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Robert Sarvis sets sights beyond winning Senate seat

ROANOKE (WSLS) - For those that know him, there are a variety of opinions about Libertarian Senate candidate Robert Sarvis. That's especially true for his opponents.

"I think Mr. (Robert) Sarvis brings an eclectic set of views," said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia. "I think he pushes both candidates."

"People are free to run here," said Republican candidate Ed Gillespie. "I think at the end of the day Virginians are going to look at this race and say either Ed Gillespie or Mark Warner is going to be the next Senator from Virginia."

Believe it or not, Sarvis agrees.

The Libertarian once again finds himself running for statewide office.

Last year it was the governor's race against Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Ken Cuccinelli. This year it's the Senate.

"I think I have a lot of support that carries over to another statewide race," Sarvis said. "But also, I wanted to recruit other candidates."

Seven Libertarian candidates will be on the ballot in Congressional races in Virginia. They're all considered heavy underdogs.

Sarvis is keeping his campaign simple, focusing on improving the job market, respecting civil liberties and fixing healthcare.

"Both of those parties have given us 100 years of bad regulations which has increased the cost of healthcare," he said. "The best thing to do is deregulate and have open and competitive markets."

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Robert Sarvis sets sights beyond winning Senate seat

Election 2014: Surrey school trustee candidates unite

Six candidates for Surrey Board of Education (clockwise from top) Rayman Bhuller, Patricia Enair, Niovi Patsicakis, Charlene Dobie, Sara Sharma and Kirsty Peterson have formed a coalition called Surrey Progressives.

image credit: Submitted

A group of six independent candidates for Surrey school trustee have joined forces in hopes of bringing a "new and progressive" voice to the board table.

The so-called Surrey Progressives includes incumbent Trustee Charlene Dobie, as well as hopefuls Rayman Bhuller, Patricia Enair, Kirsty Peterson, Sara Sharma and Niovi Patsicakis.

The group says though it's not an official electoral organization or party, the candidates have "a common vision for public education in Surrey."

Dobie hopes to retain her seat of the Surrey Board of Education after first being elected in 2011 as part of the now-dissolved Surrey Civic Coalition.

Patsicakis is a retired (LST) Learning Support Teacher, Enair was co-chair of Surrey's District Parent Advisory Council for eight years, Peterson is Chapter Development Officer for Canadian Parents for French B.C. & Yukon branch, and Sharma and Bhuller are both real estate agents.

Surrey Progressives will be holding an open house Oct. 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 8097 134 St. For more information, check http://www.surreyprogressives.ca

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Election 2014: Surrey school trustee candidates unite

APC writes Jonathan over Asaris alleged threat

The All Progressives Congress on Tuesday wrote a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan alleging threats against its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed by the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari.

In the letter which was signed by its National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, the APC said Asaris threat, was contained in an interview granted to the online newspaper Premium Timeson Friday, Oct. 17th 2014.

According to the party, the threat was sequel to a press statement which was issued on behalf of the party by Mohammed on Oct. 8th 2014, asking the Federal Government to explain the reported presence of Mr. Asari Dokubo on the plane that transported US$9.3 million cash to South Africa In the interview, Mr. Asari Dokubo said while he would adopt a civilised response to Mr. Mohammed by first suing the APC spokesperson for his remarks, he (Asari Dokubo) warned that should the courts fail to deliver justice, he will resort to self-help by using his hands and any other means to deal with Mr. Mohammed.

The party said we find this threat totally abhorring, dangerous, unacceptable and uncivilized, and therefore wish to request that you call Mr. Asari Dokubo to order and invite him to explain what he meant by his threat to resort to self help.

We have attached a copy of the said interview to this petition.

We take the unwarranted threat very seriously, in view of the antecedents of Mr. Asari Dokubo and his propensity to violence, and will definitely hold him personally responsible if anything untoward happens to our National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The party noted that since ours is a country that operates under the rule of law rather than the laws of the jungle, it believes anyone who is aggrieved over any issue should resort to the courts to seek redress.

It explained that where aggrieved persons decide to take the laws into their own hands, as Mr. Asari Dokubo has threatened, it is an invitation to anarchy.

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APC writes Jonathan over Asaris alleged threat

Ogbeh apologises to BBOG over party affiliation remarks

A chief of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has apologised to the leadership of the BringBackOurGirls movement, over a statement he made in which he said the group consisted of APC members.

Ogbeh was speaking during the declaration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) for the Presidency in Abuja last week, when he made a slip that the BBOG was made up of APC members, a claim that riled the group and which the members found offensive.

Presidential aides who frowned at the activities of the BBOG had, earlier alleged that the group was being sponsored by the APC, until the party chief committed what amounted to a Freudian slip.

But Ogbeh in a letter of apology dated October 20, 2014, and addressed to the BBOG leadership, said his remarks were not meant to paint the coalition as an APC subgroup.

The letter reads, Dear patriots, I feel obliged to let you know that my statement at our function last week was not intended to paint your group as an APC subgroup. This is because from what we know, less than 2 per cent of the group are our party members, but members we value highly.

The rest of you are not and may not even belong to any political association whatsoever. This is not to say you have no right to be if you choose to. If my statement caused you discomfort, I do apologise, but reiterate that I have nothing but respect and admiration for you for keeping a six-month vigil and telling the world that the Nigerian conscience is not entirely dead. The world is watching and making judgement.

Meanwhile, a co-coordinator, BBOG, Hadiza Usman, has flayed statements credited to some government officials that her group was an affiliate of the APC, stressing that her campaign for the release of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram, was motivated by her status as a mother and a Nigerian.

Usman in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, stated that she had never hidden the fact that she was an APC member, stressing that her activism in the BBOG, had nothing to do with party politics.

She said, I have watched, with keen interest, recent attempts by some principal officers of the Federal Government to discredit me and the #BringBackOurGirls group. This is not new. It has been the case since we commenced our citizens-driven advocacy movement, which explains why my initial reaction was to ignore the chatter and concentrate on the noble work of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

I am a member of the APC, and there has been no time I have hidden this fact or tried to mask it. But lets be clear, when I worked to mobilise women, men, and Nigerians at large to come out on April 30th to protest that the Government should intensify efforts to #BringBackOurGirls, I did so not as an APC member, but first as a human being, as a woman, a mother, a Nigerian and an African. It was never about politics and/or my political affiliations; it was rather about our shared humanity as human beings.

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Ogbeh apologises to BBOG over party affiliation remarks

Nda Isaiah promises to wipe away Nigerians tears

A Presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Sam Nda Isaiah, has promised to rehabilitate Nigerians from the hardships brought to them by the harsh policies of President Goodluck Jonathans government.

A statement issued by the media office of Nda Isaiah and made available to our correspondent in Asaba on Tuesday, said the publisher-turned politician said if he gets the ticket of the APC, he would lead the party to a successful campaign for people-oriented policies.

I understand the anger and concerns of a greatnumber of Nigerians, unemployment, job insecurity, poor housing, poor healthcare and lastly insecurity which is becoming a prolonged nightmare in Nigeria.

As a professional and a presidential aspirant that can claim to know his onions, I understandthe fears about our common future, the failures of our democracy to lift Nigerians out of poverty to prosperity, the APC chieftain said.

I want to offer Nigerian youths a better life than I had; I want to put the drive back in the Nigerian dream, he said.

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Nda Isaiah promises to wipe away Nigerians tears