By Gus Pearcy
Staff Writer

DANVILLE -- Three members of the Libertarian Party of Hendricks County (LPHC) will run in the fall elections to give voters here more choices, said the county chairman.

Party Chairman Dennis Derrick said it's time to loosen the stranglehold the Republican party has on the county.

"We need somebody else in there besides just the Republicans," he said. "I think the Libertarians are the best option because a good portion of members of the Libertarian Party are disgruntled Republicans, who've lost faith in the party."

Libertarians, Derrick said, want to implement the smaller government theory that the Republicans talk about but no longer try to do.

"Our whole idea is to try and save the taxpayer money," he said.

He will run for the county commissioner seat in district 2 against Democrat Ramona Mullins and Republican Ed Schrier.

LPHC Treasurer Todd Singer of Plainfield filed to run for county commissioner in district 3.

Singer, an accountant with Maplehurst Bakeries in Brownsburg, says his background will make him proficient during the budgeting process and in tracking expenditures.

"I'm going to run an active campaign," Singer said, "to get out to some doors and get in front of some voters and see if I can convince them to take a different tactic in the county."

He said his main focus will be infrastructure of the county while repealing regulations on small business.

"I think we got a great opportunity to be a big part of logistics," he said. "We should really try to exploit that."

This is Singer's first run at public office. He joined the Libertarian Party in 2002, he said, because it fit his beliefs.

"It fit my philosophy of less government and personal responsibility," Singer said. "I think I value those things more than either of the big government solutions that the Democrats or Republicans offer."

Singer will run against Democrat Darren Jaynes and Republican Phyllis A. Palmer.

Tim Derrick is running for county treasurer. The nephew of Dennis Derrick is a recent graduate of the University of Evansville.

In the 2000 election, the Libertarians did not fare well. Dan Derrick, Dennis' brother, only received 4 percent of the vote in his bid for the district 2 commissioner seat. Libertarian candidate for treasurer, Christina Piotrowski, did better against eventual winner Amy Roberts. Piotrowski got 10 percent of the votes.