January 2005

By Randy Langkraehr

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A Libertarian running for city council in Springfield, Mo., says his primary goal if elected will be to oppose and eliminate intrusive city ordinances that allow the city too much power over the lives of those who live there.

Doug Burlison, who was chairman of the Greene County Libertarian Party from 1999-2004, is running for city council for the first time, but he's looking to his prior experience as a candidate for Congress to give him a leg up on the competition in this race.

Burlison, 40, ran for Congress four times as a Libertarian -- in 1994, 1998, 2000 and 2002 -- and then in 2004 as a Democrat. "I was trying to pull a Ron Paul, basically," he said of his brief switch to the Democrat Party, referring to the 1988 Libertarian Party candidate for president who is currently a Republican congressman from Texas. "I had built up some name recognition by running for office before, and thought I might be able to do better if I ran as a Democrat. It hasn't signified a change in my philosophy or politics, that's for sure."

In the August 2004 Democrat primary, Burlison drew about 20 percent of the vote, coming in third in a four-way race. The front-runner took about 45 percent of the vote, he said.

The city council race is nonpartisan, but Burlison is still a member of the Libertarian Party and makes no secret of his membership. "I had to resign as county chairman of the Libertarian Party to run for office as a Democrat, but I always considered myself a Libertarian, even when running for Congress as a Democrat," he said. Four four-year posts on the city council are up for grabs in the April 5, 2005 general election. All four incumbents running for re-election are facing opposition -- contrasting to the 2003 election, when three incumbents ran unopposed.

Burlison and incumbent Mary Collette are the only candidates for the General A council seat, so there will be no primary in that race. Burlison promises to oppose "intrusive ordinances like the smoking ban that has been in place for about a year and a half, which bans restaurants from allowing smoking and has driven many restaurants out of business."

No matter how good the intentions of the city council members who pushed for the ordinance, the council failed to listen to those who opposed the smoking ban -- including the affected business owners -- and the result was a law that negatively affects private businesses, he said.

Burlison also hopes to encourage the use of alternative energy sources in the city. "We have a publicly funded city utility, and the council members keep wanting to get an issue on the ballot -- asking the voters to allow them to build a new coal-fired power plant," he explained. "I want them to consider alternative power sources, and to more appropriately compensate those people who already personally use alternative energy sources like solar power for their homes. "If the city would encourage the use of solar power or other alternatives, they might find that we don't need to build a new power plant. But that's a solution they haven't even seriously considered."

A veteran of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division -- he was a decorated paratrooper and was a sergeant when he received his honorable discharge -- Burlison is also an experienced firefighter and EMT, and currently is assistant manager for a Springfield printing company. He holds a degree in public administration and economics from Southwest Missouri State University, where he graduated in 1992. Burlison recently was married to Mellony Mizer (now Burlison), who was the 2004 Libertarian Party candidate for Missouri state representative in the 137th House District.