'Take back our freedoms': Libertarian gubernatorial candidate stops by while on the campaign trail

Adrian Wyllie isn't a career politician, but that hasn't stopped him from putting his name into the hat for the 2014 Florida governor’s race.

"I couldn't just sit there and read the newspaper and shake it in my hands as I read about our government and what they were doing to us," he told The Log Tuesday. "I decided that it's really the duty of individual citizens to stand up and take back our freedoms."

Wyllie, a third generation Floridian based in Pinellas County, spent the better part of the week on a media tour of the Western Panhandle, sharing the Libertarian message through a variety of speaking engagements.

Sitting down with The Log, the small business owner said the basic ideas of his party are increasingly taking root across the country.

"We're finding more and more that the Libertarian message is permeating through the country," he said. "The basic idea of Libertarianism is the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

While the message seems simple, Wyllie said the key is to take it and apply it to the government, by removing it from "our wallets, our bedrooms and our businesses."

The state's citizens will elect a governor on Nov. 4. There are no less than a dozen candidates that will more than likely throw their hats into the race, including Wyllie, former governor Charlie Crist, incumbent Rick Scott, and former majority leader of the Florida Senate, Nan Rich.

"A lot of people over the years have approached me saying 'you need to be the guy, you need to be the guy,' " Wyllie told The Log of his decision to run. "I see our likely candidates, Rick Scott and Charlie Crist, and I know both of those guys. They are not going to reverse course; we are headed for a worse economy down the road."

As for fixing the "broken" economy, Wyllie has a seven-point plan that would essentially reduce the state's $74.5 billion budget by 30 percent. Wyllie said they could easily cut the budget by 30 percent without affecting a single government service, by essentially reducing "wasteful" spending.

Once the budget is cut, Wyllie said the state could easily reduce taxes, which in turn "puts more money into the hands" of the private sector.

"How many jobs were not created because of that wall government has put up?" he said. "I want to tear down that wall and reduce the number of regulations."

To learn more about Wyllie and his campaign visit his website at http://wyllieforgovernor.com/or find him on Facebook.

With election day still more than a year away, Wyllie said he continues to see positive signs for the Libertarian Party across the state of Florida.

"In a three-way race, especially with the amount of undecideds out there, we really believe we have a legitimate shot at winning this on a grassroots campaign," he said. "I have absolutely nothing to lose, but we have our freedoms to gain. I realize this is a long shot, but it's a long shot that the odds keep slowly improving on."