Westmiller Launches GOP Bid for Congress

Calling himself a “soldier for liberty,” Thousand Oaks Republican William Westmiller used a Civil War reenactment ceremony Sunday to announce his candidacy for the 24th Congressional District seat held by Woodland Hills Democrat Brad Sherman.

“It’s time to get the federal government back on track toward lower taxes, less debt and more individual freedom,” said Westmiller, 50, who made his first campaign appearance at a Civil War history exhibit in Fillmore. “That work is being done by the Republican majority, and district voters should have a voice in shaping that future.”

A former state chairman and national secretary of the Libertarian Party, Westmiller, 50, said his campaign slogan “The Future Is Yours,” calls for less government control over individual lives, liberty and property.

The 24th Congressional District straddles the Los Angeles County line, and includes portions of Thousand Oaks. The primary will be held in June 1998, and Westmiller, a Thousand Oaks businessman, said he expects to pick up large numbers of support from civil libertarians, pro-choice Republicans and free-market Democrats.

Government, Westmiller said, cannot “continue to rob future generations to pay for yesterday’s follies . . . cannot eliminate risk by taking away liberty . . . cannot create jobs or wealth by robbing the average citizen of their hard-earned resources.”

Republican Tony Strickland, an aide to Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge), is the only other candidate so far to have entered the congressional race.