BY ROD HANSEN
The struggle to appear as a major party on the statewide ballot dominated much of the talk at a special Libertarian Party nominating convention on Sunday, April 15.
State libertarians chose candidates for executive council, governor, both congressional districts, U.S. Senate, president and vice president at the convention, which took place at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics auditorium at Saint Anselm College.
Considerable discussion centered on which Senate or gubernatorial candidate could attain the magic 4 percent of the vote needed for major party status on the state ballot.
“I think we can get major party status if we nominate someone who can appeal to people on a credible level,” said party member Seth Cohn of Concord, who nominated state Rep. Bea Francoeur as the party’s candidate for governor.
Francoeur, a Republican from Nashua, recently made headlines for citing legislative immunity to fight a speeding ticket she received while on the way to an inauguration ceremony for Gov. John Lynch on Jan. 4.
John Babiarz of Grafton, former chairman of the New Hampshire Libertarian Party, said he believed Francoeur to be a good candidate for the state’s corner office.
“She has repeatedly scored high on the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Index, and I believe she has a great respect for individual liberty,” Babiarz said.
The importance of individual liberty figured in most of the discussion and speeches throughout the day.
Ken Blevens of Bow, who topped John Sununu and Bode Miller for the party’s nomination to U.S. Senate, held a booklet edition of the U.S. Constitution as he addressed the audience.
“The reason Congress is so weak today is because everything is delegated,” said Blevens. Key points of his speech included criticizing Congress for allowing President George Bush too much authority in declaring war against Iraq, as well as the president’s ability to largely bypass Congress in trade agreements through “fast track” authority.
Acknowledging rumors that Jeanne Shaheen may seek the Senate position in the 2008 elections, Blevens spoke of how he would address the former governor in a debate.
“My response to Jeanne Shaheen would be, ‘You had six years to correct the Supreme Court on the issue of school funding, and you didn’t do it. How can you represent us in Washington if you couldn’t solve the problems of New Hampshire?’”
Blevens, a Realtor and 30-year resident of Bow who has previously run as a Libertarian in U.S. House and Senate races, listed his primary objective as promoting human rights.
Bob Kingsbury of Laconia was nominated unopposed as the party’s candidate for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, while Swanzey’s Chester Lapointe topped Morey Straus of Dover as the Libertarian nominee for the state’s 2nd District seat.
George Phillies, a professor of physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and vice chairman of the Massachusetts Libertarian Party, garnered the New Hampshire Libertarian Party’s nomination for president.
“George Phillies is pure as the driven snow and straight as a battering ram … and he has a secret ace up his sleeve that no one else has: He’s a member of academia,” said Don Gorman of Deerfield.
The state Libertarian Party’s nomination for vice president went to Karen Kwiatkowski, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, while Dan Belforti of Portsmouth was the only candidate for executive council to receive more votes than “None of the Above.”
The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire’s annual meeting is scheduled for the fall, but the party’s executive board voted to have a special nominating convention early to allow candidates more time to gather the number of signatures needed for placement on the statewide ballot, said party media director Rich Tomasso.