Candidate Forum Report

This afternoon was pleasantly spent in Richmond, on the campus of IU East- a commuter school, which is familiar territory to me as I attended and graduated from Cleveland State University. The students tend to be older, and usually hold jobs while furthering their education. Open minds, but with real-world experience.

I was surprised at the attendance, or lack thereof, by the candidates. Not a single Republican candidate bothered to show. I'm not quite sure what to make of that.

The result was a lot of floor time for myself and fellow Libertarian candidate Rex Bell. We were able to be a part of an extended dialogue directly with the audience, on topics such as the nature of teh primary elections, ballot access, the role of third parties, the application of Libertarian policy solutions to issues such as education, child care, and of course, taxes.

I was pleased with our showing, and those present seemed to enjoy our participation. A good percentage of those present left with Kole bumper stickers, which was gratifying.

I hope candidates from the other parties continue to take these events for granted and not show up. No doubt it reflected poorly on them, and well on the Libertarian Party today.