What:
Attorney Mark W. Rutherford announces
his candidacy for Indiana secretary of state
Contact:
Mark W. Rutherford at 317-809-9000 or
rutherfordlibertarian.com
Rutherford touts experience
for Indiana secretary of state
Attorney, activist seeks Libertarian nomination
Attorney
Mark W. Rutherford brings a diverse skill set in his bid to become Indiana’s
next secretary of state.
“My
professional experience in business and elections suit the primary duties for
the secretary of state office. Plus, I have the drive to remove needless,
artificial government barriers that do more to reward favored groups than to
help everyday Hoosiers,” Rutherford said a news conference Jan. 18 at the
Columbia Club, Indianapolis.
Rutherford
will seek the Libertarian nomination at the party’s May 4-6 convention. His
experience checks the boxes that voters expect for the position that oversees
elections, business services, and securities.
Experience in state government:
Check.
Rutherford
is chairman of the Indiana Public Defender Commission. Former Gov. Mitch
Daniels appointed Rutherford in 2007 to the board, and the Libertarian became
chairman soon afterward. Gov. Eric Holcomb reappointed Rutherford to the board.
Experience in small-business:
Check.
As an
attorney with Thrasher Buschmann & Voelkel, PC in Indianapolis, his firm
helps businesses of all sizes navigate the law. Rutherford’s heart is with
small business - the firm itself is a small business, he added. “Small
businesses encounter enough challenges. They need simplicity when dealing with
the Secretary of State office.”
Experience with Indiana election
law: Check.
“Too often, we have coronations in
place of true elections. Not one of Indiana’s nine congressional districts will
be competitive this year. Not one. The Statehouse is no better. Last election, a
third of statehouse seats saw no major-party opposition. In the previous three
terms, four out of ten seats went unopposed,” Rutherford said. “When redistricting
comes during this term, I will push for nonpolitical redistricting boards – not
the Statehouse’s party leaders – to create districts that respect communities.”
Secretary of state votes determine
ballot access in Indiana. A party’s candidate must get at least 2 percent of
the vote to secure automatic ballot access as a minor party, a status the
Libertarian Party of Indiana has maintained since 1994. Rutherford is aiming to
get 10 percent, which would put the party into the primary system.
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