First Libertarian elected to partisan office in Georgia historyFollowing a hotly contested three-way race (and a two-way runoff) Libertarian Ben Brandon was elected Nov. 23 to the position of county executive in Dade County, Georgia. With his success, Brandon has become the first Libertarian elected to office in a partisan race in the Georgia Libertarian Party’s 32-year history, according to Mark Mosley, chairman of the Georgia LP. Dade County is a small county of about 16,000 residents in the northwest corner of the state. Brandon won with about 66 percent of the vote — taking 1,614 votes, while his Republican opponent drew 841….
Brandon will take office in January as Dade County’s first elected county executive. Voters decided in 2002 to change their form of government, to elect an executive who will both run the county’s day-to-day operations and serve as the chairman of the county board of commissioners. Previously, the post was that of a county manager who was hired by — and worked for — the county commission, which required that the office-holder have a master’s degree and extensive business experience.
Brandon noted on his Web site that he was the only candidate for the office who had the experience necessary for a county manager. “In this election we will be selecting the county executive, a position equivalent to the chief executive officer (CEO) of a corporation,” he explained before the election. “Dade County has a budget of $10 million dollars. The county manages the resources for the police and fire departments, roads, and maintenance.
Ben was kind enough to inform me that he was running as a Christian Libertarian, which apparently makes us 1 for 1 on elections so far. Congratulatins, Ben, and remember that standing by your principles is more important than winning re-election. If he ignores what the bureaucrats tell him is possible and reasonable and does what is right, he’ll either be so successful and popular with the people of Dade County that he’ll be unassailable, or so unpopular that he’ll be unelectable. Here’s hoping he has great success in reducing goverment and expanding freedom in one little corner of America.