The Libertarian Party of Connecticut is planning on opening a campaign headquarters in Canterbury this month, something state Chairman Dan Reale called a first.

A location has been selected but the address is being withheld pending completion of a lease agreement, Reale said in an email to party activists. Reale, who lives in Plainfield and is running for Congress, said details for a grand opening will follow after the lease is signed.

This location will provide office space for the Libertarian Party of Connecticut, my own congressional campaign, and the Gary Johnson (presidential) campaign, the chairman wrote.

The party, known for its small-government positions, is also planning on establishing a headquarters in western Connecticut, Reale said. The western office will direct efforts for U.S. Senate candidate Paul Passarelli and 5th District Congressional candidate Robert Lombardo, according to Reale.

The Eastern Connecticut office will be staffed fulltime, he said. The party will be getting an official phone number, something it hasnt had since 2005. A phone bank is expected to fully operational by October, Reale said. Acquisition of a campaign bus is being considered, he said.

Its been a great year, Reale said by telephone. Were getting ambitious. Were looking to buy a bus.

The Connecticut branch of the party has broken its annual fundraising record by collecting more than $40,000 this year, Reale said. The party is looking to hire additional fundraisers, he said.

The presidential campaign of Johnson, a former New Mexico governor that visited Norwich in March, has collected at least 10,000 Connecticut signatures with a goal of hitting 12,500 by Tuesday. Reale, who ran as a write-in in 2008 and 2010 because of difficulty with gathering and validating signatures, has collected about 4,303. Both amounts, if validated by Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, will be more than enough to place both men on the November ballot. Reale said both campaigns plan to submit all signatures by Wednesday.

The Aug. 5 email states that Reale expects to raise $500,000 for his congressional campaign.

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