Dear All, There are a number of false statements circulating on social media and among members of this board. While this email will be of no help to those LNC members who have said I am dishonest and acting in bad faith, it may be of some use to people who have not yet sunk that low. Let's begin with ones from an email that an internal caucus sent to all of their members: “I’m sure most of you know that current LNC Chair Nick Sarwark tried to kill the in-person Orlando convention during the online presidential nomination proceedings over Memorial Day weekend.” False. I successfully presided over my third convention as Chair, working through obstruction and delay to get through the nomination of President and Vice President. When that work was over, I took the opportunity to let the body know that I would not preside over the second sitting, and that if they wanted to select a replacement, they could do so. Since that was a statement on the issue of whether to adjourn immediately or take up the election of Chair, I passed the gavel to Mr. Merced. Even had the Chair election been taken up, it would not have cancelled a second sitting. “What you may not know is that he has since said that he refuses to take part in an in-person convention and refused to sign the contract with the host hotel.” First, I will attend the second sitting of the convention in Orlando and will participate as a delegate from New Hampshire. The rest of my family will not be coming to Orlando because our country is still in the midst of an infectious pandemic and our family has chosen to minimize the exposure of ourselves and others to air travel and large meetings. Second, I refused to sign a contract with a $105K liquidated damages provision because it presented a great risk to the Libertarian Party. Once a contract that removed that provision, reduced the room rate by another $20 per night for our members, and lowered the required hotel rooms (though keeping a larger block available), I tried to move quickly to execute it. The four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee then attempted to put in provisions damaging to the Libertarian Party, in breach of their fiduciary duties and over the objection of the two people who have to approve a contract of that size under the policy manual, myself and Mr. Hall. The provisions they urgently decided had to be in the contract were both ones that would cause a seven-day delay in the event of an emergency that required cancellation, because it would require approval of the whole LNC, which is not possible in a period shorter than an email vote or electronic meeting. There is no argument that these provisions put the Libertarian Party in a better position, they were designed to increase the risk of cancellation. “He also removed Dan Hayes, chair of the Convention Oversight Committee, from that committee for not sharing Sarwark’s views on an in-person convention.” Mr. Hayes was removed based on a number of factors, some of which were in my email announcing his removal. He has been personally abusive to colleagues and members of the Libertarian Party staff, which combined with his negotiating against the best interest of the Libertarian Party and taking weeks to finish a contract that should have been ready to sign at the first sitting showed that he is less effective in the role than Ms. Ryan, who successfully produced the Orlando convention without screaming or yelling at the rest of the members of her committee. “But in the meantime, Sarwark added a clause to the contract that would allow him to cancel the convention unilaterally, and then instructed a staff member to sign that contract, resulting in two different contracts being sent back to the hotel.” There was no clause added by myself or at my direction to the contract approved by our Special Counsel, approved by myself, and approved by the hotel. The contract transmitted by the Secretary had four clauses added to it the day before the contract was due by the four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee, clauses that were not ever present in any of the versions of the contract they had insisted was “ready to sign.” Going from having a vote to force someone to sign a contract with excessive risk to trying desperately to stop me from signing a much improved contract without a poison pill is tough to do in less than 24 hours, but Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Mattson, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bilyeu moved very quickly. To clear up a legal misunderstanding, getting the $105K liquidated damages clause removed does not make cancellation free of risk or cost to the Libertarian Party. It means that the hotel would have to show what their actual damages are in the case of a cancellation. If a hurricane hits, it's better for us to be on the hook for the actual cost of cancellation, not a $105,000. Reducing the risk for the party is the fiduciary duty we all have to the party, which is why it was so confusing to me to see two other officers of this board try to increase the risk to the party by signing a contract that increased the risk to the party. “There is now a motion from Harlos before the LNC, with six co-sponsors, to suspend Sarwark so we can go ahead with the planned convention without further roadblocks.” Let me state clearly that the changes I made to the Convention Oversight Committee membership are to make that committee work more efficiently to make this convention a success. Mr. Rosen called me on the day the contract was executed to reiterate his commitment to having this exceed even our highest expectations, a sentiment I reciprocated in our conversation. It's no secret that I think a mass in-person gathering during a pandemic is stupid. But as long as I'm Chair, if the delegates decide to do something stupid, it's my duty to help them do the stupid thing as efficiently and with as little damage as possible. My last point, which I will place in all capital letters just to make sure nobody misses this truth: I DID NOT INTEND TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT WHEN NEGOTIATING IT, WHEN EXECUTING IT, OR AT ANY POINT PRIOR TO THE SECOND SITTING IN ORLANDO. I've been exceedingly disappointed at the number of people on this LNC who have my email and phone number, who know how to ask a question, who chose and continue to choose to believe lies about my actions and intentions and can't summon the human decency to ask me directly. My disappointment with the behavior on this LNC will be channeled as a delegate, as it was in 2012. Yours in liberty, Nick
Mr. Sarwark, I appreciate you breaking all of this down from your perspective. However, I do have one more question that the answer might of gotten lost in the length of the message. I see where you said you would participate as a NH delegate in Orlando. Will you be chairing the Orlando portion of the convention or will Mr. Merced be doing that? V. Paige Sexton BSN,RN Region 2 Alternate Libertarian National Committee 901-390-0578
On Jun 6, 2020, at 12:38, Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business <lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Dear All,
There are a number of false statements circulating on social media and among members of this board. While this email will be of no help to those LNC members who have said I am dishonest and acting in bad faith, it may be of some use to people who have not yet sunk that low.
Let's begin with ones from an email that an internal caucus sent to all of their members:
“I’m sure most of you know that current LNC Chair Nick Sarwark tried to kill the in-person Orlando convention during the online presidential nomination proceedings over Memorial Day weekend.”
False. I successfully presided over my third convention as Chair, working through obstruction and delay to get through the nomination of President and Vice President. When that work was over, I took the opportunity to let the body know that I would not preside over the second sitting, and that if they wanted to select a replacement, they could do so. Since that was a statement on the issue of whether to adjourn immediately or take up the election of Chair, I passed the gavel to Mr. Merced. Even had the Chair election been taken up, it would not have cancelled a second sitting.
“What you may not know is that he has since said that he refuses to take part in an in-person convention and refused to sign the contract with the host hotel.”
First, I will attend the second sitting of the convention in Orlando and will participate as a delegate from New Hampshire. The rest of my family will not be coming to Orlando because our country is still in the midst of an infectious pandemic and our family has chosen to minimize the exposure of ourselves and others to air travel and large meetings.
Second, I refused to sign a contract with a $105K liquidated damages provision because it presented a great risk to the Libertarian Party. Once a contract that removed that provision, reduced the room rate by another $20 per night for our members, and lowered the required hotel rooms (though keeping a larger block available), I tried to move quickly to execute it.
The four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee then attempted to put in provisions damaging to the Libertarian Party, in breach of their fiduciary duties and over the objection of the two people who have to approve a contract of that size under the policy manual, myself and Mr. Hall. The provisions they urgently decided had to be in the contract were both ones that would cause a seven-day delay in the event of an emergency that required cancellation, because it would require approval of the whole LNC, which is not possible in a period shorter than an email vote or electronic meeting. There is no argument that these provisions put the Libertarian Party in a better position, they were designed to increase the risk of cancellation.
“He also removed Dan Hayes, chair of the Convention Oversight Committee, from that committee for not sharing Sarwark’s views on an in-person convention.”
Mr. Hayes was removed based on a number of factors, some of which were in my email announcing his removal. He has been personally abusive to colleagues and members of the Libertarian Party staff, which combined with his negotiating against the best interest of the Libertarian Party and taking weeks to finish a contract that should have been ready to sign at the first sitting showed that he is less effective in the role than Ms. Ryan, who successfully produced the Orlando convention without screaming or yelling at the rest of the members of her committee.
“But in the meantime, Sarwark added a clause to the contract that would allow him to cancel the convention unilaterally, and then instructed a staff member to sign that contract, resulting in two different contracts being sent back to the hotel.”
There was no clause added by myself or at my direction to the contract approved by our Special Counsel, approved by myself, and approved by the hotel. The contract transmitted by the Secretary had four clauses added to it the day before the contract was due by the four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee, clauses that were not ever present in any of the versions of the contract they had insisted was “ready to sign.” Going from having a vote to force someone to sign a contract with excessive risk to trying desperately to stop me from signing a much improved contract without a poison pill is tough to do in less than 24 hours, but Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Mattson, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bilyeu moved very quickly.
To clear up a legal misunderstanding, getting the $105K liquidated damages clause removed does not make cancellation free of risk or cost to the Libertarian Party. It means that the hotel would have to show what their actual damages are in the case of a cancellation. If a hurricane hits, it's better for us to be on the hook for the actual cost of cancellation, not a $105,000. Reducing the risk for the party is the fiduciary duty we all have to the party, which is why it was so confusing to me to see two other officers of this board try to increase the risk to the party by signing a contract that increased the risk to the party.
“There is now a motion from Harlos before the LNC, with six co-sponsors, to suspend Sarwark so we can go ahead with the planned convention without further roadblocks.”
Let me state clearly that the changes I made to the Convention Oversight Committee membership are to make that committee work more efficiently to make this convention a success. Mr. Rosen called me on the day the contract was executed to reiterate his commitment to having this exceed even our highest expectations, a sentiment I reciprocated in our conversation. It's no secret that I think a mass in-person gathering during a pandemic is stupid. But as long as I'm Chair, if the delegates decide to do something stupid, it's my duty to help them do the stupid thing as efficiently and with as little damage as possible.
My last point, which I will place in all capital letters just to make sure nobody misses this truth:
I DID NOT INTEND TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT WHEN NEGOTIATING IT, WHEN EXECUTING IT, OR AT ANY POINT PRIOR TO THE SECOND SITTING IN ORLANDO.
I've been exceedingly disappointed at the number of people on this LNC who have my email and phone number, who know how to ask a question, who chose and continue to choose to believe lies about my actions and intentions and can't summon the human decency to ask me directly. My disappointment with the behavior on this LNC will be channeled as a delegate, as it was in 2012.
Yours in liberty, Nick
I echo Ms. Sexton's comments and questions and ask that the chair reflect on Bylaw 6.3 when determining his answer to that question. For short reference, the first sentence states, "The Chair shall preside at all Conventions and all meetings of the National Committee." Thank you for sharing your thoughts from the last few days and weeks. I wish dialogue could have been more open from the start. Richard Longstreth Region 1 Representative (AK, AZ, CO, HI, KS, MT, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY) Libertarian National Committee richard.longstreth@lp.org 931.538.9300 Sent from my Mobile Device On Sat, Jun 6, 2020, 10:53 Victoria Paige Lee via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Mr. Sarwark, I appreciate you breaking all of this down from your perspective. However, I do have one more question that the answer might of gotten lost in the length of the message. I see where you said you would participate as a NH delegate in Orlando. Will you be chairing the Orlando portion of the convention or will Mr. Merced be doing that?
V. Paige Sexton BSN,RN Region 2 Alternate Libertarian National Committee 901-390-0578
On Jun 6, 2020, at 12:38, Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Dear All,
There are a number of false statements circulating on social media and among members of this board. While this email will be of no help to those LNC members who have said I am dishonest and acting in bad faith, it may be of some use to people who have not yet sunk that low.
Let's begin with ones from an email that an internal caucus sent to all of their members:
“I’m sure most of you know that current LNC Chair Nick Sarwark tried to kill the in-person Orlando convention during the online presidential nomination proceedings over Memorial Day weekend.”
False. I successfully presided over my third convention as Chair, working through obstruction and delay to get through the nomination of President and Vice President. When that work was over, I took the opportunity to let the body know that I would not preside over the second sitting, and that if they wanted to select a replacement, they could do so. Since that was a statement on the issue of whether to adjourn immediately or take up the election of Chair, I passed the gavel to Mr. Merced. Even had the Chair election been taken up, it would not have cancelled a second sitting.
“What you may not know is that he has since said that he refuses to take part in an in-person convention and refused to sign the contract with the host hotel.”
First, I will attend the second sitting of the convention in Orlando and will participate as a delegate from New Hampshire. The rest of my family will not be coming to Orlando because our country is still in the midst of an infectious pandemic and our family has chosen to minimize the exposure of ourselves and others to air travel and large meetings.
Second, I refused to sign a contract with a $105K liquidated damages provision because it presented a great risk to the Libertarian Party. Once a contract that removed that provision, reduced the room rate by another $20 per night for our members, and lowered the required hotel rooms (though keeping a larger block available), I tried to move quickly to execute it.
The four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee then attempted to put in provisions damaging to the Libertarian Party, in breach of their fiduciary duties and over the objection of the two people who have to approve a contract of that size under the policy manual, myself and Mr. Hall. The provisions they urgently decided had to be in the contract were both ones that would cause a seven-day delay in the event of an emergency that required cancellation, because it would require approval of the whole LNC, which is not possible in a period shorter than an email vote or electronic meeting. There is no argument that these provisions put the Libertarian Party in a better position, they were designed to increase the risk of cancellation.
“He also removed Dan Hayes, chair of the Convention Oversight Committee, from that committee for not sharing Sarwark’s views on an in-person convention.”
Mr. Hayes was removed based on a number of factors, some of which were in my email announcing his removal. He has been personally abusive to colleagues and members of the Libertarian Party staff, which combined with his negotiating against the best interest of the Libertarian Party and taking weeks to finish a contract that should have been ready to sign at the first sitting showed that he is less effective in the role than Ms. Ryan, who successfully produced the Orlando convention without screaming or yelling at the rest of the members of her committee.
“But in the meantime, Sarwark added a clause to the contract that would allow him to cancel the convention unilaterally, and then instructed a staff member to sign that contract, resulting in two different contracts being sent back to the hotel.”
There was no clause added by myself or at my direction to the contract approved by our Special Counsel, approved by myself, and approved by the hotel. The contract transmitted by the Secretary had four clauses added to it the day before the contract was due by the four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee, clauses that were not ever present in any of the versions of the contract they had insisted was “ready to sign.” Going from having a vote to force someone to sign a contract with excessive risk to trying desperately to stop me from signing a much improved contract without a poison pill is tough to do in less than 24 hours, but Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Mattson, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bilyeu moved very quickly.
To clear up a legal misunderstanding, getting the $105K liquidated damages clause removed does not make cancellation free of risk or cost to the Libertarian Party. It means that the hotel would have to show what their actual damages are in the case of a cancellation. If a hurricane hits, it's better for us to be on the hook for the actual cost of cancellation, not a $105,000. Reducing the risk for the party is the fiduciary duty we all have to the party, which is why it was so confusing to me to see two other officers of this board try to increase the risk to the party by signing a contract that increased the risk to the party.
“There is now a motion from Harlos before the LNC, with six co-sponsors, to suspend Sarwark so we can go ahead with the planned convention without further roadblocks.”
