Monday, March 27, 2006
CD 22 Update: Friendswood Libertarian Bob Smither Joins race against Delay, Lampson, and Stockman
According to the Galveston Daily News, the race for the District 22 congressional seat became a bit more crowded over the weekend. The Libertarian Party nominated Bob Smither, founder of the Friendswood-based Laura Recovery Center, to be its candidate for the seat now held by Republican Tom DeLay.
[snip]
The engineering consultant is known for the tragic case that involved the kidnapping and murder of his daughter Laura Smither. The 12-year-old Friendswood girl was out for a jog in April 1997 when she was abducted. Her body was found a 17 days later in a pond not far from her home.
Smither and his wife, Gay, helped found the Laura Recovery Center, a nationally recognized center that helps search for missing children. The center also serves as a national advocate for laws to keep children safe.
[snip]
Smither said one of his main campaign issues would be pushing for the Fair Tax, or national sales tax system, to replace federal income taxes. On that issue he finds himself on the same side of the issue as DeLay who is leading an effort to get the Fair Tax plan passed within the next two months.
“The income tax discourages investment, raises the price of all of our goods, makes us less competitive in the world marketplace, encourages corruption of our elected representatives and destroys our rights,” said Smither. “The Fair Tax will reduce the price of manufactured goods an estimated 20 to 30 percent, all but eliminate the compliance cost of tax collection, eliminate the IRS and be much fairer and transparent than our current system.
”Smither wasn’t the only one this weekend working to get himself on the November ballot for the District 22 seat. Former Congressman Steve Stockman and his supporters were busy gathering signatures to get him placed on the ballot as an independent. Stockman, who served one term in Congress as a Republican in the mid-1990s, has to gather 500 signatures from registered voters in the district who did not vote in either primary.
[snip]
The engineering consultant is known for the tragic case that involved the kidnapping and murder of his daughter Laura Smither. The 12-year-old Friendswood girl was out for a jog in April 1997 when she was abducted. Her body was found a 17 days later in a pond not far from her home.
Smither and his wife, Gay, helped found the Laura Recovery Center, a nationally recognized center that helps search for missing children. The center also serves as a national advocate for laws to keep children safe.
[snip]
Smither said one of his main campaign issues would be pushing for the Fair Tax, or national sales tax system, to replace federal income taxes. On that issue he finds himself on the same side of the issue as DeLay who is leading an effort to get the Fair Tax plan passed within the next two months.
“The income tax discourages investment, raises the price of all of our goods, makes us less competitive in the world marketplace, encourages corruption of our elected representatives and destroys our rights,” said Smither. “The Fair Tax will reduce the price of manufactured goods an estimated 20 to 30 percent, all but eliminate the compliance cost of tax collection, eliminate the IRS and be much fairer and transparent than our current system.
”Smither wasn’t the only one this weekend working to get himself on the November ballot for the District 22 seat. Former Congressman Steve Stockman and his supporters were busy gathering signatures to get him placed on the ballot as an independent. Stockman, who served one term in Congress as a Republican in the mid-1990s, has to gather 500 signatures from registered voters in the district who did not vote in either primary.
