April 2015 - Lnc-business - Moellman Enterprises Email

Regarding the Doug Craig matter
by Daniel Wiener 29 Apr '15

29 Apr '15

I will co-sponsor both of Alicia's email ballots. I had to take a few hours to mull over this question. The Chair's ruling is plausible but not ultimately persuasive for me. If we set the precedent that buying a convention package counts as sustaining membership dues, where do we draw the line? Logically, any transfer of funds to the LP in excess of $25 would then have to similarly qualify. Suppose someone who was briefly a member ten years ago (and hence signed the pledge) should now decide to buy a T-shirt or some books from the LP for more than $25. Do we automatically categorize that person as a sustaining member? Even if that wasn't the person's intent, and indeed the person had no knowledge or desire for that to happen? Does this become an additional burden on staff, to have to check up on every sale to see if it has a membership impact? I'm afraid that the Chair's ruling will just muddy the waters rather than clear them up. I much prefer a bright line standard which says that a purchase is just a purchase, and a sustaining membership requires a $25 donation which specifically identifies it as being for that purpose. I think that is arguably more in line with both the literal wording (i.e., "given" refers to a gift rather than a purchase) and the underlying intent of Bylaws Article 5.3. All that being said, I will happily vote for Doug Craig to fill the LNC vacancy, and thus resolve any question as to whether his vote should be excluded on a technicality. This is also an excellent opportunity for all the LNC members to quickly vote on these email ballots, and thus conclude them well before the normal 10-day deadline. The LNC should be able to act much quicker than it traditionally has, so let's prove we can do so! Dan Wiener -- *"In general, we look for a new law by the following process. First, we guess it (audience laughter), no, don’t laugh, that’s the truth. Then we compute the consequences of the guess, to see what, if this is right, if this law we guess is right, to see what it would imply and then we compare the computation results to nature or we say compare to experiment or experience, compare it directly with observations to see if it works. If it disagrees with experiment, it’s WRONG. In that simple statement is the key to science. It doesn’t make any difference how beautiful your guess is, it doesn’t matter how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is. If it disagrees with experiment, it’s wrong. That’s all there is to it.”* -- Richard Feynman (https://tinyurl.com/lozjjps)

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requesting co-sponsors to appeal Chair's ruling
by Alicia Mattson 29 Apr '15

29 Apr '15

I am requesting co-sponsors to appeal the Chair's ruling that a person's purchase of a convention package should count as a gift for purposes of determining sustaining membership. Recall that the motion for an appeal is phrased as a motion to sustain/uphold the chair's ruling, even though my already-stated position is to not overturn it. Therefore I am seeking co-sponsors for the following motion: To sustain the Chair's ruling that a person's purchase of a convention package in the prior twelve months meets the requirement of Bylaws Article 5.3 that a sustaining member must have "given at least $25 to the Party in the prior twelve months". I interpret Norm's previous statements as his being willing to co-sponsor this motion unless he tells me otherwise. So two other co-sponsors (or the chair) would be needed. -Alicia

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requesting co-sponsors for motion to elect Doug Craig to at-large vacancy
by Alicia Mattson 28 Apr '15

28 Apr '15

I am requesting co-sponsors for the following motion: To elect Doug Craig to the at-large vacancy Again, I interpret Norm's previous statements as his being willing to co-sponsor this motion unless he tells me otherwise. So two other co-sponsors (or the chair) would be needed. -Alicia

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requesting co-sponsors for expedited email ballot
by Alicia Mattson 28 Apr '15

