Andrew Liuzzo (left, foreground) with Larry Sharpe (right, foreground)
From WRFA-FM in Jamestown, New York on September 23, 2019:
Jamestown City Councilman At Large and 2019 mayoral candidate Andrew Liuzzo has left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party. The announcement was made during a press conference Sunday morning with county Libertarian party officials present, along with an appearance by Larry Sharpe, 2018 Libertarian candidate for New York Governor.
“I ran for City Councilman at Large to represent all the citizens of Jamestown. I am running for Mayor to continue to serve you,” said Liuzzo. “My values for less government restrictions and interference, lower taxes, making decisions openly, reducing expenditures, and admission of mistakes have not changed. I appreciate the support I have received from Republican, Democrats, and everyone that see my efforts for what they are. I will continue as Mayor to listen to everyone that has concerns or questions. I care about individuals, businesses, big or small, manufacturing, and schools. I firmly believe we can do better if we do things together.”
Liuzzo was elected to the city council during the 2017 election when he ran as a Republican candidate. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican Party’s endorsement for mayor earlier this year, having been defeated in the city Republican Primary by Chautauqua County legislator David Wilfong, with a final vote of 480 to 271. Shortly after losing the primary he accepted the Libertarian party’s nomination to run as mayor under their party line on the ballot.
This is the first year where a local election will feature the Libertarian Line on the ballot. The addition comes after Sharpe received at least 50,000 votes during his failed run for governor in 2018. Under state law, any party that receives 50,000 or more votes in a governor’s race will secure a line on the ballot for the next four general elections, including all local races.
“As I have always said, every county matters,” said Sharpe. “I want us to turn our counties gold. One of the ways we do that, is by having local people who care to make change. Andrew Liuzzo is one of those people. He is a man who actually cares about his local community and wants to bring this community together. He knows that right now in many small towns across the state, people are so worried about the internal, in their own home and that’s it, and they are not looking out for the community at large. And they should be looking out for the community at large.”
“I am grateful that the Libertarian Party recognized me as an individual that cares about the residents and holding our elected officials accountable,” Liuzzo added. “Because of their support, I can now represent all parties and all people that want to work hard to restore a community that is one city.”
“I want to thank Larry Sharpe for joining us for this important occasion,” said Andrew Martin Kolstee, Chair of the Chautauqua County Libertarian Party. “This is an important and historic election for the city of Jamestown, and everyone in this city should be heard and represented. This isn’t about one party or the other. This is about all the people of Jamestown and their concerns and ideas that we can exchange to make our community a better place.”
In addition to Liuzzo and Wilfong (who’s also received the endorsement of the local Conservative Party), Jamestown Attorney Eddie Sundquist is also running for mayor in this year’s election, making it a three way race. Sundquist is running on the Democratic, Independence, and Working Families lines on the ballot.
To learn more about Liuzzo’s campaign, visit his campaign’s Facebook page or website at www.AndrewLiuzzo.com.
