Libertarian city councilwoman urges other party members to build coalitions

[jcpliberty]

Libertarian city councilwoman urges other party members to build coalitions

by J. Daniel Cloud
LP News editor
From: http://www.lp.org/lpnews/0502/bea-jones.html

Libertarians have the right ideas -- cut taxes, make people pay their own way, encourage civil liberties -- but Libertarian Party candidates cannot single-handedly change the social and economic climate. So says Beatrice Jones, a member of the Hardeeville, S.C., City Council who has managed several winning campaigns, both for Libertarians and for representatives of other parties.

And she should know: She is a Libertarian; she was elected to office in 2002; she has consistently worked with non-Libertarians to forward policies that are "as close to libertarian as possible"; and she has been active in a number of campaigns -- supporting those candidates who have libertarian tendencies, even if they aren't party members.

When she manages campaigns, Jones said, she insists on forming coalitions with like-minded organizations, individuals and leadership -- regardless of party lines.

Jones said she joined the LP about eight years ago because the party's "values and precepts were what I truly had believed in all along -- values that I earlier thought were in the Republican Party."

After joining the party, she was elected to two two-year terms as state LP vice chair.

Yet she became "disgruntled with the attitudes of many Libertarians," who insist on putting "totally unelectable candidates" on the ballot.

"What discourages me about the LP as a whole is the coffeehouse attitude," Jones said. "Most refuse to form coalitions with like-minded groups. And many will argue to the point of infinite boredom the intricacies of Austrian economics or Objectivism -- but few will get off of their barstools and actually make a difference."

And the Libertarians who are elected apparently have two options, she said: They can either form coalitions with non-Libertarians to get something accomplished, for which they are often dismissed or insulted by their fellow party members, or they can cling to a "pure-libertarianism-only" ideal and accomplish nothing in office -- for which they will eventually be voted out of office.

If elected Libertarians want to accomplish something while in office, they have to be willing to work with other people to forward near-libertarian ideology -- and other Libertarians shouldn't insult them for doing so, Jones said.

As an elected official, Jones has had ample opportunity to put this concept into practice.

"In the past two years, in a city of 1,500 residents, we have built a $4.2 million dollar recreation and city office complex, fixed a 12-year-old road drainage problem that was the root of two lawsuits against the city, bought three brand-new fire trucks and doubled the employment at our fire station, bought four new police cars and paid them off early, doubled the size of the city, and developed a 24-hour cable access channel that broadcasts (in conjunction with a local college) accredited college courses that people can take at home," she said.

"And we have done all this without raising taxes."

More than that, the city council is working on a plan through which they hope to eliminate residential property taxes within five years.

How? By making incoming businesses and individuals pay for the services they require -- such as transportation impact fees -- instead of forcing current city taxpayers to pay for the expenses of new residents, Jones said.

Jones's foray into political campaign management started rather innocently, when a "fellow firefighter and drinking buddy" decided to run for city council -- a nonpartisan post -- and asked Jones for help writing a speech. She became his campaign manager, and he was elected.

That city councilman began sending other people to Jones, she helped them run for various local offices, and her candidates continued winning.

"No matter how my candidates wanted to respond to vicious attacks, I told them to ignore the attacks and focus on what mattered to the people," she said. Her candidates followed her advice, and were usually elected to office -- whether they ran as Democrats or Republicans, or for nonpartisan office.

"Meanwhile, my first candidate kept running for office -- and kept getting in," Jones noted. "He later ran for mayor and won easily."

Two years ago, as mayor, he asked her to run for a city council seat; she did, and she won.

"It was odd, being the recipient of the phone calls that said, 'go there and talk to so-and-so,' rather than being the campaign manager who made those calls -- but it was worth it to keep the progression alive," she said. "From being an insular, mean-spirited area, with separate groups each fighting for their own personal plot of power, we have grown and formed coalitions to sponsor growth and common goals. Gradually, the vicious and selfish people are either being voted out of office or fired from what they thought were permanent positions of power."

Her term on the city council will end in 2006, and she has indicated that she does not intend to run again because she has other plans for the future.

"However, the coalitions that helped put me in office have threatened to lock me in my house, run my ads, give my speeches, then let me out to be on the porch of the precinct on Election Day to shake hands," Jones said.

Among her other projects, she has written a handbook that encourages Libertarians to put their knowledge before the public in a reasonable fashion -- so they can be elected.

The book was developed from a diatribe Jones wrote after helping several people get elected to office, she said.

"I was tired of being dismissed by members of my own party as 'just a nonpartisan elected official.' And I was amazed at the ignorant arrogance of Libertarians who repeatedly insist on putting up completely unelectable candidates as Libertarian choices. The 'Fill the Slate!' program is an insult to anyone who truly wants to win and accomplish things in the political realm.

"My state party chair, Chris Panos, read the book and became very excited. Because he also has a lot of election experience, we edited the book together, turned it into a workbook and reference manual, and have proposed two-day, highly intensive classes both here in South Carolina and in the Southeastern Libertarian Alliance that he is forming."

Panos and Jones have also expressing their willingness to teach any group of people who either want to build a coalition with the LP or to work with the party to build candidates.

"The hard part is breaking apart the stagnating, self-righteous and self-promoting groups that are determined to keep the Libertarian Party small, and to keep its candidates ineffectual," Jones said. "It's time to stop 'getting the word out' and start getting involved.

"If Libertarians are tired of believing that candidates spring fully formed from Ayn Rand's forehead and actually want to do something real and viable to grow the party as a political force, then it's time to get moving."

[AlanM]

A refreshing voice. Makes a lot of sense.

[cathleeninnh]

I know Bea and we have had agreements and disagreements over principles and approaches. I agree with her that flling the LP slate with paper candidates hurts the LP. We disagreed over the FSP. She is opposed to it and indicated that her future was in Idaho. She is a very practical and productive woman.

Cathleen