This review was prepared by LP Riverside County. We are sharing for reference of our Fresno County voters.
Voter Guide, June 2022
Fellow voters,
“If you don’t vote you can’t complain!”
We’ve all been scolded with a line like that at some point in our lives. Obviously it’s not true, since anybody has the absolute right to complain about anything they like. But the underlying encouragement (you should vote!) is valid, even if the reason (because then you’re allowed to complain) is unsound.
If you want to affect meaningful change, voting is a great thing to do. The political class loves numbers. They adore statistics, and that means that anything that can be counted is something they are compelled to notice. Voting counts.
This also means no vote is a “wasted” vote. The idea that if you vote your conscience your vote is being “wasted” leads to another great set of lies we get told by activists who want us to give up and go home. Voting your conscience is never a waste. Having principles and sticking to them is always an honorable thing.
Regardless of how you feel about voting, the Executive Committee of the Libertarian party of Riverside County would like to offer some thoughts for your consideration as you look at your June 2022 primary ballot.
We have broadly applied three criteria when examining the ballot, and suggest you do too:
- Libertarians first. We’re Libertarians seeking people who will govern in a way most aligned to what we believe, so this is pretty obvious. We’ll look at other candidates in races where no Libertarian is running (with No Party Preference candidates prioritized over duopoly establishment party candidates), but where one of our own is on the ballot, we’re on their side.
- No lockdowns ever again. The COVID lockdowns were an atrocity that should never be repeated. Regardless of your position on the effectiveness of staying home to avoid disease, giving the government the power to pick and choose which pieces of society are allowed to operate is a terrible idea, and it will always be a terrible idea. Any candidate who thinks the government should have such power should never be allowed to be part of government at any level.
- The supermajority must go. The current supermajority in Sacramento is out of its mind, and no incumbent belonging to that supermajority deserves re-election. The delusional tyrants of the Sacramento regime (and our benighted federal representatives) are creatures of lockdowns, mandates, ever-increasing taxes, ever-increasing spending, and ill-conceived nanny-state freedom restrictions of all sorts. Put more briefly, they think they know better, and think you’re too stupid to be trusted to live your life your way. That must all be stopped.
We can’t find a lot of details about many local candidates, so we can’t offer an opinion on every race in the county. Doing your own research is always a good idea, and we like to think that applying those three bullet points above will probably lead you to a candidate that shares some libertarian values. With that in mind, let’s get into some specific races we’re looking at:
Riverside County Supervisor District 5 (ENDORSEMENT): Jeff Hewitt
Hewitt is the only official endorsement on this list. Hewitt led the charge against lockdown hysteria in Riverside County, and has fought unceasingly for fiscally responsible policy and smaller government. That’s a guy worth supporting.
Governor (worth a look): Michael Shellenberger
The write-in campaign of Mariana B. Dawson strikes a defiant tone many will like: she’s the one whose entire campaign statement is “F all politicians,” which many libertarians find endearing. However, everything from Michael Shellenberger seems thoughtful and non-partisan, reaching many of the same conclusions as Dawson without being in-your-face about it. It’s time for thoughtful and non-partisan leadership in Sacramento.
Lieutenant Governor (worth a look): David Hillberg
Lieutenant Governor is a silly position with no substantive duties, and should probably be abolished. That makes it tough to suggest anyone for the office based on their “track record” of anything. Thus, in keeping with our general distaste for voting for duopoly candidates, the only No Party Preference candidate running (Hillberg) feels like a reasonable choice.
Secretary of State (worth a look): Matthew D. Cinquanta
The Secretary of State’s primary job is running the elections, and the entire voting process is one currently teetering on the edge of a dangerous cliff. The only No Party Preference candidate on the ballot for this office, Cinquanta is also a career Private Investigator, which suggests he can chase evidence wherever it leads instead of massaging it to fit an agenda. There are good-faith positions to be taken on both sides of “voting integrity” questions, but the bottom line is that if we can’t trust the vote then representative democracy is over. A Secretary of State who is both dedicated to trustworthy elections and not a creature of either the Democratic or Republican duopoly sounds like a good thing to have.
Controller (worth a look): Lanhee Chen
Chen claims to want to use the Controller’s agency-auditing power “aggressively and frequently.” Audits of government agencies in California are long overdue.
Attorney General (worth a look): Anne Marie Schubert
A Riverside native and career prosecutor, she recently switched from Republican to No Party Preference. Two things seem to set her apart. First, she says her party affiliation switch is rooted in her belief that the AG position should be non-partisan. Second, she has publicly stated that she has no political ambitions beyond the AG’s office so she won’t pander for promotion (unlike a few former state AGs we can name). Those both sound like good things.
State Board of Equalization District 4 (worth a look): Matthew Harper
Harper has an established record as an anti-tax elected official and Prop 13 advocate, and has the “A” rating from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to prove it. As the Libertarian position on taxes is that there ultimately shouldn’t be any, we support all tax decreases and controls until such time as they all hit zero. Harper seems like the kind of candidate who is right with us on that.
