government made, training more people, and having more services available would all help alleviate these issues.

Kris Rivard Green Party of OntarioGreen candidate Kris Rivard says mental health is health, and we need to treat it that way.Rivard says the Green Party is proud of its mental health plan. He says the plan would make care more affordable, accessible and comprehensive for anyone who needs it.He says the Greens plan includes a 3 digit crisis hotline, so people can access care right at home. He says childrens mental health care waitlists would also shorten by increasing funding. He says the Greens would also create a mental health and addictions ministry, which would help health care providers and constituents simultaneously.Rivard says all these services can be funded through legal cannabis sales, as well as revoking the license plate sticker gimmick, which he says takes $ 1.2 billion away from the provinces budget which can be allocated towards these services.

Eric Cummings Ontario Libertarian PartyOur ridings Libertarian Candidate says government programs and services have failed when dealing with these issues.He says its time to take a regional approach to deal with these issues. He says a short-term plan would include safe consumption sites, and providing more resources to family and frieds of individuals dealing with addictions, mental health or homelessness issues. For the long-term, Cummings says he would support making housing more affordable and reduce unemployment in the riding.

MyWestNipissingNow.com was unable to reach other party candidates prior to publishing but will update this list when we do.

Here is the original post:
Provincial candidates sound off: homelessness, opioids, mental health and addictions - My West Nipissing Now

KENTUCKY US SENATE | KENTUCKY STATE SENATE | KENTUCKY US REPRESENATIVE | KENTUCKY STATE REPRESENTATIVE | BOONE COUNTY | CAMPBELL COUNTY | GALLATIN COUNTY | GRANT COUNTY | KENTON COUNTY | MASON COUNTY | OWEN COUNTY | PENDLETON COUNTY | Kentucky's May Primary election was Tuesday. Here are some results:Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul won his partys nomination Tuesday to seek a third term, setting up a campaign of contrasting agendas that pits his vision for limited government against Democratic challenger Charles Bookers support for sweeping health care and anti-poverty programs.The libertarian-leaning Paul coasted to victory over five little-known Republican challengers in his pursuit of another term. Booker, a Black former state lawmaker, defeated three primary opponents to become the latest nominee to try to break Kentucky Democrats long losing streak in U.S. Senate races. The Bluegrass State hasnt elected a Democrat to the Senate since Wendell Ford in 1992.Paul, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016, has gained a national voice in promoting a philosophy of limited government and restraint in U.S. foreign policy. Hes known for going his own way at times in the Senate. Last week, Paul defied leaders of both parties and single-handedly delayed Senate approval of an additional $40 billion to help Ukraine and its allies withstand Russias invasion.The senators libertarian leanings have included denouncing what he saw as government overreach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paul has waged high-profile clashes with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the countrys top infectious disease expert, over the federal governments coronavirus policies and the origins of the virus that caused the global pandemic. He has used those disputes to raise campaign contributions.Booker faces a daunting task in trying to unseat Paul. Kentucky has tilted decidedly toward the GOP and Paul holds a commanding fundraising advantage over his Democratic challenger.Booker gained the nomination after coming up just short in his prior Senate bid. In 2020, his campaign surged as his racial and economic justice message coincided with nationwide protests over the deaths of Black Americans in encounters with police. He barely lost the Senate primary that year to an establishment-backed rival who was routed by Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell in the general election.Back with the same hood to the holler campaign theme, Booker was the frontrunner from the outset in this years Democratic primary. He promotes such social programs as Medicare for All and a basic universal income, saying it would uplift people from poor urban neighborhoods and struggling Appalachian towns to other corners of the state.Paul, an ardent free-market advocate, sees such social programs as an encroachment by an overly expansive federal government.After years of reinforcing his image as a political outsider, Paul could be on the verge of gaining more influence in the Senate if ultimately reelected to another term. The senator says he is in line to assume a committee chairmanship if the GOP wins Senate control after the November election. The Senate now has a 50-50 split, but Democrats have a slim edge because Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tie-breaking vote.Thomas Massie, who is seeking reelection, has won the GOP nomination for Kentucky US Representative.Massie defeated a handful of GOP challengers in Tuesdays 4th District primary. The libertarian-minded congressman represents a district stretching across Northern Kentucky. Massie won an endorsement of former President Donald Trump leading up to the primary.Massie beat out his three challengers, Claire Wirth, Alyssa McDowell and George Washington.Below are all the county races we're following:BOONE COUNTYCAMPBELL COUNTYGALLATIN COUNTYGRANT COUNTYKENTON COUNTYMASON COUNTYOWEN COUNTYPENDLETON COUNTY

