LNC Meeting Minutes, September 6-7, 2008, Washington, DC
To: Libertarian National Committee
From: Bob Sullentrup
CC: Robert Kraus
Date: 9/15/2008
Current Status: Candidate for Automatic Approval
Version last updated September 8, 2008
These minutes due out in 30 days: October 7, 2008
Dates below superseded by mail ballot:
LNC comments due in 45 days: October 22, 2008
Revision released (latest) 14 days prior: November 22, 2008
Barring objection, minutes official 10 days prior: November 26, 2008
* Automatic approval dates relative to December 6 San Diego meeting
The meeting commenced at 8:37am on September 6, 2008.
Intervening Mail Ballots
LNC mail ballots since the last meeting in Denver included:
o Sent 6/6/2008. The revised minutes sent 6-6 from 5-26 are approved. Co-sponsors Bob Sullentrup, Admiral Colley, Stewart Flood, Dan Karlan. Passed 11-4 with 2 abstentions.
o Sent 6/10/2008. The minutes sent 6-9 from 5-22 are approved. Co-sponsors Bob Sullentrup, Admiral Colley, Stewart Flood, Dan Karlan. Passed 12-1 with 4 abstentions.
o Sent 6/10/2008. The APRC resolution is approved. Co-sponsors Stewart Floor, Lee Wrights, Rebecca Sink-Burris, Angela Keaton. Passed 13-3 with 1 abstention.
o Sent 6/11/2008. Remove the contribution amounts and the footnote* from the “Leadership” page on our web site and cease disclosing contributions to the “Give and Get” program to the membership, the public, or other LNC members. Co-Sponsors Mary Ruwart, Rachel Hawkridge, Julie Fox, Angela Keaton. Fails 8-9.
Moment of Reflection
Chair Bill Redpath called for a moment of reflection, a practice at LNC meetings.
Opportunity for Public Comment
Vicki Kirkland (FL) noted the Florida Executive Committee recommended Tom Stevens resign from the Party for a conflict of interest. Mr. Stevens is a candidate for office of the Objectivist party and an elector for Barr-Root in New York.
Michael Jingozian read into the minutes a letter from S. Rowan Wilson, MBA:
Fellow Libertarians,
May this letter find you in peace. The purpose of this letter is to lay the foundation for a formal request of full audit of the finance, operations and management of the Barr/Root 2008 presidential campaign.
My experiences are but a minor contribution to the numerous others who bare witness to the grave issues of this campaign. A full accounting is in order for the best of our candidates and party. It is requested that this commence immediately after the fall election by an independent third party. Particular attention must be paid to the disbursement of funds, authorization of fund expenditures, terminations and employment campaign staff.
Please note this request is for the ultimate benefit of our party; may we have many profitable, successful years to come.
S. Roway Wilson, MBA
350 North sandhill Boulevard #162
Mequite, NV 89024
srwsearch@yahoo.DE
Paperwork Check
Chair Bill Redpath asked the Secretary to confirm the binder’s contents.
Attendance and Credentials
Secretary Bob Sullentrup confirmed the attendance of the members and alternates.
Attending the September 6-7, 2008 LNC meeting in DC were:
Officers: Chair Bill Redpath, Vice-Chair Michael Jingozian, Treasurer Aaron Starr, Secretary Bob Sullentrup.
At-Large Representatives: Admiral Michael Colley, Pat Dixon, Angela Keaton, Lee Wrights, Dr. Mary Ruwart.
Regional Representatives: Mark Hinkle (2), Rebecca Sink-Burris (3), Stewart Flood(4), Dr. James Lark (5-S), Dan Karlan (5-N), Julie Fox (6), Rachel Hawkridge (7).
Tony Ryan (1) was not on hand.
Regional Alternates: Scott Lieberman (2) and Heather Scott (4).
Alternates not attending were George Squyres (1), Bob Jackson (3), Hardy Macia (5-N) and Berlie Etzel (5-S), Jake Porter (6) and Steve LaBianca (7)
LNC Counsel Bill Hall attended.
Also attending were Bob Johnston (MD), Alicia Mattson (TN), Donny Ferguson (VA), Robert Capozzi (NY) and Jeff Dimit (SC), Gene Hawkridge (WA).
Staff included Acting Executive Director Robert Kraus, new hire Casey Hansen, Volunteer Coordinator Austin Peterson, Political Director Sean Haugh and Direct Marketing Manager Louise Calise.
The following table lists the composition of the current LNC as accepted at the May 26, 2008 meeting. It has yet to be amended.
Region Affiliates Representative Alternate
Region 1 Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming Tony Ryan1 (AZ) George Squyres (AZ)
Region 2 California Mark Hinkle (CA) Scott Lieberman (CA)
Region 3 Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana Rebecca Sink-Burris (IN) Bob Jackson (MI)
Region 4 Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas Stewart Flood (SC) Heather Scott (TN)
Region 5 - South Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia James W. Lark, III (VA) Berlie Etzel (PA)
Region 5 - North Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont Dan Karlan (NJ) Hardy Macia (VT)
Region 6 Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin Julie Fox (IL) Jake Porter (MO)
Region 7 Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Washington Rachel Hawkridge (WA) Steve LaBianca (FL)
Orphans Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Arkansas
Report of Potential Conflicts of Interest
Bill Redpath reported he is raising money for both the LNC and the Redpath for Senate.
Lee Wrights reported he employed by the ISIL.
Angela Keaton noted she remains married to Brian Dogherty of Reason magazine and CATO, and is a ‘toady’ for Eric Garris. It is not clear what the conflict is.
Dan Karlan noted the Policy Manual requires conflicts of interest be disclosed in writing to the Secretary.
Approval of the Agenda
The group amended the agenda by adding, removing and reordering items. The resulting agenda is given below with changes in italics or strikethrough.
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
September 6-7, 2008 Meeting Agenda
Washington, DC
Call to Order 8:30am
Minutes
Moment of Reflection 1
Opportunity for Public Comment 10
Credentials Report and Paperwork Check (Secretary) 5
Report of Potential Conflicts of Interest 5
Approval of the Agenda 5
Standing Reports
Chair's Report 20
Treasurer's Report 30
Secretary's Report 10
Potential LNC Campaign Finance Litigation (Alan Gura), Executive Session 10am
Staff Report
Staff (Ballot Access included in Political Director’s Report) 60
Counsel's Report 15
Barr/Root update Carling update 10
Action Items Previously Submitted in Writing
(none) 0
Reports Previously Submitted in Writing
Convention Committee Report (Colley) 30
Campus Organizing Report (Lark) 5
Various Regions 5 per region
Action Items Not Previously Submitted in Writing
LNC Decorum (Redpath / Starr) 20
Mission Statement (Keaton) 30
LNC Term Goals (Lark / Dixon) 60
EPCC/Exec Director Contract Update (Colley) 15
Bylaws Committee Selection 60
Electronic Voting at LNC Conventions (Karlan) 30
Public Availability of LNC Discuss List emails (Keaton) 15
Resolution re: US involvement in Afghanistan (Dixon) 30
Advocacy for Equal Protection (Rachel H.) 30
Audit Committee, Redpath 5
LNC to vote for lawsuit participation, Ruwart 10
Renting of LP membership lists in Exec Session (moved above to 10am Sat.
Tom Stevens issue 15
Opportunity for Public Comment 10
Adjournment
The agenda was amended as follows:
o Bill Redpath requested five minutes to discuss the Audit Committee
o Mary Ruwart had asked prior to the meeting for 10 minutes on whether the entire LNC must discuss its participation in lawsuits; this omission was corrected here
o Mark Hinkle wanted to discuss the rental of LP membership lists
Rachel Hawkridge moved to strike mission statement and replace it with a discussion of the Tom Stevens issue.
Aaron Starr moved to divide the question.
The body decided to remove the discussion of the mission statement from the agenda and to add the Tom Stevens issue.
Aaron Starr wanted M Carling as LNC liaison to the Barr-Root campaign to provide a report.
Aaron Starr moved to not consider the Afghanistan and GLBT resolutions. When it was pointed out the GLBT was not a resolution, the issue became whether we would remove discussion of the Afghanistan resolution. The agenda item remained.
Without objection the resulting agenda was approved.
Officer Reports
Chair’s Report
Chair Bill Redpath provided a oral report noting he had done the following since the May 26 meeting:
o Ran several Executive Committee calls
o Participated in many ballot access calls
o Was on the radio with Kenneth John on June 2
o Was on the Colbert Report on June 4 and got to meet Salmon Rushdie,
o Attended the June 14-15, Texas Convention
o Participated in several Ron Paul meet-ups in Virginia
o Attended the NASCAR outreach event on July 5 with Bob Barr
o Spoke to the NSLC at American University to a group of high-schoolers on July 9
o Attended events with the Indiana LP who came to DC to meet with think tanks and a dinner on July 17
o Was on t he KDKA Pittsburgh radio July 15 discussing Freddie Mac and Fannie May’
o Was in LA on July 30 at the Beverly Hills Hotel attending an event with Art Linkletter who is promoting the Ryan Sununu proposal to privatize Social Security
o Conducted an interview with a German media outlet in early August
o Attended the LP Arkansas Convention on August 9
o Held Al Arabia and Al Jazerra interviews on August 12 and 21
o Testified on August 27 in Charleston, WV in the lawsuit of Barr-Root against the West Virginia ballot access. We submitted signatures three weeks late. September 5 we lost.
o Participated in two parades on September 1, and speeches on the same stage as D and R candidates is on You-Tube
Treasurer’s Report
Aaron Starr presented a treasurer’s report and noted these highlights:
o Ballot access expenses have been heavy and represent a huge tax on the Party
o Good news is we are past ballot access costs.
o We are likely to have good fundraising until November and prospects for EOY statements will put us in the black
Aaron fielded questions from Pat Dixon and Julie Fox regarding budget overages, budgeting versus authorizations and the treatment of specific line items.
Aaron’s report is attached as Appendix A.
Secretary’s Report
Bob Sullentrup moved to:
Remove Policy Manual, Article I, Section 2, C, on the recording of LNC meetings
Bob argued this provision, like the one requiring reporting conflicts of interests be provided to the Secretary in writing, has been ignored and not needed.
Aaron moved a substitute motion as follows:
The Director shall be responsible for recording all LNC meetings on audio or video medium, providing a copy to the Secretary. Such recordings shall be destroyed promptly after the approval of the minutes.
The cost of recording meetings was estimated to be $3/hour + staff time.
Aaron’s substitution passed 9-6.
The main motion, now being Aaron’s substitute, passed 8-6.
Voting in favor:
Admiral Colley, Aaron Starr, Dan Karlan, Stewart Flood, Pat Dixon, Rebecca Sink-Burris, Mark Hinkle, Michael Jingozian.
Voting against:
Lee Wrights, Mary Ruwart, Jim Lark, Julie Fox, Rachel Hawkridge, Angela Keaton.
Bob Sullentrup voted for none of the above.
Campaign Finance Litigation
The LNC entered executive session to discuss potential campaign finance litigation with Alan Mura and the LP membership list rental.
Coming out of executive session, Jim Lark recommended the LNC express its appreciation to Alan Gura for his work for Liberty. Without objection, the motion passed.
Aaron Starr moved to proceed with campaign finance litigation engaging the law firm of Alan Gura, to sue the FEC to overturn the contribution limits for bequests left to the LNC, budgeting $15k in 2008 for that purpose with disbursements beginning no earlier than November 2008.
The board postponed consideration of this matter until after lunch.
Staff Report
Robert Kraus introduced new hire Casey Hansen.
Robert noted an error by PayPal at their website resulted in double-billings. PayPay was both charging donor credit cards while reporting transaction errors and inviting users to try again. This accounts for a $2k refund on the financial reports.
Andrew Davis noted Barr-Root is polling at 6% nationwide, with selective states polling more. Playboy Magazine, after erroneously reporting Bill Redpath was our presidential candidate, has mentioned the LP for three months running, including an adjunct article to McCain which challenged McCain being a ‘Goldwater Republican’.
Andrew is now engaged to the girlfriend who accompanied him to the Denver Convention and will be married 12-27.
Louise Calise noted the LP has picked up ‘a lot of new members’ and renewals are running strong. Rachel commended Louise for acquiring and disseminating a fundraising book, Asking, a 59-minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Volunteers and Staff Must Know to Secure the Gift by Jerold Panas, and for her work on the prospecting contract.
Austin Peterson discussed his work gaining volunteers and putting them to work. His report lists the locations of his 7811 volunteers in 159 groups in 132 cities.
Sean Haugh noted the LP ticket is certified in New Hampshire and that signature gathering will end next Thursday in Minnesota, marking the end of the activity nationwide for this election cycle. The LP will have 850 candidates on the ballot in 2008.
Staff reports are provided in Appendix B.
Saturday PM
Wayne Allyn Root Appearance
The LNC was honored to have LP vice presidential nominee Wayne Allyn Root join us after lunch.
Campaign Finance Litigation, continued
Pat Dixon moved that the LNC:
1. Sue to challenge the Federal Campaign Finance limits on contributions to political parties, as applied to bequests
2. Retain Alan Gura to represent the LNC on those terms set forth in his engagement proposal; and
3. budget $15k to pay Mr. Gura’s attorney fees and costs for such litigation for the year ended December 31, 2008, to be incurred no earlier than November, 2008.
With no objection the motion passed.
Counsel’s Report
Bill Hall provided a written report in the binder under tab 5. Bill discussed the Maine and West Virginia ballot access suits. In Maine, the LP may be on the ballot. The judge in West Virginia ruled September 4 against the LP.
