You can't accuse the Marion County Libertarian Party of not living up to its principles, even if it puts them at odds with a mayor whose election they backed strongly.
In a release today accompanied by damning video of Greg Ballard uttering a campaign promise I knew would haunt him like "read my lips," the MCLP says it was surprised to hear Ballard is running for re-election because he said he wouldn't unless he could cut the City's budget by ten percent by the third year.
The MCLP says the Mayor fell way short. From MCLP Chair, Tim Maguire:
"I am very surprised that Ballard decided against honoring his campaign promise not to run again if he wasn’t able to cut the budget by 10%, especially since the budget cuts necessary would have been so easy to make. Even without the benefit of a full time team of lawyers and accountants, we were able to find at least $65 million that could have been cut off the top of the 2011 budget."
Libertarian City-County Councillor Ed Coleman added this gasoline to the fire:
When I ran as part of the 2007 GOP campaign team, it was because I and other small government advocates believed Greg Ballard's promise to reform government and reduce the spending. It was broken promises like this that prompted me to abandon the failed Republican Party and its bloated-government policies.
The 25th Floor of the City-County Building has undoubtedly assembled its team of lawyers to figure a palatable way for the Mayor to tell the public he met his promise to eradicate all the "fluff," but if you look at the Libertarian Party's analysis, you'll realize how quickly our Mayor will be resorting to a defense akin to "it depends on what the definition of 'is' is."
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