1 Call to order at 9:00 am by the Vice-Chairman Karen Allard
2 Credentials John D. Famularo
National Committee Members in attendance:
Stephen Dasbach Chair
Karen Allard Vice-Chair Bill Evers Region 2 John Famularo Secretary Thea McLean Region 2
Hugh Butler Treasurer Joe Hauptman Region 3
Sharon Ayres At Large Gary Ilardi Region 4
Ron Crickenberger At Large Dan Karlan Region 5
Gary Johnson At Large Joseph Brennen Region 6
Don Ernsberger At Large Robert Franke Region 7
Tom Paswater Region 8
Absent:
James Dan Region ! Tamara Clark At
Large
Alternates in attendance
Jesse Markowitz Region 5
Steve Winter Region 6
Non-Voting:
Perry Willis National Director Bill Winter Communications Director
Bill Redpath Ballot Access Chair Kris
Williams Project Manager
Mr Ilardi had to return to Florida
immediately due to a family emergency
3. Approval of Minutes
Minutes from the August 26th meeting
approved without objection.
4 Setting Agenda
General discussion regarding the revision
of the original agenda since there will be no TV coverage and other technical
and travel difficulties
Meeting was recessed for twenty minutes
after which Mr Dasbach assumed the chair
Continued discussion of revised agenda
5. Check of paperwork
Agenda packet
Director of Communications report
Region 2 report
Region 4 report
Ballot access report
Region 8 report
6. Executive Committee Minutes
7.1 Headquarters Report Perry Willis
Mr. Kris Williams has been hired to
replace Cynthia Fellows as project manager. He is implementing a project
management system which will give us better control of the budget.
Prospect mailing of 87,000 pieces will
be going out in January.
70,000 pieces of the annual membership
card report going out in the first week in January
Prospecting projects for January
New Letters
Registered libertarian list in Pennsylvania list
Testing of the tele-marketing to prospects
after a rebuild of the tele-marketing operation due to the temporary loss
of Scott Kohlhous
Priority for the next thirty days
Project management and budget tracking system
Specifications for next computer system release
Membership goals will be difficult to achieve.
A new approach will be setting up a
contest for individual activists instead of states to develop prospects
and members
Don Ernsberger asked that the minutes
should reflect that he is very dissatisfied with the new membership cards.
He said that he was assured by Perry and Bill back in August that the new
membership cards would contain the non-initiation of force pledge and they
do not.
Bill Winter said that they had tried
a number of layouts with the pledge included and could not settle on a
satisfactory one, and since they were on a time deadline it was left off.
Mr Winter said that since all members are required to sign the pledge when
they join he did not understand the necessity to ritualistically resign
each year. He further stated that it was a symptom of the problem with
the organization that time was being spent on this trivial issue instead
of other better uses of time to expand the organization.
Discussion of the problem of getting more new members than membership lapses.
Mr. Ernsberger said that the successful
reinstatement telemarketing program by Scott Kohlhaus has masked the problem
of low net new membership.
Discussion about extending the number
of renewal letters and where the cost out weighs the benefits.
Discussion of the "Cost of Funds". Discussion of the evaluation of the goals.
Discussion of first year vs renewal year lapses.
Discussion of changing the goals
Perry Willis said that projects aimed at local individual activists were being worked on for the current year.
General discussion of membership growth possibilities
Discussion of effect of the office move and staff turnover.
Discussion of calculation of cost of new member acquisition. Mr Dasbach said that the cost of new members is approximately $25 for members that do not come in through the state affiliates.
Discussion of handling the potential influx of inquiries generated by the convention C-SPAN coverage. Discussion of testing new prospect reply packages.
Discussion of the lower number of 800 number calls this year versus previous years.
7.2 Treasurers Report Hugh
Butler
No progress on the vanity Visa Card,
the company has not responded to the application packet. Thea McLean asked
whether we would have to pay income tax on the income from the vanity tags.
Mr. Butler said that he and Perry were in consultation with our CPA firm
on this matter.
Mr Butler says that the monthly FEC
reporting has been working smoothly and has improved the timeliness and
ease of reporting.
Karen Allard asked whether the current
accounting system is adequate for budget and project control. Mr Butler
said that the current system is adequate with support from Stuart Reges
and John Famularo. He is not in favor of replacing the current system
Mr. Butler said he is concerned about
the dispute in Oregon concerning who is the legitimate chair and treasurer
of the Oregon party, and other affiliate party internal conflicts such
as Arizona. Even though this is not currently a critical issue, we need
a clear credentialling process. Mr. Butler will request people that are
interested in exploring this issue to contact him.
