Libertarians Quietly Notch Local Wins in Michigan and Pennsylvania
Nonpartisan ballots and small electorates create openings where party identity fades and community ties decide outcomes.
It wasn't just the Democratic Party that did well on Election Day this year. The Libertarian Party won several notable local races.
In Renovo, Pennsylvania, voters elected Justin Lynn mayor. Lynn, a lifelong Libertarian, told WNEP, a local ABC affiliate, that he'll prioritize fiscal restraint, saying Renovo is "four times the national average of poverty" and lacks the tax revenue of larger municipalities. He begins his term on January 1.
Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, 22-year-old Reece Smith won a seat on the Carlynton School Board, which serves the boroughs of Carnegie, Crafton, and Rosslyn Farms. While he also ran on the Republican and Democratic tickets, Smith openly identified as a member of the Libertarian Party and the state and county parties publicly recognized his affiliation.* On his website, Smith criticized the board's decision making process, writing: "The School Board makes too many decisions behind closed doors." He has pledged to push for greater transparency and public input, to conduct an audit of the budget, and to reevaluate the lunches that schools provide to students.
The Libertarian Party also scored some victories in Michigan. Chris Clark, a party member, won a seat on the Taylor City Council in a nonpartisan race. Clark's platform includes some ideas that are at least libertarian-flavored, such as a property tax freeze for senior homeowners on fixed incomes, but it also includes several measures that libertarians would typically reject, such as expanding code enforcement, offering city-backed loans to small businesses, and applying "aggressively" for state and federal infrastructure subsidies.
In Detroit, Scotty Boman was elected to the city's Board of Police Commissioners. Boman is well-known within the Libertarian Party of Michigan, where he has served as both vice chair and political director. His election placed a prominent Libertarian voice in a position involved in police oversight and departmental accountability.
The results in Renovo, Carlynton, Taylor, and Detroit don't mean that a Libertarian wave is about to sweep the nation. The Libertarian Party has usually had its best results on the local level, and this is in line with that history. But if nothing else, these wins are another reminder of the country's simmering discontent with the two major parties—and of the Libertarian alternative waiting to step in when Republicans and Democrats fail.
*CORRECTION: This article originally misstated the partisan nature of Smith's race and his party affiliation on the ballot.
