Leadership

Electing Common sense legislators

Meridian believes that direct legislative involvement is critical to breaking the zero sum politics of today. We support common sense candidates and common sense solutions.

Candidates

Meet the candidates running for local offices. Each candidate is an independent thinker looking to find common sense solutions beyond partisanship.

Congratulations to Bibianna Dussling, Middletown’s FIRST Independent Councilperson!

bibianna shares her thoughts on her race and running as an Independent!

“Now that I’ve had a chance to digest the results of our Nov 5th election and absorb what this means for Independent campaigns, I want to share this guidance and lessons learned.

Between my election to Middletown Township Council and the degree of success AG Ciavarelli had with his Independent campaign in Middletown, I am confident Independents have a path to victory in local elections.
Our campaigns were separate, yet we were united in our goal for Independent leadership and giving voters more choice in local elections. AG and Linda Ciavarelli were a tremendous resource for my Independent campaign. Linda’s role as my campaign manager and AG’s example as an Independent candidate were invaluable, especially without reliance on political party infrastructure.

We should not be stuck with basically a choice between two political parties versus individual candidates. Especially at the local level where issues truly affect our daily lives yet do not necessarily just align with national political party platforms and agendas.
We should expect candidates focused on community issues, not ideology, and solutions crafted by engaging the entire community, not just members of one political party.
It has previously been difficult to run as an Independent by design. The two-party system has created institutional hurdles that benefit the two major parties and discourage people from running outside of that system. Over time though things have changed to allow Independents to circumvent this closed system.
A year ago, the Ciavarellis and I discussed running as Independents in Middletown Township. That is how, at heart, I wanted to approach any run for elected office and they showed me it could be done. So, I wanted to share a quick summary of how and encourage other Independents to do the same in future local elections. We can continue this Independent movement!”

Congratulations on a race well run!

AG Thanks his supporters and looks to the future!

“To all of our wonderful supporters and amazing volunteers:
Unfortunately, AG did not win a seat on the Middletown Township Council this time around but we are thrilled that we had a very impressive showing and received over 1,000 votes! This is actually quite amazing given that we started this from scratch at the beginning of the year, and this is our first run. Thank you to each person who voted for AG!

We cannot thank all of our supporters enough for your time and effort and truly amazing support. Seriously. We absolutely could not have done this without you.

Congratulations to Bibianna for Middletown for your groundbreaking win as an **Independent** for Middletown Township Council. We are honored to have guided and supported your candidacy from beginning to end! Thank you for having the courage to be one of the first and believing in our crazy idea that Independents can run and can win. Together, we have made history!

This is just the beginning. Each one of you has participated in not just a local experiment of new, competitive politics but the beginning of a solution. As we get back into 'regular life,' back to the news, back to all the harsh realities of the world we live in, we can know that we all just participated in something that has made a difference, no matter how small. We have begun the process of opening people's minds to the idea that we are not stuck with these two old stodgy parties. We won't accept the idea that a choice between bad and worse (or really bad and meh) is a choice at all.

Pat yourselves on the back, friends. You are part of the solution.”

Are You a Meridian candidate?

Meridian believes that change happens on the local level. Beginning in 2019, we will be supporting independent, common sense candidates in local Delaware and Chester County, Pennsylvania municipal elections.

Are you interested in running for local office but don't feel like the "legacy parties" fit your values? Can you see yourself making a difference in your town or city by serving on a local council or school board?  Do you have strong ties to your community?  Do you see that government works best when common ground is found through common sense? 

If so, email us your resume and a cover letter explaining why you would be the type of Independent candidate that Meridian can support and why you are ready to begin making a difference. Don't forget to include the town or city you reside in and the position for which you would like to run.

PLATFORM

The Meridian platform provides an overview of the issues that we see as vital for moving America forward in a positive direction and lists the general principles that will guide us. The platform also provides specific examples of how Meridian's guiding principles could be enacted.

As we begin to tackle these pressing issues, Meridian will remain open to new and innovative ideas as to how to address the challenges presented to us. We welcome feedback on our platform from everyone.  Meridian's platform will remain fluid and adaptable as potential solutions to various issues arise and will be updated to reflect these ideas.

Unite America

Meridian supports Unite America, a new network of Independent candidates throughout the United States that are bridging the partisan divide by championing the same values that Meridian supports in Pennsylvania.

Meet local supporters of Unite American and join their local chapter Meetup: Unite America DelChester Chapter in Media, PA.