But Steven Ashmore discovers the Constitution Party too late to register in time for Nov. 2 voting.
By WILL VAN SANT
Published October 28, 2004
District 3 County Commission candidate Steven Ashmore, a Christian conservative, has run without party affiliation.
Though he has backers in Hernando, Ashmore said being an independent has left him feeling like something of a "lone wolf." That changed two weeks ago when a friend directed him to the Web site of the Constitution Party.
"It was like reading one of my own speeches," said Ashmore, one of several candidates who attend Brooksville's Landmark Baptist Church and have vied for local office this year. "They basically stand where I stand," the 49-year-old Brooksville mortgage broker said of the Constitution Party.
With both the Republican and Democratic parties having abandoned his "traditional conservative values," Ashmore said, if elected on Nov. 2, he'll register as a member of the Constitution Party.
According to its Web site, the Constitution Party hopes to restore what they contend was the founders' original vision for America: a limited federal government based on biblical teachings.
It's the only party that is "completely pro-life, anti-homosexual rights, pro-American sovereignty, anti-globalist, anti-free trade, anti-deindustrialization, anti-unchecked immigration, pro-second amendment, and against the constantly increasing expansion of unlawful police laws," according its Web site.
Ashmore said he would have registered as a Constitution Party candidate earlier but was unable to do so because of a rule that prohibits switching parties during the 29 days before an election.
Both of Ashmore's opponents, Democratic County Commissioner Diane Rowden and Republican Mark Cattell, had little reaction to the news. Neither knew much about the Constitution Party and said they doubted many county residents were familiar with the group.
