Contact:
Anthony D’Orazio
1st Vice Chair
Libertarian Party of New York
tdorazio@lpny.org
866-336-3120

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While appearing on Kennedy Nation, Libertarian Larry Sharpe officially announced his second run for Governor of New York. In an unprecedented move, he revealed that he anticipates the backing of three political groups: The Libertarian Party of New York, Andrew Yang’s Forward Party which includes many of his left-leaning supporters, and Unite NY which includes many former Republicans.

A recent Zogby poll showed that compared to a two-way race between Kathy Hochul and Lee Zeldin, the addition of Larry Sharpe in a three-way race resulted in 4 points pulled from the Republican, 1 point pulled from the Democrat, and 1 point pulled from undecided voters.

With two additional lines, Sharpe intends to take a rarely-seen approach to campaigning by modeling cross-party cooperation. It is with this strategy that Sharpe expects to reach voters of all persuasions. Sharpe is leading with his “BRO” platform for: Ballot Access, Ranked Choice Voting, and Open Primaries. His platform also includes his “SUS” program, or Step-Up Stipend inspired by the concept of a negative income tax.

He previously earned automatic ballot access for the Libertarian Party when he attained almost 100,000 votes in the 2018 election. This was subsequently revoked as a line item in Governor Cuomo’s 2020 budget. Expecting that Kathy Hochul would continue Cuomo’s legacy, Sharpe garnered the support of Unite NY and the Forward Party to compete with the major political parties for voters in New York State.

Unite NY is an organization intended to bring all political ideologies together to seek common-sense, non-partisan solutions to fixing government, the economy, and democracy.

Andrew Yang’s Forward Party uses a human-centered approach that is «Not Left, Not Right. Forward.”

Larry Sharpe is a native New Yorker, Marine Corps veteran, husband, and father. He is a seasoned businessman, executive coach, management consultant, and a strategic consultant for thought leaders in government, finance, law, technology, media, and healthcare. Larry has taught at Yale and Columbia and has been active in grassroots campaigning since 2018.

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Press Contact:
Name: Resa Willis and Gabrielle Cordova
Phone: 201-222-1001
Email: press@larrysharpe.com

Download Press Release

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Albany, NY, June 29, 2021 – Abysmal voter turnout in last week’s primary elections clearly demonstrates the need for election reform and Unite NY has been joined by entrepreneur and 2018 Libertarian candidate for Governor Larry Sharpe in calling on both the Democratic and Republican parties to open their primary processes to give more New Yorkers a greater say at the ballot box.

Last week the four largest cities across Upstate New York held contested democratic primaries for mayor and voter turnout was extremely low, with only 13 to 26 percent of registered democrats turning out to decide who will lead their cities. In Albany, Kathy Sheehan garnered a measly 3,600 votes in a city of nearly 100,000 people. The current leader in the Syracuse race attracted just over 2,700 votes, while total Democratic Party primary turnout in Rochester and Buffalo was 20 and 26 percent, respectively.

Given that these cities heavily favor Democrats, the primary often serves as the de facto election, meaning in a city like Buffalo where there is no general election opposition, only 7 percent of eligible voters will have cast a ballot for the likely incoming mayor.

Unite NY Founder Martin Babinec said, “Voter engagement is a vital part of giving people a voice and breaking the grip our current two-party system has by being tilted towards party bosses with restrictions that shut out competition in the electoral process. The fact of the matter is that people aren’t turning out to vote because they don’t feel like they have a choice or a voice in our current electoral process. That is precisely why we need reforms like open primaries, ranked choice voting, and initiative and referendum so that we can put the power of government back where it belongs, in the hands of the people.”

2018 Libertarian candidate for Governor Larry Sharpe said, “Closed primaries are the number one reason why New Yorkers feel trapped, feel powerless and then check-out. This is proven by the embarrassingly low primary voter turnout this year, after record voter turnout last year. The system is allowing the status quo to facilitate our statewide decay.”

Unite NY is the new political home for independent and moderate voters in New York and is strongly supporting a host of electoral reforms that will take power away from party bosses and put it back in the hands of the people. One of those reforms, Ranked Choice Voting was used in New York City and was extremely successful, driving more than 135,000 more New Yorkers to the polls than at the last open mayoral primary in 2013. That increase in voter participation is larger than the entire population of the Cities of Utica and Schenectady COMBINED.

New York is one of only 9 states that still uses a completely closed primary system, effectively disenfranchising more than three and half million voters in the state who are not enrolled in any political party. The need is even more dire since last year. Under the auspices of a COVID relief bill, five of New York’s seven minor parties lost ballot status, leaving half a million people without a party.