28 Apr '15

Since I know that some humans have a tendency to stop reading an email if it's more than two paragraphs long, let me point out that at the end of this message I am requesting sponsors for an expedited email ballot. Previously this term it has been necessary to deal with the reality that LNC members are to be sustaining members of the Party. In the previous case, I raised a point of order because an at-large LNC member who had been a sustaining member at the convention when he was elected had since allowed his sustaining status to lapse. At its December, 2014 meeting, the LNC re-appointed that member to the seat after the sustaining status was reinstated. As the Secretary has specific duties related to credentialing questions and determinations of sustaining membership counts, now it is my job to once again raise a point of order regarding a member's status. For convenience, I have copied the relevant bylaw provisions below: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bylaws Article 5.3: "Sustaining member” is any Party member who has given at least $25 to the Party in the prior twelve months, or who is a life member. Bylaws Article 5.6: Only sustaining members shall be counted for delegate apportionment and National Committee representation. Only sustaining members shall be eligible to hold National Party office or be a candidate for President or Vice-President. Bylaws Article 8.4: A National Committee member shall be a sustaining member of the Party, and shall not be the candidate of any party except the Party or an affiliate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ During our 3/29/15 Phoenix meeting, Doug Craig was declared elected to the at-large vacancy. On 4/16/15, Robert Kraus informed me, Wes Benedict and Nick Sarwark that Doug Craig had lapsed but that he had renewed on 4/16/15. I asked for clarity on what date Mr. Craig had lapsed because it matters procedurally whether the lapse occurred before or after the 3/29/15 meeting in which the LNC elected him to the at-large vacancy. Raiser's Edge records indicate that his last sustaining-level donation had been on 7/26/13. Since then the only transactions had been his purchase of a convention package on 5/6/14, and then his sustaining-level renewal on 4/16/15. I look at Bylaw Article 5.3 and see that a person must have "given" at least $25 in the prior 12 months, or be a life member. Since Mr. Craig is not a life member, the question is whether he had given at least $25 in the 12 months prior to 3/29/15 when the LNC acted to fill the vacancy. To me, "giving" money is a very different thing from a purchase of goods/services such as a convention package or a t-shirt, so I do not think that the convention package qualifies towards sustaining membership. My conclusion is that Mr. Craig's sustaining membership lapsed on 7/26/14 (one year after his 7/26/13 donation), and that it wasn't renewed until 4/16/15. That would mean he was not a sustaining member on 3/29/15 when the LNC took action regarding the vacancy. Given my conclusion that he was not a sustaining member at the time, I believe the motion adopted to name him to the at-large vacancy is null and void because it violated the bylaws which require sustaining membership for LNC members. For convenient reference, relevant citations from Robert's Rules are below: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ RONR p. 430-431, 439 make it clear that in an election, members may only vote for eligible nominees, thus votes cast for an ineligible person are actually illegal votes. RONR p. 445, regarding challenging an election, states: "Otherwise, an election may be contested only by raising a point of order. The general rule is that such a point of order must be timely, as described on page 250, line 30 to page 251, line 2. If an election is disputed on the ground that a quorum was not present, the provisions on page 349, lines 21–28, apply. Other exceptions to the general timeliness requirement are those that come within the five categories listed on page 251, lines 9–23, in which cases a point of order can be made at any time during the continuance in office of the individual declared elected. For example: • If an individual does not meet the qualifications for the post established in the bylaws, his or her election is tantamount to adoption of a main motion that conflicts with the bylaws...." Here is the relevant portion of the cross-referenced passage on RONR p. 251: "The only exceptions to the rule that a point of order must be made at the time of the breach arise in connection with breaches that are of a continuing nature, in which case a point of order can be made at any time during the continuance of the breach. Instances of this kind occur when: a) a main motion has been adopted that conflicts with the bylaws (or constitution) of the organization or assembly, *[items (b) through (e) snipped for brevity]* In all such cases, it is never too late to raise a point of order since any action so taken is null and void. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ My conclusion is that according to our rules, Mr. Craig's election was in violation of the bylaws, thus that motion is null and void and we still have an at-large vacancy. Now that Mr. Craig has renewed his sustaining membership, he is eligible to be properly elected to that vacancy. We just need to proceed to act again to fill the vacancy. I suspect that the outcome of a second vote now will be the same as it was then, but we should go through the process of doing it properly so as to remove any cloud of doubt. Making the effort to do it properly will show respect to the rules, and it settles the question now so that it won't come up later if a contentious vote is decided by a margin of Mr. Craig's vote. At this time I'm raising a point of order that Mr. Craig's election on 3/29/15 is null and void because it violated the bylaw requirement that LNC members must be sustaining members of the party. Unfortunately, I am not bringing this up at the most ideal time. My to-do list following the Phoenix meeting was much larger than usual. When this was first brought to my attention, I didn't have the bandwidth to fully process it immediately, and it just got added to my to-do list. If the chair or I had brought this matter to you earlier, we would have had more breathing room to address this before our May 3 electronic meeting. I was just thinking we could address it on May 3, but as I started writing this message it occurred to me that the electronic meetings are special meetings, so we can't add agenda items at the last minute. We could address a credentialing question of who is eligible to vote during the meeting, but we couldn't add an agenda item for filling a vacancy. There is still an option for the full LNC to address the issue before then, though. Mail ballots can end early *if all LNC members will promptly vote or specifically abstain rather than waiting the full 10 days*. With cooperation from all of you, we can still finish an email ballot before May 3. I spoke in favor of another candidate for this position, but I'm willing to co-sponsor an email ballot so the LNC can have a chance to resolve the matter before our May 3 meeting. I'm asking that either the chair sponsor, or 3 other LNC members promptly co-sponsor with me an email ballot to elect Doug Craig to the at-large vacancy created by Evan McMahon's resignation. -Alicia

