Independent Elected to Tulsa City Council

Tulsa, Oklahoma, uses partisan city elections. On April 1, an Independent candidate, David Patrick, was elected to the City Council from district 3. He defeated the incumbent Democrat, Roscoe Turner, by a 55%-45% margin.

Independent candidate ballot access in Oklahoma (for all office except president) is very easy. No petition is needed; the independent merely pays the filing fee and is placed on the general election. However, it is very rare for independent candidates to win elections in Oklahoma. The state uses a “straight-ticket” device, which always hurts independent candidates. David Patrick had run for the city council in the past as a Democrat, but this time he felt he was more likely to win a general election, than a Democratic primary, and his strategy worked. No Republican was in the race. Thanks to Jim Linger for the news.

Eric Sundwall Interviews Mike Gravel About Libertarian Party

Eric Sundwall is a member of the Libertarian Party National Committee. He also has a cable TV show in New York state. This is the Sundwall interview with Mike Gravel, conducted April 1. Gravel has long been intensely interested in changing the U.S. form of government so that ordinary people have more power over law-making. This in-depth interview deals with the interplay between liberty, on the one hand, and power for ordinary people, on the other hand. Gravel makes a case that there can be no liberty without freedom, which he defines as power over the law-making process.