Recess for lunch and presentation on social security
.
7.3 Ballot Access Karen Allard
Ms. Allard asked Kris Williams and
Bill Redpath to address the progress and problems with ballot access, and
to address specifically problems with National Voter Outreach (NVO).
Mr. Williams reviewed the ballot access
report. We are officially in 26 states with active drives in Alaska (Scott
Kohlhaus) and North Dakota (Al Anders). He is negotiating with various
vendors in addition to NVO. Some problems in Oklahoma drive with NVO employees
in collecting bad signatures. West Virginia is going well with Nick Dunbar
doing the drive for NVO. Vermont is g-contacted with some organizations
that have not performed satisfactorily. Competition with other petition
drives has reduced the availability of professional petitioners. Discussion
of encouraging the "Piggy back" technique of having petitioners circulating
two petitions simultaneously which could reduce the average cost from one
dollar per signature to eighty cents per signature. Discussion of the performance
and exclusivity clauses in our contracts with NVO.
Mr. Redpath said that $33,000 remained to be spent in 1995, which includes $5,000 for the Florida candidate substitution law suit (Gary Sinowski). The expenditures for 1996 are estimated to be $267,700. Discussion of 1996 ballot access budget. Mr. Redpath suggested that since no substitution is allowed in Maine, that each potential candidate get their own 4,000 signatures and agree to withdraw if they don't get the nomination of the party at the convention. Mr. Redpath said that the LP National office should work cooperatively with all presidential candidates to get their own signatures
Discussion of petitioning for party
qualification instead of individual qualification.
Recess for lunch
After reconvening after the lunch the next item was taken out of order without objection.
13B Washington/Illinois resolution on NAFTA/GATT
Mr. Dasbach said that the Washington state party is requesting that the LNC to repudiate NAFTA and GATT and to join with the LPWA to urge Congress to repeal NAFTA and GATT. The LP of Illinois is supporting the resolution of LPWA. Discussion of the content of the motion.
The item was tabled without objection
until a copy of the actual motion is available
7.3 Ballot access (continued)
Discussion of the details of requesting the presidential candidates to get themselves on the ballot in Maine. Discussion of fairness to all potential candidates, and possible effect on the presidential nomination process at the convention. Mr. Williams said that he had only discussed this with Sharon Ayres but would contact and work with each announced candidate to make sure they have equal help and information necessary to do this for themselves. Ms Allard made the following motion:
"The LNC invites all Libertarian candidates
for the nomination of president to petition to get their name on the ballot
in Maine"
Mr Karlan suggested that "by March
1st" be added to the motion
Mr Dasbach said that we must know by March 1st so that we have time to do it ourselves.
Further discussion on wording of motion.
Mr Evers moved that consideration of
the pending motions on the floor to be postponed for one half hour, Postponement
passed without objection.
13B continued Washington/Illinois resolution on NAFTA/GATT
Mr Franke read the revised draft resolution:
"Whereas the North American Free Trade Agreement has proven to have little to do with free trade, but has instead become the vehicle for the unconstitutional transfer of billions of dollars from American taxpayers to the government of Mexico,
Whereas the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs has subverted the sovereignty of the United States Congress and the United States Constitution and made our nation subservient to the will of an unconstitutional foreign body, the World Trade Organization,
Be it resolved that the Libertarian
Party by action of its National Committee on December 9th, 1995 urges the
United States Congress to repeal NAFTA and GATT and hereby repudiates its
previous support of NAFTA"
Discussion of motion and the previous
actions of the LNC. Discussion of the level of understanding of the details
of NAFTA and GATT. Mr. Karlan suggested that the LNC should not make resolutions
on issues where the general membership is sharply divided. Mr Ernsberger
said that this is where more internal education is needed. Mr, Famularo
said that while he does not support the current resolution as worded, he
would have voted no originally had he known what he knows now about the
complexity of the agreements, Mr Karlan made a motion to amend by substitution.
"That the LNC rescinds its previous
endorsement of NAFTA"
Further discussion of problems of NAFTA and our previous resolution.
Mr Evers said that while these agreements
were not perfect they represented a significant move towards free trade
and should be encouraged. Further discussion of the value of internal education.
Mr Winter said that according to headquarters protest calls and letters,
the NAFTA resolution was the most controversial action taken by the LNC
in 1995.