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sustaining versus association benefits lapse date example
by Wes Benedict 28 Apr '15

28 Apr '15

I'm going to give a quick example to explain the difference in the expirations. I'm not going to be extremely careful about the terminology I'm using here. So forgive me if I misstate a particular. Let's say John Doe joined the Libertarian Party on 1/1/2015 for $25. On 10/1/2015, John Doe contributes another $25 to renew his membership. He never donates any other money. On 10/1/2016 his "Sustaining Membership" expires. On 1/1/2017, his "Foundation Membership" expires. Again, I didn't design this system. I've advocated for more simplicity and clarity. -- Wes Benedict, Executive Director Libertarian National Committee, Inc. *New address: 1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314* (202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict(a)lp.org facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership

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proposed email: Register now for LPEX
by Wes Benedict 28 Apr '15

28 Apr '15

I'll be sending this to the APRC shortly. I will await approval from Brett Pojunis, Nick Sarwark, and the APRC as a whole before releasing this email based on a template provided by Brett Pojunis. ================ <http://www.lpex.org/> *Excuse to Visit Vegas #076* Nevada is a Swing State Everyone needs an excuse to come to Vegas, so blame it on LPEX and the Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party is encouraging our members to attend LPEX 2015. LPEX <http://www.lpex.org>, the Libertarian Political Expo <http://www.lpex.org>, is a major non-partisan conference created to connect people, organizations, technology and ideas. LPEX provides vital leadership training in the form of workshops, panelists and speakers. LPEX takes place at the Tropicana Las Vegas <http://lpex.org/hotel>May 28^th – 31^st in Las Vegas, NV. Currently there are more than 30 organizations and companies involved. The Libertarian Party has a special promo code for a 50% off discount. Please enter promo code *123ABC* when you are registering www.LPEX.org/register <http://www.LPEX.org/register>. Featured Speakers + Panelists There are currently over 40 speakers, trainers and panelists with wide variety of backgrounds ranging from elected officials to national radio personalities to successful entrepreneurs. LPEX has the following elected officials from Nevada: 2 Congressmen, 3 State Senators, 9 members of the Assembly, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Controller, Assistant Controller, and Las Vegas City Councilman. *Here are some select speakers:* <http://lpex.org/speakers> OR Use this image… <http://lpex.org/speakers> Visit www.lpex.org/speakers <http://www.lpex.org/speakers>for a full list. Professional Training LPEX has secured some of the top political trainers in the country to facilitate our training and workshops. <http://lpex.org/training/workshops> Please visit http://lpex.org/training/workshopsto view some of the workshops. Featured Sponsors & Exhibitors <http://lpex.org/sponsors> Please visit http://lpex.org/sponsorsto visit our sponsors. Register Now LPEX has created multiple conference packages to suit the needs of everyone. Get trained to become an effective leader. Become educated, engaged, and empowered! Over 4 days you will gain more knowledge, make more connections, and take more actionable steps towards becoming an effective leader than ever before! Get the tools, resources, and strategic insight you need to achieve your biggest goals. Receive a *50% *off discount, enter promo code *123ABC* when you are registering www.LPEX.org/register <http://www.LPEX.org/register>. <http://www.lpex.org/register> After registering, visit this page to reserve a hotel room: http://lpex.org/hotel Thank you! Brett H. Pojunis Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Nevada