The action Unite NY is calling for does not require legislation, rather, both parties could simply change their rules to allow more New Yorkers to participate in the electoral process.

About Unite NY

Unite NY is a new political home in New York State for Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, independents, and others to come together to seek common sense solutions. This new movement offers a home to more than 3.5 million New York voters not currently enrolled in a major party. Focused on a non-partisan approach to fixing real problems in our government, democracy, and economy, Unite NY supports candidates who understand working together is the only way we can succeed. Further, in 2022, Unite NY seeks to establish a ballot line by running a candidate for Governor to help fill the void created by our loss of 5 of the 7 minor parties previously holding statewide ballot access now eliminated from voter choice as the result of 2020 legislation which tripled the qualification hurdles needed to qualify as a minor party. More information is available at: UniteNY.org

Contact

Andrew Rush
PC Public Affairs
Tel. 518.441.2118
EMail: andrew@pcpublicaffairs.com

The post Unite NY Calls for Open Primaries in New York State appeared first on Larry Sharpe, Libertarian.

The Libertarian Party of New York (LPNY) rejects this scheme, and sees several insidious issues related to this policy.

“This new emotion-based policy may be popular among the vaccinated – who, ironically, should have the least to fear – but accomplishes little other than removing personal choice and proclaiming the righteousness of having been vaccinated.” Cody Anderson, Chair of the LPNY, stated. “This policy allows people who have made the choice not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to be shamed and segregated, in public, based upon their vaccine status. Further, anyone wishing to attend a public sporting event will be forced to publicly disclose private health information, as the population density of their respective seating sections will be apparent from a distance. The class structure that Governor Cuomo has created around peoples’ vaccination status creates a de facto regime of vaccine mandates – do as you are told, or remain separate from everyone else. Let us be clear: this is not optional participation. This is an invasion of medical privacy and a forcible vaccine mandate.”

For more information about the Libertarian Party of New York, please visit lpny.org. You may also visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/LPNYOfficial, Twitter @LPNYOfficial, or Instagram @LPNYOfficial.

Contact: 
Anthony D’Orazio 
Public Engagement Director 
Libertarian Party of New York
866-336-3120

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“Cherry” came out on March 12, 2021. It’s a movie about an army medic suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In the context of National Let’s Laugh Day on March 19, and the International Day of Happiness on March 20th, we must shine a light on this escalating problem.

Military suicides have increased by as much as 20% during the coronavirus pandemic with a 30% spike for active Army personnel, up from 88 in 2019 to 114 in 2020 according to CBS News. COVID-19 PTSD is real, and when layered upon Veteran PTSD, it’s a recipe for disaster.

We’ve been socially isolated for over a year due to lockdowns on our lives and the economy. This pandemic is real, and deadly. But we cannot ignore the 18 million veterans in the US, many of whom suffer from mental health issues. Governors like Andrew Cuomo are ignoring the needs of people who served, in an attempt to maintain control and win votes.

Larry Sharpe was a Sergeant in the Marine Corps during the Gulf War era. While he was active, he made hundreds of friends who still struggle from that time. And post USMC, he has worked with hundreds of Veterans who struggle with suicidal thoughts, even today. Sharpe ran for Governor of New York in 2018 and got about 100,000 votes. Numerous Sharpe supporters are veterans. He is still connected to many of them.

Recently, Sharpe spoke with US Army veteran, Justin Durm about suicide among veterans. Durm said, “I lost a friend that I’ve known since elementary school and it was a dark period in my life. He was a former marine. Semper fi.”

According to Sharpe, we must act IMMEDIATELY to deal with this veteran crisis and:

1. End the COVID-19 lockdowns and ask people instead to voluntarily stay home or get vaccinated if they are at high risk of infection.
2. Go through our contact lists and call every Veteran we know, to check in with them and let them know we’re available to talk.
3. Rework regulations that revoke gun licenses for mental health issues, which often result in veterans avoiding the mental health treatment they desperately need, out of fear that they’ll have their guns taken away.
4. Reach out to your local support group for veterans and ask them if they need help. If none is present, then start one.
5. Socialize with local veterans in healthy activities that help them to adjust to civilian life.

About The Sharpe Way: The Sharpe Way Show was founded by Larry Sharpe, the 2018 Libertarian Party candidate for Governor of New York to help heal the nation’s political divide between liberals and conservatives.

PRESS CONTACT

Georgia Walker / Dennis Consorte
The Sharpe Way
Phone: 201-222-1001
Email: pr@sharpeway.com

The post 5 Steps to Reduce COVID PTSD Among Veterans and Others After a Year of Social Isolation appeared first on Larry Sharpe, Libertarian.

