Document:California Press Release 4 November 1998 Libertarian Candidates Win Local Races
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- NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
- Office of the Executive Director
- 11956 Riverside Dr., #206
- Valley Village, CA 91607-3772
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- For immediate release: November 4, 1998
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- For additional information:
- Juan Ros, Executive Director
- Phone: (818) 506-0200
- Fax: (818) 506-0212
- Mailto:director@ca.lp.org
- Web: http://www.ca.lp.org/
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Libertarian candidates win local races, Green and Republican challengers defeated
LOS ANGELES -- Libertarian candidates won two important local races yesterday, adding to the growing number of Libertarian officeholders in California.
In Mendocino County, Norman L. Vroman defeated Republican incumbent Susan Massini to become the county's next District Attorney. Massini had been seeking a fourth term but had come under fire locally for bungling several high-profile cases during her tenure.
Vroman received 13,747 votes (51.74%) to Massini's 12,820 (48.26%).
"He fought a tough race that sharply divided the county, but in the end he pulled through," stated Libertarian executive director Juan Ros. "California Libertarians are proud to have a chief law enforcement officer who knows the value of the rule of law."
Vroman knows the rule of law better than most -- he was charged in 1991 with felony tax evasion and failure to file returns. He was acquitted in a San Francisco federal court of the felony and found guilty of five misdemeanors. He served nine months of a 17-month prison sentence.
Further north in Humboldt County, Robert A. Noble, Libertarian candidate for Arcata City Council, edged out a Green Party opponent by 71 votes to win one of two open Council seats. In a three-way race for the two seats, Noble received 2,170 votes (29.83%). The other winner, Democratic incumbent Jim Test, received 2,896 votes (39.81%). Green candidate Bradley J. Freeman was defeated with 2,099 votes (28.85%).
Noble's victory is especially sweet for Libertarians, as it happened in a city that in 1996 elected a 3-member Green Party majority to the City Council -- the first such majority for the Greens in the United States. Greens outnumber Libertarians in Arcata by a factor of 10 to 1 according to the latest Secretary of State's latest Report of Registration, which shows only 172 registered Libertarians in the city to 1,739 registered Greens.
With Noble elected, Greens now hold just two seats on the Council, while Democrats hold the other two. "Voters look beyond labels and judge each candidate based on the message," noted Humboldt County Libertarian Party Chairman Frederick Mangels. "Robert Noble's message of less government rang true even in a town known to be extremely liberal."
The election of Vroman and Noble to office brings the number of Libertarian officeholders in California to 19 -- a number expected to increase over the next several years. "As the Libertarian Party continues to grow, we will run more candidates for local office -- and win more of those offices," Ros predicted. "Norman Vroman and Robert Noble are leading the charge this year."