Vote on substitution motion
5 aye 8 nay motion on substitute fails
Main motion failed on voice vote
7.3 continued Maine ballot access petitioning
Ms Allard substituted the following motion for the one pending
"The LNC shall request each announced candidate for the Libertarian Party nomination for President to petition in the State of Maine to place his or her name on the ballot. The request shall include the following qualifications:
1. The petition effort shall be organized and in operation no later than March 1, 1996.
2. Each candidate shall agree to withdraw his or her name from the ballot in the event that another candidate receives the nomination of the Libertarian Party's national convention.
The Libertarian Party Headquarters
staff shall work equally with all candidates to assist them in their Maine
ballot efforts.
Motion passed without objection
7.4 Communications Directors
Report Bill Winter
Mr. Winter said that we have been getting more incoming media calls that are consuming more office time. Media calls have increased fourfold over the last three years. Some interest in the foreign media. We will be trying to increase our media outreach in 1996. Less than 10 percent of the current media interest has anything to do with the upcoming campaign season. Our media database needs to be expanded and revised. New hardware is being contemplated to increase outgoing fax capacity. Mr Winter will be working with Don Ernsburger on the maximizing the return on the C-SPAN coverage of the convention.
Libertarians in office is up to 160, an all time record
Mr Ernsburger asked about the method of compiling the media interest statistics.
Discussion about the "Third party interest"
and how that may or may not enure to true interest in the Libertarian Party."
Mr Karlan asked if the list of official
presidential candidates was complete and if not why not Mr winter said
that this issue came up regarding Mr Doug Ohmen. Mr. Winter said that he
maintains a complete list of all people who have indicated an interest
in running for president on the Libertarian ticket but only publishes those
who he believes are running an active campaign. Mr Ohmen had appeared at
the California and Colorado conventions last year and his name was published
in the LP news along with Irwin Shiff, Harry Browne and Rich Thompkins.
Mr Winter sent a letter to Mr Ohmen asking for proof that he was actively
campaigning. Mr Ohmen responded in writing that he was still an active
candidate but only included a position paper on his campaign. Mr Winter
concluded that he was not running an active campaign. Mr Winter said that
a number of questionable people had called or written the LPHQ expressing
an intention of seeking the presidential nomination and that we need a
criteria for maintaining a candidates list for the media.
Mr Butler moved "A unanimous acclamation for Mr. Winter's wise decision in this matter" Discussion of meaning of the word "active'. Mr Famularo said that he had been in contact with Mr Ohmen as part of his convention management involvement and had received verification that Mr Ohmen was officially on the California ballot along with Browne, Shiff and Tompkins. Mr Famularo said that the issue was that Mr Ohmen was listed in LP News and then was removed by a new criteria.
Mr Franke offered an amendment by substitution that:
"We support Mr Winter's decision making process in these issues"
Motion passed on voice vote
Mr Karlan said that in the ed. Mr Jesse Markowitz, Maryland Chair, said that screening the list was a valuable and appropriate function of the Communications Director, but that an official set of criteria should be published so that there is no perception of inappropriate exclusion. Mr Winter said that the list does not allow or prevent anyone from seeking or getting our nomination, Mr. Ohmen could have contacted members directly or could have been appearing on TV. Mr Winter feels that it is his job and obligation to present the LP to the media in the most favorable light.
Substitute motion passed on voice vote.
Mr Ernsburger raised the question of
the presidential debate at the convention and the role of FEE Ltd in setting
a criteria for participating in the convention sponsored debate on C-SPAN.
He asked for guidance form the body on such a criteria Ms Ayres said that
FEE did not need the LNC permission. Mr Ernsburger said that FEE would
like input from members of the LNC.
7.5 Campaigns Ron Crickenberger
Discussion of the Bruce Van Buren winning campaign for city council of Avondale, GA
We out worked and out spent the other
guys. Approximately 500 man hours, and $2,000 for 432 votes. The hit pieces
against our candidate were very good. Bruce was attacked for not voting
in past elections and having no history of community service. Mr Crickenberger
estimated that 80% of Bruce's votes came from his friendly personality
and his walking of the precincts.
Discussed results of the 71 responses Libertarian candidates survey.
40 candidates have already announced for 1996.
17 new people have volunteered for the campaign committee.
Candidates have indicated a willingness to run again by a margin of 4 to 1
State and local support was minimal
By 2 to 1 candidates said party building was only a side issue of campaign
8 out of 71 had a written campaign plan
one half had walked their precincts
one half had a computerized list of voters
11 got endorsements from the NRA
67 got media attention
some got endorsements from: Americans against Gun Control, Citizens for safe government, Hawaii Rifle Association, Small Business Hawaii, Abortion rights group, United We Stand America, FIJA, Gun Owners of America.
