Category: ‘Candidate Endorsements’

2020 Election Endorsements

October 13, 2020 Posted by zachary

It is the time of year again. The election is creeping closer and closer. This year has been a very rough election season. With Covid causing havoc around the country, and the election rhetoric at an all time high, this year has been one of the most annoying I have ever experienced. So let’s get down to business, my endorsements.

First off, do not vote Straight Party. Not only is this one of the laziest forms of voting, it hurts the wide number of independents running, and ignores those races that do not have one of the party candidates running. This form of voting needs to go. Several bills have been introduced over the years to repeal this device, and I support any bills introduced in the next few legislative sessions to repeal it.

President

President has been the most annoying race this year by far. With the Democratic Party nominating Biden despite him not joining the race til near the end, and Trump’s nonstop rhetoric about Democrats stealing the election using Covid and mail-in voting, and the Libertarian Party completely screwing the pooch and losing Congressman Justin Amash because they couldn’t do the right thing and go full virtual for their convention, I really have a hard time deciding this race. Normally, I would say to vote for Libertarian Jo Jorgensen for ballot access, but that isn’t as important in Oklahoma thanks to the work of Oklahomans for Ballot Access Reform. There are also three independent candidates running in Oklahoma, Kanya West, Jade Simmons, and Brock Pierce. I don’t know much about them. What I do know is that I cannot endorse either Trump or Biden. Neither are good for this country. Neither will end the endless Middle Eastern wars. Neither will pass serious Criminal Justice Reforms. I am inclined to vote for Jorgensen. She is better than the duopoly candidates. She has some serious problems with communication and some policy positions, but she is much better.

Trump is also very likely to win in Oklahoma. There is little hope of any other candidate winning Oklahoma. So vote for whomever you want. But I would love to see a whole lot of votes for the Libertarian and Independent candidates. We need to break the duopoly stranglehold in this country.

Senate

This year Senator Jim Inhofe is up for reelection. This man has been in office for as long as I can remember. He is a warmonger. He supports the never ending wars in the Middle East. He supports the Drug War at home. He supports Trump’s border wall and immigration system. He is not good for the US or Oklahoma. Running against him are Democratic Candidate Abby Broyles, Libertarian Robert Murphy, and Independents Joan Farr and A.D. Nesbit. I have know Robert Murphy for years and know him to be a good man. I will be voting for him and recommend all voters vote for Robert Murphy. This is another race where the Republican will win easily, so if you feel like voting for someone else, I won’t complain.

Congress

I live in Congressional District 2. This race has Republican Markwayne Mullin, Democrat Danyell Lanier, and Libertarian Rickie Castaldo. This is the one race on my ballot that I will NOT vote for the Libertarian. I know Castaldo to not be a good person. He has a habit of lying about people he disagrees with. He also holds several campaign positions that I do not consider Libertarian. Instead, I will be voting for and endorse Danyell Lanier. I think she will do far more to advance liberty in the capital than either Mullin or Castaldo.

For all other Congressional Races, I also endorse voting for the Democrat in the race. Specifically, I endorse Kendra Horn in District 5. I lived in District 5 in 2018 and voted for her, and have not regretted it. None of Oklahoma’s Republican delegation have done anything to end the endless wars, advance justice, or rein in the budget. Voting Democrat will do far more to advance those issues.

Corporation Commissioner

This is a two way race between the Republican Todd Hiett and Libertarian Todd Hagopian. I endorse Todd Hagopian. He has a good head on his shoulders, an employment background that will help him in this position, and a desire to improve the state and advance liberty.

State Legislature

For the districts that represent me, there are Senate District 9 and Representative District 4.

In district 9, we have incumbent Republican Dewayne Pemberton and Democrat Jack Reavis. I am not too familiar with either, but Pemberton voted to increase the filing fees and petitions needed to run for office in Oklahoma. Essentially, he wants to make it harder for people to challenge him and his incumbent friends. So I endorse Jack Reavis.

For District 4, we have incumbent Democrat Matt Meredith and Republican Bob Ed Culver. I have not seen anything in Meredith’s record that really turns me off of him. He has been on the right side of every ballot access bill that came to a vote. As for Culver, this guy is basically running his campaign as if he is trying to impress Trump. Every mailer I have received from him or his supporters has been about how much he loves and supports Trump and how much Meredith doesn’t. Ugh. I endorse Matt Meredith.

As for all other state legislative races I recommend voting for the Libertarian if there is one, and voting for the Democrat or Independent next. Basically, I want to see the GOP lose power in Oklahoma.

County Sheriff

Don’t know much here. New to Cherokee county and have not had a lot of interaction with either candidate. Democrat Jason Chennault is the incumbent. Republican Manuel Holland is challenging him. Not really sure what there is to like about either and will probably skip this one simply because I have no information to go on. But if you know more than I do, I recommend voting for the one that supports ending the war on drugs.