With the indulgence of the body, the rest of counsel’s report will be delivered later in executive session while the gallery who had assembled after lunch could hear more of the LNC meeting that was in open session.
Reports Previously Submitted in Writing
Campus Organizing
Dr. Lark indicated that his report and an amended report had been distributed to the members and is attached as Appendix E. He stated he would entertain questions about it; there were no questions.
Pat Dixon thanked Dr. Lark for his work.
Regional Reports
Written regional reports included
o Region 3, Rebecca Sink-Burris
o Region 5S, Jim Lark
o Region 6, Julie Fox
o Region 7, Rachel Hawkridge
Stewart Flood noted the GA senatorial candidate, Allen Buckley, is in the debates along with the D&R candidates. Pat Dixon reported the same is true for Texas.
Convention Committee Report
Convention Oversight Committee Chair Admiral Colley noted his colleagues on the committee include Bob Sullentrup, Rachel Hawkridge, Stewart Flood and Pat Dixon.
Admiral Colley noted a recent survey showed Washington, DC as the first choice of the 1500 respondents, with a cruise coming in last.
Meanwhile, the following table lists information collected from four alternative possibilities. Austin is another possibility.
Place Pittsburgh Hilton St. Louis Renaissance Cleveland Renaissance Ft. Lauderdale Royal Caribbean
Dates 1-4 July 27-30 May 4-7 July 2-5 July
Group Rate $109 + staff $54 $129 $109, including 10 suites Variable, $210 estimate for two in room
Meeting space Comp, if 80% of block rooms sold Comp Comp with minimum $60k food and beverage Comp
Comp rooms 2 hospitality suites; one free group for each 50 booked Presidential Suite, two VIP suites Presidential suite, one free group room with every 50 rooms sold Negotiable
A/V Comp microphone and podium; other negotiable Negotiable – contractor In house- negotiable included
Meals Cont breakfast $18
Lunch buffet $30
Dinner $40-60
Cont breakfast $19
Lunch $36
Dinner $45 - 65
Cont breakfast $16
Lunch $33
Dinner $55
All included
Airport Connect / Parking $35 round trip $3.50 metrolink; Discount to $8 $1.75 rapid transit, $23/day 10 minute taxi
Available at port, cost not known
Other Downtown; hotel renovation finished in ’09; easy walking to Point State Park and ballpark Renovated historical Statler hotel; downtown; close to Arch, casino, Laclede’s Landing blues, casino, ballpark, ballpark village, riverboats, in the middle of the country Connected to Tower City Center mall, restaurants, stores, movie; No attrition for rooms not booked or meals unused; lots of activities; services coordinator assigned.
After two extensions of time Bill Redpath asked for a straw poll of the LNC on their thoughts and preferences. Admiral Colley will continue the work determining the venue and particulars of the next national convention.
Counsel’s Report, Continued
The LNC entered executive session for the remainder of Counsel’s report.
Coming out of executive session, Sean Haugh wanted it reflected in the minutes that he had preferred to discuss matters involving him in open session.
Aaron Starr moved to have Ms. Keaton removed from the room while the LNC decided what penalties if any to assign for transgressions including apparently inappropriate blogs.
There was an objection to the motion, and the matter failed 4-7.
Rachel Hawkridge moved to postpone the issue until December while a mediator would be arranged to intercede among the affected parties.
After some discussion Mark Hinkle moved to divide the question, addressing the issue of the apology separately. When the body noted an apology was not a part of the motion on the floor, the division was declared out of order.
Aaron Starr offered a substitute motion for the Hawkridge postponement that the LNC apologize to staff members Casey Hansen and Austin Petersen over remarks made by one of our board members.
There was an objection to the substitution and thus did not pass unanimously. A vote on the substitution passed.
Pat Dixon called the question on the substituted main motion on the LNC apology. There was an objection to calling the question. However, calling the question passed.
Proceeding to a vote on the motion that the LNC apologize to staff members Casey Hansen and Austin Petersen, the motion passed 13-1 with one abstention.
Voting in favor:
Bob Sullentrup, Mary Ruwart, Jim Lark, Julie Fox, Admiral Colley, Aaron Starr, Dan Karlan, Stewart Flood, Pat Dixon, Rebecca Sink-Burris, Mark Hinkle, Michael Jingozian, Rachel Hawkridge
Voting against:
Angela Keaton
Abstaining
Lee Wrights
Aaron Starr moved the LNC direct (later, ask) board member Angela Keaton to apologize to staff members Casey Hansen and Austin Petersen for her blog comments.
There was an objection to this motion.
During the discussion, the word ‘direct’ was changed to ‘ask’ in the motion above via ‘friendly amendment’.
Voting in favor:
Bob Sullentrup, Mary Ruwart, Jim Lark, Julie Fox, Aaron Starr, Stewart Flood, Pat Dixon, Rebecca Sink-Burris, Mark Hinkle, Michael Jingozian, Angela Keaton, Rachel Hawkridge
Voting against:
Admiral Colley, Dan Karlan
Abstaining
Lee Wrights
Aaron Starr then apologized to Angela Keaton for any prior transgressions he may have made against her including not coming to her defense, writing things that may have been hurtful. Aaron stated as far as he was concerned, this matter was done.
Pat Dixon moved to appoint Mary Ruwart as mediator in any disputes between Aaron Starr and Angela Keaton. The overwhelming laughter suggested this might not be a desirable or easy job, and the motion did not gain a second.
Dan Karlan noted that in an earlier LNC session, Michael Dixon asked him to craft language to become a part of the LNC’s Policy Manual on harassment which after having been adopted is in Article I, Section 8, Harassment and Offensive Behavior Prohibition:
The Libertarian Party is founded on the key principles of liberty, responsibility, and respect. With that foundation, it is to be expected that libertarians treat each other with professional respect, thoughtful consideration, and fundamental decency. Violation of this expectation by members of the Party not only risks substantial legal penalties, it also undermines the very legitimacy of the Party and the honor of its members. Violation of this expectation by members of the LNC, whether towards other LNC members of HQ staff, is therefore especially egregious
Wayne Allyn Root
LP Vice Presidential nominee Wayne Allyn Root, in DC for the LNC/LNCC fundraiser, addressed the group. He was on hand for the prior discussion, and started by saying this was something he was going to talk about. After coming into the party and after winning the nomination as VP, he was amazed at the amount of ‘eating our young’ that went on in the Party.
By contrast, he pointed to Sarah Palin, the Republican VP nominee, and to the Republican party who had circled the wagons in support of Sarah Palin when the slings and arrows arrived by the drive-by media.
Sunday Agenda
After the Chair noted we still had 300 minutes on the agenda and asking the LNC to begin again at 8am, Bob Sullentrup moved to reorder the agenda items taking the quickest items first first. The motion passed.
This meant the Sunday items would be ordered as follows:
o Audit Committee, Redpath, 5 minutes
o Barr-Root campaign, Carling, 10 minutes
o LNC to vote for lawsuit participation, Ruwart, 10 minutes
o EPCC/Exec Director Contract Update (Colley), 15 minutes
o Public Availability of LNC Discuss List E-mails (Keaton), 15 minutes
o Tom Stevens issue, 15 minutes
o LNC Decorum (Redpath / Starr), 20 minutes
o Electronic Voting at LNC Conventions (Karlan), 30 minutes
o Resolution re: US involvement in Afghanistan (Dixon), 30 minutes
o Advocacy for Equal Protection (Rachel H.), 30 minutes
o LNC Term Goals (Lark / Dixon), 60 minutes
o Bylaws Committee Selection, 60 minutes
Dan Karlan moved to reconsider the agenda. The motion passed, nullifying Bob Sullentrup’s motion.
Dan Karlan moved to reorder the agenda items but make the selection of the Bylaws Committee have 20 minutes and thereby move that item forward. This motion passed.
Advisory Opinion
Bill Hall had drafted a motion as follows that superseded a motion Aaron Starr was about to make:
Moved that the LNC:
1. Seek an FEC advisory opinion exempting the LNC from certain of the Federal Campaign finance limits on its staging of biennial conventions.
2. Retain Bill Hall’s law firm to pursue the application for advisory opinion on those terms set forth in his engagement proposal.
There was no objection.
Sunday AM
The Sunday session commenced at 8:09 am.
Audit Committee
M Carling addressed the LNC noting it had saved roughly $1k by performing a 2-year audit instead of two annual ones. The cost for the 2008 audit was $11k with a $2k mid-year addendum. 2009 was $500 more.
Barr – Root Campaign
M Carling, the LNC liaison for the presidential ticket, reported Bob Barr’s and Wayne Root’s media appearances have been the ‘shining star’ of the campaign. Fundraising is ‘significantly better’ than in years past, but ranks second to media impact.
M said Shane Cory had reported the campaign would not need the chair and others to make fundraising calls.
The LNC will go into executive session later to discuss the campaign contract.
Michael Jingozian broached a point Libertarians across the country had spoken to him about concerning the Barr-Root campaign failing to acknowledge the “Libertarian Party” in their messaging. Michael said there was no mention of them as Libertarian Candidates on their websites, bumper stickers and press releases.
M agreed to research this. Bob Sullentrup said his yard sign had both ‘Barr’ and ‘Libertarian’.
(Later in the meeting – M’s report on this issue)
Later in the meeting, Michael Jingozian asked M. Carling if we had heard anything from the Barr-Root Campaign regarding the intentional oversight by the Campaign for not including “Libertarian” on any promotional material. M. Carling had received a response from the Barr-Root Deputy Campaign Manager, Shane Corey, indicating that they are following the precedent of the Democrat and Republican Parties who do not add their respective party names to their messaging. Jingozian said that this was inappropriate, not in the best interest of the Libertarian Party and finally, he publically questioned the objectives and motivations of the Barr-Root Campaign.”
LNC Participation in Lawsuits
Mary Ruwart broached the idea that the LNC should weigh in on any lawsuits the LNC enters into. During her discussions with New Hampshire, it became clear that Mary was unaware of pending legal matters.
Jim Lark pointed out that from Article V of the Policy Manual on Finances it can be inferred the LNC must approve of suits. Jim Lark would support crafting Policy Manual language to make this matter explicit.
Aaron Starr recommended Jim Lark work with Bill Hall to craft language for the Policy Manual and bring it to the board in December.
Bill Redpath noted he has worked with this issue for many months and overlooked the point that some may not have known about the pending litigation. Certainly the prior board knew about it, and Bill apologized for the oversight.
The agreement, not a motion, was to have Jim Lark work with Bill Hall to craft language for the Policy Manual and bring it to the board in December. There was no time remaining for a motion.
EPCC / Executive Director Contract Update
At the urging of Bill Redpath, this matter was skipped for now because of upcoming issues to be addressed in executive session.
Public Availability of LNC Discuss List E-Mails
Angela Keaton noted party members including Jim Duensing, Susan Hogarth, and others want to be better informed about LNC matters.
Accordingly, the solution was to open make the LNC list public with read-only participants.
This immediately led to a need for two lists, one that is open to members and one that is reserved for the private and confidential items that appear on the list.
Aaron Starr noted this would lead to conversations by board members being conducted off-list and thus running the risk of factionalizing the board.
Robert Kraus noted the management of such a list – determining who can join, checking membership status, updating e-mail addresses and so on – would be a maintenance nightmare and require a hard job to keep staffed.
Since there was no motion at the end of discussion, we moved on.
Tom Stevens Issue
Rachel Hawkridge noted Tom Stevens is both an LP Judicial Committee member and a presidential candidate on the Objectivist Party ticket in Florida and Colorado.
According to Rachel, Mr. Stevens had to sign a statement to be on the ballot in Florida that:
I am a member of the _________ party. I am not a registered member of any other political party.
If Mr. Stevens is no longer a Libertarian, then he does not qualify to sit on the Judicial Committee. M Carling pointed out to the board that signing the above statement is a resignation from the LP. This would make Mr. Stevens ineligible for the Judicial Committee.
Rachel moved the LNC ask him to resign from the Judicial Committee.
Aaron Starr objected, stating that such action would be worse than a censure, and Mr. Stevens should have the right to defend himself.
The Secretary offered to contact Mr. Stevens and confirm the facts of the matter and report to the LNC.
Rachel moved to postpone the matter until December in San Diego.
Aaron moved a substitute motion to follow up as just described and report to the LNC. This motion was ruled out of order.
The board passed the motion to postpone the matter to December.
Several members pointed out this did not preclude the Secretary from contacting Mr. Stevens in the interim to confirm the facts of the case and report to the LNC.
Aaron Starr moved the Secretary contact Mr. Stevens to determine facts in the matter and report to the Committee. This motion failed with only Aaron Starr and Bob Sullentrup voting in favor.
The sense of the body was this motion was unnecessary, and the Secretary plans on contacting Mr. Stevens just as if the motion had been passed.
Contact information for Tom Stevens:
(718) 357-7075
DrTomStevens@aol.com
EPCC / Executive Director Contract Update
The LNC entered executive session to discuss the Barr Root campaign and personnel matters.
Andrew Davis Promotion
Admiral Colley praised Andrew Davis’s work and congratulated him for his promotion to Director of Communications.
LNC Decorum
Aaron Starr wanted to plug a gap in Robert’s Rules that, while it addresses matters of decorum in meetings, is silent on e-mail traffic. Accordingly, Aaron move to change the Policy Manual by adding Article I Section 9 as follows:
Article 1. Section 9. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS DECORUM
To encourage a more productive, collegial and cooperative atmosphere, customs of decorum as outlined in Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised are extended to include:
+ Group electronic communications between LNC members, alternates and national staff; and
+ Party-owned blogs and e-mail lists.
