Kapa’a small businessman Lloyd Jeffrey “Jeff” Mallan’s candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives is not about winning, he says. It’s about spreading the ideas and ideals of his Libertarian Party. “I’m not running to win,” said Mallan, who turns
Kapa’a small businessman Lloyd Jeffrey “Jeff” Mallan’s candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives is not about winning, he says.
It’s about spreading the ideas and ideals of his Libertarian Party.
“I’m not running to win,” said Mallan, who turns 59 later this month. “I’m running to debate ideas, and to bring Libertarian ideas public. My victory will be in getting people to think.”
Mallan, a writer, project developer and owner of Artful Expressions, Ltd., a company that develops Web sites and does other creative projects, was running for the U.S House of Representatives’ Hawai’i seat encompassing the Neighbor Islands and rural O’ahu when it wasn’t cool.
That is, he is one of a rare handful of candidates to get into the race when incumbent U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, a Democrat, was still alive.
Since her death, Mallan is also among 38 people including the widower John Mink who have also entered to run in a special election set for Saturday, Nov. 30, to fill the remainder of Patsy Mink’s term.
Mallan was in the race from the start, winning the Libertarian primary in September, 95 to 71, over Lawrence “Lehr” Duquesne. There were 35 blank votes in that race.
There are some 300 Libertarians in elected office across the country, Mallan said.
He said he is running also because of what he sees as the dangerous situation not only with a potential war against Iraq, but because of what he sees as something even more threatening: the potential trampling of constitutional rights that could cripple the nation’s economy, the result of U.S. domestic response to the terrorist attacks of 13 months ago.
Mallan answers “I don’t know” when asked if he has a chance to win either the general or first special election, and said he will probably enter to run in the second special election, set for early January, should Patsy Mink win re-election posthumously at the general election.
The cello-playing Mallan also runs a small business that sets up local merchants to accept various bank and credit cards for purchases.
The other two Kaua’i-based candidates who have filed papers to run in the Nov. 30 special election are Greg “Iimz” Goodwin of Ha’ena, a Green Party candidate, and Walter R. Barnes of Wailua Homesteads, a Republican.
They did not respond to e-mail requests for comments.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