Most had speaking engagements.
5 to 1 thought campaign manual was useful
A significant number reported that they did not receive the manual or that materiels were missing from the candidate package.
No consensus on what new position papers
should be produced.
Mr Crickenberger discussed targeting
marketing to both "left" and "right" leaning swing vote and pitching that
to the media.
Sal Gazette will be running a two day
campaign seminar at the 1996 National Convention (Tue and Wed). There will
be at least three seminars on successful Libertarian campaigns (city commission,
school board, issues campaign).
Next version of the campaign manual
is scheduled for January 31st.
Discussion of the 218 house candidates
goal. Mr Dasbach said that California and Texas participation, and the
Illinois law suit are key factors to the achievement of this goal. Perry
Willis said that there was staff and money allocated to this project at
the LPHQ.
8 Auditors Report Thea McLean
Ms McLean said that she audited the office yesterday and determined that all the recommendations she made last year were implemented. She found nothing out of order in any respect. She will be producing a written report to the executiv
9A Convention Oversight Committee Dan Karlan
1996 Convention
Mr Karlan said that Fee has selected
Bumper Hornberger as the keynote speaker and that unless the LNC vetoes
the selection by January 1, 1996, later requests for a change would trigger
a penalty clause in the contract.
Discussion of keynote selection. Ms
Allard said she has spoken to Mr. Hornberger and he assured her that his
board at FFF did not object to him speaking as the "Head of a libertarian
organization", and that in his speech he will address us as delegates of
a political convention.
Mr Ernsburger said FEE would like a
supportive vote so that FEE can go ahead with developing promotional material
as scheduling advertizing.
The selection of Jacob (Bumper) Hornberger
was approved without objection.
Mr Karlan reviewed the convention time line:
Nov 1, 1995 Submission of business session requirements to FEE
Apr 1, 1995 Final changes to business
session requirements
Dave Walter has been submitting financial reports in a timely manner.
FEE will be filing FEC reports.
The remainder of the 1996 report was
tabled until copies of the platform committee resumes are available.
Mr. Ernsberger distributed materials
regarding a proposal by FEE to tabulate the platform plank voting required
by the bylaws.
Mr. Ernsberger said that if additional
displays, decorations or services are desired beyond what is provided in
the contract, the LNC would have to authorize those funds.
Discussion of additional costs for
a professional stage display for C-SPAN coverage. MR Dasbach said that
the 1991 convention generated 15,000 inquiries and that a better presentation
should generate more in 1996.
9B 1998 Convention
Mr Karlan said that Kris Williams is
working with the Atlanta convention bureau on the scheduling of the convention
Discussion of the selection of the
hotel site.
Discussion of the role of the Convention
Oversight Committee where the convention is being managed by the headquarters
staff.
10 Program Committee Mike Tanner
Mr Tanner discussed areas where local
issues could be addressed in addition to national issues for the benefit
of state and local campaigns.
11 Legal Action Committee Joe Hauptman
Discussion of potential actions of
the committee and the maintenance of a list of volunteer lawyers by specialty.
Mr Dasbach said that the motivation for legal action should be because
the LP has some unique standing where we could bring a case where others
can not.
Discussion of Oregon dispute. Mr Evers
moved that a sub-committee of Hugh Butler, Joe Hauptman, and Sharon Ayres
be appointed to review the Oregon materials and report back to the committee
with a proposed written resolution. The motion failed for a lack of a second.
The Chair said he will appoint a sub-committee to review the materials.
11A Regional Reports
Region 1 No Report
Mr Dasbach suggested the Oregon dispute
be discussed.
A task force of David Bergland, Steve Winter, Hugh Butler, Joe Hauptman, Karen Allard, and Steve Dasbach has met and discussed the Oregon dispute with Bob Franke, Thea McLean, Dan Karlan, and Ron Crickenberger attending)
Mr Dasbach said that the consensus
of the task force was to inform Oregon that we respect their process and
bylaws and as of this point according to the materials provided it does
not appear that there has been any changes in the composition of their
state committee. We will continue to communicate with the same people we
have been in the past. Mr Dasbach will send a letter to the Oregon party
informing them of the decision.
