Libertarian finds new audience, bolsters campaign support

FRANKLIN, Ind. -- Following the first gubernatorial debate for the 2004 election between Republican candidate Mitch Daniels and Democratic Governor Joe Kernan, local politicos are abuzz over Libertarian candidate Kenn Gividen.\n"I think the one that gained the most from this debate was the Libertarian candidate," said IU College Republican President Angel Rivera. "This is the first time during the campaign he's gotten an audience."\nBefore Tuesday's election, Gividen was perhaps most well-known for his non-use of marijuana.\n"Not that it matters, but a lot of people think it's ironic that the Libertarian candidate is the only one who hasn't smoked pot," Gividen said in an Aug. 27 article in the Indiana Daily Student.\nBut Gividen finally received his chance to announce his plans before a televised audience Tuesday night. After clearing his throat four times before starting, Gividen delivered his platform with a hoarse voice, and his words represented the views of an unknown third-party candidate.\nGividen's debate was rich with Libertarian party-line material: He said he believes the citizens of Indiana would be better off if Indiana's government would stay out of matters.\n"The problem is there is too much government involvement," he said. "And when the government tries to fix things, they always get much worse."\nThe candidate also has a bold plan for education. Gividen said he would work to transform every school in Indiana to a charter school -- one in which parents, not teachers and administrators, would determine students' curricula.\n"We already have a model for this system in New Zealand," he said. "If you compare the two systems, the charter system is better every time."\nSince Gividen plans to decrease the cost of education (he said the new charter system would save taxpayers between 50 and 80 percent on education), there would be room in his government to eliminate taxes. If anything was the centerpiece of Gividen's comments Tuesday night, it was his insistence that Indiana do away with property taxes -- all property taxes.\n"I agree with the Governor's 2 percent property tax cap," he said. "The only problem is it's 2 percent too high."\nGividen also made repeated references to his Web site, www.libertarianforgovernor.com, in which he outlines a 46-point "plan for economic development."\nThe first item on the list is to end property taxes. The 46th item on the list is to "develop non-exportable employment by actively pursuing industries whose jobs cannot be effectively sent overseas."\nAnd so the Libertarian candidate made his mark on the election Tuesday, as many who had never heard of him got their first insight into his idea for a new Indiana.\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.