While it wasn’t a first, it still may have qualified as somewhat unique. On 1/1/11, at 1:11 P.M., a judge performed a swearing in ceremony for 2 other officials. One of the things that made it unique is that the judge was an elected Libertarian, and the officials that were sworn in were elected Libertarians. Susan Bell became the first elected Libertarian judge ever in Indiana in 2003 when she was elected to the Hagerstown Town Court. She was re-elected in 2007. On January 1st, at the Hagerstown City Building, two more recently elected Libertarians stopped by to repeat the oath of office. Steve Coffman was re-elected to the Liberty Township Advisory Board in the 2010 election, and Cheryl Heacox was elected to the Clay Township Advisory Board.According to Rex Bell, Chairman of the Libertarian of Wayne County, this is only the second time this has ever happened. “On January 1st, 2007, Judge Bell administered the oath of office to two Libertarians that were elected in the 2006 general election. That was the first time an elected Libertarian had ever swore in another elected Libertarian, let alone two. Wayne and Henry Counties and the surrounding area have developed a strong Libertarian presence. We are confident that will result in more votes and victories for Libertarian candidates in future elections.”
Chris Spangle, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, reported that the party ran a record number of candidates, and received a record number of votes in the 2010 general election. “Given the current voter dissatisfaction with the major parties, we expect to attract a lot of candidates for the city and town elections in 2011, and we trust several of those candidates will be from Wayne and Henry County.
(Pictured, left to right, Steve Coffman, Liberty Township Advisory Board; Cheryl Heacox, Clay Township Advisory Board; Judge Susan Bell, Hagerstown Town Court)
