Libertarian presidential candidate holds town hall on campus


Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson (center) speaks to supporters before his town hall event at FIU.

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson (center) speaks to supporters before his town hall event at FIU.

 

By Joel Delgado ’12 MS ’17 

Kurk Anton isn’t happy with the main choices in this year’s presidential election.

The senior communication arts major says he’s unhappy with the prospect of voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, and he’s looking for an alternative candidate to vote for – someone who will earn his vote.

“I’m just very disappointed, especially with the two-party system and their candidates,” says Anton, a self-described conservative-leaning independent. “I just want to see what other options we have and see where my vote really deserves to go.”

On Wednesday, Anton attended a town hall with former New Mexico governor and Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson and his running mate, Bill Weld; the event was held at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center.

Anton was one of approximately 600 people in attendance, many of them passionate supporters of Johnson’s candidacy while others, like Anton, were curious about Johnson and other third party candidates.

During his remarks, Johnson went through his positions on a number of issues – replacing the income tax and the IRS with a national consumption tax; the legalization of marijuana; and a “socially agnostic” approach to social issues like abortion and gay marriage.

“I think the majority of people in this country are libertarians, they just don’t know it,” Johnson said. “Keep the government out of my pocketbook and keep the government out of my bedroom.”

His message has appealed to millennial voters like Taylor-Max Ricart, a senior communication arts major, who does not see eye-to-eye with Republicans or Democrats on every issue.

A capacity crowd welcomes Gary Johnson to the stage at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center.

A capacity crowd welcomes Gary Johnson to the stage at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center.

“I grew up in a Republican household, but when I started doing research for myself I found that I didn’t agree with everything Republicans say or with everything Democrats say,” says Ricart, who plans to vote for Johnson in November.

During the audience question and answer portion of the event, the first question involved a concern that voting for a third party candidate, someone with a long shot of winning the election, would be equivalent to a wasted vote.

“A wasted vote is voting for someone you don’t believe in,” Johnson responded to applause. “Nothing is going to change if we don’t vote to change it.”

Johnson’s campus visit continues to showcase FIU as a key venue for candidates during the 2016 election season. Hillary Clinton held a rally at FIU Arena to introduce her running mate, Tim Kaine, last month while former Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio took part in a nationally televised town hall in March.

“It’s great that we have these events on campus,” Anton says. “It’s easier to get involved and be informed.