Porter, an Albany Republican, is now circulating petitions in a bid to get on the Libertarian ticket.

The catch is: There is noLibertarianParty line on the ballot because the party fell just short of the 50,000 votes needed in the 2010 gubernatorial race to secure a spot on the ballot.

As a result, Porter and others seeking to carry the Libertarian flag in November have to get on the ballot via independent nominating petitions, which requires he secure 1,500 signatures three times the number of GOP signatures he would have needed.

The upside is that they need not be members of any specific party, they only need to be registered to vote and have not signed another candidates petition. Hes got until Aug. 21 to file them.

Incidentally, Porter said he attended Guilderland High School with Warren Redlich, the former GuilderlandTown Board member who ran for governor as a Libertarian in 2010 before moving to Florida.

He said he still plans to make the prospect of a legislative pay raise one of his central issues.

I did 21 years in the Marine Corps, and I think if I added up all my raises over those years they wouldnt equal 25 percent, Porter said of chatter that lawmakers will look to bump their pay from $79,000 to $100,000. Its almost criminal to think they should get a pay raise the way the economy is.

If he makes the ballot, Porter will face off against the winner of a six-way Democratic primary as well as Guilderland Republican Ted Danz and Conservative Party member Joseph Sullivan.

Originally posted here: