(By Mark Rutherford, National LP Vice Chairman. Originally posted on LP.org.)
Hagerstown, Indiana is a hotbed of elected Libertarian activity.
It is a community of 1800 people, the community center of a significantly populated rural area and has Libertarians elected to partisan office.
It is the home of Rex Bell, Wayne County Libertarian Chair, and the winner of the 2010 Thomas Paine award for his literary efforts in communicating libertarian ideas.
The Libertarians in Hagerstown have good leadership and comparable resources with the old political parties (R’s and D’s).
It is also the site of Indiana House District 54. Rex was the Libertarian candidate for House District 54 in 2008.
He won 8 of 59 precincts. He received 35% of the vote in a two-way race. He had over 60% of the vote in two precincts.
There are three Libertarians elected in partisan elections in or near Hagerstown: Hagerstown Town Judge Susan Bell, Clay Township Advisory Board member Conley Tillson and Liberty Township Advisory Board member Steve Coffman.
Susan was re-elected Town Judge in 2007. Tillson and Coffman are running for re-election this year. Rex is once again seeking the House District 54 seat in 2010.
It’s great to be a Libertarian!