Over the month, associates of the campaign received:
Jim Babka $2,700
Erich Covey $372
Robert DeVoil $5,532
Debra Greeson $2,618
Thomas Peary (travel) $245
Stuart Reges $1,000
Steve Willis $2,965
Perry Willis $2,500
Stephanie Yanik $1,500
TOTAL: $19,187
Robert Brunner and Jennifer Willis apparently received no pay in April. Between them, Robert DeVoil and Stuart Reges received $6532, roughly what they had received in February. Most other associates received less than they had in prior months, in some cases much less.
In some ways this month was one of the most effective at focussing campaign spending on campaign objectives. In total, the Campaign’s associates received only 28% of the campaign’s spending; associated firm Optopia received $1476, slightly more than 2% of spending. Other income went to outside vendors and to an expanding cash reserve.
In addition to these expenses, major disbursements included:
William J Olson PC Trust $15,000
Mount Vernon Printing $8,912
Harry Browne (loan repayment) $3,500
Seabreeze Travel $3,452
B&B Duplicators $3,213
Newman Communications $2,333
Walter Carl List Brokers $2,120
TOTAL: $35,030
May 2000
Some Nice Words and Some Less Nice Words
In May, LiamWorks received $10,000 from the Browne campaign. LiamWorks was Harry Browne’s publisher and supplier of printed material. For reasons never clear to this author, some Libertarians expressed surprise that Browne needed a publisher to produce his books and tapes, and even more surprise that the books and tapes cost money to print and distribute.
Tom Knapp of Missouri, who was not a supporter of the Browne nomination campaign, spoke very positively of Liam Works and its owner, Art Matsko. In an open letter circulated to Libertarians across America, Knapp wrote on March 21, 2001:
“I do want to mention what a sterling fellow Art Matsko has been to do business with. I did business with him a number of times in the last campaign season, mostly to acquire campaign materials for use in Missouri and in my local area. EVERY time we talked, he tried to find ways to get me more stuff for less money, generally by offering to cover the freight, or, if I needed something more quickly, to charge regular freight and cover the upgrade to rush status.
“I don’t know if Art made a profit on the campaign materials. If he treated everyone else like he treated me, I doubt it—but he SHOULD have….As far as I can tell, Art and Liamworks have done a hell of a job of keeping Harry’s books available, of providing services for which they contracted, and of making Harry and the LP look good…”
The author has been in touch with many other Libertarians across the United States. Some of them pointedly faulted the Browne campaign’s decision to charge its supporters for bumper stickers and lawn signs, rather than paying for the stickers and signs with donations. Others complain about the prices the campaign set for its distributor. Not once have I heard a complaint from anyone who dealt with Liam Works that they did not receive what they ordered in a prompt and efficient way.
In May the Browne campaign was also beneficiary of a bit of journalistic legerdemain by the Party’s official newsletter, LP News. Bumper Hornberger had emerged from the shadows. He was again running for the Presidential nomination against Browne. Hornberger was an active member of our Virginia Party. In Summer 2001, Virginia activist Jim Turney reported on a National email list the extensive hours that Hornberger invested in the thankless task of collecting signatures to put candidates on the ballot. He renewed at his party’s state convention on May 6. However, for the previous month he had not yet paid membership dues.
LP News took the opportunity to refer to Hornberger as a ‘former member’. This reference was false. The Party’s By-laws provide that a “member” is anyone who has taken the membership pledge, whether their dues are current or not. A person whose dues are current is a “member whose dues are current”. By falsely referring to Hornberger as someone who had left the Party, LP News disparaged Hornberger and damaged his campaign.
The editor of LP News was Bill Winter, who in the 1996 campaign had been on Browne’s payroll. Based on the 8/1/95 memo from Perry Willis, Winter had actively participated in managing Browne’s 1996 campaign. This treatment of Hornberger by the National Party leadership and staff continued in 2002, when Hornberger ran for U.S. Senate in Virginia, and by all reports National Chair James Lark promised to campaign vigorously against Hornberger’s efforts to obtain the Virginia Libertarian Party nomination. Hornberger chose to run instead as an independent.
