Dear Applicant,
We, at The Alliance Party, take leadership seriously. To lead, you must set a good example and have the determination to be successful. Please take a few minutes and answer some simple survey questions. The information we are requesting may seem like a lot, but it helps us understand who you are and how you will conduct yourself as a leader in this party. It also helps you get a feel for your own strengths.
Once we have all of your information, we will personally contact you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Thank you very much for filling this out. Again, we know we are asking for a lot, but we must make certain that you know what you want and that we are a good fit for a leadership position in The Alliance Party. Thank you for your time.
Respectfully,
Timothy P. Cotton
National Political Director
The Alliance Party
A: I certainly hope you can use my assistance.
A: One of the great things about our nation is our ability to be an individual that has the freedom to hold and express their own beliefs. We must never lose that. But we as a nation need to work to be more unified and less partisan. We must remember that nation should come before party, that those in office are supposed to be civil servants and should be working to do what’s right because it’s the right thing to do. We must strive to be better each day and leave our country and our planet in better shape than we recieved it, we are failing miserably at that. With all of that we must practice fiscal responsibility, find common sense solutions to our problems, rebuild our economy from the bottom up the top down approach has proven time and again to be a household cards. But first we must find common ground, look to what we agree with rather than our differences. We must do this or I believe we are destined to go the way of all the other great civilizations that has fallen.
A: I am a grateful husband and proud father of one adult son and four daughters, two of which still live at home. I have spent much of my life serving others, working in EMS for almost 8 years when I was younger to serving as a reservist firefighter/EMT for the last four years among other endeavors. I hold multiple contractor licenses in Florida as well as multiple building code compliance certifications. I coached youth sports for almost a decade and have worked with those not as blessed as I have been. I don’t consider myself religious but do believe in a greater power. I love my community and country and I am saddened to see the pain it has been suffering.
A: Yes, as previously mentioned I ran for public office.
A: There are none.
A: Yes! To me the seven deadly words are “But we’ve always done it this way”.
A: I understand you have someone in the leadership role in Florida and I reached out to him via email but have yet to receive a response. I am not retired so I don’t have unlimited free-time but am willing to help however I can. I have kids and a grandson so to me trying to fix the problems facing our country are very important to me.
A: I honestly hope to see it grow to the point where we are making a difference. Our nation is in crisis and our two major parties are determined to tear it apart. There is no reason that we cannot grow the party to the level where we can make a positive impact on our country.
A: I have many years of coaching youth sports, I have held multiple officer positions, including president, of two chambers of commerce. I have served at various leadership positions with fraternal organizations like the Elks and Freemasons. In 2016 I was appointed to the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board, the largest regulatory board in the state, I was the only appointee not a Republican. I am also a Building Official currently serving three municipalities.
A: I’m not going to say I am great at reading speeches because I am not, I’m much better just talking with people, even if that audience is large. People tell me I’m approachable and likeable, others tell me I’m smart but I know my limitations and certainly don’t claim to be the sharpest tool in the shed. But I can get my message across effectively and sincerely.
A: I know only what I have read on your website and from that I believe our beliefs are very much alike.
A: As previously mentioned I was a Modern Whig but have been NPA and proud these last several years.
A: For as long as I can remember I have been called upon to step up and lead. Several years ago I, a relative newcomer in a rural community, was asked to run for county commission. While we didn’t win we garnered more votes than the previous incumbent and raised more money from more people than all the other candidates in all the commission races combined. You need someone that will take the bull by the horns and help grow the party.
A: Years ago I had joined the Modern Whigs and offered to help but never heard from anyone, subsequently the party was disbanded Florida. I have a love-hate relationship with the two major parties with the latter feeling becoming more and more prominent every year. I like and agree with the majority of your positions and values and truly believe the majority of Americans feel like me, left out by two parties that are ripping our country apart.
A: Simply gratitude for an opportunity to work with The Alliance Party to re-take and reform the political process
A: I had been a registered Independent from 1980 until 2016, when I registered as a Libertarian. Over the years I had discovered my libertarian leanings (small L), but could never reconcile myself with the extremist factions and inflexible/impractical platform.
