2018 LPD Convention Minutes [DRAFT]

Called to Order at 13:00, March 24th, 2018.

25 credentialed Libertarians in attendance.

Review of agenda.

Agenda adopted by voice vote.

Minutes from last year posted online.

Motion to waive reading and accept passed by voice vote.

Treasurer's Report:
As of Feb 2018: $2,109.31 at Dover FCU, $1297.84 in PayPal, $3,407.15 total.  $105 donated at last state board meeting.  Report accepted by voice vote.

Introduction of officers.

Dr. James Lark, LNC Region 5 Representative.

Julia McVay, Chair of LPD Baby Caucus.

Sean Goward got jokes.

Chair's Report: Year in Review.
Need to better learn parliamentary procedure and Robert's Rules of Order to address issues from last year's convention.  Need to more diligently scrutinize Campaign Finance Reporting documents and processes.  Need to better understand Delaware Election Laws in Title 15.  "The Enemy is not in this Room".  The "enemy" is considering gun control and ignoring cannabis legalization in the General Assembly.  Resolve ballot access questions.  Focus on growth.  159,000 unaffiliated voters.  442,000/675,000 registered voters voted in 2016.  Need 5% to reach "major party" status.  35,000.  Grow from the bottom up.  Get involved in City and School elections that are non-partisan.  Nullification.  Hit the pavement.  Young Americans for Liberty unseated an incumbent in a Texas primary by hitting doors with 14 volunteers.  Nadine in NCCo has done well making phone calls to registered Libertarians in her county.  Share strategies from county-to-county and across the state.  Seek out strategic partnerships on issues of common interest.  Jimmy Brittingham has done well working with DCAN on legalization.  Develop the community.  Don't get personal and lose the moral high ground.  Be the change we want to see in our communities.  Be the example.

Presentation from Dr. Lark.
Honor to be in the presence of heroes.  20 years of attending LPD Conventions.  Next meeting in Denver, 21/22 April.  Things moving in a positive direction thanks to Democrats and Republicans.  Nominated horrible presidential candidates to LP benefit.  Got very lucky in 2016.  After 2014, things were not going in a great direction and then Donald Trump happened.  If Rand Paul had done better, the LP would be in trouble.  Seeing more interest, more and better candidates.  Libertarianism is a philosophy of love.  We may disagree, but as long as you don't interfere with my rights, I won't interfere with yours.  Philosophy of love.  Not just proud about it, smug about it.  International Alliance of Libertarian Parties.  Prospects for presidential campaigns in 2020 are still undetermined.  Adam Kokesh is taking steps.  Larry Sharpe would present a good face, but has made no indications.  Imagine if we'd had Harry Browne in 2016?  Gary was great, but didn't have the gravitas.  Harry Browne did.  Nick Sarwark would be a good successor to Harry Browne.  He's running for Mayor of Phoenix.  A lot of good people in positions that are more valuable.  Politics is a lagging indicator, so people advocating in other areas is potentially more important than running for president, etc.  We're in a 15 round prize fight against welfare-state liberalism.  Libertarianism is the up and coming philosophy.

Presentation from Bob Sigler regarding NORML Call to Action.
Special project for easy cannabis advocacy using NORML website.  Pre-addressed letters to legislators and special interest groups.  Bills are already circulating, public support is there, Canada is moving in that direction, election season is approaching.  NORML has a number of letters for different priorities, including Delaware's legislation.

Presentation from Jesse McVay regarding amendments to the Articles of Association.
Amendments have been posted online as required.  Also posted in the lobby for review during the recess.  Some amendments have already been approved.  Best mechanism for amendments this close to convention is to let the convention amend rather than the State Board.  If you don't understand, vote yes.  If you don't have a substantive complaint, vote yes.  Otherwise, let's talk, but writing a document by committee is difficult.  Some of the more significant changes include: formatting and ease of reading; new statement of purpose; affiliation statement; explicit allowance for ad-hoc state board meetings; limits on membership requiring LPD registration for at least 60 days; revisions to convention voting procedures; specifications of proper notice; disciplinary procedures; credentials committee.