Small Business Ownership

Larry said that there is a systemic lack of ownership that’s noticeable in lower-income, Black and Brown communities and among immigrants. Business-minded people come to the United States with a high level of enthusiasm, and visions of a better life than the one they left. People everywhere imagine owning their homes and starting businesses. Yet, our system of governance puts major obstacles in the way of their success.

Here in New York, they are faced with a wall of regulations and occupational licenses for everything you can imagine, from braiding hair at a whopping $20,000 required spend on education and other prerequisites, to its crackdown on unlicensed dog-walkers. Seriously?

How is a person expected to respond to such entrepreneurial spirit-killing over-regulation? Unsurprisingly, Larry says that with limited choices, these impoverished people begin looking at high-risk activities and crime. Those people who turn to crime will prey on their neighbors, where these crimes often go unreported, particularly in immigrant communities where undocumented people fear deportation, or where previously incarcerated individuals don’t want to increase their own risk of recidivism. According to Larry, this endless cycle continues, increasing incentives for human trafficking, the illegal drug trade, protection rackets, and sweatshops.

Larry believes that one approach to reducing poverty in these communities is by creating incentives for business ownership. For example, licensing requirements can be replaced with non-compulsory credentials. A hair-braider can just braid hair if they want to, without a license, or they may take the courses necessary to qualify for credentials in which some people may find value. This is especially true for low-risk jobs that do not involve dangerous activities. In this regard, a hair braider or dog-walker may get to work right away to earn an honest living, and they may also choose to get credentialed after they have the necessary funds in hand. As a result, consumers have more choices and can make rational decisions. They may choose the lower-priced, non-credentialed dog-walker, or they may choose to pay more to the dog walker who took a 12-hour class on animal care.

Home Ownership, and Poverty

According to Larry, wealthy, and often middle-class people are able to give their children an edge with the savings they accumulate through homeownership, but impoverished people have no corresponding equity. This leaves their children in a cycle of dependence and poverty, where money spent is money lost, as is the case with rent,  and a community that encourages the use of government programs that are funded by taxpayers.

Larry wants to see these communities thrive. People from every background are eager for homeownership, business ownership, and self-ownership. Yet because of barriers to ownership, people stay on welfare and stay poor.

Larry believes that public housing should have a path to ownership, too. Renting housing to low-income families is a bandaid, even when rental costs are low. Instead, Larry believes that we should give people the chance to purchase their public housing units. Instead of throwing away money on rent every month, people can invest in their property. In addition, when people own their property, they take better care of it. This is a win for society, and for the new homeowner. London already has a similar model for homeownership, where low-income families can have shared ownership in property, without investing the full market rate.

Fixing Families and Prison Reform

Larry Sharpe applies this concept to the idea of taking ownership of your life. This is most apparent in Brown and Black populations, where men are incarcerated at a considerably high rate. These people–predominantly men get convicted for nonviolent crimes like drug-related offenses, resulting in fatherless homes. The other people in these populations who actually have productive lives are incentivized to work for the government, where their lives aren’t self-owned, either.

Larry believes that we can do a lot of good by eliminating the fear among potential employers when it comes to hiring less-skilled, minority, and immigrant employees. Presently, employers may be targeted by the government if they fail at complying with any number of regulations, and so they hire the “safer” employees.

Want to know more? Watch the video, below:

The post How to Decrease Poverty in America appeared first on Larry Sharpe, Libertarian.

Video Transcript

Up next on live it up it’s Larry Sharpe and today we’re gonna be talking about his race for governor of New York.

Hello, how are you?

Good thanks for having me again

I appreciate your why are you running for governor?