Let me state clearly that the changes I made to the Convention Oversight Committee membership are to make that committee work more efficiently to make this convention a success. Mr. Rosen called me on the day the contract was executed to reiterate his commitment to having this exceed even our highest expectations, a sentiment I reciprocated in our conversation. It's no secret that I think a mass in-person gathering during a pandemic is stupid. But as long as I'm Chair, if the delegates decide to do something stupid, it's my duty to help them do the stupid thing as efficiently and with as little damage as possible.
My last point, which I will place in all capital letters just to make sure nobody misses this truth:
I DID NOT INTEND TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT WHEN NEGOTIATING IT, WHEN EXECUTING IT, OR AT ANY POINT PRIOR TO THE SECOND SITTING IN ORLANDO.
I've been exceedingly disappointed at the number of people on this LNC who have my email and phone number, who know how to ask a question, who chose and continue to choose to believe lies about my actions and intentions and can't summon the human decency to ask me directly. My disappointment with the behavior on this LNC will be channeled as a delegate, as it was in
Yours in liberty, Nick
Dear Ms. Sexton, As I said in the first sitting of the national convention, I am not willing to serve as presiding officer of the second sitting. The amount of personal obstructionism associated with the first sitting is the primary reason, Mr. Merced will hopefully receive less of that. Yours truly, Nick On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 1:53 PM Victoria Paige Lee via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Mr. Sarwark, I appreciate you breaking all of this down from your perspective. However, I do have one more question that the answer might of gotten lost in the length of the message. I see where you said you would participate as a NH delegate in Orlando. Will you be chairing the Orlando portion of the convention or will Mr. Merced be doing that?
V. Paige Sexton BSN,RN Region 2 Alternate Libertarian National Committee 901-390-0578
On Jun 6, 2020, at 12:38, Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Dear All,
There are a number of false statements circulating on social media and among members of this board. While this email will be of no help to those LNC members who have said I am dishonest and acting in bad faith, it may be of some use to people who have not yet sunk that low.
Let's begin with ones from an email that an internal caucus sent to all of their members:
“I’m sure most of you know that current LNC Chair Nick Sarwark tried to kill the in-person Orlando convention during the online presidential nomination proceedings over Memorial Day weekend.”
False. I successfully presided over my third convention as Chair, working through obstruction and delay to get through the nomination of President and Vice President. When that work was over, I took the opportunity to let the body know that I would not preside over the second sitting, and that if they wanted to select a replacement, they could do so. Since that was a statement on the issue of whether to adjourn immediately or take up the election of Chair, I passed the gavel to Mr. Merced. Even had the Chair election been taken up, it would not have cancelled a second sitting.
“What you may not know is that he has since said that he refuses to take part in an in-person convention and refused to sign the contract with the host hotel.”
First, I will attend the second sitting of the convention in Orlando and will participate as a delegate from New Hampshire. The rest of my family will not be coming to Orlando because our country is still in the midst of an infectious pandemic and our family has chosen to minimize the exposure of ourselves and others to air travel and large meetings.
Second, I refused to sign a contract with a $105K liquidated damages provision because it presented a great risk to the Libertarian Party. Once a contract that removed that provision, reduced the room rate by another $20 per night for our members, and lowered the required hotel rooms (though keeping a larger block available), I tried to move quickly to execute it.
The four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee then attempted to put in provisions damaging to the Libertarian Party, in breach of their fiduciary duties and over the objection of the two people who have to approve a contract of that size under the policy manual, myself and Mr. Hall. The provisions they urgently decided had to be in the contract were both ones that would cause a seven-day delay in the event of an emergency that required cancellation, because it would require approval of the whole LNC, which is not possible in a period shorter than an email vote or electronic meeting. There is no argument that these provisions put the Libertarian Party in a better position, they were designed to increase the risk of cancellation.
“He also removed Dan Hayes, chair of the Convention Oversight Committee, from that committee for not sharing Sarwark’s views on an in-person convention.”
Mr. Hayes was removed based on a number of factors, some of which were in my email announcing his removal. He has been personally abusive to colleagues and members of the Libertarian Party staff, which combined with his negotiating against the best interest of the Libertarian Party and taking weeks to finish a contract that should have been ready to sign at the first sitting showed that he is less effective in the role than Ms. Ryan, who successfully produced the Orlando convention without screaming or yelling at the rest of the members of her committee.
“But in the meantime, Sarwark added a clause to the contract that would allow him to cancel the convention unilaterally, and then instructed a staff member to sign that contract, resulting in two different contracts being sent back to the hotel.”
There was no clause added by myself or at my direction to the contract approved by our Special Counsel, approved by myself, and approved by the hotel. The contract transmitted by the Secretary had four clauses added to it the day before the contract was due by the four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee, clauses that were not ever present in any of the versions of the contract they had insisted was “ready to sign.” Going from having a vote to force someone to sign a contract with excessive risk to trying desperately to stop me from signing a much improved contract without a poison pill is tough to do in less than 24 hours, but Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Mattson, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bilyeu moved very quickly.
To clear up a legal misunderstanding, getting the $105K liquidated damages clause removed does not make cancellation free of risk or cost to the Libertarian Party. It means that the hotel would have to show what their actual damages are in the case of a cancellation. If a hurricane hits, it's better for us to be on the hook for the actual cost of cancellation, not a $105,000. Reducing the risk for the party is the fiduciary duty we all have to the party, which is why it was so confusing to me to see two other officers of this board try to increase the risk to the party by signing a contract that increased the risk to the party.
“There is now a motion from Harlos before the LNC, with six co-sponsors, to suspend Sarwark so we can go ahead with the planned convention without further roadblocks.”
Let me state clearly that the changes I made to the Convention Oversight Committee membership are to make that committee work more efficiently to make this convention a success. Mr. Rosen called me on the day the contract was executed to reiterate his commitment to having this exceed even our highest expectations, a sentiment I reciprocated in our conversation. It's no secret that I think a mass in-person gathering during a pandemic is stupid. But as long as I'm Chair, if the delegates decide to do something stupid, it's my duty to help them do the stupid thing as efficiently and with as little damage as possible.
My last point, which I will place in all capital letters just to make sure nobody misses this truth:
I DID NOT INTEND TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT WHEN NEGOTIATING IT, WHEN EXECUTING IT, OR AT ANY POINT PRIOR TO THE SECOND SITTING IN ORLANDO.
I've been exceedingly disappointed at the number of people on this LNC who have my email and phone number, who know how to ask a question, who chose and continue to choose to believe lies about my actions and intentions and can't summon the human decency to ask me directly. My disappointment with the behavior on this LNC will be channeled as a delegate, as it was in
Yours in liberty, Nick
I have nothing to add to that except once again to point out the continued use of threats. And threatening from the dias is a gross abuse of power. To me it is clear why there is a refusal to chair and it is to have the freedom to make good on those threats. I don’t share the opinion that are delegates are stupid and believe they will see such politically motivated action for what they are. We need a whistleblower policy in this party badly On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 2:36 PM john.phillips--- via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Fair enough.
Some of us have been pretty disappointed in your lies as well. Some direct, and some by implication. Implication that as I have pointed out before you are far too versed in language usage to not be aware of.
As for that email from a caucus, it is both an example of the crap I have called out before from them, AND an example of what happens when our chair decides to not share his reasoning and information with the board.
As for your assertions that questions could be asked directly, do I need to point out the many times they were on this list? By a variety of people. Just recently in fact to get you to directly answer one of those Mr Bishop-Henchman had to pin you down on it on front of the delegates on a matter that affected wide swaths of membership. Additionally given your often vague answers, denials, prevaricating, and what I perceive to be outright falsehoods when you do bother to answer, your indignation at people not asking is unwarranted at best, and honestly as gaslighting as many of your other statements recently. Why would someone directly ask when they have been shown time and time again they cannot expect a straight and honest answer.