State Questions

State Question 805: This question will put an end to the practice of increasing someone’s criminal sentence if they have been convicted previously. Basically, for all non-violent crimes, the sentence cannot be increased beyond the statutory limit. This will reduce the time people are in prison, reducing the total prison population in Oklahoma. Vote Yes on SQ 805.

State Question 814: This question redirects the majority of funds received by Oklahoma’s Tobacco Settlement and Endowment Trust (TSET) to the general fund. TSET has not done anything in Oklahoma to reduce tobacco use. The board denies health science. They need to be defunded. Vote Yes on SQ 814.

County Questions

Cherokee County has a question on the ballot to allow for sales on Sunday. I do not drink and have no personal stake in this fight, but I think that Oklahoma’s blue laws are an affront to liberty. Vote Yes on this Proposition.

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Categories: Candidate Endorsements, General Election, Oklahoma Elections

My Endorsements for the November Election

November 1, 2010 Posted by zachary

My endorsements, or voter guide if you may, is pretty simple. Vote Independent in any race there is an Independent and if not, vote Republican. There is however one exception to this rule, the State Superintendent Race.

There is an Independent in the race for State Superintendent. But I have chosen not to support him. My reasoning is that Richard Cooper has expressed his support of SQ744, which I have already determined is bad policy. His Republican opponent, Janet Barresi, does not support SQ 744 and is more likely to support and implement a voucher program for education. For this race, I recommend you vote for Barresi.

Again for all other races that have an Independent on the ballot, vote Independent. For everything else, vote Republican.

For a listing of my recommendations on the State Questions you can reference my State Question Guide. For Non Partisan races, judges for example, I don’t have any specific recommendations. There are a number of handy guides available online to help you learn more about them.

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Categories: Candidate Endorsements

Pirate Party Endorsement

October 4, 2010 Posted by zachary

Today, the Pirate Party of Oklahoma has released their list of candidate endorsements. Out of all people running for office this year, only 26 were willing to respond to their request. Of those 26, only 4 responded with sufficient support for openness in our government to warrant an endorsement.

Zachary Knight is one of those 4.

As a bit of background for the Pirate Party, their “About Us” page describes their platform as follows:

The Pirate Party of Oklahoma is a new political party with the goal of promoting the Privacy Rights of Oklahomans, push for increased Government Transparency, advocate for Ballot Access Reform, and encourage reform of Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks. We are a member of the United States Pirate Party and are also associated with Pirate Parties International. The Pirate Party of Oklahoma was formed in January of 2010 with the signing of our Constitution.

As for their endorsement, this came based on my responses to a number of questions. These questions ranged from Open Access to government, protection from unwarranted wire tapping and searches and Ballot Access Reform. I have included a few examples below.

This is an endorsement I fully accept and encourage all to read the responses of those who are available on the Pirate Party site and see exactly how these issues affect you as a citizen of this state and nation.

On the issue of automated traffic monitoring systems, ie speed, red-light cameras, and other automated systems for identifying traffic violations:

I lived in Arizona for several years and experienced the automated speed and red light cameras. While I am sure those systems brought in quite a bit of revenue for the contractors who operated them, but not so much for the police departments. What is really worrisome about such systems is their inability to make judgment calls and read context of individual situations. The state should avoid such situations as they would bring on additional burden on the people while not increasing revenue for our underfunded police departments.
On laws preventing citizens from recording on-duty police officers:
Oklahoma is a one party consent state, meaning that only one side of a conversation being recorded whether in audio or video is required to consent to the recording. Any attempt to change those laws would violate our rights and a needed protection for the people. Our police force are public servants and they should be accountable to the people they serve. Retaining our one party consent status would allow the people to protect themselves from corruption and abuse.
On requiring the state legislature to comply with the Open Records Act:
All city, county and school government and agencies are required to comply with the open records act. There is not reason why our Legislative branch should not be held to the exact same standard. In order to hold our legislative members accountable, we need to have an open and accurate record of what they are doing in office. I can see a need to protect correspondence with individuals of a legislator’s constituency, but any correspondence with registered lobbyists, state agencies and other legislators should be open to public scrutiny.
Finally, on Ballot Access Reform:
As an independent, I am affected directly by Oklahoma’s current Ballot Access laws. I have come to realize that yes they are the most restrictive and there is no reason to keep them as is, other than reducing competition for incumbent parties. When elected, I plan on working with other legislators in writing and passing sweeping reform in the state. This will include reducing the required number of signatures to [5000] as it was prior to 1974 and changing ballot access laws to remove language that writes the incumbent parties into law.
To read the full list of questions and Zachary’s responses, you can follow this link.
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Categories: Candidate Endorsements, Ethical Government, News, On the Issues, Open Government, Press Releases, Voter Rights