Specifically, the following rules of decorum shall be applied for such communications:
+ Participants shall not burden other participants nor hamper the transaction of business by posting topics unrelated to the business of the group.
+ Participants shall confine remarks to the merits of any pending question.
+ Participants shall refrain from questioning another participant’s motives. A participant can condemn the nature or likely consequences of a proposed measure in strong terms, but must avoid personal attacks.
+ Participants shall refrain from speaking adversely on a prior action not pending.
In the event a participant violates the rules of decorum, the presiding chair may direct the participant to address his or her remarks solely through the presiding chair prior to their dissemination to other group members.
The LNC reserves the right to further discipline a participant who fails to observe the Party's rules of decorum.
After some discussion, Bob Sullentrup called the question, which passed. Proceeding to a vote, the motion failed.
Voting in favor:
Bob Sullentrup, Aaron Starr, Stewart Flood.
Voting against:
Lee Wrights, Mary Ruwart, Jim Lark, Julie Fox, Admiral Colley Pat Dixon, Rebecca Sink-Burris,
Rachel Hawkridge Mark Hinkle, Angela Keaton, Michael Jingozian.
Present
Dan Karlan
Bylaws Committee Selection
Over the last two months candidates seeking appointment to the 2010 Bylaws Committee have submitted their names and vitae to the Secretary for the Committee’s consideration. Candidates included:
Ruth Bennett (WA)
Richard Burke (OR)
Jim Burns (NV)
M Carling (CA)
George Donnelly (PA)
Gene Hawkridge (WA)
Susan Hogarth (NC)
Dan Karlan (NJ)
Joshua Katz (CT)
Rob Latham (UT)
Daniel Lewis (TN)
Tim Lucey (HI)
Bruce Majors (??)
Frank Manske (CA)
Guy McClendon (TX)
Chuck Moulton (CA)
Rob Oates (ID)
Rob Power (CA)
Bill Redpath (VA)
Mike Renzulli (??)
Nick Sarwark (MD)
Heather Scott (TN)
Starchild (CA)
Aaron Starr (CA)
Morey Straus (??)
Blay Tarnoff (NY)
Rich Tomasso (NH)
Jeff Wartman (IL)
Dan Karlan moved
to conduct the election of Bylaws and Rules Committee members in accordance with RONR, page 427, lines 6-19, rather than the “disapproval” method used in the recent past.
Lee Wrights moved the question. With no objection, the LNC adopted the approval voting methodology referred to above. There was no limit on how many candidates a person might vote for. Bylaws Committee members needed to attain a majority of committee votes.
Those individuals nominated en masse were those who had submitted nomination requests to the Secretary beforehand. There were no other nominations.
Audited results are as follows:
Nominee Votes
Rob Latham (UT) 14
Dan Karlan (NJ) 13
Chuck Moulton (CA) 13
Heather Scott (TN) 13
Bill Redpath (VA) 12
Nick Sarwark (MD) 12
Rob Oates (ID) 10
Aaron Starr (CA) 10
Ruth Bennett (WA) 9
Gene Hawkridge (WA) 9
Frank Manske (CA) 9
M Carling (CA) 8
Blay Tarnoff (NY) 7
Bruce Majors (??) 5
Guy McClendon (TX) 5
Starchild (CA) 5
Rich Tomasso (NH) 4
Rob Power (CA) 3
Susan Hogarth (NC) 2
Joshua Katz (CT) 2
Mike Renzulli (??) 2
Morey Straus (??) 2
Jeff Wartman (IL) 2
Richard Burke (OR) 1
Jim Burns (NV) 1
George Donnelly (PA) 1
Daniel Lewis (TN) 1
Tim Lucey (HI) 1
Accordingly, the top eight were elected outright. A second ballot was necessary to resolve the tie at 9-10-11th places. Only ten are on the Bylaws Committee.
On the second ballot, Ruth Bennett and Gene Hawkridge received 11 votes each while Frank Manske garnered 7. Accordingly, Ruth Bennett and Gene Hawkridge made it onto the Bylaws Committee with Frank Manske the only alternate. None of the other candidates gained the required majority.
E-Voting at Conventions
Dan Karlan discussed the e-voting research he has conducted. The board is attracted to the idea but is apprehensive of the cost and security.
Alicia Mattson offered some additional information which, because the Secretary was tabulating Bylaws results, is missed. (Alicia, please provide an update).
Alicia Mattson will present the additional information, or perhaps a demo, in San Diego in December.
Afghanistan Resolution
Pat Dixon moved the following resolution:
WHEREAS the government of the United States should return to its
historical libertarian tradition of avoiding entangling alliances,
foreign quarrels, and military adventures; and
WHEREAS the stability and security of Afghanistan lie outside the
jurisdiction of the government of the United States; and
WHEREAS the Libertarian Party recognizes that the only legitimate
role of the military is to defend America against direct attack or the
imminent threat of attack;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Libertarian National Committee
calls on the government of the United States to withdraw the armed
forces of the United States from Afghanistan, without undue delay.
Aaron Starr recommended we replace ‘Afghanistan’ with ‘135 countries’. That amendment went nowhere.
There was no objection to a call of the question.
Voting in favor:
Lee Wrights, Mary Ruwart, Jim Lark, Julie Fox, Admiral Colley , Pat Dixon, Rebecca Sink-Burris, Rachel Hawkridge Mark Hinkle, Angela Keaton Michael Jingozian. Aaron Starr, Stewart Flood. Dan Karlan, Bob Sullentrup
The Chair voted present.
Angela Keaton
After a break, the Chair announced Angela Keaton had blogged on the Internet some information that had been revealed in executive session.
Pat Dixon moved to censure Angela Keaton for having blogged what she had put onto the LastFreeVoice website.
Angela Keaton left the room after having admitted to the transgression.
Michael Jingozian read the passage to the body.
Aaron Starr moved a substitute motion: It is the belief of this body that Angela Keaton should resign for having disclosed material in executive session.
Everyone in the room voted for the substitution.
Angela Keaton returned to the room.
Aaron Starr moved to have her leave the room while the body decided what actions to take.
Angela Keaton was removed from the room but was afforded an opportunity to speak in her defense before departing. Her defense was that executive session was inappropriate for the material being discussed. Moreover, some of the material was an affront to her, and she had no opportunity to meet her accusers.
Mary Ruwart invited Ms. Keaton to try again to address the specific issues the Committee had raised, since she had not appeared to have addressed them.
Bob Sullentrup called the question, which passed. Moving then to a vote on the LNC recommendation to ask Angela Keaton to resign:
Voting in favor
Mary Ruwart, Jim Lark, Julie Fox, Pat Dixon, Rebecca Sink-Burris, Mark Hinkle, Michael Jingozian, Aaron Starr, Stewart Flood, Dan Karlan, Bob Sullentrup
Rachel Hawkridge abstained and the chair did not vote.
Absent for the vote were Lee Wrights, Admiral Colley (airport), Angela Keaton
Bob Sullentrup moved the LNC suspend the membership on the LNC of Angela Keaton for breaching confidentiality in executive session.
Pat Dixon moved to amend with the phrase ’as denoted in Article 8 Section 5 of Bylaws’.
The amendment was adopted.
Aaron Starr moved to make this matter a mail ballot. There was no second.
Aaron Starr moved to append ‘in the event she does not apologize with 10 days and commit to never repeating the offense again’.
At this point, we amended the agenda to remove Jim Lark’s goals item from the agenda and move Rachel’s to the e-mail list.
When Aaron’s amendment passed, the main motion read:
The LNC shall suspend the membership on the LNC of Angela Keaton for breaching confidentiality in executive session as denoted in Article 8 Section 5 of Bylaws, in the event she does not apologize with 10 days and commit to never repeating the offense again
At some point the Chair returned to the room after a brief absence and reported Shane Cory had sent a text message noting the Barr campaign did not want Ms. Keaton removed from the LNC.
After some discussion that Mary Ruwart and perhaps others would talk to Angela to get her to understand her breach and how it affected LNC business, the body withdrew the motion, pending Mary’s report on her conversation. There was no objection to the withdrawal.
Bylaws Interim Chair
The LNC named Dan Karlan the interim chair of the Bylaws Committee.
Opportunity for Pubic Comment
Chuck Moulton invited the LNC to consider Philadelphia as a convention site for 2012.
Chuck also pointed out the maxim that if ‘a person is committing political suicide, don’t interrupt him.’ This he said was true for both Angela Keaton and the LNC both. He forecast ‘blowback’ and expressed relief he was no longer on the Board.
Upcoming Meetings
The next meeting will be December 6-7 in San Diego.
The Charleston, SC meeting will be February 28 and March 1, Saturday PM and Sunday AM.
The chair requested the LNC tell him which weekends were not available to them from June 2009 through the balance of the year.
Bob Sullentrup reminded the chair he had Boise, ID in mind for a site. Rachel Hawkridge endorsed that.
Aaron Starr intends for the body to select LNC-appointed Platform Committee members at its
December meeting.
At 1:21 pm this eventful, extraordinary and exhausting LNC meeting came to a close.
Next Meeting
The schedule for subsequent LNC meetings is as follows:
2008 Budget meeting December 6-7 San Diego, CA
2009 LSLA Joint meeting February 28-March 1 Charleston, SC
2009 TBD June
TREASURER’S REPORT
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THROUGH JULY 31, 2008
LNC MEETING SEPTEMBER 6, 2008
Ballot access costs this year are nearly $335,000 through July. For this election cycle it is approaching $400K. As stated during my Treasurer report at the convention, I foresaw we were likely to deplete our financial reserves to achieve ballot access during this election cycle. We are at that point as of July 31, with reserves hovering around zero. So it would be fair to state that funds are predictably tight.
Fortunately, revenues are on course to exceed our conservative 2008 budget, but so are fundraising costs. Overall, though, we are clearly ahead in this equation on the revenue side.
Now that we are at the tail end of ballot access costs, assuming we are able to maintain revenues at current levels, we could emerge in a relatively healthy financial state during the fourth quarter.
There is inevitably a post-election drop in money raised after each Presidential campaign. Note the 39% contraction in net support and revenue we had from 2004 to 2005. As such, it’s vital that we focus staff resources in September and October on aggressive fund-raising to build our reserves because it will be more difficult to raise money during 2009.
Some other points worth highlighting:
Convention costs were budgeted at $10,000 for the cost of two events and staff travel. I’ll be working with Robert to further analyze the $35,000 in costs we actually incurred, around half of which (almost $17,000) was paid to the Sheraton. Having a better understanding of these costs will help us with budgeting for 2010. That said, there is no such thing as a free convention and I urge my fellow board members to require convention attendees to pay a sufficient amount to cover all the costs of a convention.
The bulk of our program expenses are in the areas of compensation and administrative costs. Compensation costs are within budget and administrative costs are running about 10% over budget.
Media relations are running high: $12K year-to-date actual versus $4.5K budget. Around half the costs are attributable to a Nascar event and the Rally for the Republic.
Member communications are on track to exceed our budget ($51K year-to-date versus $54K budget). As mentioned previously, rushing out two issues of LP News prior to our convention proved to be quite expensive. We will probably wind up the year at $75K.
Aaron Starr
Treasurer
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
(805) 583-3308 Home
(805) 404-8693 Mobile
starrcpa@pacbell.net
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
Statement of Net Assets
Assets July 08
Current Assets
Cash & Equivalents
37,103
Accounts Receivable-Net
0
Other Receivables-Net
141,000
Inventories
2,000
Other Current Assets
10,256
Total Current Assets
190,359
Property and Equipment
Gross Assets
207,784
Accumulated Depreciation
(174,423)
Net Property and Equipment
33,360
Other Assets
Deposits
7,020
Total Other Assets
7,020
Total Assets
230,739
Liabilities and Net Assets
Liabilities
Accounts Payable
8,586
Accrued Payroll
10,447
Capital Lease Liability
6,827
Deferred Revenue
0
Deferred Rent
11,006
Total Liabilities
36,866
Net Assets
Beginning Net Assets
277,137
Restricted Net Assets
0
Other Adjustments
0
Current Year Surplus
(83,264)
Total Net Assets
193,873
Total Liabilities and Net Assets
230,739
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
Statement of Operations
YTD July-08
Support and Revenue
Membership Dues
276,063
Donations
219,594
Recurring Gifts
176,145
Board Member Solicitations
67,393
Projects
0
Ballot Access Donations
261,266
Campus Outreach Donations
0
Convention Revenues
1,460
Publications, Materials and Other Sales
12,955
Total Support and Revenue
1,014,876
Cost of Support and Revenue
Fundraising Costs
143,247
Membership Fundraising Costs
43,340
Convention
35,075
Direct Costs
0
Total Cost of Support and Revenue
221,662
Net Support and Revenue Available for Programs
793,214
Program Expenses
Administrative Expense
232,847
Compensation
241,603
Affiliate Support
3,231
Ballot Access
334,281
Brand Development
608
Campus Outreach
0
Candidate Support
500
Litigation
0
Lobbying
0
Media Relations
12,018
Member Communications
51,390
Outreach
0
Voter Registration
0
Total Program Expenses
876,478
Net Operating Surplus (Deficit)
(83,264)
Other Revenue/Expense
Interest Income
0
Interest Expense
0
Other Income
0
Total Other Revenue Expense
0
Net Surplus (Deficit)
(83,264)
LPHQ Update
9/3/2008
Operations Director Report (Acting ED)
by Robert Kraus
Overview
Since the last LNC meeting, LPHQ has focused mainly on ballot access and the presidential campaign.
