ATHOL — Louis Marino, a lifelong Republican turned Libertarian, is hoping to unseat U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the next election.

Marino, of Athol, announced his candidacy at the Unified Libertarians of Massachusetts convention earlier this month. He joined the party four years ago, saying he had become discouraged with Republicans and took his skills to “where they’d be appreciated and possibly benefit people.”

Marino feels Massachusetts residents are tired of politicians who sugarcoat things, and that Warren makes speeches on helping people with their financial risks, but her voting record shows otherwise.

Marino said his focus is on lowering taxes, smaller government and greater transparency for voters. He wants to eliminate or modify taxes like Social Security and downsize federal departments such as the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Education, believing their work can be done more effectively on the local level. He is pro-marijuana, seeing it as a way to stimulate the economy, and he supports gender rights, as his daughter identifies as non-binary. He also wants to see sensible gun legislation and police reform.

“Not this ‘we ban everything,’ efforts,” he said of gun legislation.

If elected, this would be Marino’s first state office, though he’s run for others in the past, such as lieutenant governor, state representative and state senator. He doesn’t believe there’s any learning curve and he would immediately begin campaigning on the senate floor. He’s written two bills already, one of which he said would save the state $3 million by allowing bounty hunters to capture fugitives. The second allows the death penalty in capital murder cases, such as those who kill police officers or in cases where a victim dies from child abuse or drug use.

“I would reform the Department of Children and Families,” Marino added. “Too many kids slip through the system.”

Locally, Marino said he would help make the east-west passenger rail project come to fruition by providing the money needed. He said this would bring tourism dollars to western Massachusetts and allow people to more easily get to Boston. He is also focused on job creation by reusing vacant manufacturing buildings for mixed-use development. He hopes to involve trade schools in infrastructure projects.

“I’d make more union jobs for union workers in the commonwealth,” he added.

Marino said that liberty has been a longtime goal, citing his work as a high school sophomore when he challenged a dress code that banned clothing with any kind of advertisement. At age 18, he was elected to the West Springfield Selectboard, serving for three years before moving to Ayer. There, he was chair of the Recycling Committee and served on the Zoning Board of Appeals. After moving to Chelmsford, he was a member of the town’s Charter Review Commission, vice chair of the Finance Committee, a Town Meeting representative, and ran for both School Committee and Selectboard. In addition, Marino is an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church and a member of the Shriners and Masons.

“Volunteer work has been a big thing for me all my life,” Marino said. “Volunteering and giving back to the community.”

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