Your public statement regarding Mr Hayes removal did not reference things you mention in this email. It did contain vague statements that along with your other lack of participation, information sharing, and statements you made elsewhere left conclusions to be drawn. I make no statement on the accuracy of those conclusions drawn by others at this time. I will however point out the absolute ridiculousness of expecting people to act on information they were not given. Even moreso when statements are given by people who, while they have their own flaws dishonesty has not been among them, contraindicate your assertions. As well as, going back to the previous statement about asking questions, one has to have some information about concerns to ask questions about them. Even if we look aside from that, how would previous ignoring of similar concerns by you lead anyone to believe that suddenly action would be taken? Not just ignoring, but engaging in similar tactics yourself?
Additionally given your own actions the hypocrisy of your diatribe is astounding.
Your own attempt to hold the convention hostage for example, a failure that led to Mr Hayes being able to ram through his motion. Every bit as bullying as his actions at that event that people are complaining about. Arguably moreso. Your continued use of the 105k number in misleading fashions. Your denial of things that you said directly to me, not even implication. Your excuses regarding your statements about the ASC. Your refusal to fulfil the role you were elected to.
Lastly, your implication in this thread that our delegates are stupid is not well taken from an elected officer of this party.
All this from me who, again, agrees with you for the most part on much of the direction the party should go, and I would argue would have been more likely to do so without all these games played from all sides.
John Phillips Libertarian National Committee Region 6 Representative Cell 217-412-5973
On Jun 6, 2020 12:53 PM, Victoria Paige Lee via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Mr. Sarwark, I appreciate you breaking all of this down from your perspective. However, I do have one more question that the answer might of gotten lost in the length of the message. I see where you said you would participate as a NH delegate in Orlando. Will you be chairing the Orlando portion of the convention or will Mr. Merced be doing that?
V. Paige Sexton BSN,RN Region 2 Alternate Libertarian National Committee 901-390-0578
On Jun 6, 2020, at 12:38, Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Dear All,
There are a number of false statements circulating on social media and among members of this board. While this email will be of no help to those LNC members who have said I am dishonest and acting in bad faith, it may be of some use to people who have not yet sunk that low.
Let's begin with ones from an email that an internal caucus sent to all of their members:
“I’m sure most of you know that current LNC Chair Nick Sarwark tried to kill the in-person Orlando convention during the online presidential nomination proceedings over Memorial Day weekend.”
False. I successfully presided over my third convention as Chair, working through obstruction and delay to get through the nomination of President and Vice President. When that work was over, I took the opportunity to let the body know that I would not preside over the second sitting, and that if they wanted to select a replacement, they could do so. Since that was a statement on the issue of whether to adjourn immediately or take up the election of Chair, I passed the gavel to Mr. Merced. Even had the Chair election been taken up, it would not have cancelled a second sitting.
“What you may not know is that he has since said that he refuses to take part in an in-person convention and refused to sign the contract with the host hotel.”
First, I will attend the second sitting of the convention in Orlando and will participate as a delegate from New Hampshire. The rest of my family will not be coming to Orlando because our country is still in the midst of an infectious pandemic and our family has chosen to minimize the exposure of ourselves and others to air travel and large meetings.
Second, I refused to sign a contract with a $105K liquidated damages provision because it presented a great risk to the Libertarian Party. Once a contract that removed that provision, reduced the room rate by another $20 per night for our members, and lowered the required hotel rooms (though keeping a larger block available), I tried to move quickly to execute it.
The four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee then attempted to put in provisions damaging to the Libertarian Party, in breach of their fiduciary duties and over the objection of the two people who have to approve a contract of that size under the policy manual, myself and Mr. Hall. The provisions they urgently decided had to be in the contract were both ones that would cause a seven-day delay in the event of an emergency that required cancellation, because it would require approval of the whole LNC, which is not possible in a period shorter than an email vote or electronic meeting. There is no argument that these provisions put the Libertarian Party in a better position, they were designed to increase the risk of cancellation.
“He also removed Dan Hayes, chair of the Convention Oversight Committee, from that committee for not sharing Sarwark’s views on an in-person convention.”
Mr. Hayes was removed based on a number of factors, some of which were in my email announcing his removal. He has been personally abusive to colleagues and members of the Libertarian Party staff, which combined with his negotiating against the best interest of the Libertarian Party and taking weeks to finish a contract that should have been ready to sign at the first sitting showed that he is less effective in the role than Ms. Ryan, who successfully produced the Orlando convention without screaming or yelling at the rest of the members of her committee.
“But in the meantime, Sarwark added a clause to the contract that would allow him to cancel the convention unilaterally, and then instructed a staff member to sign that contract, resulting in two different contracts being sent back to the hotel.”
There was no clause added by myself or at my direction to the contract approved by our Special Counsel, approved by myself, and approved by the hotel. The contract transmitted by the Secretary had four clauses added to it the day before the contract was due by the four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee, clauses that were not ever present in any of the versions of the contract they had insisted was “ready to sign.” Going from having a vote to force someone to sign a contract with excessive risk to trying desperately to stop me from signing a much improved contract without a poison pill is tough to do in less than 24 hours, but Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Mattson, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bilyeu moved very quickly.
To clear up a legal misunderstanding, getting the $105K liquidated damages clause removed does not make cancellation free of risk or cost to the Libertarian Party. It means that the hotel would have to show what their actual damages are in the case of a cancellation. If a hurricane hits, it's better for us to be on the hook for the actual cost of cancellation, not a $105,000. Reducing the risk for the party is the fiduciary duty we all have to the party, which is why it was so confusing to me to see two other officers of this board try to increase the risk to the party by signing a contract that increased the risk to the party.
“There is now a motion from Harlos before the LNC, with six co-sponsors, to suspend Sarwark so we can go ahead with the planned convention without further roadblocks.”
Let me state clearly that the changes I made to the Convention Oversight Committee membership are to make that committee work more efficiently to make this convention a success. Mr. Rosen called me on the day the contract was executed to reiterate his commitment to having this exceed even our highest expectations, a sentiment I reciprocated in our conversation. It's no secret that I think a mass in-person gathering during a pandemic is stupid. But as long as I'm Chair, if the delegates decide to do something stupid, it's my duty to help them do the stupid thing as efficiently and with as little damage as possible.
My last point, which I will place in all capital letters just to make sure nobody misses this truth:
I DID NOT INTEND TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT WHEN NEGOTIATING IT, WHEN EXECUTING IT, OR AT ANY POINT PRIOR TO THE SECOND SITTING IN ORLANDO.
I've been exceedingly disappointed at the number of people on this LNC who have my email and phone number, who know how to ask a question, who chose and continue to choose to believe lies about my actions and intentions and can't summon the human decency to ask me directly. My disappointment with the behavior on this LNC will be channeled as a delegate, as it was in
Yours in liberty, Nick
--
*In Liberty,* * Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
Your complaints are against a caucus email which was not authored by anyone on the LNC. I wrote to all the people who wrote us offering to speak on the phone primarily to clear up the fact pattern. Your rewriting of the history of the contract is duly noted. You initially refused to sign any contract (and still haven’t). Your justification on the liquidated damages clause is a late added justification. You could have added all that in earlier meetings of the CoC but chose not to and then blamed other people for your refusal. At one CoC meeting discussing the contract you stayed silent and then left abruptly. Your threats above are also very inappropriate when speaking as the chair, a habit you keep engaging in. If you want that freedom, you should resign. Until then you need to maintain the impartiality required of a presiding officer and stop threatening people. On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 11:39 AM Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Dear All,
There are a number of false statements circulating on social media and among members of this board. While this email will be of no help to those LNC members who have said I am dishonest and acting in bad faith, it may be of some use to people who have not yet sunk that low.