As I researched active third parties in the US as part of my project to help promote and establish a real third party option, both locally and nationally, I kept coming back to the Alliance Values Statement: " Unity, therefore community; Responsibility, Accountability(!), Fairness(!!) Integrity (!!!) Civility (Amen). The more I examined the party position statements, I found myself in complete agreement with the stated objectives for the economy and fiscal responsibility (balanced budget), election and campaign reform, Education, Healthcare, and the protection of individual rights. While I support the Second Amendment rights of all, I am more hard-line regarding practical and responsible gun control legislation outlawing assault weapons and number of guns an individual may own; background checks must be expanded and violations more strictly punished. Especially close to my heart are party stances regarding Education, Net Neutrality and technology reform
A: Born in Newjersey, raised in the Bayshore community of Hazlet, I attended Point Park University in Pittsburgh for 3 1/2 years, completing my degree at Florida Metroplitan University in 2004. I am a resident of the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Beechview, where I reside with my wife and teenage daughter. Have worked as a retail manager, financial aid officer, call center representative, radio personality (terrestrial and streaming), and Parish Administrator for Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
A: I worked as a phone bank and get out the vote volunteer for the John Anderson campaign in 1980. Similar but less directly involved in the Gary Johnson-Bill Weld presidential campaign in 2016. While I have a stated goal of establishing a third party presence, I did change my voter registration in 2020 in an effort to derail the Trump re-election landslide and support Bill Weld’s noble effort to bring to light the dangers of the Trump presidency. On the evening of the New Hampshire primary and again on Super Tuesday, I made calls on behalf of the Weld campaign. Locally, I volunteered for Richard Swartzprimary effort to unseat Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato in 2007-a campaign he ran knowing he would get clobbered because he described the process of elections in Allegheny County as “shriveling on the vine”
A: I would like to think I have proven to be a valuable contributor to my family and community throughout my life. Certainly not perfect, but “do the right thing” has always been the central goal and motivation for my actions. I have succeeded and failed like anyone. But my record of service to community and church ideally make me a positive contributor
A: Never shy to introduce and promote ideas and practices that could make things better for all, I imagine myself as a vocal contributor to party efforts
A: At the risk of sounding folksy and passive, my role in The Alliance Party should not be “me” focused but “us” driven. I have experience with podcasts, radio and social media. My experiences have qualified me as an effective and efficient administrator. As I struggle to not face the reality of turning 60 in August, I realize my place may just be behind the scenes, supporting, encouraging and assisting younger candidates who will spearhead the future success of The Alliance Party. If chosen or nominated, I would willingly step up as a candidate. But my commitment to The Alliance Party efforts are not about self-advancement. It is laser focused on establishing The Alliance Party as a viable and “electable” third party force for the American good.
A: My vision for The Alliance Party in the next 5 years focuses on grassroots efforts to elect municipal and state officials who seek to end the chokehold the duopoly inflicts on the current governing process. That is not to say Congressional inroads could not be achieved. But local success is best foundation for national impact. I also see The Alliance Party stepping up its efforts to “spread the word” through the existing THE ALLIANCE PARTY AFTER DARK podcast, as well as being more aggressive and effective with its social media efforts.
A: For the record, I hate to talk about myself. In organized sports and high school, I served as a captain, officer and organizer of numerous activities and clubs. At point Park University, I served 4 years on United Student Government, was lead team member of committee that re-wrote the USG Constitution, served as Parliamentarian and as student representative to the Long-Range Planning committee. I was afeatured columnist for the student newspaper and served as Program Director at WPPJ-AM at a time when the faculty had come to ignore the station and sought to close the station down (it still broadcasts). My professional career has seen me fill several management positions and as the Parish Administrator for Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Pittsburgh, I helped implement financial policies that saw the parish end decades of red ink and operate at a SMALL profit-all while overseeing the fundraising efforts and day-to-day oversight of an emergency 3 million dollar renovation project. I have served on the board of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation and was co-chair of an organization that sought to prevent the passage of the Music Modernization Act. Currently, I am part of an effort to derail Governor Wolfe’s efforts to end public charter schools in Pennsylvania.
A: I possess strong communication skills which I can adapt and utilize to give comfort to those in need as well as to educate people on practical, real-life possibilities they can then use to better their circumstances. While I am direct in my approach, I strive not to judge nor overbearing; above all I speak and act honestly and with the best interests of people always the goal. It is not a chore or burden to stand up for people and organizations that need support and encouragement-even when their goals may differ slightly from mine. I know when to laugh at myself; when to scold and when to nurture; always strive to “do the right thing”. I rarely seek to secure a leadership role, but am willing to accept such roles when the circumstances or desires of others place me there.
A: My knowledge at this point is more theoretical than practical at this point. I am aware that another party I had been following closely (The Modern Whig Party) have joined forces with the American Moderates Party and the American Party of South Carolina to create the Alliance Party and in 2019 officially registered with the FEC. Aside from the centrist paths its stated goals and missions, I find the emphasis on encouraging and supporting individuals who are moved to run for public office inspiring. My research also brought to light the Alliance Party stance that working and voting for the local good is more important than voting for a platform
A: While doing research for the projects designed to help establish a real third party alternative in the US, I found the Alliance Party website and Twitter accounts, reading every piece of information I could find
A: There comes a time for a citizen to stop complaining or taking on vanity projects and make a commitment to bringing about change. As I outlined in a previous response, the mission statement of the Alliance most closely align with my personal hopes and goals for the political process in the United States as a whole and Pennsylvania and Allegheny County on the Homefront. My diverse professional experiences (including media, church administrator, and education) have uniquely prepared me to organize, inform and motivate people to join a cause they also believe in.
A: In 2020, I began development of a project (still in its infancy) to promote and help establish a REAL third party presence in this country, Twiiter and Facebook page have been launched, with website under construction and a podcast in development. Tired of the endless partisan stalemates and (here in Pennsylvania) the ridiculous number of uncontested elections. During my research I reviewed the Alliance Party platform and goals, researched some more, and came to the conclusion that the most effective place to direct my energies and efforts would be to help the party advance it’s agenda and support their candidates. Since the Alliance Party seems to be in need of an official presence and party officials, I feel it is time to put my name forward to serve whatever role the national party officials would determine to help organize and advance the Alliance Party in Pennsylvania. My political campaign experience is limited, but I have served as a volunteer for John Anderson in 1980, Gary Johnson in 2016, Bill Weld in 2020, as well as several local campaings in Allegheny County since 1998