The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London reminds Americans of local government's ability to transfer real property from Poor Peter to Politically-Powerful Paul.

As Utah's November 8th local government elections approach, have you discovered which candidates for office have designs on your home?

The Political Economy Research Center has drafted a statement of principles for preserving freedom and livability in America's cities and suburbs titled "The Lone Mountain Compact."

If you want to protect your home from municipal meddlers, it may be worth investigating where candidates for local office stand on the following questions based on those principles:

*Absent a material threat to other individuals or the community, should my family or I be allowed to live and work where and how we like?

*Where do you stand on prescriptive, centralized plans that attempt to determine the detailed outcome of community form and function?

*Should densities and land uses be market driven, or plan driven?

*What degree of diversity in neighborhood design will you allow in my community?

*Do you prefer that centralized or regional government planning agencies make neighborhood development decisions over community councils and private covenants?

*Should local planning procedures and tools incorporate private property rights as a fundamental element of development control?

*Do you believe Utah's Property Rights Ombudsman provides a valuable check on the actions of local government?

*Should all growth management policies be evaluated according to their cost of living and "burden-shifting" effects?

*Where do you stand on market-oriented transportation strategies, such as peak period road pricing, HOT lanes, toll roads, and de-monopolized mass transit?

*Should the rights of present residents supersede those of future residents?

*Should planning decisions be based on facts or perceptions?

Are you happy with their answers?

The Reason Foundation sponsors the Urban Futures program as a resource for liberty-oriented solutions to issues that frequently appear on the agendas of local governments.

And elected Libertarians -- including one here in Utah -- have succeeded in increasing the quality of life for citizens in their communities.

They offer less-costly and less-restrictive alternatives worth exploring and implementing.

Yours in liberty,

Rob Latham, Chair

Libertarian Party of Utah