GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE PROFILE: JAMES WERNER

James Werner has no illusions about winning the governor's race. But he does believe his campaign has been an important step toward the Libertarian Party gaining acceptance with Texas voters.

"I don't know if I feel quite like Don Quixote. I feel like Rodney Dangerfield sometimes," Werner said, referring to the late comedian whose signature line was: "I don't get no respect."

But in this year's five-way governor's race, the gubernatorial nominee of a political party that usually draws less than 5 percent of the vote in a governor's race is getting more than its usual share of attention.

Werner has dashed from one media interview to another and been a regular on talk radio shows. He also gained statewide attention when WFAA-TV in Dallas barred him from being in the only gubernatorial debate of this election.

It's all part of getting more Texans to know the Libertarian Party and its principles, Werner said.

"In this year and this governor's race, we have seen more coverage of
Libertarians than ever before. That is very encouraging," Werner
said. "The media are doing a very good job this year keeping the
Libertarian Party in the discussion."

Werner said Libertarians are fiscally conservative and socially
tolerant.

"People are starting to take notice. If it's not this election or the
next, in the near future the Libertarian Party will have a
substantial place in the political discussion," he said.

Werner, 44, was reared in New England. He did his undergraduate
studies at Vanderbilt University and received a master's degree in
Spanish and Latin American literature from the University of
California at Los Angeles. He moved to Austin from Los Angeles about
eight years ago.

"One of the things that attracted me to Texas was that innate
Libertarian attitude," he said.

Once in Austin, Werner took time off from his career as a computer
software salesman to work as a substitute Spanish teacher.

Sarah Jeansonne, who taught middle school in Austin with Werner, said
he was dedicated to improving the education of his students.

"He always had, and has, a voracious curiosity regarding how to make
things like education work better," Jeansonne said.

She said Werner began his political life as a liberal but became a
Libertarian because he "saw a pattern in government of waste and
mismanagement."

Werner's girlfriend, Suzanne Kho, described him as "intelligent, well-
read, well-traveled and interesting."

Werner works as an account executive for a company that sells
software to universities to improve their fundraising. In that job,
he frequently travels.

The central theme of Werner's campaign is that government has become
too big and too intrusive.

"Limiting taxation and limiting government is a very important part
of my platform," he said.

One of his key issues is to replace the current property tax and
business tax system with a sales tax on consumer goods and services.
Werner said the extra burden a sales tax puts on the poor could be
substantially eliminated by exempting food and medicine from the tax.

"A booming economy, which this Fair Tax for Texas would surely
create, would help all citizens, regardless of their economic
condition," he said.

Werner wants to cut the size of state government by 10 percent across
the board. He was particularly critical of what he called the
"absolutely outrageous" new business tax that Gov. Rick Perry signed
into law to pay for property tax cuts.

While Perry and independent candidates Comptroller Carole Keeton
Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman have talked about sealing the border
with troops and law enforcement to halt illegal immigration, all
oppose building a wall. Democrat Chris Bell favors using troops on
the border, but also supports changes that would offer immigrants a
path to citizenship.

Werner believes the country should be more open to immigration. He
said the country should welcome anyone to the United States who
doesn't have a criminal record and who wants to work.

"I really am the only pro-immigrant candidate in this race. They're
talking about building walls, and I'm talking about bridges and
ladders," he said.

One of the sharpest differences between Werner and the other
candidates is over illegal drugs.

Werner said the War on Drugs itself causes crime, pointing to how
prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s led to gang violence that ended
as soon as alcohol sales were legal again.

He said marijuana for personal use could be sold in liquor stores.

On education, Werner supports a "full-value" voucher program for the
parents of every child in Texas. He said this will introduce
competition into the state's education system.

Perry has supported a pilot voucher program, but Strayhorn, Bell and
Friedman all oppose vouchers as a financial drain on the public
schools. Werner said he believes in school choice.

Werner said he is not frustrated at the prospect of losing so long as
voters are hearing what he is saying.

"Grass-roots movements are not successful overnight," he said. "The
Republicans and Democrats really have a stranglehold on the political
process. So it's going to take time to break that grip."

[SIDEBAR]

James Werner

Age: 44

Family: Grew up in New England. Not married.

Education: Undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University. Master's
degree in Spanish and Latin American literature from UCLA.

Background: Works as an account executive for a firm that sells
fundraising computer software to institutions of higher education.

From his Web site: "If you are tired of having your hard-earned pay
confiscated, tired of an economy that is tangled up in regulatory
knots and fearful for your personal rights, you finally have a place
to turn."

"The war on drugs isn't just a failure and a blow to personal
liberty. It's also a threat to your safety."

"As the first step toward reforming our school system, I propose
offering a full-value voucher to the parents of every child in Texas."

What you might not know about him: Werner was an unsuccessful
candidate for Congress in 2004.