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Re: [Lnc-business] Ruling of the Chair re: Doug Craig's sustaining membership status at the time of his election
by doug＠vikingmetals.com 28 Apr '15

28 Apr '15

I will say I am not always on top of my national membership. ..my money goes toward the state level ...at one point I was paying our media guy out of pocket for three months in 2014...so yes I have been slow to send national 25 bucks...while I spent 5000 in Georgia last year... -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] Ruling of the Chair re: Doug Craig's sustaining membership status at the time of his election From: "Norm Olsen" <region1rep(a)doneDad.com> Date: Apr 28, 2015 2:33 PM To: lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org CC: I have to disagree with the ruling of the Chair. We ask people to ___PURCHASE___ a gold, silver, or bronze package. Such ___PURCHASEs___ are carried on the books as "Convention Income" and not under any of the several fundraising accounting lines. A payment to attend a convention is not, technically, a donation. I'm a big fan of Doug Craig, and I want more than (perhaps) anyone else to see him serve on the LNC as an At Large Representative. However, setting this precedent is very bad policy and must not be adopted simply to allow Mr. Craig to vote at _one_ meeting at which only _one_ issue is to be decided. Thus, I am "voting"(?) to overturn (or is it overrule) the ruling of the chair, announce my co-sponsorship of an e-mail ballot to appoint Mr. Doug Craig to the At Large vacancy, and encourage all LNC members to vote promptly as that is probably the only way Mr. Craig will be able to participate in the May 3rd electronic meeting. Norm -- Norman T Olsen Regional Representative, Region 1 Libertarian National Committee 7931 South Broadway, PMB 102 Littleton, CO 80122-2710 303-263-4995 -----Original Message----- From: Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces@hq.lp.org] On Behalf Of Nicholas Sarwark Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2015 8:18 AM To: lnc-business Subject: [Lnc-business] Ruling of the Chair re: Doug Craig's sustaining membership status at the time of his election All, Mr. Goldstein has requested a ruling as to whether Doug Craig's purchase of a convention package on May 6, 2014 was sufficient to make him a sustaining member at the time of his election the the LNC on March 29, 2015. I believe it was. Bylaws Article 5, Section 3, says "'Sustaining member' is any Party member who has given at least $25 to the Party in the prior twelve months, or who is a life member." There is no language in the Bylaws that discusses convention purchases as separate from an other giving to the Libertarian Party. Without explicit language in the Bylaws to the contrary, I find that the money Mr. Craig gave to the Libertarian Party for his convention package on May 6, 2014 was in excess of $25 and given in the twelve months prior to the LNC meeting in Phoenix on March 29, 2015. The Association levels that Dr. Lieberman points to are not in the nature of a Bylaw, but are set by the LNC as a way to recognize supporters at different giving levels. Whether his contribution would count for an association level is not the question at issue here. With that, I don't think there is an issue with Mr. Craig's eligibility at the time of his election. If there are those on the LNC who would still like a mail ballot on the issue Ms. Mattson has raised, I think it's appropriate to phrase it in a way that it is clear that it is also an appeal of the ruling of the Chair, but it would probably be most appropriate to combine it with the question of voting to fill the vacancy with a particular person should the ruling of the Chair be successfully appealed. -Nick _______________________________________________ Lnc-business mailing list Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org _______________________________________________ Lnc-business mailing list Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org

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Wyoming LP on the brink of extinction
by Scott L. 28 Apr '15

28 Apr '15

"Wyoming Libertarian Party leaders say they will disband unless more members seek leadership" (April 25, 2015) http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/4c7e30889a544e4eb59c0598e2c98e40/WY-- Wyoming-Libertarian-Party/ I can understand how a state with the population of Wyoming would have trouble finding enough Libertarians to sustain a viable political party. However, if the National LP required its affiliates to concentrate on electing Libertarians to public office, I wonder if our smaller affiliates would still have trouble staying in business. If Wyoming had at least one elected Libertarian in most of its 23 counties, then libertarians in the state would see that the LP means business when it comes to moving public policy in a libertarian direction by electing Libertarians to public office. Wyoming does have non-partisan special districts, many of which can be won with dozens or hundreds of votes. Scott Lieberman PS - HT IPR

