By Alex Hampl
alexandrianews.org
Matthew Mosley. (Website Photo)
On June 9, there was a Republican primary election to select their candidate to run for Congress in Virginia’s Eighth District. That day was also the deadline for independent candidates to file their petitions to run against incumbent Democrat Jim Moran.
In July, the Virginia State Board of Elections certified three qualified candidates whose names will be printed on the ballot: Republican J. Patrick Murray; Democrat James P. “Jim” Moran Jr and Independent Green Party Candidate J. Ron Fisher. Libertarian Party of Virginia Candidate Matthew R. Mosley was not certified as eligible to run because his petition did not contain the required 1,000 signatures of qualified voters in the Eighth District. The Libertarian Party of Virginia sued the State Board of Elections and is awaiting a ruling from federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Virginia Code 24.2-506 says, “Each signature on the petition shall have been witnessed by a person who is himself a qualified voter, or qualified to register to vote, for the office for which he is circulating the petition and whose affidavit to that effect appears on each page of the petition.”
According to the State Board of Elections, a number of signatures on Mosley’s petition were collected and witnessed by people who do not reside in the Eighth District, and were disqualified. The LPVA lawsuit says that the requirement that a circulator of a petition live in the district for which the candidate is running for office is overly restrictive.
“The lawsuit has been filed, and we are awaiting answers form th Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Chuck Moulton, LPVA’s Communications Director. “There will be a court ruling on the injunction before the ballots are printed.”
Even if LPVA prevails, and the signatures are allowed, Mosley has an additional problem: he lives in Virginia’s Tenth Congressional District, not the Eight. Virginia Code 24.2-501 says, “It shall be a requirement of candidacy for any office of the Commonwealth, or of its governmental units, that a person must file a written statement under oath, on a form prescribe4d by the State Board, that he is qualified to vote for and hold the office for which he is a candidate.”
The LPVA is attempting to address this issue with another lawsuit. “There is another case just like this involving a Seventh Congressional District U.S. House candidate (an Independent) who lives in the First Congressional District,” Moulton said. “That case was filed in federal court in Richmond, while Matt’s case was filed in federal court in Alexandria.”
Since absentee voting begins on Sept. 17, the ballots must be printed and available to voters prior to that. Electoral Board sources said that a court ruling must be handed down by Sept. 3.
Meet Matt Mosley
Most voters in the Eighth District know very little about Libertarian candidate Matthew Mosley, since he was not involved in any of the debates prior to June 9.
“I feel that it is part of our duty as citizens to step forward and do our parts when we feel something is wrong,” said Mosley about why he is running for office. “I disagree with some of the policies of this administration – and the last administration – and I feel that the private sector needs to be provided the ability to grow the economy. Small businesses create wealth – free enterprise works. I am the only candidate to run a business and be part of the private sector. The founding fathers intended for a citizen government, not career politicians.”
According to Mosley’s website: “Our national security would be enhanced by a withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan as quickly as can be effected without compromising the safety of US military personnel, a focus on Al-Qaeda as the US’ greatest security threat and a non-interventionist foreign policy. The reduced cost of such a national security strategy would also benefit the economy.”
On the economy: “The Cato Institute identifies $263 billion of proposed spending cuts in only the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Education and HUD (with the last two departments completely terminated). I will identify other proposed federal government spending reductions during my campaign,” Mosley said on his website.
As to health care: “Health care is not a right, because it requires the talents and resources of other people. The federal government is not empowered by the U.S. Constitution to provide health care. Health care for the poor should be treated as a welfare issue and handled by the states. We must get away from our system of employer-based health insurance. We need deregulation in the delivery of medical services and a more consumer-driven health care system, which will not happen until Third Party Payers become less dominant in US health care. Third parties financed 86% of health care in 2001, up from 56% in 1965. We should allow interstate purchases of health insurance and move the public away from first dollar or small co-pay coverage to purchases of catastrophic health insurance,” Mosley wrote.
In keeping with Libertarian Party values, Mosley supports individual liberties. “I believe that every human being is endowed with the right to life, liberty and property and that these rights are protected by our Constitution. I support Constitutional restrictions on federal powers and oppose the broad and vague application of the general welfare and interstate commerce clauses. As a candidate, I have signed the Liberty Compact put forward by the Republican Liberty Caucus and encourage others to do the same. The U.S. Constitution guarantees the individual right to keep and bear arms. As a Life Member of the NRA and supporter of VCDL, I will fight to protect this right for all citizens,” Mosley said on his website.
A native of Western Pennsylvania, Mosley has lived in Virginia for the past 10 years. He is an technology consultant specializing in Internet security. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Libertarian Party of Northern Virginia for five years. He is married and has one daughter and three dogs.