Eric Sundwall 2006

That's All Folks !

2006-09-06T20:18:23Z

The machine has shut us down. Look for no reasonable choice again this cycle. Write us in you if you want, we're done though.No more paperwork ! We'll keep the blog up for the duration.

One Last Shot . .

2006-09-06T15:23:54Z

There is a chance in court next week. But remember who's in charge. Here's our commerical. ]]>

What Me Worry ?

2006-09-06T14:04:25Z

endorsment of sorts. A diarist at Democracy in Albany named Alfred Newman posted on August 28th. We missed it due to exhaustion from petitioning and the subsequent challenges. We do appreciate it though and hope we can be there when you pull the lever. Here's Eric's rant in response to a TU blog entry. ]]> # BB, The rules suck. Volunteers and voters make mistakes. The rules are designed by partisans to create undo hurdles that prevent independents from making credible challenges. Only the machines insure that their own get what they need. They only need 1250 to qualify. We needed 3500 and diligently submitted over 5200. This collection period comes only after four other candidates (include Pell and Guller in that process)have taken some market share of the electorate. The petitions would most likely stand if not for the gutless fear of the Sweeney camp who can’t/won’t admit that they picked a few mules to play Spargo’s expert hand. Quite simply they eschew competition. Sweeney and Gillibrand didn’t have to lift a finger to get on the ballot. Our campaign has been sequestered for two of the hottest months getting kicked out of Post Offices, County Fairs and public beaches. The rules also say that if two government officials conspire to deny someone their constitutional rights they are subject to a ten thousand dollar fine and 10 years in jail. We haven’t decided if its worthwhile to pursue the cop and assistant manager at Lake Tahgkanic who booted us there. Seems unfair to them on a personal level when their ‘just doing their job’. Prior to 1880 the government wasn’t in the business of printing ballots. Citizens had the right to choose who they felt was the best candidate, period. The election laws most assuredly do not insure democracy. They frustate and deny it. It’s bad enough that a winner take all system assures a lesser of two evil mentality in the voting booth, but when it crushes principled opposition that is why we are stuck with the partisan bickering that the GOP and Dems have exemplified. They insure insiders who can justify foreign occupations and rack up a debt the the next five generations shall suffer from (Andrew W - what part about that description do you disagree with ?). It’s the law, sure, but when real voters sign a petition and they get tossed for the simplest of mistakes (PO Boxes and Towns) it says nothing about the intent of the signer. It only speaks to the rigor of the entrenched. Thousands of people wanted a choice in this race. Now we might be stuck with a big government incumbant or a bigger government cog from the other machine. All because a young college student and a gas station owner had some objections. Franklin and Jefferson are rolling in their graves. Comment by ESun67 — September 6, 2006 @ 8:50 am Here's the follow-up remarks . . . # KSun: If Sundwall can’t even get the petition process done correctly, what does that say about him? The petitions he turned in, which are legal documents, were sloppy and full of errors. If other legal documents such as divorce papers, custody papers, mortgages, you name it, were officially filed containing that many obvious and easily corrected mistakes, that paperwork would also be tossed out on it’s ear, and should be. Sundwall wanted to a lawmaker for all of us. Well, if he can’t follow basic election law himself, he doesn’t deserve the opportunity to represent us. If he had done it right, he’d be the Libertarian candidate. But he didn’t, so he’s not. Comment by Senator Blutarsky — September 6, 2006 @ 8:08 pm # Senator Blowhard, As an individual the petition process cannot be handled alone. I can assure you that of the close to one thousand signatures obtained by myself, most were handled correctly. Considering there were over 5K and each sig probably reflected denial of at lease 3-5 real partisan or disinterested types, we’re talking close to twenty thousand transactions. You go do that without a ‘machine’ buddy. Remember you have six weeks to do it and the other players have already sucked up 10,000 options. You might find a few are incorrect or insufficient. Most places are off limits too (ie. shopping malls, offices and individual’s cars - even the public venues have restrictions). This is simply reality and it was faced with vigor and determination. Fortunately, I’m not a lawyer so I am able to handle most of my professional needs in a digital format. I have run a small business for almost fourteen years now, please do not attack my competence based on your conception of how wonderful election law is. I advocate reducing laws and government, not piling more on. I also attended law school for a year while running a sizable operation. Never had one of those taxpayer funded gigs with a whole lotta flunkies at my bidding. Face it, we were a threat and Spargo is the GOP’s top election law dog. Most Libertarian campaigns are not conceived as a ‘win’ proposition. They rarely poll or go above 1%. A recent Harris Poll in July suggested that 17% of Americans would vote for ‘Anybody’ else. There’s a reason why people don’t bother to vote. They have no choice. Only 40% of Americans will have an alternative. Our little nobody/no money campaign took on two million+ dollar operations. This one was originally conceived as simply a ‘write-in’. Gillibrand’s announcement and a subsequent weak position about Iraq spurred a tiny core of Liberty minded folk into thinking we could produce a candidacy of value despite our miniscule size in NY. We offered debates and got brushed off and had them anyway. We did not personally attack or defame anyone. We produced a professional commercial and polled well with Zogby (not simply as a default position mind you, but earned). We even bagged off complaining about media coverage. Our website was averaging 350 visitors a day. Our cable access shows that dealt with issues were throughout the whole district. We had position papers in the hopper and had equipment and people for a district office. National money was on the way for the commercial. I personally spent more than both million dollar candidates combined. All to make a point. There was a market for a protest vote. Don’t feed me the ‘amateur’ hour crap. I read Machiavelli’s Prince in eigth grade and Plato’s Republic the year before. I understand the game and all it’s ramifications. The Congressman will do better in the debate with just Kirsten. I would submit to you that the partisan drones in these and many blogs rarely attacked or even regarded our small government, personal responsibility message. Most people vaguely identify with the blue or the red and genarally don’t feel they can make a difference. If you think we’re whining or carrying on, whatever. Somebody, someday will have to face the country’s solvency issue and reckless abandon abroad. Incumbants and mainstream challengers don’t do that. They promise giveaways and free stuff where it isn’t their’s to give, except under authority and power of force. Go vote statist now. I’m quite indifferent to any response you may have. Appreciate the opportunity to sound off one last time. Firewood’s kinda low this year, should be a busy Fall. Thank you Liz Benjamin for your coverage. Comment by ESun67 — September 6, 2006 @ 11:54 pm

