REPRESENTING HOBOKEN: City Resident Dan Delaney Running as Libertarian Candidate for Congress

This election cycle, Americans have learned a lot about the “Third-Party” concept. Here in New Jersey’s 8th Congressional District, Hoboken resident Dan Delaney is running for the U.S. House of Representatives under the banner of the Libertarian Party, as part of the Johnson/Weld slate.

“I believe that this election has been a ‘perfect storm’ of sorts for third parties. The Libertarian Party has seized their moment pretty well, and I feel good about the chances of Gary Johnson getting at least 5% of the popular vote in the Presidential election,” says Delaney. “5% is a big deal because if that happens, the party gets automatic ballot access (instead of requiring rigorous petitioning) and matching federal funding, which will go a long way to level the playing field against Democrats and Republicans. The two-party system has ruined our country for long enough, and I am confident in the Libertarian Party’s ability to continue to shake things up in the coming years.”

Delaney grew up in New Jersey and has lived in Hoboken for the past eight years, initially moving here to attend Stevens Institute of Technology.

“I really enjoy the people and the culture in Hoboken. I’ve met many friends just hanging out at a bar playing darts or shooting pool. I’m a big fan of the Italian Festivals and Arts and Music festivals held every year, those are always a good time. And of course, I love the view of NYC—from Pier A park, and especially when I’m kicking around the soccer ball at Sinatra Park,” says Delaney. “Hoboken really has everything. While attending Stevens I got very used to my lifestyle and haven’t wanted to change it. For example, I haven’t had the need to own a car since I moved here, and it’s wonderful – I can take a train or public transportation almost anywhere I want to go.”

When asked how life in the Mile Square City had impacted his politics, Candidate Delaney notes that, “Hoboken is very unique from an infrastructure standpoint, and has gotten me thinking on a number of points – from parking, bike lanes, and housing, to understanding the traffic and commuting in and out of NYC from this area.”

Meanwhile our city’s cosmopolitan nature, full of people from different backgrounds, has done a lot to shape Delaney’s world view. “The ability to strike up conversation with people at a local bar or restaurant in Hoboken has helped me expand my understanding of social issues. Over the years I have come to see more points of view that are not my own, which has then played a part in shaping my beliefs.”

Where does Delaney stand on the issues?

“I am not a politician. This is my first foray into politics, and I have formulated my beliefs about government based on a common sense approach—not from the same-old practices of the Washington machine. Our national debt is out of control, and we need to reign in the spending of the Federal Government. We’re in a state of perpetual, unconstitutional war—and somehow this has become the norm. We need to bring our troops home, and only go to war after a vote by Congress, as the Constitution requires. The government does not own our bodies—American lives are being ruined because they dared to smoke a plant and sit in on a Friday night watching television and eating ice cream, doing no harm to others. The failed drug war disproportionately harms minorities and urban communities, and needs to be stopped. The Constitution is the rule of law and the foundation our country was built on, but career politicians in Washington are finding more ways every day to ignore it. A vote for me is a vote for economic freedom, personal liberty, and Constitutional government.”