Mr. Butler said the affiliate party study group we are trying to constitute might give some input to the constitution and bylaws committee at the convention, and to review the affiliate bylaws with an eye towards advising the affiliates on how to avoid similar crises in the future. Mr Bultler advised the regional reps that his is soliciting members of state parties in their region who wish to serve on the study group.
Mr Bergland said that the LNC should
maintain the concept of state party autonomy and should resist interference
in state party disputes even when asked.
Region 2 Thea McLean
California will have 152 candidates for office in 1996.
Hawaii Mr Evers commented on the effectiveness
of the HLP for its small size.
Discussion of taking advantage of special
elections.
Region 3 Joe Hauptman
Indiana has committed to
fill its 10 congressional races and considers the 218 as an important goal
Michigan will run 16 congressional
candidates
Ohio petition drive is getting
geared up for the petition drive but they are lacking David Bergland's
signature.
Kentucky is optimistic about
their petition drive but can not make any commitment concerning congressional
candidates.
Region 4 (Gary Ilardi had
to leave due to an emergency)
Region 5 Dan Karlan
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland
chairs met for a regional conference
PA convention set for Friday 1 March through Sunday 3 March.
NJ convention is set for the March 16
MD had their convention in October
PA and NJ will attempt to fill their congressional races
Discussion of problems of getting signatures
in PA for candidates in the rural counties.
Region 6 Joseph Brennan
Rhode Island - contact has been re-established with the Rhode Island chair
Connecticut had their convention with Harry Browne, Rich Thompkins and Irwin Shiff attending. The party is up to 200 members. Previous local candidates have gotten double digit results.
Maine - getting organized for their convention
New York - will have Operation Politically Homeless booths operating for 50 days in 1996
New Hampshire - convention was held on October 15th and was well attended.
Steve Winter has been appointed political director.
Vermont eight out of the ten cities required for ballot access have been organized.
Massachusetts - can not be
contacted.
Region 7 Robert Franke
Minnesota - new newsletter staff with a graphics artist
Raised their joint dues from 38 to 40
Started a pledge program
96 convention to be held in April or May
Kansas - Seth Warren has taken over as Chair. Raising money for TV cable ads
Will have 4 confessional candidates for 1996 and one senatorial candidate
Illinois - Mike Ginsberg is extremely active campaigner and activist.
State committee is having some organizational problems.
Andy Spiegel is on annual retainer
as counsel to LP of Illinois
North Dakota - no information
Wisconsin - the LPWI is a plaintiff in a suit challenging the state sales tax to build a stadium in Milwaukee.
James Wall is running in a special election for state senate Dec 12
Nebraska - 4,000 of 6,000 signatures
collected
Iowa - State chair Tim Herd
returning to Treasurers job after recruiting Dick Cruz effective February
3rd at the state convention.
Missouri - continuing with all its activist activities. 3000 on newsletter list
Organized in 42 counties out of 115
30 candidates recruited for 1996
9 congressional candidates
Question on status of unified state-national
membership
Region 8 Tom Paswater
Louisiana - Alexandria chosen
for convention June 1st
Oklahoma - Convention held
- no congressional candidates
Mississippi - Presidential candidates
not invited to convention because it is being held in a public library.
Mark Bushman now acting state chair
Texas - Jay Manifold guesses
that they will have 10 to 15 congressional candidates. Convention set for
June 8th
Arizona - All presidential candidates invited (except Doug Ohmen)
6 congressional candidates
Tabloid newsletter sent out to all new Libertarians
The Pima county group has only served the Chair and Treasurer even though all members of the state committee have been named as defendants. They are also seeking all the names addresses and social security numbers of anyone who attended the last Arizona convention, including LNC members.
General discussion concerning the Arizona situation and the voter registration drive.
Mr. Dasbach said that the money from the LNC was used almost exclusively to get registrations in Maricopa county (Phoenix), the Pima county drive (Tucson) was paid for by the Ed Kahn campaign and the Pima county group. The Maricopa drive was 300 short of qualifying Mr. Dasbach said that copies of all the registrations are on file in the office and copies have been sent to Tamara Clark (Arizona State Chair).
.
Mr Karlan raised the concern that the
Louisiana and Texas conventions were being held after the deadline to submit
delegate lists for the national convention. Mr Winter said that all the
Chairs have been notified of all the deadlines, and he will follow up with
reminders.
9A continued 1996 convention
Mr Ernsberger reviewed the FEE proposal
to provide Scantron voting forms and a machine to tabulate the votes on
the platform planks. Discussion of requirements of a signature on the voting
forms. Mr Famularo raised the question of the need for a backup Scantron
machine. Mr Dasbach said that his experience was that the Scantron machines
were very reliable and that the backup could be manual tabulation.