Whose Torch is It ?

2006-09-02T01:10:57Z

Libertarians were challenged by the Conservatives this year. Considering they have only one candidate this year, maybe they long for the days when they actually stood for something and ran more of their own.

GOP's Top Gun vs. GOP's own candidate ?

2006-09-01T22:01:52Z

Congressional candidate in NY's 21st District, will represent Eric Sundwall as he is challenged. Here's Warren's letter to the BOE filed late Friday afternoon. ]]> Election Operations NYS Board of Elections 40 Steuben Street Albany, NY 12207-2108 Re: Eric Sundwall for Congress Dear Sirs and Madams: I represent Eric Sundwall pro bono in regard to objections made to his petitions for the 20th congressional district. I spoke with your office the other day and was advised that the Board may schedule a hearing on the objections at some point. In addition to notifying Mr. Sundwall regarding the scheduling of any hearings, please also notify me. I am happy to accept notice by fax. The objections were not properly made. The individuals who signed the objections (Fay V. Johnson, Jr. of Hudson, Olivia K. Paulsen of Clifton Park, and Christine Brownson of Clifton Park) never reviewed the petitions. According to your records, the only person who reviewed the petitions is Thomas J. Spargo of East Berne, who indicated he applied to review them on his “own behalf.” This calls into question how the named objectors could object to the petitions. Their signatures are not notarized. All three objections were suspiciously filed at the exact same time: 4:12 pm on August 28th. It is also of note that Mr. Johnson is registered to vote in two different counties (Greene and Columbia), which further suggests fraudulent conduct. Meanwhile I have information indicating that Ms. Paulsen actually lives in Albany County, which is not in the district. We contend that the objections themselves are fraudulent. Under these circumstances, we believe the Board is required to subpoena these individuals to any hearings to determine if the objections are genuine. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Very truly yours, Warren Redlich Cc: Eric Sundwall Christine Brownson Olivia K. Paulsen Fay V. Johnson, Jr.

Welcome the rest of The World !

2006-09-01T02:50:32Z

Our unique user average just crested an average of 329 a day. Even our local newspapers are starting to pay attention. This week alone 55 different countries stopped by. Who would have thought six months ago ?

