All in the family: Spouses/Relatives Run for Office Together
It is an old adage that "politics makes strange bedfellows," but
for Libertarians in North Carolina, politics are “all in the family.”
There are six married couples, three fathers and their combined five
offspring, and two brothers among the 150 Libertarians running office
in the 2002 elections across the state. The Libertarian Party is
fielding more candidates in 2002 than any other party, other than the
Democrats and Republicans, in modern North Carolina history. Their
slate includes challengers for a majority of seats in both houses of
the General Assembly as well as all 13 U.S. Congressional Districts.
Barbara Howe, former LP candidate for governor, is contesting NC
House District 32. Husband Tom Howe is doing "double-duty,"
challenging for the 7th U.S. Congressional district as well as
running for Granville County Soil and Water Conservation District
Supervisor, a non-partisan race. Running for a partisan and
non-partisan office at the same time is legal under North Carolina
law.
Over in Mecklenburg County, Carey Head is also seeking a seat in
the U.S. House in District 12, while his wife Heather Head is
contending for the NC Senate District 39.
In Guilford County, Eric Preston Medlock and Jennifer Schulz
Medlock are both seeking seats in the General Assembly. Jennifer
Medlock is running for NC House District 61, while Eric Medlock is
vying for the NC Senate District 28 seat.
Two Durham County couples are among the Libertarian family teams.
Laurin Mancour is running for Durham County Commissioner, while
husband Terry Mancour is seeking the NC House District 30 seat. Mike
Owen is also running for the Durham County Commissioner. His wife,
Rachel Mills, is seeking election in the NC House District 31
district.
Over in Chatham County, Frederick Blackburn is going after the NC
House District 54 seat. His spouse, Renee Montague, is running for
the Chatham Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor.
Three Libertarian fathers are running for office at the same time
their offspring are seeking election. Tom Bailey of Guilford County
is also doing "double-duty" as a candidate, running for both NC Senate
District 27 and the 5th Congressional District. That too permitted
under NC law. Daughter Jessamyn Bailey is running for Guildford
County Sheriff and son Zechariah Bailey is seeking election to the
Guilford County Commission in District 6.
Roy Halliday, candidate for Wake County Commission District 7, has
his two sons running with him. Matthew Halliday is a candidate for
Wake County Clerk of Court and Jesse Halliday is seeking election in
NC House District 33.
In Hoke County, Pete Camp is running for Hoke County Commissioner
while in neighboring Moore County son Jason Camp is seeking election
as a Moore Soil and Water District Supervisor.
Finally, Pitt County brothers Mike and Chris Ruff complete the
roster of Libertarian family teams. Mike Ruff is contending for the
1st Congressional District while Chris Ruff is in the race for NC
Senate District 5.
"This give a whole new meaning to the term ‘family values,’" said
Barbara Howe, who’s also the LPNC chair. “It shows that Libertarians
value democracy and the idea of giving people a real choice in the
polling booth."
The three father-son teams also shows that the libertarian
philosophy crosses generational lines, Howe said.
|