Let's begin with ones from an email that an internal caucus sent to all of their members:
“I’m sure most of you know that current LNC Chair Nick Sarwark tried to kill the in-person Orlando convention during the online presidential nomination proceedings over Memorial Day weekend.”
False. I successfully presided over my third convention as Chair, working through obstruction and delay to get through the nomination of President and Vice President. When that work was over, I took the opportunity to let the body know that I would not preside over the second sitting, and that if they wanted to select a replacement, they could do so. Since that was a statement on the issue of whether to adjourn immediately or take up the election of Chair, I passed the gavel to Mr. Merced. Even had the Chair election been taken up, it would not have cancelled a second sitting.
“What you may not know is that he has since said that he refuses to take part in an in-person convention and refused to sign the contract with the host hotel.”
First, I will attend the second sitting of the convention in Orlando and will participate as a delegate from New Hampshire. The rest of my family will not be coming to Orlando because our country is still in the midst of an infectious pandemic and our family has chosen to minimize the exposure of ourselves and others to air travel and large meetings.
Second, I refused to sign a contract with a $105K liquidated damages provision because it presented a great risk to the Libertarian Party. Once a contract that removed that provision, reduced the room rate by another $20 per night for our members, and lowered the required hotel rooms (though keeping a larger block available), I tried to move quickly to execute it.
The four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee then attempted to put in provisions damaging to the Libertarian Party, in breach of their fiduciary duties and over the objection of the two people who have to approve a contract of that size under the policy manual, myself and Mr. Hall. The provisions they urgently decided had to be in the contract were both ones that would cause a seven-day delay in the event of an emergency that required cancellation, because it would require approval of the whole LNC, which is not possible in a period shorter than an email vote or electronic meeting. There is no argument that these provisions put the Libertarian Party in a better position, they were designed to increase the risk of cancellation.
“He also removed Dan Hayes, chair of the Convention Oversight Committee, from that committee for not sharing Sarwark’s views on an in-person convention.”
Mr. Hayes was removed based on a number of factors, some of which were in my email announcing his removal. He has been personally abusive to colleagues and members of the Libertarian Party staff, which combined with his negotiating against the best interest of the Libertarian Party and taking weeks to finish a contract that should have been ready to sign at the first sitting showed that he is less effective in the role than Ms. Ryan, who successfully produced the Orlando convention without screaming or yelling at the rest of the members of her committee.
“But in the meantime, Sarwark added a clause to the contract that would allow him to cancel the convention unilaterally, and then instructed a staff member to sign that contract, resulting in two different contracts being sent back to the hotel.”
There was no clause added by myself or at my direction to the contract approved by our Special Counsel, approved by myself, and approved by the hotel. The contract transmitted by the Secretary had four clauses added to it the day before the contract was due by the four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee, clauses that were not ever present in any of the versions of the contract they had insisted was “ready to sign.” Going from having a vote to force someone to sign a contract with excessive risk to trying desperately to stop me from signing a much improved contract without a poison pill is tough to do in less than 24 hours, but Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Mattson, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bilyeu moved very quickly.
To clear up a legal misunderstanding, getting the $105K liquidated damages clause removed does not make cancellation free of risk or cost to the Libertarian Party. It means that the hotel would have to show what their actual damages are in the case of a cancellation. If a hurricane hits, it's better for us to be on the hook for the actual cost of cancellation, not a $105,000. Reducing the risk for the party is the fiduciary duty we all have to the party, which is why it was so confusing to me to see two other officers of this board try to increase the risk to the party by signing a contract that increased the risk to the party.
“There is now a motion from Harlos before the LNC, with six co-sponsors, to suspend Sarwark so we can go ahead with the planned convention without further roadblocks.”
Let me state clearly that the changes I made to the Convention Oversight Committee membership are to make that committee work more efficiently to make this convention a success. Mr. Rosen called me on the day the contract was executed to reiterate his commitment to having this exceed even our highest expectations, a sentiment I reciprocated in our conversation. It's no secret that I think a mass in-person gathering during a pandemic is stupid. But as long as I'm Chair, if the delegates decide to do something stupid, it's my duty to help them do the stupid thing as efficiently and with as little damage as possible.
My last point, which I will place in all capital letters just to make sure nobody misses this truth:
I DID NOT INTEND TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT WHEN NEGOTIATING IT, WHEN EXECUTING IT, OR AT ANY POINT PRIOR TO THE SECOND SITTING IN ORLANDO.
I've been exceedingly disappointed at the number of people on this LNC who have my email and phone number, who know how to ask a question, who chose and continue to choose to believe lies about my actions and intentions and can't summon the human decency to ask me directly. My disappointment with the behavior on this LNC will be channeled as a delegate, as it was in 2012.
Yours in liberty, Nick
-- *In Liberty,* * Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
And if it is your duty to help the delegates with their “stupidity” (your words) - are you now agreeing you should chair the convention as required by Bylaw 6.3? On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 12:07 PM Caryn Ann Harlos <caryn.ann.harlos@lp.org> wrote:
Your complaints are against a caucus email which was not authored by anyone on the LNC. I wrote to all the people who wrote us offering to speak on the phone primarily to clear up the fact pattern.
Your rewriting of the history of the contract is duly noted. You initially refused to sign any contract (and still haven’t). Your justification on the liquidated damages clause is a late added justification. You could have added all that in earlier meetings of the CoC but chose not to and then blamed other people for your refusal. At one CoC meeting discussing the contract you stayed silent and then left abruptly.
Your threats above are also very inappropriate when speaking as the chair, a habit you keep engaging in.
If you want that freedom, you should resign. Until then you need to maintain the impartiality required of a presiding officer and stop threatening people.
On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 11:39 AM Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Dear All,
There are a number of false statements circulating on social media and among members of this board. While this email will be of no help to those LNC members who have said I am dishonest and acting in bad faith, it may be of some use to people who have not yet sunk that low.
Let's begin with ones from an email that an internal caucus sent to all of their members:
“I’m sure most of you know that current LNC Chair Nick Sarwark tried to kill the in-person Orlando convention during the online presidential nomination proceedings over Memorial Day weekend.”
False. I successfully presided over my third convention as Chair, working through obstruction and delay to get through the nomination of President and Vice President. When that work was over, I took the opportunity to let the body know that I would not preside over the second sitting, and that if they wanted to select a replacement, they could do so. Since that was a statement on the issue of whether to adjourn immediately or take up the election of Chair, I passed the gavel to Mr. Merced. Even had the Chair election been taken up, it would not have cancelled a second sitting.
“What you may not know is that he has since said that he refuses to take part in an in-person convention and refused to sign the contract with the host hotel.”
First, I will attend the second sitting of the convention in Orlando and will participate as a delegate from New Hampshire. The rest of my family will not be coming to Orlando because our country is still in the midst of an infectious pandemic and our family has chosen to minimize the exposure of ourselves and others to air travel and large meetings.
Second, I refused to sign a contract with a $105K liquidated damages provision because it presented a great risk to the Libertarian Party. Once a contract that removed that provision, reduced the room rate by another $20 per night for our members, and lowered the required hotel rooms (though keeping a larger block available), I tried to move quickly to execute it.
