Date: Thu, 29 Jun 1995 02:32:38 -0700 To: libernet@dartmouth.edu From: kalb@libertysoft.com (Jon Kalb) Subject: Harry Browne Qualifies for TV Debates Harry Browne to Participate in First Nationally Televised Presidential Debate "Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne will be included in the first nationally televised presidential debate of the '96 election season this October 8th," according to national campaign director Sharon Ayres. "This is an exciting first for a Libertarian presidential candidate." Harry's participation in the debate results from his campaign qualifying for participation in the the nationwide CityVote preferential primary scheduled for November 7th. "The initial qualifying deadline is July 1, and the official list of qualifying candidates won't be released until July 10," said Ayres, "but based on our information, Harry has met all the criteria and will qualify." CityVote, which bills itself as "A National Urban Presidential Primary", is a multi-city, non-binding presidential preference poll which will be conducted in conjunction with local elections taking place on November 7 in at least 16 cities across the country. Preceding the balloting will be a series of three televised debates, the first of which is scheduled to be held in Minneapolis-Saint Paul on Sunday, October 8. Coverage will be by Twin Cities Public Television KTCA/KTCI (a PBS affiliate) and by CSPAN. The second debate will be in Spokane on October 22. A likely site for the third debate on November 5 is Boston. "I'm delighted that we've already qualified to participate in CityVote," said Harry. "I look forward to the debates with the other candidates -- the Republicans and possibly even President Clinton. We've waited a long time to be able to confront them directly -- and to make them justify their spending programs, the taxes they've all voted for, and the intrusions on our liberties." "I'd especially like to thank our campaign donors," he added. "It's obvious now how important early support can be. Without it, we wouldn't have qualified for this program." Based on information obtained by the Browne campaign, it's likely that at least 6 Republican candidates have qualified for CityVote and the debates thus far, including Phil Gramm, Bob Dole, Arlen Specter, Lamar Alexander, Richard Lugar and Pat Buchanan. On the Democratic side, incumbent Bill Clinton automatically qualifies, and he may be joined by longtime perennial candidate Lyndon LaRouche. It appears that no other third party candidate will qualify as of the initial deadline. According to Ayres, qualifying for CityVote by the first deadline on July 1 was a challenge. "Naturally, Harry met the basic requirements, such as 'being a publicly announced candidate for President in the 1996 election who has filed a declaration of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission (FEC)'," she explained. "That's something a candidate is required to do as soon as a threshold of $5,000 in contributions and/or expenditures is reached." "But there are also six participation criteria, any three of which can qualify a candidate for CityVote," she noted. "The contribution distribution requirements were the tricky part." The three criteria under which the Browne campaign qualified were: 1) in the case of an independent candidate (defined by CityVote as "a candidate not running as a Democrat or Republican"), being able to provide evidence of sufficient organization making it more likely than not that he/she will qualify for the general election ballot in at least 35 of the 50 states; 2) having received at least $100,000 in campaign contributions to date during 1995 which are legally qualified donations (pursuant to FEC rules) of $1,000 or less, with no more than $10,000 being attributed to any one state; and 3) receiving, in at least 15 states, $2,000 or more in total campaign contributions which are legally qualified donations (for FEC matching purposes) of $250 or less. The Browne campaign qualified in 19 states under the contribution criteria: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. "While our current contributors played a major role in qualifying Harry for participation in CityVote," said Ayres, "we're also now seeing some tangible residual value from the work the Libertarian Party has done on ballot access over the years -- especially by achieving 50-state ballot status in 1992. And it reinforces the Browne campaign's commitment to helping the LP again achieve 50-state status in 1996." Currently, 16 cities with a combined population of over five million have agreed to participate in the CityVote balloting, in the following order: Spokane, WA; St. Paul, MN; Baltimore, MD; Pasadena, CA; Minneapolis, MN; Boston, MA; Tumwater, WA; Moscow, ID; Lacey, WA; Fayette, MO; Tucson, AZ; Rochester, NY; Monroe County, NY; Greenburgh, NY: Tacoma, WA: and Spokane County, WA. Other cities which have expressed an interest include San Francisco, Houston, San Diego, Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, Portland and New Haven. "This marks the first time that a candidate seeking the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination will appear in debates with candidates seeking the nomination of the Democratic or Republican parties," said Libertarian Party national chair Steve Dasbach. "Harry Browne's inclusion in these debates points out the value of the Libertarian Party's record of ballot access achievement, and the importance of early success in fundraising. It also demonstates the opportunities created by moving our nominating convention to 1996." Jon Kalb, Internet volunteer For more information contact: ___________________________________________________________________________ Harry Browne for President | email> Browne@rahul.net 1500 Adams Avenue | voice> (714) 437-7911 / fax> (714) 432-1468 Suite 105 | url> http://www.rahul.net/browne/ Costa Mesa, CA 92626 | anon. ftp at /pub/browne on ftp.rahul.net ___________________________________________________________________________