Libertarians don't represent much of a political force in Hendricks County -- either in the number of party members they claim, or votes cast for their candidates over the years.

But as they do in every general election, Libertarians have fielded a slate of candidates providing alternatives to the Republican Party juggernaut that so dominates Hendricks County's political landscape.

And who knows, said Dennis Derrick, chairman of the party in Hendricks County and one of four Libertarian candidates on the ballot for the November General Election, maybe some day soon they'll actually succeed in altering that landscape.

"We're trying to focus more on getting information to the voters," said Derrick, who's running for County Commissioner in District 3 against Republican Ed Schrier and Democrat Ramona Mullins. "I really want voters to be educated on the people running for office so they can pick the best candidates.

The owner of a small business, Sol Web Services, Derrick, 45, ran for office in 2000 and 2002.

Like most of the commissioner candidates, Derrick thinks managing growth is the most important challenge facing county leaders, but he charges that the ruling Republicans aren't doing a good job.

"What I see is they're not addressing the issues that affect people directly," he said.

For example, he said, although many county roads need upgrading to keep up with the crush of traffic that seems to increase daily, instead of selling bonds to pay for needed improvements, county officials issued bonds to build a new $18 million fair facility and will use a much lower sum for road improvements.

"I don't see the fairgrounds as being a high priority for government," Derrick said, "but roads are a mess. I don't see the current county government setting its priorities properly."

Todd Singer, a candidate for County Commissioner District 3, is running against Republican Phyllis Palmer. A Democrat candidate, Darren Jaynes, has dropped out of the race.

Singer, a 32-year-old Plainfield resident and accountant in corporate finance at Maplehurst Bakeries in Brownsburg, thinks the Libertarian values of small government and individual liberty are more in tune with traditional Hoosier values than either of the two major political parties.

The struggle, he said, is getting that message to voters and convincing them that, if elected, Libertarians can govern effectively.

For this election, Singer said, he would be satisfied with a strong second-place showing. But in years to come, he hopes voters will heed the Libertarian message and think hard about the people they're electing.

A third candidate, 24-year-old Tim Derrick, is running for Hendricks County treasurer.

He is the son of longtime county Libertarian activist Dan Derrick and is a recent graduate of the University of Evansville, where he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy.

Derrick also doesn't have much expectation of winning against his Republican opponent, incumbent Amy Roberts.

"I did it to help out the local party," Derrick said, "But I really think the county has a lot to gain by putting Libertarians in power.

"I would love to win the position and would work hard to keep the office operating as smoothly as it has in the past, but my main purpose is to show people there are choices and alternatives."

A fourth candidate, Ray Nowosielski, is running for the Indiana House of Representatives against Republican incumbent Matthew D. Whetstone.

Call Star reporter Stuart Hirsch at (317) 444-2805.