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LNC Meeting 07/18-19
by Robert Kraus 27 Apr '15

27 Apr '15

Here is the preliminary info for the next LNC Meeting: What: LNC Meeting Sat 07/18 9 am – 7 pm & Sun 07/19 9 am - ? Where: Marriott Residence Inn, 1456 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 (meeting at hotel on SAT ONLY – Sun will be at LPHQ if needed) Room Rate: $119 Per Night includes Buffet Breakfast Reservations Via this link: http://www.marriott.com/meeting-event-hotels/group-corporate-travel/groupCo… <http://www.marriott.com/meeting-event-hotels/group-corporate-travel/groupCo…> &app=resvlink&stop_mobi=yes Or call 703.548.5474 or 1.800.321.2211 and ask for the “Libertarian National Committee Meeting" room block. Parking: $15 per day (web site is wrong we have a discounted rate) - must get parking pass from hotel reception prior to entering garage. Street parking available in area (Jamison, West, Commerce or Price - watch signs for restrictions) plus possible limited parking by office in Round House Square (spots marked 1438, 1442 or 1444 only). King Street Metro (2 stops from National Airport on Blue or Yellow line): Less than ¼ mile away. Exit Metro and cross parking lot. Go down either Dangerfield Rd. or Reinekers Ln (straight ahead as your cross parking lot & Diagonal Rd. from Metro). Hotel is less than 2 blocks away straight ahead on opposite side of Duke St. Other: LPHQ 1st Anniversary Reception Sat night 07/18 from 7-10 pm or so. The hotel offers a free shuttle with drop off & pickup service throughout Old Town. There is also a free trolley on King Street that goes from metro to the river and points in between. Hotel web site: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/wasdk-residence-inn-alexandria-old-to… Directions: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/travel/wasdk-residence-inn-alexandria-o… Dining: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/restaurant/wasdk-residence… Local area: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/local-things-to-do/wasdk-residence-inn-alexa… Live Free! Robert Robert S. Kraus - Dir of Operations Operations(a)LP.org Libertarian National Committee, Inc. 1444 Duke Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Ph: 202.333.0008 x 231 Join today: https://www.lp.org/membership LP FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/libertarians

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Guest info for LNC Adobe Connect meeting
by Alicia Mattson 27 Apr '15

27 Apr '15

Below is my first attempt at a visitor's guide for LNC meetings via Adobe Connect. Note that I have removed the backup telephone number from this invitation info, since only the LNC should be using that. -Alicia --------------------------------------------------- Meeting Name: Libertarian National Committee When: 05/03/2015 6:00 PM Pacific / 9:00 PM Eastern Purpose: Discussion of Logo Redesign To join the meeting: https://lp.adobeconnect.com/lnc/ After clicking this link to join the meeting, each person should go through the instructions in the attached PDF, which explain that you should sign into the meeting as a guest and then run the audio setup wizard to select which microphone to use and test audio input/output levels. If you have never attended an Adobe Connect meeting before, test your connection in advance: https://lp.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm --------------------------------------------------- Visitors are responsible for complying with the following policies adopted by the LNC. Policy Manual Section 1.02.4 says: "LNC meetings are open to Party members, except while in Executive Session. However, participation is not permitted except by majority vote of the committee." Policy Manual Section 1.02.7 pertaining to Electronic Meetings contains the following provisions that are particularly relevant to visitors: i) Each participant must accurately identify himself by name when joining the meeting. Videoconference participants other than members or alternates of the committee must precede their sign-in name with “zz” so as to group them at the end of the alphabetical participant list. j) Electronic meeting participants must try to eliminate, as much as possible, background noise, echoes, and call waiting interruptions. Participants shall not place their telephone connection on hold if the system has music or messages playing while in that mode. k) All participants legally consent to having the meetings recorded, should the committee opt to do so. n) If the committee permits, participants other than members or alternates of the committee may observe videoconferences using Adobe Connect (and not by a toll-free number) with their web cameras off and their microphones muted.

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