Jennifer Carter and Richard Edgar
Libertarians for Monmouth County Freeholder
Overall theme of our campaign
In an era where politicians brag about their accomplishments of more government programs, we want to reduce the size of the county government. The Monmouth County government is big and bloated. And every year it becomes even more bloated. We advocate smaller, less intrusive government that values individual liberty.
Accountability Financial
Monmouth County budgeted expenditures for the 2000 fiscal year were 335 million dollars. The 2001 proposed budget has reached a level of over 350 million dollars. Our freeholders have used the excuse that this is ok, because tax revenues are up! They saw the extra money and quickly found places to waste it!
There are over seventy county departments. A quick reading of the Monmouth County directory reveals how bloated our county government is. There are multiple departments that perform similar functions. As an example there is a Transportation Division, a Division of Highways, a Division of Traffic Safety Engineering, a Division of Engineering, a Division of Bridges, and a Division of Shade Tree Commission. Each of these departments is under the purview of the Department of Public Works. Each of these departments occupy office space, have Directors and/or Superintendents, and eat up a chunk of our tax money. Surely smaller government and lower taxes can be achieved by reducing the overhead of these many departments.
Purchasing Justice and the Courts
We are in favor of education instead of incarceration when it comes to the use of illegal drugs use (and other consensual crimes).
Parks and Recreation
Both Jennifer and Richard enjoy the luxuries that the Monmouth County Parks System provides. The Monmouth County Park System maintains over 11,000 acres and provides countless services to the citizens of the county. It must be pointed out that these services and parks do come at a cost. The Monmouth County Park System must continue to strive to provide these services in the most effective, efficient, and economical manner possible. The park system must try to be self-sustaining and not a tax burden to the county residents. Those who get the most benefit out of the parks should pay for these costs through user fees. Volunteer activity at our parks must be encouraged. The future tax burden must be considered before expanding the park system.
Free Speech and Civil Liberties
Safety in Schools
Most school safety measures seem to revolve around panic responses to isolated or copycat incidents. They amount to violations of Fourth Amendment and/or Second Amendment rights. Scanning students on the way into school, and certainly allowing pat-down searches as has been suggested, is an invasion of privacy, and not allowing possession of any firearm within 100, 1000, or 5000 feet of a school is tantamount to total disarmament; in many places there is nowhere that is not within 5000 feet of some school. If only one teacher was armed during the Columbine incident, many lives could have been saved.