Please feel free to address any issues not covered in the staff reports at the upcoming LNC meeting and we will do our best to address or answer any concerns.
Staff Update
Our staff levels remain at appropriate levels and includes the usual assemble of college students. Below are our current staffers and contractors:
o Robert Kraus continues to serve as our controller, director of operations, acting ED, while working closely with our FEC consultant, ballot access team and handling data issues for our state affiliates.
o Louise Calise continues to serve as our direct marketing manager. Louise has made significant improvements to our direct mail program and with the addition of Casey, is looking to further develop our direct solicitation and prospecting efforts.
o Andrew Davis continues to serve as media coordinator and has continually increased the tempo and quality of media releases. He is looking forward to increasing the level of interest in all of our candidates and party. Working closely with the Barr-Root campaign will guarantee Andrew will be very busy through November.
o Austin Petersen, continues as our volunteer coordinator, working closely with our state affiliates and Sean, while growing the number of MeetUp Groups and other social networks. Be sure to check out our amazing videos that Austin produced for the LP on You Tube!
o Sean Haugh continues to serve as our political director and has been productive in organizing ballot access and candidate recruitment efforts. Sean is full time but works in Raleigh, N.C.
o Susan Dickson still serves as a full-time employee and remains extremely productive and busy especially when we have a successful email blast such as the $17.76 pitch for July 4th.
o Casey Hansen, is our new front desk person and membership assistant helping Louise out with Direct Marketing.
o We have three college students working part time 1-2 days per week: Erin Taylor (a GW student), Mark Meranta (a GMU student) and Liz Parker (also from GMU).
o Two new contractors we are currently working with on a regular basis include: Audrey Mullen (the principle of Bob Barr’s former PR Firm who is no longer working with the campaign) who has taken on LP News which will be reformatted to a new digest size (to save postage) in full color. We have also brought on John Swallow, who did fundraising for the LP back in the 80’s and has worked with the RP and Ron paul, to help us with tele-fundraising part time.
Operations
As mentioned above, Robert has been focused on ballot access, the campaign and raising money.
Affiliates and Campaigns
Sean Haugh provides a full report on campaigns and ballot access. Austin and Andrew have also been in frequent contact with our affiliates. Data dumps continue to go out regularly. We added a few extra dumps during the summer due to some problems mid June – mid July getting inquiries via the web automatically sent to the states. This problem was resolved several weeks ago and Austin has access to those parts of the web site to update the distribution of inquiries and volunteers to the states.
We have seen some improvements on the information flow from states to LPHQ, mostly from newer state chairs who appear to be more responsive in getting us data updates, events and news items. We encourage the regional reps to continue to help us receive information from your states.
Finance and Fundraising
Internet Fundraising – Web Site
Internet based fundraising has picked up considerably. Since the launch of the new web site, we have raised a total of $137,593.00 the majority of which went to ballot access. In terms of accounting, beginning in Sept, I would like to break out (like we do for tele-fundraising) new & renew memberships via the web plus general donations via the web.
Working closely with Andrew, Austin, Louise, Sean and Susan, Terra Eclipse is almost completely finished with the back end. We are now able to export data such as inquiries and volunteers in batches, which I weekly import into RE. This saves staff, and Susan especially, considerable time. We are working on a few more items such as widgets (the linkable graphics which direct people to our web site) and on a gift batch export to simplify the data entry of receipts to RE.
Phone-based Fundraising
We had hired our previous telemarketing vendor to do a fairly successful renewal call series and a not that successful additional gift series. We will probably use this vendor again on a case by case basis until we find a more affordable alternative for our phone solicitation program.
Finance
Accounts payable remained low despite the heavy ballot access burden through the end of July. Obviously things have changed since then (preliminary Aug financials will be provided at the LNC Meeting). We anticipate ending Aug with about $47,000 in A/P – all of which is current. A substantial amount of this is related to ballot access since some of our most expensive states, like NY, CT, RI, NH and ME, were last. Petitioners also were very late in submitting their out of pocket expenses, one had been saving receipts for two months. As we wrap up B/A (MN is our final and last state) we should see a reversing of both the losses we sustained over the last several months and a reduction in the A/P back to our normal levels of $10-15,000.
Convention
Please see separate report in the binder. We felt that the relationship with the contractor, with the exception of the ability for the contractor to communicate fully with LPHQ, went well. The CSPAN “situation” and the profitability are explained in this memo.
Political Directors’ Report
by Sean Haugh
This is a transitional period for my work. Ballot Access issues have completely dominated my time and energies up until very recently. Now that this is winding down, I am enjoying spending most of my time supporting our candidates. I will keep this report very brief as most of the Ballot Access issues have already been discussed in conference calls and reports to the Executive Committee since the convention.
Ballot Access:
As of 8/29/08, we are officially on the ballot in 42 states. We are certainly going to be on the ballot in at least 47 states, with 50 state Ballot Access still possible.
The states where we have collected enough signatures and are simply awaiting official confirmation from the state are Alabama, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. That will bring us up to 46 states. Petitioning has begun in Minnesota, our last state where petitioning will get us on the ballot. That process should be complete by the time of this meeting.
We already have filed or are in the process of filing lawsuits in several states, including three where we already have Ballot Access. All suits should be filed by meeting time, so they can be discussed openly. Here is a brief description of each suit and its status. Our attorney is Gary Sinawski, the suits are in federal court, and the defendant is always the relevant Secretary of State or other state election authority, unless otherwise noted.
North Carolina: Our broad argument against NC ballot access law in NC state court lost at the Superior Court level earlier this year. The LPNC is represented by attorneys from Tharrington Smith of Raleigh. They have very kindly offered to handle the appeals pro bono. We are currently awaiting a hearing from the NC Court of Appeals. We expect this case will end up in front of the NC Supreme Court sometime in 2009.
Ohio: We won this case earlier in the year. The candidates previously nominated by the LPO and also the Barr/Root ticket were placed on the ballot by this result. The state did not appeal, and now our precedent has been used by the Socialist and Green parties to gain Ballot Access in Ohio as well. This win in court should motivate the Ohio legislature to create new Ballot Access laws in 2009, and the LPO is very well prepared for that lobbying effort.
Massachusetts: The Massachusetts ACLU arranged for attorneys from Foley Hoag in Boston to file our case regarding substitution. Currently George Phillies is listed as the stand in for President. This is the one state where we did not have the resources to run a separate petition for the Barr/Root ticket as a backup plan, so we are depending on the lawsuit for substitution.
New Hampshire: Our case over substitution, which was discussed extensively in the most recent EC conference call, should be filed early in the week at the latest.
Maine: Our case over the dual deadline scheme in Maine should also be filed by meeting time. There we have enough signatures but did not meet a deadline for getting them to the various towns for verification, although we were done well before the final deadline established by Maine law. Beyond the equal protection argument that applies to all such cases (that the state does not need to know who our nominees are before they know who the Democratic and Republican nominees are), in Maine we also can show many inconsistencies in executing the law in our situation as well as many examples of how this law has been informally waived in the recent past.
Oklahoma: Jim Linger is representing the Barr campaign in this matter.
West Virginia: Bob Bastross is representing the Barr campaign in this case. There was a hearing on 8/27/08 which lasted well into the evening. A decision on that case could very well be handed down before meeting time.
Pennsylvania: This is a state level lawsuit against the state of Pennsylvania and the Barr campaign challenging the very well established process of substitution there. Sam Stretton has been retained by the Barr campaign in this matter, while the LPPa and LNC have retained Marc Arrigo to represent our mutual interests. This action is clearly designed simply to waste our time and money, with a lot of expensive suits working on behalf of the McCain campaign. Stretton has so far prevented this case from becoming a full blown trial, as there are no matters of fact which need to be debated. Our substitution process perfectly conforms with past practices and legislative intent in Pennsylvania, so I am very confident this action will not rise above the level of momentary nuisance.
Robert Kraus should be reporting on the financial aspects of Ballot Access, and I will be writing an article detailing my own longer term vision for Ballot Access which I hope to have published at Liberty For All and available to you before this meeting.
Our success in Ballot Access this year.
Candidates:
While Ballot Access demanded my full attention, much help has been provided to identify our candidates and get them up on our website. Terra Eclipse has this week provided me with direct access to the Candidate and Ballot Access pages at lp.org, which is very easy to use, allowing me to quickly update our records. LP member George Donnelly put together a list of Libertarian candidates as noted on various state websites which has proven to be quite useful. Also, Alexa Lamoureaux and Erin Taylor did a great job of pulling together lists of candidates from various states.
Currently we are aware of at least 575 Libertarian candidates across the country. I expect the number of current candidates will be about 850 once we hear from the various states which have not posted their candidates on their websites or kept their lists updated. Our best chances for partisan wins this year are in the New Hampshire state house, which has small districts and several strong Libertarian challengers.
Robert Kraus has established a program for our federal candidates to share data about our members and supporters in their districts and to transmit emails or other communications to them. This issue of LP News is dedicated to our federal candidates, and Terra Eclipse has provided us with a way to establish separate webpages for each Libertarian candidate and elected official. Once I have had the opportunity to catch up on all our candidates’ activities, the Candidate Tracker scores can also be added to these pages and used to determine the rotation of these candidates highlighted on the home page.
I should have a much clearer view of our candidates and their activities at the time of our meeting and will be happy to answer any questions about them.
yours in liberty –
Sean Haugh
-30-
Direct Marketing Manager’s Report
by Louise Calise
Overview
I am happy to report that for the second half of 2008 we raised $820,037; an increase of $141,718 over the second half of 2007. And our membership numbers have increased as well – we have 2,462 new members for the second half of 2008; for the same time period in 2007 we had 1,149 new members. I recognize that some interest in the Libertarian Party may be due to the fact that it is an election year; but I also believe that interest has grown because of everyone’s outreach efforts – headquarters staff is a true team.
In my last report I requested to be able to hire someone to help with the daily responsibilities of the direct mail program so I can work on acquiring, cultivating and maintaining high dollar donors for the party. We have hired Casey Hansen. Casey started at the LP on August 22. He was interviewed by myself, Robert Kraus and Admiral Colley; and we all agreed that Casey would be a good fit to the LP staff. And so far he has proven us right. Casey is a graduate of San Diego State University and comes to us from TheCapitol.Net, where he served as a conference associate. At this time I would like to introduce Casey to the LNC – welcome Casey.
House Appeals
Our renewal mailing series is still holding strong with an average return of 13.33% and an average gift of $42.34. We have done some telemarketing to members for purposes of renewals and the results were better in 2008 than in 2007 (higher percentage return and higher average gift).
The return on investment (ROI) for our direct mail appeals averages $3.86 (meaning that for every $1.00 we spent we receive $3.86 back), while the ROI on renewals is $10.24. In my opinion this is understandable because the members we mail to do not necessarily want to have their membership in the LP lapse.
The results for our house appeals are slow in reporting because the post office seems to still be slowing down the delivery of our business return envelopes. When speaking to other professionals in non-profit organizations, they seem to be having the same problem. In trying to expedite receiving returns, I split the house file in half for the August house appeal (Time magazine article enclosed). I mailed half the donors a business reply envelope and the other half a preprinted return envelope (no postage). Unfortunately, this test has not proven that we could acquire funds quicker. However, it is interesting that the return envelope with no postage brought in a 0.06% higher return with an $8.50 higher average gift. Therefore, we will use the return envelope without postage again.
To help increase our percent response on house appeals I am making our house appeal’s reply device interactive. For example, the September house appeal reply device has a sticker that asks the member to take the sticker off the reply device and place it on their calendar. In October I plan on having a check off box asking the donor to send in $44.00 in honor of our 44th President and for this $44.00 we will send them a button that says “Don’t Blame Me – I Voted Libertarian” and the button has our toll free telephone number on it. We will be doing the fulfillment from the office, and it will be cost effective.
In trying to get our lapsed donors to renew I will be very selective in choosing a direct mail appeal for them to receive. I recognize that it has to be one that tears at their heart strings for the Libertarian cause.
Prospecting
This year we mailed three prospect appeals – one to different lists, one to persons donating to a libertarian cause via the internet (this is a list Shane acquired), and one to persons who responded to a prior prospecting survey (but returned the survey without money). The last two brought in 2.33% response with an average gift of $42.96. For prospecting these are very good returns.
I have been working with an agency that has experience in political prospecting so I can tap their brain to get our prospecting to different lists with a new package to work for us. However, Robert has been telling me that we do not have funds to pay for this project. Therefore in order to make the project affordable now I have worked out with the agency that (1) they will front half the postage, (2) the costs for the lists will be at least 30 days out and I have the broker negotiating net names, (3) all the printing and mail shop costs will not be due before 90 days after the mailing. All of this gives us time to get money in the door to pay the bills.
There are no guarantees in life, especially when prospecting; however, even though a different package to other lists in January 2008 lost us money (as all prospecting does) we gained enough on the donor’s next gifts to really look at that prospect appeal as successful. In other words, donors to the January 2008 prospect appeal gave us an additional one, two or more gifts. The January 2008 prospect appeal costs a total of $14,342.73; the grand total of gifts from these particular donors acquired through this appeal is $39,127.05 to date (only 7 months after the first mailing).
Telemarketing
Our telemarketing is at a stand still as we have board members, staff and volunteers calling donors. Right now this is the most cost-effective method. Once we enter 2009 we should begin telemarketing again asking for funds to help support down ballot candidates.
Board Solicitations
Previously we discussed with the members of the board soliciting funds and some of you say you are not fundraisers. Yes, I agreed – and still do; however, as a team we can solicit people that you already know and possibly get those people to introduce you to others. In this vein I have brought with me a copy of “Asking” by Jerold Panas for each of you. It is a quick read book that I believe will help you feel more comfortable in doing solicitations. I am ready to work with any board member who wishes my assistance in identifying, calling and/or visiting major donors.