Discussion of printing additional instructions and graphics on the form.
Ms Allard moved to accept the following
proposal:
FEE Inc. will rent a SCANTRON X-101 49 column reader tabulation machine and will print the needed copies of the Platform Ballot. These ballot must be printed upon the SCANTRON FORM 888E purchased from SCANTRON inc. FEE will make these forms available to the Party Secretary immediately following the adoption of the Convention agenda. After three hours, FEE will collect the completed ballots from the National Secretary and tabulate them. All tabulation will be supervised by a committee made up of one representative of the Platform Committee, one representative of the National Committee and two representatives appointed by the National Chair from party groups working on platform revisions and or restoration. Copies of the results with a total vote on each plank plus the total number of "retain" and "reject" votes will be provided to the National Secretary and to the Chair of the Platform, Committee within one hour of the completion of the balloting process.
FEE will provide to the Party Secretary
immediately following the end of the Platform report copies of ballots
with the required remaining planks for delegate voting. After three hours
FEE will collect from the National Secretary all ballots for tabulation
with the same procedure above . Total bid price: $500
Mr Dasbach made a motion to replace the sentence;
" All tabulation will be supervised by a committee made up of one representative of the Platform Committee, one representative of the National Committee and two representatives appointed by the National Chair from party groups working on platform revisions and or restoration."
With;
" All tabulation will be supervised in a manner specified by the LNC"
Ms Allard accepted the motion as friendly.
Motion passed on voice vote
Mr Evers urged that we establish a signature requirement for the voting forms.
Mr Karlan made the following motion:
"The Secretary shall accept no ballots for tabulation during platform balloting without the credentialed delegates signature"
Motion passed on voice vote
Nominations for the platform committee:
Bumper Hornberger of VA
Mile Tanner of DC
Dean Ahmad of MD
Dave Nolan of CA
Ceicil Bohanon of IN
Nancy Lord of GA
Andrew Spiegel of IL
Jim Campton of WA
John Buttrick of AZ
Jack Jones of MD
Timothy O'Brien of MI
Lorenzo Gaztanaga of MD
Jimmy Harris of GA
Discussion on candidates qualifications
Platform Committee vote
First ballot 14 ballots cast
State Nominee Votes
VA Bumper Hornberger 13 *
DC Mike Tanner 13 *
MD Dean Ahmad 14 *
CA Dave Nolan 13 *
IN Ceicil Bohanan 9 *
GA Nancy Lord 6
IL Andrew Spiegel 5
WA Jim Compton 5
AZ John Buttrick 14 *
MD Jack Jones 0
MI Timothy O'Brien 10 *
MD Lorenzo Gaztanaga 5
GA Jimmy Harris 7
* indicates election by a majority
of the votes cast
Nominations for temporary chair of
the Platform committee
Dean Ahmad of MD
Dave Nolan of CA
vote for temporary chair of the Platform Committee
Nominee Votes
Dean Ahmad 5
Dave Nolan 7
Dave Nolan elected by show of hands
Mr Evers moved "that we reopen the
voting on the Platform committee for Mr Harris now and elect the balance
of the committee by mail ballot within one month"
Mr Ernsberger moved to divide the question
1. to vote on Mr Harris
Motion carried on voice vote
Vote on electing Jimmy Harris to Platform Committee
Aye Nay
Joe Brennan x
Dan Karlan x
Ron Crickenberger x
Thea McLean x
Robert Franke x
Karen Allard x
John Famularo x
Sharon Ayres x
Don Ernsberger x
Bill Evers x
Gary Johnson x
Joe Hauptman x
Steve Dasbach x
2 vote on selecting remaining positions by mail ballot
Motion failed on voice vote
Nominations for platform committee were reopened
Joe Dehn
Kathleen Richman
Second ballot for two remaining positions on the Platform committee
13 ballots cast
State Nominee Votes
GA Nancy Lord 5
IL Andrew Spiegel 0
WA Jim Compton 0
MD Lorenzo Gaztanaga 1
CA Joe Dehn 8 *
VA Kathleen Richman 6 *
* elected by majority vote
The platform committee as elected consists of:
Dave Nolan Interim Chair
Bumper Hornberger
Mike Tanner
Dean Ahmad
Jimmy Harris
Ceicil Bohanan
John Buttrick
Timothy O'Brien
Joe Dehn
Kathleen Richman
13a Resolution on Bosnia
Mr Evers proposed the following
resolution:
Whereas the United States of America
is a constitutional republic with jurisdiction limited to its boundaries,
not a global empire, or policeman of the world, whereas governments that
devote themselves to international intrigues and power politics do not
hesitate long before violating people's rights, liberties, and any constitutional
constraints that stand in there way,
Whereas the vital interests of the
United States, namely our constitutional liberties, our national independence,
and our security from invasion or attack from abroad, are not at stake
in Bosnia or the rest of the Balkans;
Whereas the American people do not
wish to send 20,000 American troops into the mountains of the Balkan region
whether to slay Bosnian Serb miscreants or to rebuild the Bosnian governmental
apparatus.
