Libertarian Lerol tries to provide third-party voice

Pasadena defense contractor Travis Lerol decided to run for the 31B seat in the Maryland House of Delegates after noticing a stark partisan divide growing nationally and at the state level. Lerol, a Libertarian, thinks he can provide a much-needed third-party voice.

“I think we need some third-party representation to bring back a certain level of balance and fix the things that are going wrong in our society,” Lerol said.

Those things going wrong include over taxation, education inequities, COVID-related mandates and outdated infrastructure, he said.

“There are a lot of things we spend a lot of money on,” he said. “Look at the Baltimore

school system.

It is one of the most expensive school systems in the country and it is almost entirely subsidized by state spending, and it has performed very poorly. For all the dollars we put into it, we get very little back.”

Lerol said a lot of funding could be cut from school administrations. The issue with education in the state isn’t underfunding, he said, but that parents don’t have enough options of where to send their kids to school — something else he has an idea on how to fix.

“If we let people choose the schools that are best for them and their children, they’re naturally going to choose the better schools,”

Lerol he said. “So the worse schools will feel pressure to improve and to fix the basic things that are upsetting the parents and the children.”

Lerol said this is one of the deepest inequities plaguing the state’s education system as wealthier parents have more options since they can afford transit, carpools, houses in better districts and private school tuitions, and the lower-income families are left with only the public schools in their districts.

“We do have areas with school choice now; they’re just wealthier areas and those schools are traditionally at very high standards. Everything works very well,” Lerol said. “We just need to expand that program to the areas that are less fortunate.”

Lerol said he thinks Libertarianism is becoming increasingly appealing to people as it is the party of freedom and this is a time when people feel their freedoms are being restricted, particularly as the government works to keep residents safe from COVID-19.

“You have to have an ID card on a smartphone app in order to get a burger. Even for those of us who are vaccinated, that seems like an overreach,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to show papers just to do daily life.”

Lerol is referring to the concept of the “vaccine passport,” which requires proof of vaccination to enter a business. Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman has not yet said whether he has plans to institute such a restriction.

Another priority of Lerol’s is infrastructure, he said. But he would want to invest in smaller, local projects.

“The main idea that comes up every now and then is a D.C.-Baltimore link. I would be against that because that would be a very expensive, speculative project that would serve only a few people,” Lerol said.

But projects like renovating the Bay Bridge or easing congestion on main thoroughfares would be well worth the cost, he said.

Lerol is eager to hear from Marylanders about their ideas as well, he said, and thinks his openness and ability to offer a third-party perspective will encourage people to vote for him.

“I’m familiar with what our problems are, and I’m willing to put in the work to go meet people and ask what they want because ultimately, we all have preferences but it’s not just about me doing my ideas. I also represent everyone else in my district, and I think that’s the most important thing for any representative,” he said.

Democrat De’Narde English is currently the only candidate who has also filed to run in District 31B, which represents Pasadena. Republican LaToya Nkongolo is running as well but has not filed yet. District 31B is currently represented by Republicans Nic Kipke and Brian Chisholm, neither of whom have filed to run for reelection in 2022 yet.