Up or down vote after brief discussion following the recess.  Further amendments can be passed by the State Board for any issues.

Comments from Steve Stutzman about Libertarian leaning individuals in Milford who are community leaders involved in school and municipal arenas.  Civil disobedience opportunities.

Recess for 20 minutes.

Scott Gesty for RD7!

The Libertarian Party of Delaware and the New Castle County Libertarian Party of Delaware are proud to announce the nomination of former State Chair of the LPD Scott Gesty for the Delaware House of Representatives in Representative District 7.

Scott was nominated at the 2018 Libertarian Party of Delaware Annual Convention held on March 24th at the Patchwork Playhouse in Dover.  He has recently completed his nomination paperwork, and filed it with the New Castle County Department of Elections today.  He appears on their list of ballot qualified candidates.

Scott is a former State Chair of the Libertarian Party of Delaware and former Libertarian nominee for the US House of Representatives, as well as the recipient of the 2018 William Morris Liberty Award.  Please keep an eye out here and on the various LPD social media platforms for more developments as Scott spins up his campaign.  Good luck, Scott!

2018/Q1 State Board Meeting Minutes [DRAFT]

These minutes are a DRAFT.  They have not yet been accepted or approved by the State Board.  This will happen at the 2018/Q2 meeting.

Published Agenda

1. Reading and Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes
2. Treasurer's Report
3. County Reports
4. Old Business:
1. ABC Update
5. New Business:
1. AoA
2. Convention Planning
3. Bill Morris Award
6. Adjourn

Attendance

Sean Goward, Brad Thomas, Mary Pat McVay, Will McVay; Nadine Frost, Bob Wilson; Dominic Morrell, Jesse McVay; Wendy Jones, Bob Sigler.  Quorum is present.

Minutes

Meeting called to order at 13:15, February 10th, 2018.

Agenda adopted.

Reading of minutes waived, accepted by voice vote.

Treasurer reports $2109.31 @ Dover FCU, $1293.29 @ Paypal, $3402.60 Total.

NCC reports outreach efforts proceeding, good and productive meetings, new and recurring faces in attendance.

Kent reports consistent if low attendance, short official meetings, free beer, and that Dominic is in charge of outreach or we're cutting his pay.

Sussex reports reduced attendance due to weather.

County reports accepted by voice vote.

Brief recess.

Executive session to discuss ABC issues.

Four amendments to AoA adopted.

Convention planning finalized.

Bill Morris award recipient selected.

Adjourned.

A number of issues have been handled by the State Board in ad-hoc discussions via email and Facebook threads.

• A Social Media and Marketing Committee has been formed with a monthly budget and John Machurek as an at-large member.
• Use of a $10 credit from Facebook was approved for boosting a post from the LPD page.
• Funds were allocated to attend the Delaware Outdoor Expo.
• Funds were not allocated to attend "What Women Want" event due to cost and lack of response to FB event.
• Upon the recommendation of the Kent County LPD, Will McVay was nominated for 34th District Representative, or alternatively sanctioned to party crash into either major party primary for that office.
• Allocated funds to register lpdelaware.org and renew annually.

2017/Q4 State Board Minutes

These are the minutes of the 2017/Q4 State Board meeting, as approved by the State Board at the 2018/Q1 State Board meeting:

Called to order at 13:16 on December 2nd, 2017.

Attendance: Sean Goward, Brad Thomas, Mary Pat McVay, Will McVay; Nadine Frost, Bob Wilson (ABSENT); Dominic Morrell, Jesse McVay; Wendy Jones, Bob Sigler.  Quorum is present.

Jimmy Brittingham was also present as an observer.

The agenda was adopted by voice vote with an amendment to include a recess after the committee reports.  The minutes of the 2017/Q3 meeting were approved by voice vote.  The treasurer reported $3346.50 in total funds with one monthly subscriber, her report was accepted by voice vote.

New Castle County reported on their outreach efforts, including the planned participation in the Elsmere Town Christmas Parade and requested the use of any banners that were available, as well as volunteers to join the LPD float.  Their monthly meeting location had stabilized and they have settled on using Nino's at 1663 Pulaski Hwy in Bear.  The County Chair had made over 300 phone calls to registered Libertarians in NCCo to inform them of the meeting time and location.