The four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee then attempted to put in provisions damaging to the Libertarian Party, in breach of their fiduciary duties and over the objection of the two people who have to approve a contract of that size under the policy manual, myself and Mr. Hall. The provisions they urgently decided had to be in the contract were both ones that would cause a seven-day delay in the event of an emergency that required cancellation, because it would require approval of the whole LNC, which is not possible in a period shorter than an email vote or electronic meeting. There is no argument that these provisions put the Libertarian Party in a better position, they were designed to increase the risk of cancellation.
“He also removed Dan Hayes, chair of the Convention Oversight Committee, from that committee for not sharing Sarwark’s views on an in-person convention.”
Mr. Hayes was removed based on a number of factors, some of which were in my email announcing his removal. He has been personally abusive to colleagues and members of the Libertarian Party staff, which combined with his negotiating against the best interest of the Libertarian Party and taking weeks to finish a contract that should have been ready to sign at the first sitting showed that he is less effective in the role than Ms. Ryan, who successfully produced the Orlando convention without screaming or yelling at the rest of the members of her committee.
“But in the meantime, Sarwark added a clause to the contract that would allow him to cancel the convention unilaterally, and then instructed a staff member to sign that contract, resulting in two different contracts being sent back to the hotel.”
There was no clause added by myself or at my direction to the contract approved by our Special Counsel, approved by myself, and approved by the hotel. The contract transmitted by the Secretary had four clauses added to it the day before the contract was due by the four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee, clauses that were not ever present in any of the versions of the contract they had insisted was “ready to sign.” Going from having a vote to force someone to sign a contract with excessive risk to trying desperately to stop me from signing a much improved contract without a poison pill is tough to do in less than 24 hours, but Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Mattson, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bilyeu moved very quickly.
To clear up a legal misunderstanding, getting the $105K liquidated damages clause removed does not make cancellation free of risk or cost to the Libertarian Party. It means that the hotel would have to show what their actual damages are in the case of a cancellation. If a hurricane hits, it's better for us to be on the hook for the actual cost of cancellation, not a $105,000. Reducing the risk for the party is the fiduciary duty we all have to the party, which is why it was so confusing to me to see two other officers of this board try to increase the risk to the party by signing a contract that increased the risk to the party.
“There is now a motion from Harlos before the LNC, with six co-sponsors, to suspend Sarwark so we can go ahead with the planned convention without further roadblocks.”
Let me state clearly that the changes I made to the Convention Oversight Committee membership are to make that committee work more efficiently to make this convention a success. Mr. Rosen called me on the day the contract was executed to reiterate his commitment to having this exceed even our highest expectations, a sentiment I reciprocated in our conversation. It's no secret that I think a mass in-person gathering during a pandemic is stupid. But as long as I'm Chair, if the delegates decide to do something stupid, it's my duty to help them do the stupid thing as efficiently and with as little damage as possible.
My last point, which I will place in all capital letters just to make sure nobody misses this truth:
I DID NOT INTEND TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT WHEN NEGOTIATING IT, WHEN EXECUTING IT, OR AT ANY POINT PRIOR TO THE SECOND SITTING IN ORLANDO.
I've been exceedingly disappointed at the number of people on this LNC who have my email and phone number, who know how to ask a question, who chose and continue to choose to believe lies about my actions and intentions and can't summon the human decency to ask me directly. My disappointment with the behavior on this LNC will be channeled as a delegate, as it was in 2012.
Yours in liberty, Nick
--
*In Liberty,*
* Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
--
*In Liberty,* * Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
And the items about the liquidated damages clause is pure spin. You signed much greater liquidated damages clauses in past contracts and we were already protected against force majeure. It is highly highly unusual to get that removed and that was only because the hotel really wanted us there. *In Liberty,* * Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. * On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 12:10 PM Caryn Ann Harlos <caryn.ann.harlos@lp.org> wrote:
And if it is your duty to help the delegates with their “stupidity” (your words) - are you now agreeing you should chair the convention as required by Bylaw 6.3?
On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 12:07 PM Caryn Ann Harlos <caryn.ann.harlos@lp.org> wrote:
Your complaints are against a caucus email which was not authored by anyone on the LNC. I wrote to all the people who wrote us offering to speak on the phone primarily to clear up the fact pattern.
Your rewriting of the history of the contract is duly noted. You initially refused to sign any contract (and still haven’t). Your justification on the liquidated damages clause is a late added justification. You could have added all that in earlier meetings of the CoC but chose not to and then blamed other people for your refusal. At one CoC meeting discussing the contract you stayed silent and then left abruptly.
Your threats above are also very inappropriate when speaking as the chair, a habit you keep engaging in.
If you want that freedom, you should resign. Until then you need to maintain the impartiality required of a presiding officer and stop threatening people.
On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 11:39 AM Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Dear All,
There are a number of false statements circulating on social media and among members of this board. While this email will be of no help to those LNC members who have said I am dishonest and acting in bad faith, it may be of some use to people who have not yet sunk that low.
Let's begin with ones from an email that an internal caucus sent to all of their members:
“I’m sure most of you know that current LNC Chair Nick Sarwark tried to kill the in-person Orlando convention during the online presidential nomination proceedings over Memorial Day weekend.”
False. I successfully presided over my third convention as Chair, working through obstruction and delay to get through the nomination of President and Vice President. When that work was over, I took the opportunity to let the body know that I would not preside over the second sitting, and that if they wanted to select a replacement, they could do so. Since that was a statement on the issue of whether to adjourn immediately or take up the election of Chair, I passed the gavel to Mr. Merced. Even had the Chair election been taken up, it would not have cancelled a second sitting.
“What you may not know is that he has since said that he refuses to take part in an in-person convention and refused to sign the contract with the host hotel.”
First, I will attend the second sitting of the convention in Orlando and will participate as a delegate from New Hampshire. The rest of my family will not be coming to Orlando because our country is still in the midst of an infectious pandemic and our family has chosen to minimize the exposure of ourselves and others to air travel and large meetings.
Second, I refused to sign a contract with a $105K liquidated damages provision because it presented a great risk to the Libertarian Party. Once a contract that removed that provision, reduced the room rate by another $20 per night for our members, and lowered the required hotel rooms (though keeping a larger block available), I tried to move quickly to execute it.
The four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee then attempted to put in provisions damaging to the Libertarian Party, in breach of their fiduciary duties and over the objection of the two people who have to approve a contract of that size under the policy manual, myself and Mr. Hall. The provisions they urgently decided had to be in the contract were both ones that would cause a seven-day delay in the event of an emergency that required cancellation, because it would require approval of the whole LNC, which is not possible in a period shorter than an email vote or electronic meeting. There is no argument that these provisions put the Libertarian Party in a better position, they were designed to increase the risk of cancellation.
“He also removed Dan Hayes, chair of the Convention Oversight Committee, from that committee for not sharing Sarwark’s views on an in-person convention.”
Mr. Hayes was removed based on a number of factors, some of which were in my email announcing his removal. He has been personally abusive to colleagues and members of the Libertarian Party staff, which combined with his negotiating against the best interest of the Libertarian Party and taking weeks to finish a contract that should have been ready to sign at the first sitting showed that he is less effective in the role than Ms. Ryan, who successfully produced the Orlando convention without screaming or yelling at the rest of the members of her committee.
“But in the meantime, Sarwark added a clause to the contract that would allow him to cancel the convention unilaterally, and then instructed a staff member to sign that contract, resulting in two different contracts being sent back to the hotel.”