LNC “Give or Get Program” (as of 9/217/08)
Board Member
Get Give Grand Total Goal
Aaron Starr
1,260 5,040 6,300 10,000
Angela Keaton
0 0 0
Berlie Etzel
0 0 0
Bob Jackson
0 0 0
Daniel M. Karlan
300 300 2,500
George Squires
0 0 0
Hardy A. Macia
5,668 5,668 10,000
Heather Scott
236 236 0
Jake Porter
35 0 35 0
James W. Lark
5,000 5,000 10,000
Julia Fox
100 100 2,000
Lee Wrights
0 0 0
Mark W. Hinkle
0 0 5,000
Mary Ruwart
100 100 0
Michael C. Colley
918 918 5,000
Michael P. Jingozian
1,318 1,318 5,000
Patrick J. Dixon
225 320 545 5,000
R. A. Ryan
1,000 30 1,030 2,500
Rachel Hawkridge
18 18 1,000
Rebecca Sink-Burris
250 658 908 1,000
Robert Sullentrup
200 205 405 2,000
Scott Lieberman
300 300 1,000
Steve LaBianca
0 0 0
Stewart Flood
175 175 10,000
William B. Redpath
5,250 5,250 10,000
(blank)
0
Grand Total
3,145 25,459 28,604 82,000
Note: Mary Ruwart and Bob Sullentrup prefer to keep their contributions confidential.
Mail Schedule
Here is an updated 2008 mail schedule:
2008 Mail Schedule
Proposed
Mail Date
Audience Theme Status
13-Feb
House Ron Paul Petition mailed
26-Feb
House Torch Club Invitations mailed
10-Mar
House Annual Report mailed
9-Apr
House Annual Report Followup mailed
1-May
House Ballot Access - Map Insert mailed
9-Jun
House Urgent Gram mailed
17-Jun
House Post Convention mailed
7-Aug
House Time magazine article mailed
15-Sept
House Remember to Vote sticker will mail 9/15
13-Oct
House Button back-end fulfillment have inventory
11-Nov
House Election turnout
11-Dec
House Year End - Budget
15-Jul
Prospect Party & Candidate Support est mail 10/08
13-Oct
Prospect Remember to Vote - Stickers Not mailing
16-Jan
House Renewal Series mailed
22-Feb
House Renewal Series mailed
10-Mar
House Renewal Series mailed
18-Apr
House Renewal Series mailed
12-May
House Renewal Series mailed
9-Jun
House Renewal Series mailed
7-Jul
House Renewal Series mailed
4-Aug
House Renewal Series mailed
2-Sep
House Renewal Series
6-Oct
House Renewal Series
3-Nov
House Renewal Series
1-Dec
House Renewal Series
28-Jan
Mo pledgers Pledge News mailed
28-Feb
Mo pledgers Pledge News mailed
27-Mar
Mo pledgers Pledge News mailed
21-Apr
Mo pledgers Pledge News mailed
12-May
Mo pledgers Pledge News mailed
9-Jun
Mo pledgers Pledge News mailed
14-Jul
Mo pledgers Pledge News mailed
11-Aug
Mo pledgers Pledge News mailed
8-Sep
Mo pledgers Pledge News
13-Oct
Mo pledgers Pledge News
10-Nov
Mo pledgers Pledge News
8-Dec
Mo pledgers Pledge News
20-Jan
Active Members LP News mailed
2-Mar
Active Members LP News mailed
2-Apr
Active Members LP News mailed
2-May
Active Members LP News mailed
12-May
Active Members LP News mailed
9-Jun
Active Members LP News mailed
14-Jul
Active Members LP News mailed
11-Aug
Active Members LP News mailed
8-Sep
Active Members LP News
13-Oct
Active Members LP News
10-Nov
Active Members LP News
8-Dec
Active Members LP News
Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement.
Libertarian National Committee
Volunteer Coordination
Report
Your browser may not support display of this image.
2600 Virginia Ave. NW #200
Washington , D.C. 22304
Phone: 2023330072 x232
E-Mail: austin.petersen@lp.org Web: www.lp.org
Core Activities
In order to provide states with volunteers for their events and to grow their parties, I have been actively recruiting volunteers on a daily basis. Interns place highly charged political ads across the United States. The advertisements are written to reflect the general interests of a population based on general demographic info available freely online, and by common knowledge. For example: During the West Virginia Ballot Access drive, the state was targeted with advertisements that reflected strong 2nd amendment positions, as well as low tax messages. Conversely, New York City was targeted by placing advertisements that advocated activism based on our appeals to Civil Liberties, and repealing Corporatism, i.e. soft fascism. The results of the ad campaigns have been remarkably successful.
The advertisement campaign netted over 250 activists all across the nation to be deployed for various activities. Some of them were for specific events, such as petitioning for Ballot Access, and others were for local campaigns and state chairs to distribute as they saw fit. A document has been attached to give you an example of these replies.
In states where the local affiliate is unable to support an energetic volunteer, I have encouraged them to either start their own Meetup (reference LP Blog, “Start a Bob Barr Meetup”), or helped them to locate a Libertarian Meetup group near them. This too has been a successful way to keep volunteers busy. I have personally grown the Washington D.C. Libertarian Party Meetup by 10 members and have a constituency of reliable volunteers for projects in the area.
The following map provides an illustration of the progress of the grassroots across the country. Currently we show 7,811 grassroots volunteers amongst 159 groups in 132 cities. (continued on next page)
Your browser may not support display of this image. I continually strive to build my network and earn votes for the Libertarian Party by participating in extracurricular activities. I have begun to make contacts in such organizations as the MPP, The Institute for Humane Studies, Students for Liberty, the Leadership Institute and Reason Magazine. These relationships I am building there will definitely be advantageous as I can see my local volunteer base growing out of some of these institutions.
I have provided material support to the Barr campaign by providing reliable locations for petitioners to have in key states. By researching grocery stores, and big box stores on the Internet and calling ahead, we were able to secure at least one new location every day in hard to petition states like West Virginia.
Alternate Activities
During the past few months I have been called upon to represent the Libertarian Party at several events, conventions, and rallies. The most recent will be the one this coming weekend for Ron Paul. In general I felt as if my outreach at events has been very effective. Of those people who are not firmly voting for either of the major party candidates, I have a high conversion rate when speaking to them on their issues.
I also represent the party at events, staffing booths, and handing out literature as well. This weekend I will be attending the Campaign for Liberty Rally in Minneapolis to attempt to persuade the Ron Paul people to vote Libertarian.
I’ve been developing a conversion technique which my interns and I work on that I have labeled, “Positive Deception,” whereby you judge what your opponents strongest issues are (democratic or republican) and play yourself to that angle by denigrating their candidates choice in a positive way that piques your targets interest and towards the issues you both mutually agree are important. A simple illustration of this would be, “I thought about voting democrat, but I am against the war.” Or, “I used to like Obama, but I am strong for Civil Liberties.” Then you can go into detail. This works on I estimate over half of the people I practice it on.
Ambassadorship
Recently, The Institute for International Education and the Department of State, asked me to give a presentation on our belief system in front of a team of foreign diplomats, journalists, and other luminaries. This was a golden opportunity to give foreigners a Liberty minded viewpoint of some of the major issues we face today.
It was a very exciting event. A group of individuals from South America were present, and were very interested to hear such a broadly different approach to world problems. After the presentation, I was surprised that they didn’t focus on drug issues, but instead on welfare. A journalist from Brazil was doing an article on our party, and she grilled me about my stance on this issue. However at the end she appeared unfazed by my logic, and said that she still thinks we should take care of the mentally deficient, and sick. The entire room listened to the conversation, and waited for my reply.
I asked her if I could ask her a question, without appearing too confrontational. She said yes, and I asked her how much money and time she offered to sick and mentally ill people. She was flabbergasted and replied that’s what taxes were for! Everyone laughed because they saw the inherent fallacy of expecting other people to do good for you on your own behalf by forcefully taxing your neighbors. Three articles were written in South American newspapers on this event.
Leadership
The following is a letter from one of my interns.
“Austin Petersen is one of the best bosses I have ever had. He was a pleasure to work under, and his attitude and dedication to the libertarian cause always kept me motivated to work hard and spread the party's values. Austin is a master at converting people to libertarianism. When he got into debates at the various events we attended he always spoke eloquently and made people realize how much they have in common with the party's platform. Seeing his success, it made me change my method of how I approached people with differing opinions. Austin is also a very "stand up" guy, whose opinion I trust greatly. I am even planning on having Austin come speak at my college to promote the LP this semester.
As for my contribution to the party, my main job was to post creative and suggestive online advertisements on craigslist and other websites. Austin advised me and we worked together to find core issues that made this happen. Each day we typically had a yield of at least three volunteers from craigslist advertisements alone! Some weeks we would even get more. Once again it was Austin's drive (and excitement from getting new volunteers) that kept me and the other intern posting ads that were original and highly motivating.”
–Mark Meranta (Senior at George Mason)
Media Production
Since the convention, I have produced three small videos for the party. These include: An interview with an Iraq Veteran and Libertarian, a recap of our Denver Convention, and a short humorous recruitment video for Bob Barr. I also have planned a production shoot with a team of volunteers next month for a commercial with the Students for Liberty. I’ve also developed a good relationship with their Executive Director, Alexander McCobin.
The camera has been a good investment I believe because after the convention, a media outlet was unable to acquire High Definition video from any other source of our convention. I was able to provide this to them for an article on our party.
Over the next year I plan to make good use of the camera to help spread our message.
Setbacks
Volunteer ballot access efforts in D.C. for Barr were a failure. Although I diligently attempted to recruit volunteers to get the required amount of signatures, I was unable to complete this project on time. Challenges included: Circulation was limited to D.C. residents. D.C. Libertarians are notoriously skeptical of the political process – some don’t even vote. Also I was distracted by the Heller campaign fiasco, which I had originally planned to piggyback the Barr petitions on with. Unfortunately, this was a mistake and I accept responsibility due to prior warnings to be careful of Heller and his constituents. I did learn a valuable lesson in politics in being cautious.
Conclusion
With only two months left until the election my focus is now shifting to get out the vote operations. I am currently in need of software similar to our Ballot Base from last year. Hopefully I can acquire something soon so that I can train volunteers in it.
I also plan to coordinate some nationwide sign waving events to coordinate with the major parties rallies, as well as introducing a simple blueprint plan to distribute to grassroots organizations. This document describes how to build a ground up grassroots activist group for beginners.
Sample Ad Responses:
#1
I have been studying the constitution and reading as much as I can get my hands on this subject. I have a close person that has claimed his sovereignty along with his family. I know of the freedom you speak and want to dive in. We currently live in Washington state and are attempting to move to a Montana in a year to hopefully join others more like-minded and interested in regaining our rights Liberties and justice. I am still young, slightly under 30 but when I become of age I want the knowledge and wisdom to be a great public servant and help end this grossly overpowered government of socialism and communism. Let me know of all and any amount of help one citizen can do.
LONG LIVE FREEDOM
James Harles
#2
New to Knoxville. Looking for someway to spend my time effectively. This sounds great!
Would like to hear more about it. – Annesah
#3
My boyfriend and I are libertarians and are looking to become active party members! I saw your recent posting on Craigslist, and we would be excited to help! We are mainly looking for weekend events that we can both participate in, but potentially something during the week too. Please let us know more details about how we can help your efforts!
Thank you for your time and efforts for the party!
Kim VanderPol
#4
I am a Libertarian and am always wanting to get more involved with the party on a local level. I guess this could be my chance. I am an
Interior Designer and event planner, but have many skills and am
willing to do a wide variety of things to contribute.
Suzanne Young
#5.
I am a conservative, I might be interested in working with your group depending on what the job details and if I feel like it is of significance to politics and would truly help bring about change in who is elected, etc.
-Tim
#6
Hi Austin, this is right up my alley, as I am dissatisfied with with the other parties. Yes, put me in touch with someone in my state of Virginia. I currently reside in Virginia Beach, VA but may be relocating to Northampton County of the Eastern Shore in Virginia. I'm curious as to whether you have had much response from my area. Thank you for responding to my request. Take care, Patty
#7
I am in the Point Pleasant area and willing to walk for Bob Barr. Please give me a call today and I can set up a meeting to gather a few others who would love to help.
T Arno
#8
Mr. Petersen,
I would be more than happy to help with the Libertarian cause I would just like to know what you need me to do in Norman or the state of Oklahoma to get votes for the party, or just to ensure the option is on the Oklahoma ballot. Looking forward to your reply.
Respectfully,
Mike Marsh
#9
I am interested in the lowering of the taxes that the goverment has put
on the people and people have accepted what they have done. We as
people who do pay their paycheck should keep them accountable for what
they spend the taxpayers money on. Sign me up and what can be done.
Thank you
Martha Mcconnell
Staff Report – Andrew Davis
Following the nomination of Bob Barr, the media focused immediately switched from the LP to Barr. This, of course, was expected given the caliber of Barr's candidacy that makes him a major player in the upcoming election.
Though temporarily based in Atlanta where I can assist the Barr campaign with media coverage, which in turn helps the prominence of the LP in the media, I have been able to do several things towards energizing LP members and spreading the LP message. The LP's MySpace page had been dormant for nearly a year. After some finagling with MySpace, I was able to develop a new page that is up and now has more than 800 friends‹all within two months.
