Monday, February 6, 2017

I Could’ve Been a Contender

By Murray Sabrin

Late last year I was contacted by the vice chairman of New Jersey Libertarian Party asking me if I would consider accepting the party’s nomination for governor 2017. A few days later I had a conference call with both the chairman and vice chairman of the NJLP and discussed what a Sabrin for Governor campaign would look like in 2017.
One of the goals would be to raise sufficient funds, just like we did in 1997, to receive matching funds and be included in the official debates sponsored by the New Jersey Election Commission (ELEC). Another goal would be to surpass the nearly 5% of the vote I received in 1997 to at least 10%. I told the and NJLP leadership I would have to think this over very carefully because of my commitments to writing a book this spring while I am on sabbatical, and then I will be writing another book in the second half of this year, when I go back to teaching in the fall semester.
 After thinking this over very carefully I decided I could not devote the time and energy needed to run a vigorous campaign this year even though the issues facing the people of New Jersey will require an outsider to address the state budget, the pension shortfall, property taxes, healthcare, the so-called drug epidemic and a myriad of other issues that cry out for out-of-the-box thinking, which of course we will never get from either a Democrat or Republican gubernatorial nominee.
Nevertheless, if I had decided to run for governor this year below would have been my acceptance speech at the NJLP convention at Rutgers in March.
Thank you my fellow libertarians. I enthusiastically accept the nomination of the New Jersey Libertarian Party for governor of the State of New Jersey.
Twenty years ago when I accepted the and NJLP’s nomination for governor we had two goals: to raise enough funds to be included in the three debates with the major party candidates and to spread the message of libertarianism, namely, how the State of New Jersey can live up to its motto: Liberty and Prosperity. With your support and that of libertarians around the country we achieved both goals, not without a couple bumps in the road.
Read the rest here.

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