There was no clause added by myself or at my direction to the contract approved by our Special Counsel, approved by myself, and approved by the hotel. The contract transmitted by the Secretary had four clauses added to it the day before the contract was due by the four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee, clauses that were not ever present in any of the versions of the contract they had insisted was “ready to sign.” Going from having a vote to force someone to sign a contract with excessive risk to trying desperately to stop me from signing a much improved contract without a poison pill is tough to do in less than 24 hours, but Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Mattson, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bilyeu moved very quickly.
To clear up a legal misunderstanding, getting the $105K liquidated damages clause removed does not make cancellation free of risk or cost to the Libertarian Party. It means that the hotel would have to show what their actual damages are in the case of a cancellation. If a hurricane hits, it's better for us to be on the hook for the actual cost of cancellation, not a $105,000. Reducing the risk for the party is the fiduciary duty we all have to the party, which is why it was so confusing to me to see two other officers of this board try to increase the risk to the party by signing a contract that increased the risk to the party.
“There is now a motion from Harlos before the LNC, with six co-sponsors, to suspend Sarwark so we can go ahead with the planned convention without further roadblocks.”
Let me state clearly that the changes I made to the Convention Oversight Committee membership are to make that committee work more efficiently to make this convention a success. Mr. Rosen called me on the day the contract was executed to reiterate his commitment to having this exceed even our highest expectations, a sentiment I reciprocated in our conversation. It's no secret that I think a mass in-person gathering during a pandemic is stupid. But as long as I'm Chair, if the delegates decide to do something stupid, it's my duty to help them do the stupid thing as efficiently and with as little damage as possible.
My last point, which I will place in all capital letters just to make sure nobody misses this truth:
I DID NOT INTEND TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT WHEN NEGOTIATING IT, WHEN EXECUTING IT, OR AT ANY POINT PRIOR TO THE SECOND SITTING IN ORLANDO.
I've been exceedingly disappointed at the number of people on this LNC who have my email and phone number, who know how to ask a question, who chose and continue to choose to believe lies about my actions and intentions and can't summon the human decency to ask me directly. My disappointment with the behavior on this LNC will be channeled as a delegate, as it was in 2012.
Yours in liberty, Nick
--
*In Liberty,*
* Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
--
*In Liberty,*
* Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
Mr. Nekhaila, you raise excellent points about failures in the process of how big decisions have been handled. This has come up multiple times in the past, and then it came home to roost. *In Liberty,* * Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. * On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 12:19 PM Caryn Ann Harlos <caryn.ann.harlos@lp.org> wrote:
And the items about the liquidated damages clause is pure spin. You signed much greater liquidated damages clauses in past contracts and we were already protected against force majeure. It is highly highly unusual to get that removed and that was only because the hotel really wanted us there.
*In Liberty,*
* Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 12:10 PM Caryn Ann Harlos <caryn.ann.harlos@lp.org> wrote:
And if it is your duty to help the delegates with their “stupidity” (your words) - are you now agreeing you should chair the convention as required by Bylaw 6.3?
On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 12:07 PM Caryn Ann Harlos <caryn.ann.harlos@lp.org> wrote:
Your complaints are against a caucus email which was not authored by anyone on the LNC. I wrote to all the people who wrote us offering to speak on the phone primarily to clear up the fact pattern.
Your rewriting of the history of the contract is duly noted. You initially refused to sign any contract (and still haven’t). Your justification on the liquidated damages clause is a late added justification. You could have added all that in earlier meetings of the CoC but chose not to and then blamed other people for your refusal. At one CoC meeting discussing the contract you stayed silent and then left abruptly.
Your threats above are also very inappropriate when speaking as the chair, a habit you keep engaging in.
If you want that freedom, you should resign. Until then you need to maintain the impartiality required of a presiding officer and stop threatening people.
On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 11:39 AM Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business < lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote:
Dear All,
There are a number of false statements circulating on social media and among members of this board. While this email will be of no help to those LNC members who have said I am dishonest and acting in bad faith, it may be of some use to people who have not yet sunk that low.
Let's begin with ones from an email that an internal caucus sent to all of their members:
“I’m sure most of you know that current LNC Chair Nick Sarwark tried to kill the in-person Orlando convention during the online presidential nomination proceedings over Memorial Day weekend.”
False. I successfully presided over my third convention as Chair, working through obstruction and delay to get through the nomination of President and Vice President. When that work was over, I took the opportunity to let the body know that I would not preside over the second sitting, and that if they wanted to select a replacement, they could do so. Since that was a statement on the issue of whether to adjourn immediately or take up the election of Chair, I passed the gavel to Mr. Merced. Even had the Chair election been taken up, it would not have cancelled a second sitting.
“What you may not know is that he has since said that he refuses to take part in an in-person convention and refused to sign the contract with the host hotel.”
First, I will attend the second sitting of the convention in Orlando and will participate as a delegate from New Hampshire. The rest of my family will not be coming to Orlando because our country is still in the midst of an infectious pandemic and our family has chosen to minimize the exposure of ourselves and others to air travel and large meetings.
Second, I refused to sign a contract with a $105K liquidated damages provision because it presented a great risk to the Libertarian Party. Once a contract that removed that provision, reduced the room rate by another $20 per night for our members, and lowered the required hotel rooms (though keeping a larger block available), I tried to move quickly to execute it.
The four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee then attempted to put in provisions damaging to the Libertarian Party, in breach of their fiduciary duties and over the objection of the two people who have to approve a contract of that size under the policy manual, myself and Mr. Hall. The provisions they urgently decided had to be in the contract were both ones that would cause a seven-day delay in the event of an emergency that required cancellation, because it would require approval of the whole LNC, which is not possible in a period shorter than an email vote or electronic meeting. There is no argument that these provisions put the Libertarian Party in a better position, they were designed to increase the risk of cancellation.
“He also removed Dan Hayes, chair of the Convention Oversight Committee, from that committee for not sharing Sarwark’s views on an in-person convention.”
Mr. Hayes was removed based on a number of factors, some of which were in my email announcing his removal. He has been personally abusive to colleagues and members of the Libertarian Party staff, which combined with his negotiating against the best interest of the Libertarian Party and taking weeks to finish a contract that should have been ready to sign at the first sitting showed that he is less effective in the role than Ms. Ryan, who successfully produced the Orlando convention without screaming or yelling at the rest of the members of her committee.
“But in the meantime, Sarwark added a clause to the contract that would allow him to cancel the convention unilaterally, and then instructed a staff member to sign that contract, resulting in two different contracts being sent back to the hotel.”
There was no clause added by myself or at my direction to the contract approved by our Special Counsel, approved by myself, and approved by the hotel. The contract transmitted by the Secretary had four clauses added to it the day before the contract was due by the four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee, clauses that were not ever present in any of the versions of the contract they had insisted was “ready to sign.” Going from having a vote to force someone to sign a contract with excessive risk to trying desperately to stop me from signing a much improved contract without a poison pill is tough to do in less than 24 hours, but Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Mattson, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bilyeu moved very quickly.
To clear up a legal misunderstanding, getting the $105K liquidated damages clause removed does not make cancellation free of risk or cost to the Libertarian Party. It means that the hotel would have to show what their actual damages are in the case of a cancellation. If a hurricane hits, it's better for us to be on the hook for the actual cost of cancellation, not a $105,000. Reducing the risk for the party is the fiduciary duty we all have to the party, which is why it was so confusing to me to see two other officers of this board try to increase the risk to the party by signing a contract that increased the risk to the party.
“There is now a motion from Harlos before the LNC, with six co-sponsors, to suspend Sarwark so we can go ahead with the planned convention without further roadblocks.”
