KY: Former Chairman of Libertarian Party to Run for State Treasurer

From the Courier Journal:

Ken Moellman, a 34-year-old information-technology professional who lives in Pendleton County, says he has collected the signatures of about 7,000 registered voters in a bid to run for state treasurer. Moellman, past chairman of the Libertarian Party of Kentucky, said he is advocating elimination of the state treasurer’s post, which he called “the most useless office in state government.”

KY: Independents Can Make Decisions that No Party Candidate Could Make, Says Galbraith in Gov Debate

From Cincinnati.com:

Two of the three gubernatorial candidates debated in Covington Thursday afternoon, Republican State Senate President David Williams and independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith . . . 

Galbraith blamed partisan politics for Kentucky’s woes and said as an independent, he will work with both sides of the aisle. “I foresee that after my stint as governor, I’m going to be one of the most disliked people in the state because I’m going to have to make decisions that neither party candidate can possibly make, because they’ve got to answer to the party,” Galbraith said. “I don’t answer to anybody except God and an occasional judge or two.” . . .

KY: Independent Gov Candidate Says the Parties are the Problem

From the Murray Ledger and Times:

Although Gatewood Galbraith has often been called a perennial gubernatorial candidate in the past, he says he has a good shot at winning this year as an independent. . . . “I’m an independent candidate for governor,” Galbraith said during a stop at the Murray Ledger & Times office Tuesday. “My running mate and I have no party affiliation whatsoever. We don’t want one. The problem with Kentucky and the reason we’re dysfunctional as a state government in Kentucky is because both parties have their horns locked up like two bull elk fighting over territory while the business of the people lays dead in the dust." . . .

KY: Independent Candidate Collects 5,000 Signatures in Gubernatorial Bid

From the Murray Ledger and Times:

In a move that has helped to organize supporters, independent gubernatorial candidate Gatewood Galbraith said late last week he now has the 5,000 signatures needed to get his name put on the general election ballot in Kentucky.

Galbraith, a Lexington attorney, said he intends to collect another 5,000 signatures before turning them over to the secretary of state's office to officially enter the race against Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and Republican nominee David Williams, just in case the opposing campaigns challenge the eligibility of some of the people who signed.

KY: Red Anarchist Group Claims Responsibility for GOP's Broken Windows, Promises the Same for Dems and Third Party Groups

From Anarchist News:

2/14/11 - This morning members of the Kentucky Red & Anarchist Action Network hailed the approach of warm spring weather with a glorious assault against the offices of the Fayette County Republican Party, leaving plenty of laughter and broken glass in our wake.

With a wink and a nod, we acknowledge our unity of purpose with the members of RAAN who smashed up a headquarters of the Democratic Party in California last October. If there were a viable third party in the United States, it would probably be necessary to attack them as well (not forgetting of course our actions against Ralph Nader several years ago). . . .

Willie Nelson Supports Independent Candidate for Governor of Kentucky

Apparently, late last year, Willie Nelson called for the formation of a new political party opposed to the Democratic-Republican bipartisan consensus in favor of the failed war on drugs.  From December:

All 50 states have started Willie Nelson-inspired Teapot Parties since the singer called for a new political party that "leans a little to the left" after his marijuana arrest  in Texas on Nov. 26. "Tax it, regulate it and legalize it," the singer says. "And stop the border wars over drugs."

Nelson has now come out in support of Gatewood Galbraith, an Independent candidate for governor of Kentucky.  From the Lexington Herald Leader:

Willie Nelson and his newly formed Teapot Party are backing independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith for governor of Kentucky. The campaign of Lexington attorney Galbraith and his running mate, Frankfort political consultant Dea Riley, released a statement Monday quoting the country singer and songwriter as saying he is a “longtime friend” of Galbraith and believes Galbraith is “a good man and will do a good job.”

KY: Independent Files to Run for Governor in 2011, "the Parties are the Problem"

From the Richmond Register:

Gatewood Galbraith, a frequent statewide candidate known for his support for decriminalizing marijuana, filed candidacy papers Wednesday with the Secretary of State to run for governor as an independent.

Galbraith said voters are tired of partisan politics and ready for an independent candidate.

“The parties are the problem,” said Galbraith, a Lexington criminal defense attorney. “We’re living in a dysfunctional state. We need an independent governor who does not care who gets the credit.”

KY: Independent Excluded from Mayoral Debates, Republicrats Stand Against Political Competition, Discussion, Dialogue

From the Courier Journal:

As an independent candidate for Louisville mayor, Jackie Green knew that winning would be difficult. But he didn't realize that simply joining the debate over the city's future would be so tough. Green, a bicycle enthusiast, business owner and transit activist, has been campaigning since the beginning of the year, participating in dozens of forums and debates before the primary election -- even though he wasn't on the ballot.Since then, Green has discovered what other independent and minor party candidates have found before him: inclusion is an uphill battle, unless you're a major party primary election winner.

KY: Libertarian Party Denounces Tea Party Groups for Abandoning Principles, Blindly Promoting Republicans

From Independent Political Report:

On Tuesday, the Libertarian Party of Kentucky criticized the Tea Party organizations in Lexington and Louisville for abandoning their core principles and blindly promoting Republicans, despite the Tea Party movement having its roots in libertarianism.

These two Tea Party organizations hosted an event together in Frankfort, Kentucky, at which only Republican candidates were invited to speak. All other candidates in those races – including a Libertarian candidate who had spoken at previous Louisville Tea Party events – were denied the opportunity to address the crowd.

Rand Paul Continues to Distance Himself from Libertarian Party

From the Huffington Post:

Republican Rand Paul said Tuesday he differs with the Libertarian Party by opposing abortion and supporting judicious overseas troop deployment, distancing himself from the party his father once represented in a presidential election.


The U.S. Senate candidate from Kentucky told syndicated conservative talk show host Sean Hannity that he doesn't fit the mold of a Libertarian. Paul said his conservative social views and willingness to send troops abroad to protect the U.S. set him apart from the party some have tried to associate him with.

KY: Independent Mayoral Candidate in Louisville Calls for Change in Transit Funding

From WFPL:

Independent mayoral candidate Jackie Green says he wants to see a change in how public transportation is funded in Louisville. Green held a press conference Tuesday outside of TARC headquarters to say more money for the city’s bus system should come from the state and federal governments. “Louisville needs a mayor that will go to Frankfort, be committed to public transit and send a message to Frankfort that ‘We’re not coming to you asking for money for bridges, we’re not coming to you asking to reconfigure highways. We’re coming to Frankfort asking for money for public transit,’” he says.

KY: Paper Profiles Local Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America

From the Courier Journal:

The socialist agenda that some conservatives see lurking around every corner, hidden in everything from health insurance reform to stimulus spending to President Obama's policies, exasperates Louisvillian Fred Hicks.  As the leader of a local socialist group, Hicks says the use of the “S-word” as a political smear is a gross mischaracterization that ignores the reality that socialism remains a lonely movement, with his 40-person group struggling to get more than a dozen people to attend a meeting. And yet while the term's recent popularity irks Hicks, the retired professor says it's also beginning to have an unexpected result: It's bringing newfound interest and attention to his cause.  “Suddenly there are more people who want to know what it actually is,” said Hicks, head of the Committee of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, whose members seek more government regulation of business, health care and wages.  Nationwide, the Democratic Socialists of America partly credits the term's usage with a 64 percent rise in memberships between 2008 and 2009. The party now has nearly 7,000 U.S. members, and the 1,000-member Socialist Party USA has seen new chapters pop up in Kansas and Oklahoma.