KENTUCKY US SENATE | KENTUCKY STATE SENATE | KENTUCKY US REPRESENATIVE | KENTUCKY STATE REPRESENTATIVE | BOONE COUNTY | CAMPBELL COUNTY | GALLATIN COUNTY | GRANT COUNTY | KENTON COUNTY | MASON COUNTY | OWEN COUNTY | PENDLETON COUNTY |

Kentucky's May Primary election was Tuesday. Here are some results:

Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul won his partys nomination Tuesday to seek a third term, setting up a campaign of contrasting agendas that pits his vision for limited government against Democratic challenger Charles Bookers support for sweeping health care and anti-poverty programs.

The libertarian-leaning Paul coasted to victory over five little-known Republican challengers in his pursuit of another term. Booker, a Black former state lawmaker, defeated three primary opponents to become the latest nominee to try to break Kentucky Democrats long losing streak in U.S. Senate races. The Bluegrass State hasnt elected a Democrat to the Senate since Wendell Ford in 1992.

Paul, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016, has gained a national voice in promoting a philosophy of limited government and restraint in U.S. foreign policy. Hes known for going his own way at times in the Senate. Last week, Paul defied leaders of both parties and single-handedly delayed Senate approval of an additional $40 billion to help Ukraine and its allies withstand Russias invasion.

The senators libertarian leanings have included denouncing what he saw as government overreach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paul has waged high-profile clashes with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the countrys top infectious disease expert, over the federal governments coronavirus policies and the origins of the virus that caused the global pandemic. He has used those disputes to raise campaign contributions.

Booker faces a daunting task in trying to unseat Paul. Kentucky has tilted decidedly toward the GOP and Paul holds a commanding fundraising advantage over his Democratic challenger.

Booker gained the nomination after coming up just short in his prior Senate bid. In 2020, his campaign surged as his racial and economic justice message coincided with nationwide protests over the deaths of Black Americans in encounters with police. He barely lost the Senate primary that year to an establishment-backed rival who was routed by Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell in the general election.

Back with the same hood to the holler campaign theme, Booker was the frontrunner from the outset in this years Democratic primary. He promotes such social programs as Medicare for All and a basic universal income, saying it would uplift people from poor urban neighborhoods and struggling Appalachian towns to other corners of the state.

Paul, an ardent free-market advocate, sees such social programs as an encroachment by an overly expansive federal government.

After years of reinforcing his image as a political outsider, Paul could be on the verge of gaining more influence in the Senate if ultimately reelected to another term. The senator says he is in line to assume a committee chairmanship if the GOP wins Senate control after the November election. The Senate now has a 50-50 split, but Democrats have a slim edge because Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tie-breaking vote.

Thomas Massie, who is seeking reelection, has won the GOP nomination for Kentucky US Representative.

Massie defeated a handful of GOP challengers in Tuesdays 4th District primary. The libertarian-minded congressman represents a district stretching across Northern Kentucky. Massie won an endorsement of former President Donald Trump leading up to the primary.

Massie beat out his three challengers, Claire Wirth, Alyssa McDowell and George Washington.

Below are all the county races we're following:

The rest is here:
Election results: Winners and losers from Kentucky primary - WLWT Cincinnati