Whereas the foreign-policy elites
in America have their own reasons for sending troops: maintaining European
regional stability that elites believe is vital to American prosperity,
or discouraging present or future action or influence of Germany or Russia;
or preserving U.S. credibility as muscular, internationally active, and
preeminent among the powers none of these reasons, certainly under present
circumstances, is worth a single American or Bosnian life;
Whereas the commander-in-chief clause
makes the Presidential general-in-chief in wartime, it does not give President
Bill Clinton or any other past or future President the authority to dispatch
U.S. forces into what is in reality a war zone, without a Congressional
declaration of war.
Therefore be it resolved by the
Libertarian National Committee that the Libertarian Party opposes the deployment
of U.S. expeditionary forces to Bosnia and other Balkan countries and calls
for the immediate withdrawal of those forces;
Be it further resolved that the
Libertarian Party applauds those Americans -- especially Congressmen Dana
Rohrbacher of California and Joel Hefley of Colorado -- who are opposing
and lawfully resisting U. S. Military involvement in the Balkans; and
Be it still further resolved that
the Libertarian Party declares itself willing to join in single-issue coalitions
dedicated to immediate U. S. Withdrawal. Only immediate U, S, military
withdrawal and a rededication to a foreign policy of "no foreign wars"
can give American the opportunity to show herself to the world as a shining
example of a successful free society.
Mr Karlan moved to strike the word "miscreants" in the third paragraph
Motion carried on voice vote
Resolution was adopted unanimously
Nominations for Credentials Committee
Gary Johnson of TX
Dan Karlan of NJ
Eric Lund of CA
Vote for Credentials Committee
13 ballots submitted
Gary Johnson 12
Dan Karlan 12
Eric Lund 8
Motion to name Gary Johnson as Interim Chair
Motion carried without objection
Nominees for Bylaws committee
Dave Bergland of CA
Mary Gingell of CA
John Paff of NJ
Hugh Butler of UT
Ruth Bennett of WA
Bylaws committee voting
13 Ballots cast
State Nominee Votes
CA Dave Bergland 13
CA Mary Gingell 12
NJ John Paff 12
UT Hugh Butler 12
WA Ruth Bennett 11
motion to name Dave Bergland Interim Chair
passed without objection
12 1995 Budget Amendments
Mr Butler moved to accept the following budget changes
Line Item Amount
51101 +6051.67
51103 +3482.88
51104 +6618.65
5202 -16,153
Motion passed on voice vote
13 1996 Budget Steve Dasbach
Mr Dasbach and Mr Willis presented the proposed 1996 budget (see Attached)
General Discussion of proposed budget
\
Mr Butler proposed the following budget amendments:
1 Item 20 +2,000
Change name to Tax, Legal, Regulatory and Banking
2 Item 20 +3,000
Accounting/Legal
3 Item 17 +24,000
Software and equipment
4 Item 16 +70,500
Paid Staff - operations manager
----------
$99,500
5 Item 20 -6,000
FEC monthly closing support (Stuart Reges)
Item 17 -24,000
Special software projects (Stuart Reges)
----------
$30,000
Net $69,500
Discussion on operations management requirements and qualifications.
Mr Willis said that he had a particular individual in mind for this position.
Discussion of possible conflict of interest of proposed operations manager candidate.
Mr Butler said that the operations manager should be a full time manager and not working for another organization. Discussion of the technical versus management requirements of the operations manager. Mr Famularo said that he agreed that the operations managers function is required but would like to further discuss the details of the position before a specific individual is hired. Mr Ernsberger said that he was not confident that the individual being discussed was a competent manager. Discussion of difficulty of finding a competent manager. Mr Hauptman asked whether an aye vote was a vote to hire a particular individual. Mr Dasbach said that this was only budget authorization.