The LP Facebook group also has been revamped, updated and now has close to 4,000 members. Both the Facebook group and Myspace are portals to the LP Web site, but also a great resource for LP news and information. One of the best features of the site is a quick-list of our positions that are in sound bites that make them perfect for the online community.
Upon Shane's departure from the Libertarian Party, I have been tasked with online fundraising. We normally solicit from our list about once a week.
As I said before, the media has turned its attention from the LP-proper to the Barr campaign, so most of the media focus from our end has been in promoting Bob. However, we were able to get some news hits for our National Chairman, such as with a major radio station in Germany, and a spot on Al Jazeera English.
The biggest hit this quarter were write-ups in Playboy. Following an interview with Bill, in which he was incorrectly identified as our presidential nominee (this was prior to the convention), Playboy sought to correct an error in which Editor Lee Froehlich called "one of the worst in 10 years." In atoning for their error, they allowed for a retraction letter that ran two months ago. However, this month, a full-page interview was run in their Forum Section.
The focus of the next few months will simply be promoting the LP in the media as much as possible during the campaign season. As Barr continues to climb in the polls, this will happen more often.
_________________________
Andrew Davis
National Media Coordinator
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
Andrew.davis@lp.org
Office: 202-333-0008 ext. 225
Cell: 202-731-0002
CAMPUS ORGANIZING REPORT
Submitted to: Libertarian National Committee, Aug. 29, 2008
Submitted by: James W. Lark, III
Region 5S Representative, Libertarian National Committee
This report will provide information concerning efforts to build and support Libertarian campus organizations. I shall provide an updated report at the LNC meeting in Arlington should additional information become available.
This report will provide information concerning activities of the Libertarian Party state affiliates in Region 5S since the LNC meeting on May 26, 2008. I shall provide an updated report at the LNC meeting in Arlington should additional information become available.
Since that LNC meeting, I was invited to discuss the LP national convention and LP presidential ticket on WCHV (1260 AM) on May 29 and on WINA (1070 AM) on June 2. (Both stations are located in Charlottesville, Virginia.) I gave an address on the subject of campus organizing and served as a banquet speaker (along with Geoff Neale and Bill Redpath) at the LP Texas convention in Ft. Worth in mid June. I attended the annual Libertarian Party of Maryland summer picnic on Aug. 9, held near North East, Maryland. I was the special guest of the Libertarian Party of Maine at their annual summer picnic, held on Sebago Lake on Aug. 17. On Aug. 18 I appeared on a radio/TV simulcast in Portland, Maine (WLOB FM/FOX 23 TV) to discuss the Libertarian Party. I attended the annual Libertarian Party of Delaware convention in Newark on Aug. 23.
If I may be permitted a personal note, I was greatly honored and deeply flattered to receive (along with LP Washington activist Ruth Bennett) the Thomas Jefferson Award for lifetime achievement in the Libertarian Party at the national convention in Denver. I have had the privilege to work with some great colleagues in the Libertarian Party of Virginia, and with many superb teammates on the LNC. Allow me to express my gratitude to these great Libertarians for their work for liberty, and for their friendship and support.
Delaware
The Libertarian Party of Delaware held its annual convention on Aug. 23. The convention, held at a restaurant/bar in Newark, was attended by roughly 15 people. (Steve Newton of Newark deserves praise for his efforts to organize the convention.) Jim Rash (Jim@rashteam.com) of Milford was elected chairman. Paul Thompson (who attended the LP national convention in Denver) was elected vice chairman, and Brad Thomas was elected secretary/treasurer.
The convention nominated Mark Anthony Parks to serve as the LPD congressional candidate, and nominated Tyler Nixon and Jesse Priester to serve as the LPD candidates in the 4th and 23rd Delaware House of Representatives districts, respectively. Mr. Nixon and Mr. Priester are “fusion candidates,” in that both of them will serve as Republican candidates as well.
District of Columbia
Rob Kampia (rkampia@mpp.org) is serving as the contact for the LPDC at this time. He informed me that J. Bradley Jansen (lbrty4all@gmail.com) has been working in various ways to promote libertarian candidates in DC. I have enclosed below the message Mr. Jansen sent me on Aug. 4:
Hi James,
For the record, I'm a member of the DC Republican Committee, former Ron Paul legislative staffer, and current Bob Barr presidential elector candidate to the electoral college. Although a registered Republican in DC, I did send in my dues to the LP the day Barr got the nomination (DC does not currently recognize LP registration).
The LP slate in DC consists of Barr/WAR for the presidential ticket, Dick Heller (who overturned the handgun ban at the Supreme Court) for Delegate to Congress and Damien Ober for shadow senator. I engineered a gentlemen's agreement between the DC LP (such as it is) and DC GOP: The LP is not running a candidate against Republican incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton, and the Republican candidate for Delegate to Congress is going to withdraw and endorse Dick Heller when he makes his formal, public announcement (the DC GOP will be supporting Heller in other ways). It is possible some other members will run for the non-partisan ANC (Advisory Neighborhood Commissions) http://anc.dc.gov/anc/site/default.asp (the deadlines are later than for other offices).
For identification purposes only and explicitly not implying organizational endorsements, the three Barr presidential elector candidates to the electoral college for DC include Rob Kampia of MPP who seconded Barr's nomination at the convention, Stacie Rumenap who is Executive Director of Stop Child Predators www.stopchildpredators.org, and J. Bradley Jansen, director of the Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights http://www.financialprivacy.org/.
We are currently circulating signatures for all of the LP candidates--and could use help! Even out of "state"ers are welcome to come and assist us. We won't know if we were successful until after your deadline.
Right now the Heller campaign website has a petition to draft him to run: http://dcforheller.com/ and will soon be accepting online donations and will post other information on issues, etc. The address for the campaign is DC for Heller at PO Box 77159, Washington, DC 20013 (make checks payable to "DC for Heller"). The Facebook page is http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21857286891&ref=ts; everyone is encouraged to "friend" the campaign and invite others. They can email me at DCforHeller@gmail.com with any questions. Dick Heller has been the DC LP treasurer for the past several years and was responsible for getting Michael Badnarik on the ballot four years ago. The attached document was circulated at the Ron Paul rEVOLution March and Rally. When Heller gets over 7,500 votes for delegate to Congress with Republican support in a one-on-one race with incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton, the LP will have "major party" status along with the Republicans, Democrats and DC Statehood Green Parties in DC. Steve Dasbach, among others, spoke at the National Press Club urging Dick Heller to run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQZxjQ302Lw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izts2x2u_L4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqnL1bi7ncM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYACOse6DLQ
Heller spoke at the charter meeting of the DC Republican Liberty Caucus and is doing lots of TV, radio and print interviews because of the court case, his gun registration and the new lawsuit. Once we get his scheduling harmonized, hopefully that will be integrated into the website.
[Some background on the party affiliation question: Because of the gag order with the Supreme Court case, the ballot petitioning deadline past to run on the Republican line. Therefore, Mr. Heller decided to run for Delegate to Congress from DC as a Libertarian with DC GOP support for that bid. Ideally, he would have run on a Libertarian-Republican fusion ticket, but the DC Board of Elections and Ethics does not permit fusion tickets: "Mr. Heller's challenge to Ms. Norton is welcomed in the spirit of debate and as his campaign unfolds we look forward him hearing about some of his ideas to better DC," stated Robert J. Kabel, Chair of the District of Columbia Republican Committee.]
Damien Ober is running an artistic campaign for "shadow senator" (the office we would have if DC had senators). His Facebook page is here
http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15989579693&ref=ts, his YouTube page is here http://www.youtube.com/user/shadowdc2008, and the campaign email is shadowdc@verizon.net.
Ron Paul delegate candidates to the Republican national convention are still quite active in DC and include the current Republican candidate for Delegate to Congress Adrian Salsgiver, LP shadow senator candidate Damien Ober, half of the new members of the DC Republican Committee, and most of the organization of the Heller campaign: treasurer James Hendrickson, general counsel Craig Max, and the manager J. Bradley Jansen, et al.
In addition, the charter meeting of the DC chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus met recently and had Dick Heller as the keynote speaker.
I will try to make the LNC meeting if you like. The above should suffice for a report on the DC LP.
Yours in liberty,
J. Bradley Jansen
Update (Aug. 31) from J. Bradley Jansen:
Hi,
Here is a quick update on the situation in DC. Bob Barr will not be on the ballot in DC. Dick Heller decided against a run for office at this time (still busy with the lawsuits). Damien Ober filed, I think, 4200 signatures to get on the ballot for Shadow Senator (3k was the minimum). There is some debate whether getting the 7500 for his office qualifies the LP for major party status in DC.
Best,
JBJ
Maryland
LPMD chairman Bob Johnston (rstanley21018@yahoo.com) provided the following report:
The Maryland LP is running a full slate of candidates for federal offices for the first time in its history. It is also the first time a 3rd party in Maryland is running a full slate in at least 30 years. The candidates for the 8 US House of Representatives' races were confirmed to be on the ballot by the state Board of Elections on August 4th, the final day to register as a candidate in Maryland.
The candidates and their Congressional Districts: (1st) Dr. Richard Davis, (2nd) Lorenzo Gaztanaga, (3rd) Sebastian Sassi, (4th) Thibeaux Lincecum, (5th) Darlene Nicholas, (6th) Gary Hoover, (7th) Ronald Owens-Bey, (8th) Ian Thomas.
The MDLP held its annual summer picnic and Central Committee meeting on Saturday, 9 August at Dave and Renee Sten's place in NorthEast, MD. Around 25 people attended, and were graced with the presence of our esteemed LNC Region 5 Representative, Dr. Jim Lark.
Pennsylvania
LP Pennsylvania chairman Mik Robertson (chair@lppa.org) has stated that the LPPa submitted sufficiently many signatures to place the LP presidential ticket of Bob Barr and Wayne Root on the Pennsylvania ballot. The LPPa will have three statewide candidates: Marakay Rogers (Attorney General), Betsy Summers (Auditor General), and Berlie Etzel (State Treasurer).
In a press release dated Aug. 19, Mr. Robertson notes that the Cumberland County Republican chairman has filed a “Petition to Set Aside a Nominating Paper Filed” in an apparent effort to keep the Barr/Root ticket off the ballot. This effort has generated substantial publicity for the LP in Pennsylvania. Incidentally, Bob Barr conducted a stand-up comedy routine in a charity event for children in Philadelphia on Aug. 19.
Update (Aug. 31) from Mik Robertson:
Please be advised that a hearing is scheduled in Philadelphia on Friday September 5, 2008 regarding the petition to strike Bob Barr from the Pennsylvania ballot. Rochelle Etzel has received a subpoena to appear at the hearing, and our Region 5S alternate, Berlie Etzel, will be in attendance as well. As a result, our alternate representative will not attend the LNC meeting, and we are sure Jim Lark will be able to provide superlative representation of the region at the meeting by himself.
The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania does have some serious concerns about the hearing, as even a positive outcome that keeps Bob Barr on the ballot may have adverse outcomes for future ballot access requirements in the Commonwealth. We do have some light at the end of the tunnel as legislators are at least announcing support for PA election law reform, and we need this case to promote that effort, not set us back. We have developed draft legislation to amend the PA Election Code that we hope will be introduced in the next legislative session starting September 16th, and this case may affect whether that happens.
If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Mik Robertson
Chair, LPPA
Virginia
In mid August the Libertarian Party of Virginia successfully concluded its petition drive to place the LP presidential ticket on the 2008 ballot. The LPVa was required to submit the signatures of at least 10,000 registered Virginia voters by Aug. 22. In addition, the submission had to include at least 400 signatures of registered voters from each of the eleven congressional districts in the Commonwealth.
LNC chairman Bill Redpath is the LPVa candidate for the U.S. Senate this year. He is running against former governors Jim Gilmore (Republican) and Mark Warner (Democrat). His campaign successfully completed its petition drive in June. His campaign had to satisfy the same criteria as those set for the presidential petition, except that the submission deadline was June 10. Mr. Redpath funded his petition drive out of his own pocket. His campaign manager is Kara Cholko; she is currently working to organize campaign events for him throughout the state.
Nathan Larson is the LPVa candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the First District. He also serves as chairman of the First Congressional District Committee.
West Virginia
I regret to report that I have not been able to contact Matt Harris (LP West Virginia chairman) during the past two months. I was contacted this week by Tad Britch, who serves as LPWV secretary. Mr. Britch is interested in building a Libertarian campus group at West Virginia University in Morgantown. He indicated that he has been unable to contact Mr. Harris; evidently, Mr. Harris’ telephone and e-mail are no longer in service.
This is very disappointing, especially considering that Mr. Harris attended the national convention in Denver and seemed enthusiastic about building the LPWV. Bill Redpath informed me that the LPWV provided little if any assistance in the petition drive to place the Barr/Root ticket on the ballot. I shall continue to work with LPWV members in an effort to re-energize the organization.
Region One Report
No report
Region Two Report
No report
Region Three Report
No report
Region Four Report
No report
REGION 5S REPORT
Submitted to: Libertarian National Committee, Aug 29, 2008
Submitted by: James W. Lark, III
Region 5S Representative, Libertarian National Committee
This report will provide information concerning activities of the Libertarian Party state affiliates in Region 5S since the LNC meeting on May 26, 2008. I shall provide an updated report at the LNC meeting in Arlington should additional information become available.
