Kilian: Why I Registered As A Democrat

John Kilian has been politically active in the past 5 years as an unaffiliated voter, working outside of the two major political parties. He founded the Realistic Balance Party in 2009; the party has endorsed candidates in every election since, including Seb Giuliano for mayor in 2011. Kilian finished second in the mayoral election of 2013. 

Kilian has now changed his registration to Democrat. He submitted the following to The Eye, explaining his motivations.
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There may be some who will want to know why I have left the Independent Party, as I did in December, and have recently joined the Democratic Party. It is a decision I have arrived at gradually, and only after consulting with friends, foes and allies.

 Last year I got a little lucky when the Republicans declined to run a candidate for Mayor, giving me a reasonable chance for a second place finish in the race. The Republicans further aided the cause when they tried to scuttle the Realistic Balance line, granting me the opportunity to earn some respect in town by virtue of my success in countering their tactic in court.

 But you can't expect that kind of luck to be on your side year in and year out. And the yield of all this P.R. does not actually achieve anything. News clippings are nice, but at this point in my life it is more important to get things done than to get credit for doing nothing.

 When I look at our political landscape, I have to cast my vote with the Democrats on a host of issues. The GOP has really shot the moon on obstructing gay rights, giving huge tax breaks to wealthy entities, and dragging anchor on drug policy reform. They have alienated the up and coming generation to the point that the word “Republican” is widely used as a term of derision. That's what you get for falling in love with Rush Limbaugh.

I hope to help the rise of some of the young Turks in the Democratic Party. I like what I see in Matt Lesser and Dan Drew. The Governor and I share a similar vision on many matters of major consequence. I have shaken the hands of the last two Democrats to serve as President, and have never regretted lending them my support in winning the Democratic nominations in 1992 and 2008.

 That's a lot of bold talk from a jockey whose horse spent more time with its nose in the feed bucket than the race course last time around. In any event, that's all I have to say today.

Sincerely,

John Kilian (D)