Daily Progress - 5th District Candidate Profile: Libertarian Paul Jones

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By Bryan McKenzie

If you're not a Republican or a Democrat candidate in the 5th District, it's hard for anyone to hear you run for office, but Libertarian candidate Paul Jones, 66, is making as much noise as possible.

Jones, a retired Charlottesville businessman and real estate agent, is one of three challengers going up against incumbent Republican Robert Hurt. He joins Democratic candidate Lawrence Gaughan and independent Green Party candidate Ken. Hildebrandt.

"The campaign is going well, considering the level of funds we're dealing with," Jones said. "I've done a lot of traveling from one end of the district to the other, and this is a big district. I've spoken to groups from the Carolina line to Warrenton."

Jones said he and the other challengers are racking up mileage, although they haven't seen much of the incumbent on the campaign circuit. He compared that to Rep. Eric I. Cantor, who lost the Republican primary in the 7th District.

"I'm not sure he's campaigning at all," Jones said of Hurt. "I guess he doesn't feel he has to. I know Cantor felt that way in the primary. But the three of us see a lot of each other and we're getting a good reputation. A lot of people are saying they're glad to know they do have a choice and they're listening and asking questions. In a lot of ways, that's part of what this all about."

Jones is part of an advance wave of Libertarians who, for the first time, have managed to raise enough signatures to have a candidate in nearly every congressional race in Virginia.

Working with limited budgets, the candidates are trying to get out the word that a third party exists that thinks differently than the two traditional parties.

"A Republican and a Democrat will always be on the ballot because that's the state law. A third-party candidate has to acquire enough signatures of voters in a district and that makes it a lot tougher," Jones said. "But if more people see an "L' on the ballot with the "Rs' and "Ds,' the more they are going to see the Libertarian Party as a viable option and not a wasted vote."

Jones said that explaining the Libertarian platform can be difficult because it doesn't work well in short sound bites. The platform involves eliminating many federal departments that are not related to providing services required in the U.S. Constitution, cutting taxes and letting individuals assume responsibility for their retirement and health care.

"If someone says "tell me what you're about,' it can take a while to explain it so they don't think you're crazy," he laughed. "When I tell people that I'm in favor of eliminating departments like the federal Department of Education, they think it's nuts because that's where the federal funding for schools come. But when you explain that if that department is eliminated those funds can be sent directly to the schools, they start listening."

Jones said state and local districts are more aware of what educational programs are needed than the federal government's efforts at one-size-fits-all.

"No Child Left Behind, Common Core, they are all attempts to make every school district teach the same things, but Charlottesville students may not benefit from the same programs and same tests as a school in Alabama. It doesn't make sense. That money could be better spent locally."

Jones said he's getting good feedback from people on the road and is enjoying the campaign.

"The three of us who attend these forums get along just fine," he said. "There's nothing personal between us. Our differences are policy issues and how we view government. That's where the division is. We basically have a lot of fun."

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