Sundwall and Redlich Team Up for Ballot Access

2006-08-31T03:06:59Z

Three objections were filed with the State Board of Elections against Sundwall's petitions. The incumbent Republican in the 20th district is John Sweeney. That race has drawn national attention because of a well-financed Democratic challenger, Kirsten Gillibrand, and because of mistakes made by Sweeney including getting caught at a frat party, making misogynistic comments about Gillibrand, and an ongoing corruption scandal involving the Olympic Committee. The 21st district race includes a Democrat primary between incumbent Michael McNulty and challenger Thomas Raleigh, with Redlich facing the winner in the general election. Both districts have the majority of their population in the greater Albany-Schenectady-Troy metropolitan area. Redlich, a lawyer in Albany NY who has experience with Election Law disputes, is a longtime friend of Sundwall. "Eric's a great guy. He and I both support changes in the Election Law to give voters more choices," Redlich said. "New York's arcane laws make life very difficult for candidates who are not insiders." Sundwall agreed: "Warren and I share a common distrust for insider politics. Gillibrand is a product of the traditional Albany machine and Congressman Sweeney was basically appointed by the powers to be." Redlich, who was also endorsed by the Libertarian Party, had his Libertarian petitions challenged by Thomas A. Nardacci, a Rensselaer Democrat closely connected with McNulty and Gillibrand. Redlich's Republican petitions were not challenged and he does not intend to contest the objections to the Libertarian petitions that were filed on his behalf as there were not enough signatures. Knowing they were deficient, Redlich did not file paperwork to accept the Libertarian line. "I don't know why they even bothered to object," he noted. Sundwall stressed that the insider issue is central to his and Redlich's campaigns. "Sweeney and McNulty are not accustomed to competition. Attempting to keep us off the ballot underscores that. They have burdened future generations with this conflict in Iraq. Warren Redlich and I are a new generation of leadership that will insure this type of travesty will not occur again." Eric Sundwall Eric Sundwall for Congress info@sundwall4congress.org Warren Redlich Warren Redlich for Congress 888-733-5299 wredlich@gmail.com

Moving on MoveOn

2006-08-30T19:39:22Z

Jeff Russell, US Senate candidate in NY and Eric Sundwall 20th Congressional candidate, spoke at the August 30th Rally at the Capital. Later they strolled down to the BOE and checked to see who was reviewing the LPNY petitions. After lunch they ran into the Quakers. Here's the video . . . ]]>

Kudos Ms. Benjamin

2006-08-29T23:18:31Z

Liz Benjamin did a bang up job determining the mystery objectors today. I copied her at 8:30 about our situation and she was done before the day's whistle.

Sure Enough, Not one, Not two, But Three

2006-08-29T13:19:25Z

Our three detractors are: ]]> Christine Brownson Fay V. Johnson Jr. Olivia K. Paulsen Warren Redlich of the 21st CD race has agreed to help us defend against these folks who fear competition in the polity. Three ! Richard Winger of ballot Access News says we should be flattered. At least we can fight now.

Resistance is Futile ?

2006-08-29T03:37:47Z

We'll have a preliminary result from BOE tommorrow. Should a challenge be forthcoming, it will be easy enough to see which camp cares.

Constantly Kicked in the Teeth

2006-08-28T16:51:13Z

After six weeks of begging fellow voters to acknowledge an independent candidate, then waiting for challenges for the next two weeks, it's not fun to get a letter saying some piece of paperwork needs to be filed by Aug. 25th. ]]> Dear Mr. Greenberg, Your poll of the 20th Congressional District in New York, released today, did not include the candidacy of Eric Sundwall, the Libertarian nominee. We expect to receive news either today or by Sept. 5th of our place on the ballot. We were included in a June Zogby poll. Please explain or justify the exclusion of our candidacy in your public poll. Sincerely, Eric Sundwall Libertarian Nominee NY's 20th Congressional District (518) 754-1023

Maury still cares . . .

2006-08-28T15:55:14Z

Mr. Thompson of the Glens Falls PostStar interviewed us on Friday. The article was in Sunday's paper. It is also available online.

Siena's Push Poll

2006-08-28T15:43:50Z

Touting itself as the first public poll in the 20th Congressional District, no metric was provided for our campaign. It's one thing when Rex Smith doesn't care, but it's completely another when an organization purporting to serve some public good gets involved. ]]> June Zogby poll. This becomes a critical handicap when trying to make the argument to be in the debates. One could certainly blame the 'rules'. We may not officially be on the ballot until September 5th despite making the effort and doing all the required work.

The Exit Strategy

2006-08-27T22:27:02Z

The LP released an exit strategy last summer. Despite numerous issues and problems, they were the first party to start to consider the real problems with occupations. A six to 12 month strategy offered by a freshman Congress person would have little effect.