Motion on the amendment carried on voice vote
Main motion carried on voice vote.
13.1
Mr Butler asked to add an item of business concerning conflict of interest
Mr Butler proposed the following resolution:
"Whereas, the LNC is aware that LP headquarters employees have accepted outside consulting work, and, in as much as the LNC deplores conflicts of interest within the Party,
Therefore be it resolved that consulting work carried on by headquarters staff members are authorized by the LNC so long as:
1. Both the work and income amounts are disclosed to the Chair.
2. Employees agree to terminate specific work when requested by the Chair.
3. The National Director is not authorized by this motion to accept outside work.
4. The Chair and the National Director
shall report all such activities to the LNC.
Mr Butler said that his motion did
not cover all the potential problems but that the LNC needed to be informed
of all activity, and that the National Director should not under any circumstances
he should be accepting outside income without there being an inherent conflict
of interest.
Mr Ernsberger said that he objected to any conflicts whether disclosed or not.
Mr Karlan said as a regional representative he should have been informed.
Mr Butler said that his intention was not to imply that full disclosure was sufficient and that the Chair should be able to determine if there is a conflict of Interest and prohibit the activity Mr Ernsberger said that a staffer working for any political campaign internal to the campaign was inherently a conflict of interest that was not remedied by full disclosure.
Mr Willis said he strongly objected to this resolution because what should be of issue is the application of the resources of the Party and whether or not those are misappropriated. Mr Willis said he could determine on an individual basis whether a specific request from Sharon Ayres for the Browne campaign would or would not violate his fiduciary responsibility to the party. Mr Willis said that if he could not do any outside work he would resign his position. Mr Willis said he currently has outside clients and will not discontinue working with them when he has the time. Mr Famularo asked what the current status is regarding conflicts if this motion is not passed. Mr Dasbach said that this motion would be a greater restriction than the current policy since there is currently no mandate for disclosure.
.
Mr Williams asked if the motion intended to cover all outside work regardless of type.
Mr Brennan said that there could be
a perception of conflict among those members who are supporting candidates
other than Harry Browne. Mr Willis said that we should not decide issues
on appearance but on actual facts. He said that Sharon Ayres is his friend
and would give her advice if asked but that does not constitute conflict
of interest.
Mr Butler said he considered the withdrawal of the restriction on the national director as a friendly amendment. Further discussion of the concept of conflict of interest.
Ms Ayres asked whether her dual role as LNC development manager and Browne
campaign manager was a conflict of interest. Mr Willis and Mr Ernsberger said she should recuse herself from any vote affecting the Browne campaign. Ms Allard raised the question of other areas of potential conflict of interest such as Mr Ernsberger and Mr Famularo as agents of FEE, or Mr Famularo getting reimbursed for work on the computer system. MR Karlan said there was a distinction between paid staff and LNC members. Mr Ernsberger said he always abstained on votes concerning FEE.
Mr Bergland said that rules that may apply in the corporate world might not apply to us because of "the thinness of our bench".
Mr Williams objected to the total disclosure of outside work regardless of type. Mr Famularo said that unless a manager knows the total workload of one of his employees, he can not effectively make judgements as to whether to encourage an increase or decrease in project workload.
Further discussion of what constitutes conflict of interest.
Mr Willis said it would be too difficult to weigh each encounter with Sharon Ayres or any other LNC member who was involved in an internal campaign in the light of a possible conflict of interest. Mr Willis said that he should be judged on his performance.
Discussion as to the difference between
paid and non-paid outside work. Mr Dasbach said that the current policy
is that staffers can not do work for internal campaigns for free but can
do so if paid.
Mr Butler said that his concern about this issue is not new and that we should make sure that membership has faith in what this body is doing. Mr Butler restated his motion as amended as follows:
"Whereas, the LNC is aware that LP headquarters employees have accepted outside consulting work, and, in as much as the LNC deplores conflicts of interest within the Party,
Therefore be it resolved that employees of the LNC may accept outside consulting work so long as :
1. Both the amount of work and the income from it shall be approved by the chair,
2. Employees agree to terminate improper work when requested by the chair.
3. The Chair will report the facts
to the LNC."
Motion passed on voice vote.
Mr Ernsberger asked that his nay vote be recorded
Ms Ayres asked that her abstention
be recorded.
14 Future meetings
The Spring LNC meeting will be held on March 23, 24 at the
Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill
400 New Jersey Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001
1-800-233-1234
Meeting adjourned,