It’s a great question I hear that often obviously but New York State has a lot of the same problems that the entire country does rural versus urban North versus South the the suburban areas in a small town struggling while the cities are the ones that thrive and New York State is perfect sample of that New York state has about 80 million people but we’ve been losing population we’re now fourth behind Florida okay well that’s bad but the city is still growing New York City is still growing people are flocking to the city because they know that’s where the opportunity is but we can’t have that we’ve got to connect the cities with the rest of the state we can’t let New York State you can’t let me go stay be a place where New York City is the only center so we’ve got to connect them and we got to connect them in different ways through education transportation through culture and the problem is centralizing that control in Albany that’s not gonna spur innovation New York State has to become a place where people want to innovate and you can do it we’ve got the colleges for it we’ve got we’ve got Cornell we’ve got Columbia we’ve got RTI we’ve got Syracuse he’s a great universities where we can make this happen and we haven’t because again we won’t release them and let them be them what we have to realize is never has innovation been spurned in any way shape or form been spurred because of control and fertilization right I’m a business guy that’s what I do I train people to be innovative I train people to grow what’s the first thing I do when somebody tells me lying my company’s not growing isn’t doing something I don’t say take more control is it reverse okay right reverse let your leadership let it talk let it breathe let it act let it show you how valuable can be will we have some failures sure but we’ll also have some massive successes and we need that with the change the culture of New York State which right now at its core is a culture of punishment not a culture of justice it’s a culture of control not a culture of innovation don’t do this don’t do that don’t touch the hot schools right yes don’t-don’t-don’t right okay problem pass a law regulation there’s a problem make a change the problem attack I recently we’ve been talking in New York in New York State about the idea of free education right sounds amazing but do we know that free education you have to stay in the state for the same number of years that you’ve gone to college for free correct four four four yes which means are you for that or no of course not you just applied someone to stay in the state why wouldn’t you instead allow allow the colleges to do what they think is right does an RTI or circus University of Cornell know better than the government of course they do allow them do what they think is appropriate instead we bribed them and we’ve just asked people to be corrupt okay because for sure if someone goes to SUNY for four years finds their dream job in Boston or in Philadelphia they’re gonna go they’re just gonna lie they’re gonna keep they’re gonna keep an address there with their father or their cousin or their brother they’re going to lie we’ve just asked people to be corrupt we’ve added corruption to a New York State that’s corrupt enough we don’t have to add that okay now I think that’s an interesting perspective because I feel slightly a little bit different than that but I didn’t look at it from your from your paradigm shift time so I think conversation is good because it does get things brought up to the surface of course because for me I say as a single mom I say okay well that’s not such a bad deal and I want my child to stay near me anyway I don’t want there to be a brain drain but you’re right certain things have to be put in place but I think it’s an overall may be a possibility of a good idea well okay wouldn’t you rather fit a choice okay instead of accepting you know what the answer is bribery enforce right wouldn’t you instead say why don’t I open it up to make New York State a better place so that your daughter or your son wants to stay here well I think they want to stay okay and my point is we’re not even close to that we’re nowhere near people ask little time Larry what you’re saying is very different how are you gonna win it’s a great question and here’s the answer right now there’s only two people running the current governor and me that’s it Wow that’s always running right now now wait a minute the current governor does have a bad disapproval rate at the moment right now right okay so why aren’t Republicans rushing why aren’t they rushing to oppose him want they were asked to do that because they know they can’t win there aren’t enough registered Republicans in the state who show up to vote them they’re going to lose they know that so why are they rushing up because that person is going to be a sacrificial lamb they’re gonna go up pretend to fight and lose and and then Cuomo wins right but instead they come up with some like me right now Democrats Republicans are tribes so they are there’s no real policy there its identity politics I feel more like this or I feel more like that I fear the other one more so I vote for that politics of fear is a bad idea Paul of identity is a bad idea instead look for someone myself I’m a libertarian but probably Terry what does that mean that means I’m gonna have enough of the democratic values which they don’t actually do they talk about okay the idea of freedom the idea of allowing people to be what they want to be sneaking up someone’s bedroom that idea is what I have okay at the same time at the same values that what Republicans are supposed to have which means less government stay in my pocketbook not heavy taxes allowing small business to grow I have both of those so someone could actually vote for me and get most of what they want versus voting for the other and getting nothing or voting for the same or thing and nothing changing independent thinker that is correct it’s pulling together the best of what it is for New Yorkers 100% not just that look people talk about the first hundred days as governor there’s no way I’m gonna walk in the door and change everything that’s a bad idea again I’m the business guy so I do for a living right I don’t walk into someone’s business a fire everybody change everything all that does is create fear and worry and everything fails it encourages rebellion that what I want it has to be a conversation a bully pulpit talking about we just did right now having the conversation that will make let’s let us say oh wait a minute make sense we have to change that having the people say wait a minute it’s not just a left and right paradigm there’s something in between we have to change that that is how you can actually get both sides to actually do something that changes doesn’t just maintain corny capitalism doesn’t just maintain corruption we can actually make a change with a new person in Albany what I like about you too Larry is that you are already thinking about solutions to problems that you see so you’re running on a platform of solutions more than anything else absolutely so I do wish you the best and I thank you for bringing it here to us I know you just recently announced it on your birthday absolutely I’m running for God when interesting go to Larry sharp calm if they want to donate if they want to pledge if they want to volunteer I’m taking volunteers and happy that people help throughout the state excellent and the thing that I love best about America is that it is a land of the free and so congratulations on deciding to run and I wish you all the best – thank you stay tuned for more on live it up and if you’re in a community where you decide that you think a solution might be for you to run for public office please do you know embrace that opportunity because it is your right thanks for joining us on live it up you

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