REGION 7 REPORT

Submitted to: Libertarian National Committee, July 7 , 2009.

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 I last reported on February 21, 2009.


Florida

The Libertarian Party of Florida held its annual meeting and convention on March 28-29, 2009 in Jacksonville, Florida, and elected Mr. J.J. McCurry to the Chair. He will serve a 2 year term. Vicki Kirkland was elected Vice-Chair for a 2 year term, Treasurer Jack Tanner , Secretary Mark Clifford, Director At Large (1) Char-Lez Braden, Director At Large (2) Sean Concannon, Director At Large (3) Jeff Hunt, and regional representatives Jim Tall, Alexander George, Nik Ritchie, Tyler Miller, Geoff Scott, Phil Laibe, Jim Kearney, former Chair Karl Dickey, and James Coakley will all being serving on the ExComm.

Florida continues to have regular, active county meetings, active campus groups, and Facebook groups.

The Chair reports that the big push in Florida is the creation of county affiliates. They’ve gone from 11 in January 2008 to 20 in January 2009, and are now at 25. Congratulations, Team! :o)

LP Florida’s currently Declared Candidates:

Governor: John Wayne Smith
Lt. Governor: Staci Henegar
State House Seat 33: Franklin Perez
State House Seat 42: Jeff Shoobridge

Palm Beach County Commission: Karl Dickey
Hillsborough County Commission: Brandon Newton
Bay County Commission: Geoff Scott
Bay County Commission: Justin Guthrie

Great job, Team Florida! :o)


Hawai’i

Hawai’i held a Convention on May 16th. They’ve elected and seated a new ExComm, which consists of:

Chair Ken Schoolland (whose name you may name recognize)
Vice Chair Larry Bartley
Treasurer John Spangler
Secretary Roger Taylor
At Large Jeff Mallan, Aaron Anderson, Li Zhao, Dave Hudson (who was the lone Hawai’i Delegate to Denver).


And they even have a Consulting Director on staff; Roger Taylor who also serves as Secretary.

They’ve published a newsletter already - http://is.gd/1tYAG, and plan to overhaul their website as well.

Welcome back, Hawai’i! Mahalo!



Idaho

LP Idaho has a new website, and it’s fabulous! Check it out!

The Libertarian Philosophical Brunch monthly series is going well and they have about a dozen regular participants. They just had a lively, but civil three hour philosophy discussion at the last brunch.

Due to the popularity of the brunch, there are plans to start a similar dinner group.

Fantastic, Idaho Libertarians!


Oregon

Oregon’s convention was held at the Shilo Inn Suites Oceanfront Hotel in Newport, OR on March 14 and 15. Gene and I were in attendance. Their new ExComm consists of the following brave souls:

Chairman: Joseph Cornwell
Vice-chairman: Marc Delphine
Secretary: Christiana Mayer
Treasurer: Justin Grover

There were numerous changes made to the bylaws, including deleting the Non-Aggression Pledge (NAP). The one included in Oregon's bylaws was flawed - it said "use of force" rather than "initiation of force", but in light of the MIAC report that was just making the news at that time, I'm not convinced that letting go of NAP is a good idea.

Oregon's Convention was a good time, and a lot was accomplished. We had some fun, dinner with our friends, and listening to a great speaker at lunch on the Heller decision.

Oregon's Elected/Appointed Officials:

Gaston City Council Position 3 - Richard Sager
Colton School Board Position 4 - Marty Soehrman
Beaverton School Committee, Elmonica Elementary Position 3 - Adam Mayer
Tualatin Valley Water District Commissioner Position 4 - Richard Burke
Tigard Water Board Position 2 (Chair) - Charles Radley
Beaverton School Committee, Beaveron High Position 3 - Inessa Hamilton-Lee
Beaverton School Committee, Elmonica Elementary Position 1 - Greg Rohde
Mtn. View Middle School Local School Committee Position 1- Mark Delphine
Elmonica Elementary School Local School Committee, Position 1 - Greg Rohde

Congratulations, Oregon Libertarians!


The Real Washington™

Our new Clark County (Vancouver, WA area) affiliate has a school board candidate. That group has a website, and they’ve done a very nice job.

LPWA continues to put out a monthly newsletter, thanks to editor Michael Wilson, who is no longer in Vancouver. It’s been a great fundraising source for us. We just received an $800 donation and a great page long thank you letter from one member, through that newsletter.

I am working with the Independent Voter’s Coalition to change ballot access laws in Washington. This coalition consists of Green, Progressive, Constitution Party, and of course, the Libertarian Party.

We’ll have an exciting, active presence at Hempfest and it’s Olympia, WA sister festival.

Thanks to all the team in Washington!