Libertarians file full slate of candidates for county races
“Our candidates are committed to small government, lowering taxes and protecting individual freedom. With this countywide slate, the Delaware County Libertarian Committee and our endorsed candidates will give a voice to all who have felt politically homeless in Delaware County. It is our goal to promote liberty, transparency and getting government out of the way of progress.” — Dale Kerns Jr., vice chairman of the county Libertarian Party
MEDIA » For the first time, there will be a third-party challenge for countywide offices this fall.
The Delaware County Libertarian Committee has filed a slate of candidates Delaware County Council, Sheriff, Register of Willis and Controller.
Dale Kerns Jr., vice chairman of the county Libertarian Party, said nearly 2,100 signatures were submitted to the Delaware County Election Bureau.
“Our candidates are committed to small government, lowering taxes and protecting individual freedom,” said Kerns, himself a declared Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018. “With this countywide slate, the Delaware County Libertarian Committee and our endorsed candidates will give a voice to all who have felt politically homeless in Delaware County. It is our goal to promote liberty, transparency and getting government out of the way of progress.”
The Libertarian council candidates are Thomas Carey of Havertown and Edward Clifford of Marple. They will face Republicans John Perfetti and incumbent Dave White and Democrats Brian Zidek and Kevin Madden.
Carey is a recent Ursinus College graduate who is planning to be a ninth-grade math teacher. He has been involved in the Young Americans for Liberty chapter since his freshman year and rose to YAL Pennsylvania Stat Chair, where he was the state coordinator for students for Ron Paul’s campaign and also was a student organizer for Gary Johnson.
“I believe I can bring some transparency to the county council,” Carey said, adding that he’d move to have meetings at night and streamed live so more people could be engaged rather than during the day.
“I’m just a regular person. I’m not looking to be a politician,” he said. “I’m just trying to bring some transparency to ... keep the government from overreaching into our personal lives.” Clifford is a Marple resident who is an accountant and served as the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate last year and garnered 230,000 votes.
For Register of Wills, Stacey Wallace, a Haverford High School alum, will face Democrat Mary Walk and Republican incumbent Jennifer Holsten Maddaloni. Wallace has worked for Fox News, Headline News and CNN and now is an assistant preschool director.
She lives with her husband, Matthew Wallace, also a Haverford High School alum, in Drexel Hill. Matthew Wallace is running for the Sheriff position against GOP incumbent Mary McFall Hopper and Democrat Jerry Sanders.
Treasurer of the county Libertarians, he’s owner/operator of a gas station/auto repair business in Bryn Mawr and was a leader of the “Fight for Zero” movement, which is opposed to minimumwage laws.
He said he is running for office to give voters another option, other than “this duopoly of Democrats and Republicans.”
A Ron Paul Libertarian, Wallace said as sheriff he “would keep the peace and protect the citizens, protect their rights and not take them away.”
Libertarian Controller candidate Joseph Olive of Upper Chichester will face Democrat Joanne Phillips and Republican Robert Kane.
County Republican Party Chairman Andrew Reilly said the Libertarians are unqualified for county offices.
“For instance, the Libertarian’s Sheriff candidate on his Facebook page states that he would not enforce orders of the courts, not participate in the war on drugs and not follow a court order to seize a drug dealer’s money,” Reilly said. “Selective enforcement of the law by public officials is dangerous. In the middle of our heroin and opioid crisis he is not going to transport a drug dealer to court to stand trial for polluting our communities with drugs, or follow a court order to seize that drug dealer’s money?”
Matthew Wallace outlined his position.
“I don’t believe in the war on drugs and I don’t believe that people who use drugs are criminals,” he said. “If they do something else, they should be arrested. (But,) the use of drugs, we don’t believe that’s a crime.”
Reilly continued, “These Libertarian candidates are treating this campaign as if it was election for freshman class president rather than a serious public office which has consequences to actual people.”
Wallace’s response was, “That’s their opinion. They’re entitled to their opinion.”
David Landau, chairman of the Delaware County Democratic Party, said Libertarians have run previously with no significant impact on election results.
He compared the Libertarians to the sitting Republicans in control of county offices.
“They don’t do anything – there’s no health department but they hand out contracts to all their buddies,” Landau said. “To me, it’s what a Libertarian government would look like. They’re all part of that spectrum – the far right.”
Kerns said his candidates want to give an alternative to voters.
“I think there are a lot of things to think about here,” he said. “Over the years, there are a lot of Republicans that come from the Ron Paul movement. There are Democrats that have come over that are not happy with the Democrat Party.”
He said his party is gaining momentum from the populist movement swelled by President Donald Trump where people are not being heard by the two parties.
“We’re the new young party Libertarians,” Kern said. “The Libertarian Party is the one that fights for everyone every day. No one can run your life better than you. The two major parties, they consistently try to impose their will on everyone.”
And, for him, that’s why a full slate has entered the county race.
“The message to Independents out there, third parties, Republicans, Democrats, is we need more competition in politics,” Kerns said. “People aren’t happy with the two old parties. We’re not here to force them to do anything. We’re here to give them another option.”