November  12, 2012 – SusanMarie Weber is a living, breathing example of what the Libertarian Party of California has been trying to do since its inception: get into California’s public offices. As the votes from the 2012 elections in Palm Desert continue to be counted and verified, she gets closer and closer to her long-time goal of winning a city council seat.

“Wednesday morning, the day after the elections, our campaign was 100 votes short of winning that seat,” says Weber. “By Friday night, we were short 64 votes. Then, the Saturday, 5:40 p.m. results from Riverside County’s Registrar of Voters showed that I’m short only 33 votes. The gap is closing!”

Punctuating this nail-biter, she added, “The Registrar is closed until Tuesday to observe Veterans’ Day. That’s when the counting continues. This has been quite an election!”

Weber isn’t some Johnny-Come-Lately contender for Palm Desert’s City Council, either. Like California’s Libertarian Party, she’s been a long-term player in her beloved city’s politics, in her case since January 2005, when she and a friend began attending and speaking at their bi-weekly meetings.

“Look at the changes we’ve made. Our council meetings are televised now largely because of my outspoken insistence on transparency – and of course the availability of affordable video transmission – and this has improved our council’s accountability to the public.

“Our lawsuit to prohibit electronic voting didn’t win, but plans to initiate electronic voting stopped partially because of the public opposition the lawsuit raised.”

Weber’s a true fiscal conservative, too. An accountant by profession, she carefully metes out effort as her campaign income can afford it, making her an ideal prospect for helping to run anybody’s city.

“We spent 19 cents a vote in the 2012 elections, compared to my opponent’s $6.80 per vote. We re-used campaign signs from our 2010 campaign. We ran a truly frugal campaign.”

Weber’s not sitting by waiting to win an election before she serves. Aside from being Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Riverside County, she applied to serve on committees and commissions, and in February 2011 was appointed to Palm Desert’s Finance and Audit Committee. “Everything changed when I was appointed. It was as if people began to listen to me.”

But back to the cliff-hanger vote count.

“We are getting a lot of press out of this, beginning with the great article in Tuesday night’s online Desert Sun, when we were ahead, to being mentioned in the editorial’s in today’s paper. Although this is my fourth time running for this office, I’m encouraged because my numbers get better every time.”

So, will Weber win? Like her larger counterpart, the Libertarian Party of California, the answer is that she’s already won, if not the seat she’s seeking, then surely influence in that body. And that bodes well for a freer future.

Monday, November 19, 2012 - Riverside County’s Registrar of Voters tonight released new numbers in the Palm Desert City Council race. Susan Marie Weber now LEADS her opponent by 17 VOTES, 6,116 to 6,099!

Is her fourth time to run for this office the charmed one? Stay tuned: the next report from the Riverside RoV will be 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012 – Riverside County’s Registrar of Voters tonight released new numbers in the Palm Desert City Council race. Susan Marie Weber widened her lead over he opponents to 42 votes. The tally is 6,149 to her nearest competitor’s 6,107.