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| Quote/Quip of the Week |
| "Wherever government injects itself, God gets displaced." |
| – Don Kissick |
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(A full archive
of past Quote/Quip of the Week entries is available.)
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| Breaking news from Don Kissick.com! |
The next scheduled meeting of the Allen County Libertarian Party of Ohio will be held on Sunday, April 15. At that gathering we will be holding our elections of Central Committee and Executive Committee officers. The meeting begins 6 p.m. and will be held at the Allen County Sanitary Engineering Office, located at 3230 N. Cole Street just north of the Lima city limits. |
Don and ACLPO Treasurer and State Senate candidate Paul D. Hinds recently attended the Libertarian Party of Ohio's 2012 state convention. It was an amazing experience and there are plenty of photos to share. Photos from the convention will be coming soon! |
Cheney story
illuminates wider ballot access issues
First and foremost, this press release is not authored with the intent to comment on any of the particulars surrounding the Allen County Board of Elections’ decision to reject Brian Cheney’s candidate petitions for county commissioner, his ties with other local public figures, or even Cheney himself. The one hidden story in the recent events that warrants greater exploration is the fact Cheney – in order to run as an independent candidate – had to gather almost seven times as many signatures as any of the major party candidates and more than 13 times as many as a minor party candidate. State election laws require independent candidates for an office to gather signatures equivalent to one percent of the votes cast in the previous election for the given electoral jurisdiction. In the case of Allen County Commissioner in 2012, a prospective independent had to get 330 valid signatures – compared to 50 for someone vying for a major party nomination and 25 for those of us affiliated with a minor party. It should not be difficult to conclude the wide disparity in requirements is nonsensical. As a current and past candidate for elected office, have I benefited from such variations? Yes, of course. Do I agree with this setup? That answer is, “Absolutely not.” The only possible legitimate argument for placing such a high threshold for independent candidates is the fact any registered voter may sign one of their petitions regardless of how the Ohio Secretary of State’s office lists their party affiliation (which is another issue in and of itself regarding violation of voters’ privacy rights – but as usual, I digress) – thus an independent candidate has a potential “unfair” advantage by having any-and-all would-be petition signers available to them. In truth, it is an underhanded means of deterring anyone who would demonstrate the audacity to engage in the electoral process outside of the party system. For my personal perspective, it is my hope the situation involving Brian Cheney proves to be nothing more than an honest mistake. It would seem obvious to me the inevitable “mad dash” for signatures – created by the State of Ohio’s disparate candidate requirements – is sure to increase the likelihood of mistakes being made. Also, as evidenced by my body of essays and posts in social media, I simply am not a fan of aggressive prosecution for non-violent offenses. As all this relates to Ohio election laws, my hope is now that the potential consequences of these provisions have hit close-to-home for someone in leadership in the state’s prevailing majority party (meaning, Allen County Republican Party Chair Keith Cheney), we may finally see some long-overdue reform of those laws that actually fits such a description. Don Kissick Chair, Allen County Libertarian Party of Ohio |
Turning our focus toward candidates who don't face the same adversity... We continue to wait for certification of the write-in totals for Chris Kalla, who looks to run for Ohio's 4th Congressional District seat, and John Fockler, seeking the Libertarian Party's candidacy for United States Senator. There remains too much uncertainty regarding the vote totals for both gentlemen, which is preventing us from announcing their certainty for the November ballot. We continue to wait for final certification by the Ohio Secretary of State's office, led by Republican Jon Husted. Hailing from Shawnee, Chris has worked in management with YMCA for a number of years and has served on the Libertarian Party of Ohio's Central Committee. Be sure to keep-up with the latest campaign news from Chris Kalla via his Twitter feed as well as his Facebook public page. Continuing the fight for Liberty from northeastern Ohio, John is a self-described "lifer" in the hotel industry and has been active in the Libertarian Party of Ohio since 1996. |
It is with tremendous honor I announce my candidacy for Allen County Commissioner as part of the Libertarian Party's local ticket in the 2012 election. I will be pursuing the seat currently held by Commissioner Sam Bassitt, which has January 2, 2013, as its commencement date. Joining me in the quest for elected office is Paul D. Hinds, who has filed his petitions to run for District 12 State Senator in the Ohio General Assembly. Paul serves as the ACLP’s treasurer and joined me a year ago as we were part of a trio of Libertarians who formed the party from November 2010 through January of this year. A 2006 graduate of Perry High School, Hinds opened his own business at age 19 when he established Holiday Supply Etc. at Eastgate Plaza and is a past member of the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce. I will be facing-off against Democrat Connie Miller and Republican Cory Noonan. If you would be interested in contributing to my campaign, please feel free to send a check payable to Elect Don Kissick to the address below: Elect Don Kissick 2352 Kimberly Dr. Lima OH 45805 Also, you can e-mail me at don@aclpo.org with any questions. Thank you for your support and let's score a victory for liberty! |
| Please keep the prayers coming |
A
song that has helped see me through this challenging time
For all of you who have been visiting Don Kissick.com in recent months, you know my wife, Marcy, was diagnosed in early May with leukemia. To be exact, it is AML: Acute Myeloid Leukemia.  She was admitted to St. Rita's immediately (which was where the biopsy was done) and transferred three days later to the James Cancer Center at Ohio State University Medical Center. As I posted here before, we haven't been together that long. We only recently celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. But, I cannot imagine not spending the rest of my life with her. To hear the word "cancer" applied to the one you love is the single-scariest moment one can endure. Nothing in life can possibly prepare you for it. Her diagnosis came just six weeks after our fourth anniversary. On June 7, Marcy finished her first round of chemotherapy. A biopsy was performed later that day and the results two days after that gave us news we'd been hoping to hear. Marcy is cancer free. She has had to make regular trips back to the OSUMC for follow-up appointments. And, three more rounds of chemo are under her belt. Within days, she is supposed to begin round number five. A myriad of biopsies since then have verified she is in remission. And, her long-term prognosis is improving. To which, I say, "Thank God." Chemo for leukemia entails killing not only the cancer cells in her bloodstream, but also the main blood cells themselves (red, white, and platelets). As those cells recover, the medical staff must verify they are not being shadowed by a return of the malignant cells. Still, there remains a large hill to climb. And, there have been other potholes along the way since her diagnosis that have made this experience all the more trying. In particular, in the waning days of summer 2011, she spent 23 of them in the hospital due to complications from chemotherapy. Despite it all, she has held-on to her will to fight. I credit much of that to all the prayers and loving wishes everyone of you have offered-up for her. More prayers will be needed and asked-for. Please keep them coming. In the end, ultimately, I thank God I have her home again. Thank you for your time and regular visits here. When this storm has passed... Look out. |
Take a moment to get to know Don Kissick
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Isn't life
funny sometimes.
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