Kent County reported the election of State Board Rep Dominic Morrell as Vice Chair.

Sussex County reported that meeting attendance was good and they intended to participate in Apple/Scrapple.

County reports were accepted by voice vote.

After a brief recess, a discussion around the party taking ownership of Bob's Roadster took place.  Options are continuing to be researched.  Registered voters have increased by 21 since the last meeting, 15 of which were in NCCo.  The World's Shortest Political Quiz has been a draw at community outreach events.  71% of millennials say in a poll that a strong 3rd party is needed.  We discussed options for reaching out to young people, particularly in the Dover area.  Dom is going to look into options at DSU.  Conservatives are also disappointed in the Republican Party.

A resolution was passed to schedule the 2018 convention for March 24th.

A number of pressing amendments to the Articles of Association were endorsed by a voice vote for publication to be considered at the next State Board meeting.

Meeting adjourned.

The following resolutions were passed by an ad-hoc meeting via email on December 7th:

Resolution #1

WHEREAS Dan Beaver has fraudulently formed political committees with the State of Delaware claiming to represent the Libertarian Party of Delaware and making use of its title, figures, and devices in contravention of 15 Del. C. § 3302; and

WHEREAS Dan Beaver has repeatedly disrupted the activities of both the Libertarian Party of Delaware and the New Castle County Libertarian Party of Delaware with dilatory, hostile, dishonest actions in contravention of the National Libertarian Party Platform; and

WHEREAS Dan Beaver has repeatedly, maliciously, and fraudulently claimed to speak on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Delaware in public settings without authorization from the party, the State Board, or the affiliates of any county;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Dan Beaver is immediately suspended from membership in the Libertarian Party of Delaware and all of its county affiliates.  His voting privileges at county membership meetings and at any state party meeting are revoked.  He may be removed from any such meetings at the discretion of the chairperson or any other officer.  This resolution shall be effective immediately but may be appealed at the next state convention or it shall remain in effect for a period of five (5) years.

Resolution #2

WHEREAS Ed Zielinski has conspired with Dan Beaver to fraudulently form political committees with the State of Delaware claiming to represent the Libertarian Party of Delaware and making use of its title, figures, and devices in contravention of 15 Del. C. § 3302; and

WHEREAS Ed Zielinski has repeatedly disrupted the activities of both the Libertarian Party of Delaware and the New Castle County Libertarian Party of Delaware with dilatory, hostile, dishonest actions in contravention of the National Libertarian Party Platform; and

WHEREAS Ed Zielinski has repeatedly, maliciously, and fraudulently claimed to speak on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Delaware in public settings without authorization from the party, the State Board, or the affiliates of any county;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Ed Zielinski is immediately suspended from membership in the Libertarian Party of Delaware and all of its county affiliates.  His voting privileges at county membership meetings and at any state party meeting are revoked.  He may be removed from any such meetings at the discretion of the chairperson or any other officer.  This resolution shall be effective immediately but may be appealed at the next state convention or it shall remain in effect for a period of five (5) years.

Resolution #3

WHEREAS James Christina has conspired with Dan Beaver to fraudulently form political committees with the State of Delaware claiming to represent the Libertarian Party of Delaware and making use of its title, figures, and devices in contravention of 15 Del. C. § 3302; and

WHEREAS James Christina has repeatedly disrupted the activities of both the Libertarian Party of Delaware and the New Castle County Libertarian Party of Delaware with dilatory, hostile, dishonest actions in contravention of the National Libertarian Party Platform; and

WHEREAS James Christina has repeatedly, maliciously, and fraudulently claimed to speak on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Delaware in public settings without authorization from the party, the State Board, or the affiliates of any county;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that James Christina is immediately suspended from membership in the Libertarian Party of Delaware and all of its county affiliates.  His voting privileges at county membership meetings and at any state party meeting are revoked.  He may be removed from any such meetings at the discretion of the chairperson or any other officer.  This resolution shall be effective immediately but may be appealed at the next state convention or it shall remain in effect for a period of five (5) years.