Let me state clearly that the changes I made to the Convention Oversight Committee membership are to make that committee work more efficiently to make this convention a success. Mr. Rosen called me on the day the contract was executed to reiterate his commitment to having this exceed even our highest expectations, a sentiment I reciprocated in our conversation. It's no secret that I think a mass in-person gathering during a pandemic is stupid. But as long as I'm Chair, if the delegates decide to do something stupid, it's my duty to help them do the stupid thing as efficiently and with as little damage as possible.
My last point, which I will place in all capital letters just to make sure nobody misses this truth:
I DID NOT INTEND TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT WHEN NEGOTIATING IT, WHEN EXECUTING IT, OR AT ANY POINT PRIOR TO THE SECOND SITTING IN ORLANDO.
I've been exceedingly disappointed at the number of people on this LNC who have my email and phone number, who know how to ask a question, who chose and continue to choose to believe lies about my actions and intentions and can't summon the human decency to ask me directly. My disappointment with the behavior on this LNC will be channeled as a delegate, as it was in 2012.
Yours in liberty, Nick
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*In Liberty,*
* Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
--
*In Liberty,*
* Personal Note: I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome (part of the autism spectrum). This can affect inter-personal communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas. If anyone found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
Nick, thank you for echoing your explanation that we had on the phone. Communication like this, should happen before and after big decisions or it creates room for assumptions. I am not satisfied with the level of LNC participation in big decisions nor the level of top down communication, but that is too late now. In my line of work, deliberation of key decisions are an important element of alignment and cohesion. I do hope we, and the body, can focus on the next thirty days, which will go by quickly, to put the Party first and execute a 5-Star convention for our 950+ delegates, candidates, Libertarian Party members, and potential constituents as we move through these historical times together. I do hope that the convention contract will be executed in good faith by all sides, which I know it will. What we all need to remember is that thirty days will pass by in a blink of an eye. We must remember why we are here, and focus on our roots, which is to become the centrifugal force of liberty in the United States. Soon a new LNC will be born out of convention, and our work will be cut out for us. Until then, let’s put down our swords and walk off the battlefield. That is the only way we are going to have a frictionless four weeks until Orlando. We still have major areas of opportunity to navigate such as fundraising and candidate support that need our utmost attention. Sincerely, Steven NekhailaRegion 2 Representative On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 1:38 PM -0400, "Nicholas Sarwark via Lnc-business" <lnc-business@hq.lp.org> wrote: Dear All, There are a number of false statements circulating on social media and among members of this board. While this email will be of no help to those LNC members who have said I am dishonest and acting in bad faith, it may be of some use to people who have not yet sunk that low. Let's begin with ones from an email that an internal caucus sent to all of their members: “I’m sure most of you know that current LNC Chair Nick Sarwark tried to kill the in-person Orlando convention during the online presidential nomination proceedings over Memorial Day weekend.” False. I successfully presided over my third convention as Chair, working through obstruction and delay to get through the nomination of President and Vice President. When that work was over, I took the opportunity to let the body know that I would not preside over the second sitting, and that if they wanted to select a replacement, they could do so. Since that was a statement on the issue of whether to adjourn immediately or take up the election of Chair, I passed the gavel to Mr. Merced. Even had the Chair election been taken up, it would not have cancelled a second sitting. “What you may not know is that he has since said that he refuses to take part in an in-person convention and refused to sign the contract with the host hotel.” First, I will attend the second sitting of the convention in Orlando and will participate as a delegate from New Hampshire. The rest of my family will not be coming to Orlando because our country is still in the midst of an infectious pandemic and our family has chosen to minimize the exposure of ourselves and others to air travel and large meetings. Second, I refused to sign a contract with a $105K liquidated damages provision because it presented a great risk to the Libertarian Party. Once a contract that removed that provision, reduced the room rate by another $20 per night for our members, and lowered the required hotel rooms (though keeping a larger block available), I tried to move quickly to execute it. The four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee then attempted to put in provisions damaging to the Libertarian Party, in breach of their fiduciary duties and over the objection of the two people who have to approve a contract of that size under the policy manual, myself and Mr. Hall. The provisions they urgently decided had to be in the contract were both ones that would cause a seven-day delay in the event of an emergency that required cancellation, because it would require approval of the whole LNC, which is not possible in a period shorter than an email vote or electronic meeting. There is no argument that these provisions put the Libertarian Party in a better position, they were designed to increase the risk of cancellation. “He also removed Dan Hayes, chair of the Convention Oversight Committee, from that committee for not sharing Sarwark’s views on an in-person convention.” Mr. Hayes was removed based on a number of factors, some of which were in my email announcing his removal. He has been personally abusive to colleagues and members of the Libertarian Party staff, which combined with his negotiating against the best interest of the Libertarian Party and taking weeks to finish a contract that should have been ready to sign at the first sitting showed that he is less effective in the role than Ms. Ryan, who successfully produced the Orlando convention without screaming or yelling at the rest of the members of her committee. “But in the meantime, Sarwark added a clause to the contract that would allow him to cancel the convention unilaterally, and then instructed a staff member to sign that contract, resulting in two different contracts being sent back to the hotel.” There was no clause added by myself or at my direction to the contract approved by our Special Counsel, approved by myself, and approved by the hotel. The contract transmitted by the Secretary had four clauses added to it the day before the contract was due by the four LNC members of the Convention Oversight Committee, clauses that were not ever present in any of the versions of the contract they had insisted was “ready to sign.” Going from having a vote to force someone to sign a contract with excessive risk to trying desperately to stop me from signing a much improved contract without a poison pill is tough to do in less than 24 hours, but Mr. Goldstein, Ms. Mattson, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bilyeu moved very quickly. To clear up a legal misunderstanding, getting the $105K liquidated damages clause removed does not make cancellation free of risk or cost to the Libertarian Party. It means that the hotel would have to show what their actual damages are in the case of a cancellation. If a hurricane hits, it's better for us to be on the hook for the actual cost of cancellation, not a $105,000. Reducing the risk for the party is the fiduciary duty we all have to the party, which is why it was so confusing to me to see two other officers of this board try to increase the risk to the party by signing a contract that increased the risk to the party. “There is now a motion from Harlos before the LNC, with six co-sponsors, to suspend Sarwark so we can go ahead with the planned convention without further roadblocks.” Let me state clearly that the changes I made to the Convention Oversight Committee membership are to make that committee work more efficiently to make this convention a success. Mr. Rosen called me on the day the contract was executed to reiterate his commitment to having this exceed even our highest expectations, a sentiment I reciprocated in our conversation. It's no secret that I think a mass in-person gathering during a pandemic is stupid. But as long as I'm Chair, if the delegates decide to do something stupid, it's my duty to help them do the stupid thing as efficiently and with as little damage as possible. My last point, which I will place in all capital letters just to make sure nobody misses this truth: I DID NOT INTEND TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT WHEN NEGOTIATING IT, WHEN EXECUTING IT, OR AT ANY POINT PRIOR TO THE SECOND SITTING IN ORLANDO. I've been exceedingly disappointed at the number of people on this LNC who have my email and phone number, who know how to ask a question, who chose and continue to choose to believe lies about my actions and intentions and can't summon the human decency to ask me directly. My disappointment with the behavior on this LNC will be channeled as a delegate, as it was in 2012. Yours in liberty, Nick
participants (6)
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Caryn Ann Harlos -
john.phillips＠lp.org -
Nicholas Sarwark -
Richard Longstreth -
Steven Nekhaila -
Victoria Paige Lee