Cara Schulz Resigns as LP Minnesota Political Director

Last updated on December 23, 2023

Our sources stretch to the LNC, its staff, and far beyond. From them, we are in receipt of a copy of a letter from Cara Schulz, LP Minnesota Political Director, announcing her resignation from that post.

She notes that in the past five weeks LP Minnesota monthly donors fell from 111 to 97. [Editor: We are advised that there was a clerical error in an LPMN report, and that these are the correct numbers.]

In the past 38 days, our Chair Marianne Stebbins, Secretary Justin Jelinik, Financial Director Pat Barnum, Events Director/At Large Heather Jelinik, CD5 Chair and US Senate/Ballot Access Candidate Nate Atkins, LWDGC Chair Ashley Corvin, and Affiliate Coordinator Greta McElvain have all resigned in protest. There’s no need to guess why they left, they all wrote resignation letters. Some of them have also left the party, too. During that same period we had a net loss of members and went from 111 {Editor: corrected from 178; see below.] monthly donors to 97 (according to the Treasurer’s Reports) – with one donor asking that the $500 donation he just made be returned to him.

[Addendum: A correction from the LPMN Treasurer: “A clerical error in the preparation of our organization’s November Membership Report, embedded in the Treasurer’s Report for that same month, erroneously marked the Annual members as Monthly and the Monthly members as Annual. This error was corrected in the December Membership Report. Our Monthly and Annual member tallies are in line with where they were in May of 2023.”]

You may now include the Political Director to the list of those who are resigning their board position in protest. I cannot be on a board where it is OK for board members to baselessly and repeatedly attack our members’ businesses and careers, where leadership tries to sabotage an LPMN member’s reelection campaign, where even the simplest of party business is endlessly mired, where a member in good standing is berated throughout the year for voting during our convention, and where apparent abuse is rewarded.

I tried to remain hopeful that, given enough time and patience, the board could get on track. There have been many discussions and promises of change in private, but dysfunctional business as usual continues in public and in meetings.

This isn’t infighting. This isn’t personality conflicts. This isn’t a philosophical difference on policy. From my point of view, Collectivism has poisoned our Affiliate and encouraged a culture of dysfunction and cruelty.

We are in a situation where persons in our leadership have embraced a collectivist identity and protect and vote with their fellow collectivist clique even when they know it is the wrong decision and will harm the LPMN and/or its members. They cater to, excuse, and promote the most destructive and dysfunctional behavior by members of their clique. This appears to be about gaining power instead of serving the membership.

So now we have a core group of people who enjoy being cruel while also not effectively tending to the business of the party running unchecked because their collectivist clique supports them, right or wrong. If a person objects to the disrespectful way they are treated, they are met with “why are you creating drama” or “can’t we just work together” or “you’re just a hater/angry.” This is entirely one sided with members of the collectivist clique saying whatever they want to whomever they want.

The final straw is this: While I was out of the country for 16 days, the attacks turned towards my reelection campaign for city council. Members of our leadership team decided to adopt and publicly disseminate 2 resolutions seemingly written in a very specific way to help my DFL opponent. I wasn’t notified ahead of time. I wasn’t asked to be at the meeting. There was no attempt at discussion. The persons responsible sit on the LPMN Board: IT Director (also Chair of that affiliate), Judicial Committee Chair, Judicial Committee member, and the LPMN Treasurer.

[Editor: IT Director Bill Sorensen vigorously denies any inference that he was involved in this LPMN Board action. See his letter appended to this report.

The justification, relayed to me after the fact, was that my campaign social media has responded a few times to policy positions made by a potential presidential candidate and they said this may scare away future LPMN candidates because I may attack their campaign. Pause and read that again. Make it make sense.

It’s normal for candidates to define their own policies and go back and forth. It is normal for members, potential delegates, other candidates, and affiliate leaders to vigorously question and vet potential presidential candidates. However, I have never said a single negative word regarding any LPMN candidate’s campaign. I have never said a single negative word about the LP Nominated Presidential candidates (except Bob Barr, F that dude) and have helped 3 straight successful ballot petition drives. Once they are the nominee, they are the nominee. What’s not normal is for top leaders in the LPMN to publicly try to sabotage a member’s reelection campaign.

This was an absolute shock. No corrective action on this issue has taken place. Meanwhile, our IT Director keeps making posts like this about me and other members and it is allowed to continue:

Collectivism is poison and this is why Libertarians oppose it.

I’ll continue to enact Libertarian policy while on city council, I’ll train candidates around the country, and be a presenter at a municipal policy conference in Ohio. I sincerely hope the board of LPMN reflects on what has happened and can change to a more positive, effective, and Libertarian direction. If that happens, I’m happy to assist in any way. Our state needs a strong LPMN and our residents need to hear libertarian solutions to the very real challenge they face. I appreciate all the support and trust you have placed in me and I’m deeply sorry we did not have a better outcome.

But effective today, December 21th, I resign as Political Director of the Libertarian Party of Minnesota.

In Liberty,

Cara Schulz

Statement from Bill Sorensen as LPMN IT Director:

“I am the IT Director of LPMN

“In your recently published resignation letter from Cara Schulz she specifically blames me for some resolutions that were passed against her.

“I had nothing to do with them. I did not draft them. I did not vote for them. I had absolutely zero involvement what so ever.

“Nor did Mrs. Schulz ask me if I had involvement.

“Cara Schulz is an elected official. I support her as a Burnsville city council member.”