Since that LNC meeting, I was invited to discuss the LP national convention and LP presidential ticket on WCHV (1260 AM) on May 29 and on WINA (1070 AM) on June 2. (Both stations are located in Charlottesville, Virginia.) I gave an address on the subject of campus organizing and served as a banquet speaker (along with Geoff Neale and Bill Redpath) at the LP Texas convention in Ft. Worth in mid June. I attended the annual Libertarian Party of Maryland summer picnic on Aug. 9, held near North East, Maryland. I was the special guest of the Libertarian Party of Maine at their annual summer picnic, held on Sebago Lake on Aug. 17. On Aug. 18 I appeared on a radio/TV simulcast in Portland, Maine (WLOB FM/FOX 23 TV) to discuss the Libertarian Party. I attended the annual Libertarian Party of Delaware convention in Newark on Aug. 23.
If I may be permitted a personal note, I was greatly honored and deeply flattered to receive (along with LP Washington activist Ruth Bennett) the Thomas Jefferson Award for lifetime achievement in the Libertarian Party at the national convention in Denver. I have had the privilege to work with some great colleagues in the Libertarian Party of Virginia, and with many superb teammates on the LNC. Allow me to express my gratitude to these great Libertarians for their work for liberty, and for their friendship and support.
Delaware
The Libertarian Party of Delaware held its annual convention on Aug. 23. The convention, held at a restaurant/bar in Newark, was attended by roughly 15 people. (Steve Newton of Newark deserves praise for his efforts to organize the convention.) Jim Rash (Jim@rashteam.com) of Milford was elected chairman. Paul Thompson (who attended the LP national convention in Denver) was elected vice chairman, and Brad Thomas was elected secretary/treasurer.
The convention nominated Mark Anthony Parks to serve as the LPD congressional candidate, and nominated Tyler Nixon and Jesse Priester to serve as the LPD candidates in the 4th and 23rd Delaware House of Representatives districts, respectively. Mr. Nixon and Mr. Priester are “fusion candidates,” in that both of them will serve as Republican candidates as well.
District of Columbia
Rob Kampia (rkampia@mpp.org) is serving as the contact for the LPDC at this time. He informed me that J. Bradley Jansen (lbrty4all@gmail.com) has been working in various ways to promote libertarian candidates in DC. I have enclosed below the message Mr. Jansen sent me on Aug. 4:
Hi James,
For the record, I'm a member of the DC Republican Committee, former Ron Paul legislative staffer, and current Bob Barr presidential elector candidate to the electoral college. Although a registered Republican in DC, I did send in my dues to the LP the day Barr got the nomination (DC does not currently recognize LP registration).
The LP slate in DC consists of Barr/WAR for the presidential ticket, Dick Heller (who overturned the handgun ban at the Supreme Court) for Delegate to Congress and Damien Ober for shadow senator. I engineered a gentlemen's agreement between the DC LP (such as it is) and DC GOP: The LP is not running a candidate against Republican incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton, and the Republican candidate for Delegate to Congress is going to withdraw and endorse Dick Heller when he makes his formal, public announcement (the DC GOP will be supporting Heller in other ways). It is possible some other members will run for the non-partisan ANC (Advisory Neighborhood Commissions) http://anc.dc.gov/anc/site/default.asp (the deadlines are later than for other offices).
For identification purposes only and explicitly not implying organizational endorsements, the three Barr presidential elector candidates to the electoral college for DC include Rob Kampia of MPP who seconded Barr's nomination at the convention, Stacie Rumenap who is Executive Director of Stop Child Predators www.stopchildpredators.org, and J. Bradley Jansen, director of the Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights http://www.financialprivacy.org/.
We are currently circulating signatures for all of the LP candidates--and could use help! Even out of "state"ers are welcome to come and assist us. We won't know if we were successful until after your deadline.
Right now the Heller campaign website has a petition to draft him to run: http://dcforheller.com/ and will soon be accepting online donations and will post other information on issues, etc. The address for the campaign is DC for Heller at PO Box 77159, Washington, DC 20013 (make checks payable to "DC for Heller"). The Facebook page is http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21857286891&ref=ts; everyone is encouraged to "friend" the campaign and invite others. They can email me at DCforHeller@gmail.com with any questions. Dick Heller has been the DC LP treasurer for the past several years and was responsible for getting Michael Badnarik on the ballot four years ago. The attached document was circulated at the Ron Paul rEVOLution March and Rally. When Heller gets over 7,500 votes for delegate to Congress with Republican support in a one-on-one race with incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton, the LP will have "major party" status along with the Republicans, Democrats and DC Statehood Green Parties in DC. Steve Dasbach, among others, spoke at the National Press Club urging Dick Heller to run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQZxjQ302Lw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izts2x2u_L4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqnL1bi7ncM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYACOse6DLQ
Heller spoke at the charter meeting of the DC Republican Liberty Caucus and is doing lots of TV, radio and print interviews because of the court case, his gun registration and the new lawsuit. Once we get his scheduling harmonized, hopefully that will be integrated into the website.
[Some background on the party affiliation question: Because of the gag order with the Supreme Court case, the ballot petitioning deadline past to run on the Republican line. Therefore, Mr. Heller decided to run for Delegate to Congress from DC as a Libertarian with DC GOP support for that bid. Ideally, he would have run on a Libertarian-Republican fusion ticket, but the DC Board of Elections and Ethics does not permit fusion tickets: "Mr. Heller's challenge to Ms. Norton is welcomed in the spirit of debate and as his campaign unfolds we look forward him hearing about some of his ideas to better DC," stated Robert J. Kabel, Chair of the District of Columbia Republican Committee.]
Damien Ober is running an artistic campaign for "shadow senator" (the office we would have if DC had senators). His Facebook page is here
http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15989579693&ref=ts, his YouTube page is here http://www.youtube.com/user/shadowdc2008, and the campaign email is shadowdc@verizon.net.
Ron Paul delegate candidates to the Republican national convention are still quite active in DC and include the current Republican candidate for Delegate to Congress Adrian Salsgiver, LP shadow senator candidate Damien Ober, half of the new members of the DC Republican Committee, and most of the organization of the Heller campaign: treasurer James Hendrickson, general counsel Craig Max, and the manager J. Bradley Jansen, et al.
In addition, the charter meeting of the DC chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus met recently and had Dick Heller as the keynote speaker.
I will try to make the LNC meeting if you like. The above should suffice for a report on the DC LP.
Yours in liberty,
J. Bradley Jansen
Maryland
LPMD chairman Bob Johnston (rstanley21018@yahoo.com) provided the following report:
The Maryland LP is running a full slate of candidates for federal offices for the first time in its history. It is also the first time a 3rd party in Maryland is running a full slate in at least 30 years. The candidates for the 8 US House of Representatives' races were confirmed to be on the ballot by the state Board of Elections on August 4th, the final day to register as a candidate in Maryland.
The candidates and their Congressional Districts: (1st) Dr. Richard Davis, (2nd) Lorenzo Gaztanaga, (3rd) Sebastian Sassi, (4th) Thibeaux Lincecum, (5th) Darlene Nicholas, (6th) Gary Hoover, (7th) Ronald Owens-Bey, (8th) Ian Thomas.
The MDLP held its annual summer picnic and Central Committee meeting on Saturday, 9 August at Dave and Renee Sten's place in NorthEast, MD. Around 25 people attended, and were graced with the presence of our esteemed LNC Region 5 Representative, Dr. Jim Lark.
Pennsylvania
LP Pennsylvania chairman Mik Robertson (chair@lppa.org) has stated that the LPPa submitted sufficiently many signatures to place the LP presidential ticket of Bob Barr and Wayne Root on the Pennsylvania ballot. The LPPa will have three statewide candidates: Marakay Rogers (Attorney General), Betsy Summers (Auditor General), and Berlie Etzel (State Treasurer).
In a press release dated Aug. 19, Mr. Robertson notes that the Cumberland County Republican chairman has filed a “Petition to Set Aside a Nominating Paper Filed” in an apparent effort to keep the Barr/Root ticket off the ballot. This effort has generated substantial publicity for the LP in Pennsylvania. Incidentally, Bob Barr conducted a stand-up comedy routine in a charity event for children in Philadelphia on Aug. 19.
Virginia
In mid August the Libertarian Party of Virginia successfully concluded its petition drive to place the LP presidential ticket on the 2008 ballot. The LPVa was required to submit the signatures of at least 10,000 registered Virginia voters by Aug. 22. In addition, the submission had to include at least 400 signatures of registered voters from each of the eleven congressional districts in the Commonwealth.
LNC chairman Bill Redpath is the LPVa candidate for the U.S. Senate this year. He is running against former governors Jim Gilmore (Republican) and Mark Warner (Democrat). His campaign successfully completed its petition drive in June. His campaign had to satisfy the same criteria as those set for the presidential petition, except that the submission deadline was June 10. Mr. Redpath funded his petition drive out of his own pocket. His campaign manager is Kara Cholko; she is currently working to organize campaign events for him throughout the state.
Nathan Larson is the LPVa candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the First District. He also serves as chairman of the First Congressional District Committee.
West Virginia
I regret to report that I have not been able to contact Matt Harris (LP West Virginia chairman) during the past two months. I was contacted this week by Tad Britch, who serves as LPWV secretary. Mr. Britch is interested in building a Libertarian campus group at West Virginia University in Morgantown. He indicated that he has been unable to contact Mr. Harris; evidently, Mr. Harris’ telephone and e-mail are no longer in service.
This is very disappointing, especially considering that Mr. Harris attended the national convention in Denver and seemed enthusiastic about building the LPWV. Bill Redpath informed me that the LPWV provided little if any assistance in the petition drive to place the Barr/Root ticket on the ballot. I shall continue to work with LPWV members in an effort to re-energize the organization.
Region Six LNC Report
Submitted by Julie Fox, Region Six Representative, Libertarian National Committee
August 30, 2008
All reports were submitted by state chairs except where otherwise noted.
Missouri
Missouri Libertarian Party LNC Region Report August 17th, 2008
Ron Paul Supporter Outreach
---------------------------
A video to reach out to Ron Paul supporters was published to the Missouri
You Tube channel in January which now has over 1200 views.
Missouri LP State Chair Glenn Nielsen spoke to over 200 Ron Paul
supporters at a rally in rural southern Missouri last January. You Tube
videos of the speech are available on the Missouri LP You Tube channel.
Candidate Events
----------------
The Missouri LP hosted two LP candidate forums in July. One in St. Louis,
the other in Columbia. LP VP Nominee Wayne Allyn Root attended both events.
You Tube videos were produced and published for the St. Louis event at:
http://youtube.com/MissouriLP
Aobut 50 people attended each event.
Fundraisers for the Barr/Root campaign were held for each event raising
over $2000.
On six days notice a fundraising event was organized for Bob Barr in St. Louis
August 17th. 50 people attended with $3300 raised for the presidential campaign.
2008 Missouri LP Candidates
---------------------------
Candidates for 7 of 9 Congressional Districts. (1-3, 6-9)
Candidates for 3 of 5 Statewide Races. (Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State)
Three candidates for Missouri State Senate.
Eight candidates for Missouri State Representative.
Three candidates for County Commissioner.
Total of 24 Missouri LP candidates.
Media
-----
2004 LP Presidential Candidate Gary Nolan moved from Ohio to Columbia Missouri
December 2006 to host the drive time radio show on The Eagle 93.9FM in Columbia.
Gary isn't shy about speaking of libertarianism from time to time resulting in
the Boone County LP growing.
The Missouri LP produced a printed newsletter for the first time in four years.
5000 copies of the eight page newspaper style tabloid was printed, 3000 copies
were mailed to libertarians in Missouri the second week of August 2008.
Fundraising
-----------
By the end of May 2008 the Missouri LP had raised more money than in all of 2007.
Funds raised from monthly pledges have doubled in the last year.
Outreach
--------
Every year the Missouri LP has a booth at the Missouri State Fair. This year
the fair ran from August 7th-17th. Contact info for 33 new prospects was
obtained.
15,000 color trifold Missouri LP candidate brochures were printed and are being
distributed to voters.
Elections
---------
As an established political party with ballot access since 1992 the Missouri LP
participates in primary elections. For the August 5th primary 1725 voters chose
the LP ballot, .23% of the vote. This was the first year in recent primaries
where there were no contested libertarian races on the ballot.
1725 in 2008. .23% of vote.
1693 in 2006. .25% of vote.
3916 in 2004. .29% of vote.
3272 in 2002. .37% of vote.
1730 in 2000. .22% of vote.
1598 in 1998. .29% of vote.
2057 Libertarian Ballots for February 5th, 2008 Presidential Primary. .15% of vote.
1967 Libertarian Ballots for February 3rd, 2004 Presidential Primary. .36% of vote.
1447 Libertarian Ballots for March 7th, 2000 Presidential Primary. .19% of vote.
Glenn Nielsen
State Chair
Missouri Libertarian Party
Web: http://lpmo.org
E-Mail: chair@lpmo.org
Iowa
This afternoon, Tuesday August 19, I was informed by an employee of the
Iowa Secretary of State, that our Barr/ Root petition document package was
officially accepted. Barr & Root are on the ballot in Iowa.
The Iowa Secretary of State's employees scrutinized the document set
much more aggressively than ever before, "nit-picking" wherever
possible.
Now, on with the campaign!!
I will be driving my '66 Mustang convertible in the Guthrie County Fair
parade next Saturday, carrying a local beauty dressed as Ms. Liberty..
green face, torch, crown...and tossing copies of the Declaration of
Independence, Constitution and World's Smallest Political Quiz to the
crowd..signs on the car say "Iowa Libertarians" and we'll also have
Barr/ Root signs and campaign brochures.
We got a brief mention in the Des Moines Register (largest newspaper in
Iowa) for our outreach booth at the Des Moines Tattoo Festival
July25,26,27...about 3000 people attended.
