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February Surprise Breaks the Ice at Installed LEC’s Autocratic Meeting in MI

Last updated on March 11, 2023

* For the sake of brevity, the terms “Elected Chair” and “Elected LEC” will respectively mean the state Chair elected at the July 9th 2022 Convention of the Libertarian Party of Michigan, and the Libertarian Executive Committee formed as a result of vacancies filled at that convention.  It will also apply to offices filled by caucuses or elected officers from July 9th up to December 19th, and District Representatives filling vacancies on the elected LEC after January 30th 2023.

** For the sake of brevity, the terms “Installed Chair” and “Installed LEC” will respectively mean the state Chair and Libertarian Executive Committee installed by the LPM Judicial Committee on December 19th as an action they justified in their ruling on an appeal filled by Wayne County affiliate Chair Andrew Chadderdon.

Michigan – While composing a previous article, the author noticed other idiosyncrasies of one instance of Michigan’s Libertarian Executive Committee (LEC). This specifically pertains to the Installed LEC.

An Installed Chair Consolidates Power

The LPM bylaws allow for removing any officer “who misses three consecutive meetings of the Executive Committee or fails to perform his or her fiduciary duties.” In terms of state law this amounts to relieving an officer of duties, since a corporate board can’t remove its board members ahead of the meeting of members (convention).  Installed Chair Andrew Chadderdon targeted five district representatives for removal, one of whom resigned ahead of the meeting. He interpreted failure to perform “fiduciary duties” as including the performance of duties by Elected LEC members, who also held offices on the Installed LEC.  He also cited their disagreement with the Judicial Committee ruling.

The Installed LEC removed the targeted officers. They then appointed new ones. One notable distinction between the Installed LEC and Elected LEC is demographic. There are 3 women on the elected LEC and none on the Installed LEC.

Other actions included threatening to remove Elected LEC members, who asserted their elected rolls, from the Installed LEC meeting.  This had a chill effect on any comments or votes that conflicted with the Installed LEC’s narrative.  When it was time for open floor, LPM members, who were not on the LEC were denied a chance to speak unless a super-majority of LEC members allowed them to.  Traditionally open floor was a time when any LPM member could be recognized and permitted to speak. This was the first break from this long-held practice observed by the author.

February Surprise! Judicial Committee Ruling Makes Tim Yow Chair

After attempting to be recognized, on a couple occasions, The Installed LEC granted resigned Chair Tim Yow an opportunity to speak.  At this point Mr. Yow pointed out that under the Judicial Committee Ruling, the election of Party Officers at the July 9th Convention was to be considered void, and the LEC was to be restored to the configuration it had before that convention.

Tim at 1:30
https://youtu.be/_xtvLPJ0ils

Tim Yow pointed out that that ruling would make himself and resigned First Vice Chair Ben Boren the Chair and First Vice Chair respectively. Yow cited Andrew Chadderdon’s own comments at the opening of business at the July 9th State Convention. There, Chadderdon stated, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z-VtaWAcHA

My understanding of our governing documents is such that when the resignations were submitted, they needed to be accepted per the authority given by our Bylaws and Robert’s Rules, and ultimately those interpretations of those rules demand that those be accepted at a convention, and cannot be handled by our executive committee in advance. So it is my understanding, at this time, I am the Second Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Michigan — serving as the acting Chair in the absence of our Elected Chair and First Vice Chair.

The convention never accepted those resignations.  Chadderdon told Yow that acceptance was implied by the election of officers to fill vacancies. Close to the end of “open floor” the author sought to be recognized. Eventually the group met the unprecedented requirement with a two-thirds vote. At that point the author stated that Chadderdon couldn’t have it both ways; if the Judicial Committee nullified the elections, then he could not use the elections as an acceptance of resignations.  He replied that it didn’t violate the bylaws.

Installed LEC Reverts Michigan Affiliate’s Platform

Most attention concerning the LPM Judicial Committee ruling and website appropriation concerns the removal of all officers elected at, or appointed after the LPM July 2022 convention.  However nobody has reported another significant change.  Shortly before the Judicial Committee released their ruling concerning Andrew Chadderdon’s appeal, the people managing the website reverted the platform to the 2020 version. Previously it displayed the version as revised at the March 13th 2022 Convention. The author could have written that off as a passing anomaly. However, the Installed LEC-controlled website has continued to post the 2021 version of the platform ever since the Judicial Committee published the ruling, and changed the officer listing. Judicial Committee member Connor Nepomuceno manages access to much of the MichiganLP.org website’s content.

When the author asked Judicial Committee member Robert Roddis if the December 19th Judicial Committee Ruling nullified any action taken at any convention, meeting or caucus, Prior to the July 9th Convention, he responded,

No, because those issues have not been brought before the Judicial Committee. Further, I would support a change in the bylaws that would limit any such claim to 6 months after its occurrence.

As of this writing the 2021 Platform remains posted at MichiganLP.org Meanwhile the Elected LEC’s website posts the current platform.

Another Surprise. LNC Chair McArdle Tells LPM Members Which
Officers the LNC Will Approve of

LNC Bylaws

ARTICLE 5: AFFILIATE PARTIES. Section 5. Reads

The autonomy of the affiliate and sub-affiliate parties shall not be abridged by the National Committee or any other committee of the Party, except as provided by these bylaws.

This didn’t deter LNC Chair Angela McArdle from  sending an email, on behalf of the LNC, in which she asserts,

As you move towards an upcoming convention, I want to wish you all the best of luck and inform you that the LNC currently recognizes the entity found at https://michiganlp.org and presently chaired by Andrew Chadderdon as the rightful affiliate party.

In a previous action the LNC sent a letter to members of the Elected LNC instructing them to stop claiming to be on the LNC.

Will the LNC Tell the Michigan LEC to Make Tim Yow Chair?

Will the LNC chose to recognize Tim Yow as the rightful Chair when they look at the information he brought to light in the aforementioned LEC meeting, or will they continue to support their current favorite? Nothing is truly surprising.  A narrator used to introduce a pre-millennial TV show (Tales of the Unexpected) with these words,

A wise man believes only in lies, trusts only in the absurd, and learns to expect….the unexpected.