Ryan Liedtky, Marshall County, Indiana Libertarian Running for County Council, Strikes a Nerve or Two

I received the following today from Ryan Liedtky, Libertarian candidate for County Council in Marshall County, Indiana about his live interview today on local radio station WTCA 1050 am in Plymouth:

"I was on the What's Your Opinion show with Kathy and Tony. Tony asked me if I thought that there was a better way to run snow plow routes that would create safer roads at a cheaper cost. I said yes, and that the county highway department was not doing the best that it could do. I went on to describe how my road will be plowed ten to fifteen times while other roads around aren't touched, and how south of Highway 30 my road isn't plowed, but it is to the north, and the plows turn around and head back the other direction.

I also detailed how a road near my road was never plowed until 2006. After doing some research into the matter, I discovered that a county councilman lived on my road between the highway and my house, and that a county commissioner lived on the other road. I said that if instead of turning around if they'd take different routes they could save money on gas while increasing the safety on other roads. A county commissioner then called in, but didn't give his name, and proceeded to yell at me because his road is "one of the last ones plowed." (emphasis added) He continued to yell, saying that I should consider myself lucky my road gets plowed, that I should stop my whining, and that the highway department takes the quickest routes.

Later in the show I talked about prioritizing spending and projects so that we could find ways to avoid future loans like a $1.4 million loan that had to be taken out by the Division of Family and Children. A county council member called into the show and, after she admitted that I had obviously done research, went on to say that I couldn't possibly know what goes on in the county council if I haven't been to the meetings. Which I countered by asking how any working person could since the meetings are held on Monday mornings, when everyone is at work.

I think at this point I should also mention that every county council member and every county commissioner is a Republican. There are no Democrats holding county positions. And, the three Republicans running for the three at large spots on the county council are all employed directly by the county. The three Democrats running are not employed by the county.

I also brought up the issue of bias in directing the funds when county employees are in charge of directing county funds.

I made a huge issue also of land contouring project that the county is undergoing. Its costing over $300,000, money that could have been reallocated to the Division of Family and Children to help offset that loan. The show host, Kathy, tried to defend it, as did a couple other county council members who called in, but Kathy eventually had to admit that it offers no direct benefit to the citizens of the county, but that it does provide a good service for the county government.

My response was to point out that when one runs for government one dedicates him/herself fully to the citizens, and must be willing to work harder with less so that the people can have more.

The interview lasted for 45 minutes, and it appears obvious that I've ruffled feathers within the Republican Party elected officials with just one interview. I made mention of this at the end of the interview, stating that I am not working for the politicians, and if they find me objectionable I am okay with that, because I am dedicated to the citizens of Marshall County and will do everything needed to ensure they are better off, with more money in their pockets, and with less wasteful spending by their government.

All in all I think it was a huge success. As I said, the politicians currently holding office that are not running against me were the ones calling in trying to defend their wasteful programs. I do not believe they were prepared to face any criticism, and I think they're on the defensive right now. I talked to a citizen of the county just tonight who congratulated me on the interview and said that right now the Republicans are scrambling trying to do damage control."

Great job Ryan bringing common sense back into the debate.