Russ Gibson, candidate for Iowa House District #60 (West Des Moines) is
busy campaigning in a 3-way race with no incumbant,,Russ will likely
give us the highest-profile Iowa race for Libertarians.
Yours in Liberty,
Ed Wright
Chair, LPIA
Nebraska
Just a quick update from Nebraska:
On Saturday July 19th the Nebraska L P had its convention in Bellvue, Ne.
The party officers were elected. There were 20 people attending.
There was a speaker Tom Becka, a talk show host from Omaha radio station KFAB.
The state party has revamped its web site and is being watched by a member.
We have established a position of Media Coordinator. Randy Eshleman.
He has contacted the media and is working with them to promote the party.
He has also established several meetup groups.
One member is running for a non-partisan position on the Natural Resource District (NRD) board.
One issue that I have been involved with is concerning county-wide zoning here in Butler County. Just a little background information: Of the ninety-five counties in Nebraska, only five don't have zoning. For the last eighteen months a county commission has been working (attempting would be more like it) to create a comprehensive plan and a zoning plan. I have been the most vocal opponent of the plan. I spoke out against both the comprehensive plan and the zoning plan.
On Tuesday the 12th the board of Supervisors held a meeting for the sole purpose of getting citizen input. There were 15 people who addressed the issue. None of them had anything good to say. The opinion of several of the supervisors after the meeting was that the whole issue will not go.
There is an annual event here in Nebraska called the River City Roundup, which is held in Omaha, near the Missiouri River. It’s a major event people from the region attend. Several members are going to participate.
Jerry Kosch
Chairman,
Nebraska L.P.
South Dakota
South Dakota has managed to land Bob Barr on the ballot as an independent
candidate this fall. Since we did not achieve ballot access as a party we
have no other candidates this fall. I am back to working for ballot access
for 2010.
Oh one more thing. Thanks to Robert Kraus and Sean Haugh and most of all
Scott Kolhaas who flew in and rescued us once again. We could not have
done this without Scott.
Andre Agar
State Chair, SD LP
Minnesota
The Twin Cities are a zoo and its going to get a lot crazier. I have attached some events that I am aware of that are going on. We do know Bob Barr will be here also around Labor Day but we don't have a schedule from his campaign yet. Politics in Minnesota has fragmented like shattered glass.
1. Our bridge (I35-W) over the Mississippi River that fell down last year might reopen over Labor Day to traffic loads of about 140,000 cars/day.
2. The biggest state fair by attendance in the 50 states will start in St. Paul on August 21st thru Labor Day Sept 1st. On any given day there are over 100,000 people at the Fair. Unfortunately we could not scrape up the $1800 for a state fair booth for the second year in a row. Money and members have left to do other things. http://www.mnstatefair.org/
3. The Republican National Convention starts Sept 1st thru the 4th in St. Paul. http://www.gopconvention.com/
4. The Freedom Walk arrives August 30th in St. Paul. http://search.live.com/results.aspx?FORM=DNSAS&q=www.walk4freedom.com)
5. Liberty Parade is August 31st in Minneapolis. http://www.libertyparade2008.com/site/
6. The Walk for Freedom Picnic will be Sept. 1st http://www.mnlg.org/
7. The Rally for the Republic in both Minneapolis and St. Paul August 31st to Sept 2nd. http://rally.campaignforliberty.com/
8. The protest schedule to take place near the Republican National Convention is attached.
I know I have left out other events. In additional a change is happening in NE Mpls. A Libertarian Felix Montez may be elected to a MN House Seat 59A. He is a good candidate. http://felixforhouse.vpweb.com/
I will be the next Mayor of Columbia Heights. So far I have spent $5. I could always use money living on a fixed income. http://affordablech.blogspot.com/
Does anyone want to come to MN to help out? There are only a handful of us involved in these activities.
Bob Odden
Chair LPMN
612-987-2063 (personal cell)
Wisconsin
Wisconsin has four Assembly candidates and three Congressional district candidates (two districts) on the ballot in 2008. In 2006 we had none. Our telemarketing guy went out and recruited candidates this year, which made the difference. I created a Yahoo! Group for our Wisconsin candidates with a discussion list and libraries of links and files. Our state campaign committee was useless and was disbanded.
Our previous chair resigned and I accepted the position. Since then, I've stepped up the press releases a bit. As a result, I was interviewed for our regional weekly newspaper and a talk radio station. (The host said he would like to interview Bob Barr.) I also attended a luncheon in Madison with one of our Executive Committee members, sponsored by WisPolitics dot com on the topic of Assembly races, and I was able to ask a question on sending our Wisconsin Guard abroad to an army of occupation.
One district rep is planning a meet and greet with Bob Barr but I haven't heard if Barr accepted the invitation.
We had a state fair booth again but have no report, although I hear the results were acceptable.
We have a direct mail fundraiser in the works.
As usual, grassroots involvement in political campaigns is not where we need it to be, for any of our races. I'm doing what I can to encourage participation. I wonder what resources the LP has for Libertarians running for office, or if they are on their own.
Submitted by LPWI State Chair Jim Maas
Illinois
The LP-Illinois state convention will be held Oct. 3-5 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oakbrook, IL. Among the weekend’s festivities and events will be elections for state party officers and committee positions will be held. Speakers confirmed to date include Dan Druck, candidate for Congress in the 14th Congressional district, Alan Stevo, Independent Congressional hopeful, and Collin Hitt from the Illinois Policy Institute, who will speak on School Choice. A debate on the IL Constitutional Convention is also on the agenda, as well as the LPI’s ever-popular Libertarian Jeopardy. The Convention Committee is still awaiting confirmation of attendance at our convention by either Bob Barr or Wayne Allyn Root.
The IL Constitutional Convention is up for vote in the November election. Most voters are not knowledgeable about the event and don’t even know that they will be voting on this issue in November. One debate has been held already, and at this time two more debates on the IL ConCon are scheduled. One will be (as noted above) at the LPI State Convention in October. The other will be sponsored by the Fox Valley Freedom Coalition in September. If the voters approve holding a constitutional convention, which only comes up for vote every 20 years, it will be the key to improving ballot access laws, though there is a fair amount of concern that a Constitution Convention also presents considerable danger should politicians have free reign to re-write Illinois’ governing document.
Dave and Francine Brady have formed a new local party, the McHenry County LP. Dave is a former Vice Chair from PA. Both Francine and Dave have brought a lot of ideas and enthusiasm at the state and local level, and both are very welcome additions to the LPI. Dave Brady has also joined the LPI as Fundraising Chair and has hit the ground running. Dave has already brought in some new donors for the state and things are looking up financially for the Party. At the August SOC meeting, Daniel Nowlan was appointed as the Party’s Newsletter Editor and joins the Executive Board with David.
The LPI completed the final step in its ballot drive just last week, when Barr and Root were substituted for the fill-in names presented to the SBE at the start of the ballot drive last March. The LPI turned in almost double the 25,000 signature requirement, to reduce our risk of being challenged – and it worked. Barr/Root and U.S. Senate candidate Larry Stafford are on the ballot in IL! Many thanks to the National LP for it’s financial support of this effort, our paid and volunteer petitioners, Petition Coordinators across the state, and our “Vote Libertarian Illinois ‘08” project Manager (and LPI Webmaster,) Crystal Jurczynski. Without Crystal’s championing and management of this project, Barr, Root, and Stafford would *not* have been on the ballot in Illinois.
In spite of these victories, both LP candidates for U.S. Congress were taken off the ballot for not meeting the signature requirements. Ron Paul activist Alan Stevo, running as an Independent, was also off the ballot for the same reason. Dan Druck, the LP candidate in the 14th district (Dennis Hastert’s former district) and Alan Stevo are filing separate lawsuits based on unfair ballot access laws. In a Congressional district in IL, candidates from “established parties” are required to get valid signatures that total 10% of the vote in the last election. For Independents and candidates running for parties without ballot status, the signature requirement in congressional districts depends on voting in the last election, but ran close to 10,000 this year in the congressional districts that the LP candidates were involved in. Dan Druck’s Democratic opponent needed 793 signatures, while his Republican opponent required 863 signatures. Dan’s requirement of 9, 995 signatures was 12 times that!
LPI State Chair Val Vetter and LPI Treasurer Debra Aaron represented the LPI at an outreach booth at the Illinois Renewable Energy Association fair in Oregon, IL over the Aug 9-10 weekend. Approximately 150 people took the WSPQ, with a rewarding “Libertarian” test result of over 60%! Approximately 25 new contacts were added to our mailing list. As in past years, the LP-Illinois booth outshined the Democrats’ and The Greens’ by an order of magnitude. In spite of multiple requests from fairgoers, no Barr literature or yards signs were available to distribute.
The Fox Valley and DuPage County LPs had outreach booths at the McHenry County and DuPage County Fairs, respectively. Those manning the booth at the McHenry County Fair reported that they were challenged in keeping up with the requests for Bob Barr literature.
Submitted by State Chair Val Vetter and Julie Fox
North Dakota
No report submitted. The state website is updated with current news and appears to be managed very professionally. No local activity is noted but regional and national current LP events are linked to the website.
Submitted by Julie Fox
REGION 7 REPORT
Submitted to: Libertarian National Committee, Aug. 29, 2008
Submitted by: Rachel W. Hawkridge, Region 7 Representative, Libertarian National Committee
This report will provide information concerning activities of the Libertarian Party state affiliates in Region 7 since the Region formation in May 2008.
I attended the annual Libertarian Party of Oregon's convention in Salem, OR and the Libertarian Party of Idaho's convention in Caldwell, ID.
Florida
Florida has fielded an awesome slate of candidates, including four unopposed candidates for local boards. They've elected one to New Port Richey Mayor!
And Florida is already preparing for the 2010 elections, as State Chair Karl Dickey has already filed for Palm Beach County Commissioner.
Brevard County Commission, Ilene Davis
Collier County Soil & Water Board
Bruce Reichert - Seat 1 (Unopposed)
J. Adam Mitchell - Seat 4 (Unopposed)
Duval County Soil & Water Board, Jeff Hunt
Hillsborough County Soil and Water Conservation Board
AJ Brent - District 2
Jeff Garbus - Seat 4
Tyson Richmond - District 4
Lee Soil and Water Conservation District
Jack Tanner - Seat 4 (Unopposed) – note: Jack has been running a petitioning drive to stop funding mobile irrigation labs
Orange Soil & Water Conservation District
Randy Whiting - Seat 1
J.J. McCurry - Seat 3
Diane Rozek - Seat 5
Jupiter Inlet Commission, Bradford Schmidt - Dist 5
Palm Beach Soil & Water Conservation
Mike McIntosh - Group 2
Howard Horowitz - Group 4 (Unopposed!)
New Port Richey Mayor, Scott McPherson (WON!)
West Volusia Hospital Authority, Tracy Lunquist (Group A, Seat 1)
2010 Election Cycle - Palm Beach County Commission
Karl Dickey - Seat 4 (filed)
Florida has also asked that the LNC ask Tom Stevens to resign his Judicial Committee seat, since he is on the ballot as the presidential candidate of another party. We feel that it is inappropriate for the candidate of another party to hold elected office within our party.
Hawai'i
Unfortunately, I have not been successful at establishing a good connection with Hawai'i since leaving Denver. I have had brief contacts with them, but Ms Li Schoolland has been in Lithuania, teaching English, and I expect that on her return we will make contact.
Idaho
The Libertarian Party of Idaho held its biennial convention on Saturday, June 21st in Caldwell at the home of State Chair, Rob Oates. There was a potluck BBQ followed by a business meeting and election of officers.
Idaho nominated Marvin Gardner for State Representative District 15 Position B, Kent Marmon for US Senate, and Mikel Hautzinger for State Representative District 17 Position A.
James L. Oyler for State Representative District 17 Position B, and Rex W. Kerr for State Representative District 20 Position A also ran as Libertarians.
Hautzinger, Kerr, Gardner and Oyler have all passed the Primary, and will be on the General Election ballot.
Oregon
Oregon held it's annual State Convention on June 1st 2008, at Riverfront Park in Salem, OR. It was a BBQ, held in a lovely park, complete with a Parks Dept. employee who introduced himself "I'm with the government, and I'm here to help."
LP Oregon nominated three candidates, and had two Presidential Candidates (Jim Libertarian Burns and Mike Jingozian) and two sitting LNC members (Vice Chair Mike Jingozian, and Region 7 Rep. Rachel Hawkridge) in attendance.
Nominated were Marc Delphine, 26th District; Jay Ellefson, 36th District; and Steve Milligan, 5th Congressional District.
Oregon allows multiple nominating conventions, and just last month, nominated Joe Tabor (State Chair) for 1st District US Congress; and Jim Karlock, 45th Dist., Ore. State Rep.
The "Press Release" that has made its way through the blogosphere is a fraud, and was not sent by LP Oregon. No one has been expelled.
The Real Washington™
A supplemental brief was filed in the I-872 case, the challenge of the state's "Top Two" primary. We await the 9th Circuit Court's decision. Richard Shepard, of Northwest Legal Foundation, has done an incredible job with this case. Last year, he argued it before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Our Congressional candidate, John Beck, was eliminated in that primary system, and Ruth Bennett remains in the 37th District Legislative race.
LPWA is working on "LPWA News & Views", and intend to publish both a print and web version of our new newsletter by mid-October. We've not published a newsletter for several years, and expect that this will be both valuable outreach and fundraising tool. Michael H. Wilson of Vancouver has taken the leadership on this project.
--
In Liberty,
Rachel Hawkridge
Libertarian National Committee
Region 7 Representative
