Live blog soon. The meeting is drifting toward order. There are 52 people including LNC members present. The meeting is being recorded; the livestream is not cooperating. Meeting comes to order at 7:07.
Secretary calls the roll. All 18 members and all 9 alternates were present.
Public comment: Chadderdon says we are defending our affiliate in New Mexico and should continue to do so. Dana Carver takes opposing position against NM suit. Hector Roos offers to help. Your Editor urges patience before deciding who our new NH affiliate is. See who runs Libertarian candidates as Libertarians, who raises money and organizes, and make them our affiliate. Speech in favor of our affiliate in New Mexico and opposed the Lucchini LiberalPartyUSA group. (I may have missed someone.)
Motion to adopt the agenda was seconded. There is objection. There will be an executive session on legal matters. Redpath asks for an encumbrance for Massachusetts ballot access to be added to one part of the agenda. On a hand vote the Agenda is adopted 15-0.
Financial report: Treasurer Knebel thanks a list of people for getting the financial report out on day 6. The convention loss was $22,500 dollars not counting $15,000 raised at the Gala. The non-convention finances were $5000 in the black. Next month financials may be a bit late because of the July 4 holiday. Martin expresses concern on the convention loss. Treasurer says data is incomplete.
Executive Director Dasbach submitted a written report saying what the staff actually does.
Convention Oversight Committee (Ford): We are starting to have meetings with the various contractors to adjust for actual costs leading final numbers. Hayse: Are convention losses normal? Ford: The results wander from convention to convention. Martin claims that drugs were inserted in convention packages. Ford: Every effort was made to sell as many packages as possible.
Committee appointments: There was confusion on joining committees. Chair proposes a further call to members to apply to committees. He says that there is no rush. Appointments will be considered at the next meeting. Convention committees will be filled closer to the convention.
We go to a legal conversation with council in executive session. Harlos asked to manage members in the public room while the LNC is in the Executive session room. The gallery has some people complaining that the Zoom display has its chat function turned off. Caryn Ann Harlos says the purpose of the meeting is for the LNC to conduct business. Harlos notes that people who want to comment can come here. There was then a discussion of parliamentary issues at the National Convention.
The LNC went to a discussion of goals. Nekhaila spoke. Last LNC said goals were raise money, recruit members, run 500 candidates this year, and change state laws on National Guard deployment. (Editor: The relevant laws are Federal.) Nekhaila says that we should try to set goals for this election cycle through to 2028. McMahon: Get 66,000 members by the 2028 convention. Be a $4 million/year party by then. Restart LP News. LNC members should try individual contact of members and former members. Secretary: LNC should support the chair. Our main goals should be the ones set forth by the chair. Vice Chair: Build out issue experts. Do issue advocacy. Martin: We started with decentralized revolution and ended up with the parity project. I would like transparency. Longstreth: We have an opportunity to bring the party back. Wants a balanced budget and raising more money than needed. Wants affiliate support committee to do concrete things as they once did, notably the affiliate in a box program. Shaw: Goal of 50 state ballot access for 2028. Looks at association contracts. Improve data security and data applications. More cooperation between LNC members. Chair says we will be spending more on data security. Hannoush: We should focus more on candidates. Robson: Affiliate support is very important. Affiliate in a box was a wonderful program. Training was very good and should be brought back. Hayse: Local is best. Chair says he is asking donors to support regional training. We had some training videos from Michael Pickens. Danke: Love idea of bringing back the newspaper. Chair is vigorously insisting that people raise hands and ask to be recognized. LP News will cost ca. $21,000/year to print and mail.
Chair says staff is working on improving the web site for recommended places to send money. Hayse suggests surveying LNC members on goals.
We advance to Maryland and Massachusetts ballot drives. The budget from 6 months ago allocated no money for ballot access. That needs to be changed. Redpath: I am requesting $38,000 for Maryland and $44,000 for Massachusetts. For MD, 16,000 gross signatures needed for 10,000 net. MD State committee had generated ca. 8500 signatures already. The remaining signatures will cost ca. $51,000 of which MD will pay $13,000. Submit signatures after July 1; this will give them party status for 2028 and 2030.
Massachusetts: we need 5000 signatures for an Auditor signatures. 2-way race will get us 3% of the vote. In 2028 we would need 10,000 signatures, not 5,000. Redpath estimates 1000 volunteer signatures and $5000 will come from the state affiliate, so we would need $44,000 for paid signatures.
Chair: We need a budget offset or a revenue increase. Chair proposes a revenue increase. He asks Treasurer if we can afford it.
Bost/ Chair: The $15,000 previously proposed for Maryland was never sent.
Nekhaila: I want to see financial analysis of the convention: We need to make ballot access fund drives. We have reserves but they are unlimited.
Chair asks Regional reps if state affiliates would complain if we did phone fundraising in their states. They did not see any problem.
Longstreth: Very concerned about the budget. Fundraising drive last year raised $50K, and we are proposing to spend $80K.
Redpath and Shaw: Do it now, and it will cost half of what it well cost in 2028.
Redpath I Move to increase the 2026 ballot expense line and the ballot access revenue line by $82,000 to offset the increased expense and to encumber $44,000 for the Massachusetts drive.
Hogarth: Moves to amend, add $5000 for Maryland. No objection to the amendment.
Treasurer Knebel: We have the cash. Treasurer asks if we can actually raise the $82,000.
Nekhaila: What is the current monthly shortfall?
Vote on motion: Region Martin abstains. Nekhaila votes no. Longstreth votes no. Robson votes no. The vote was 14-3-1 and passes.
Danke: Motion: Increase EPCC from 3 members to 5 other than the chair. Someone: 5 is too many. Martin: Three is better. Chair supports 5 members. Passes without objection.
Policy manual amendment on electronic meetings. Intent is to create an option to allow an electronic meeting to be a regular meeting. There is a casual reference to the number of face to face meetings having been reduced. Last December, the budget was zeroed out for face to face meetings. Pointed out that this motion fixes the issue with minutes not being approved because that cannot be done at a special meeting. Martin suggests that current rule is undesirable. We can solve the minutes issue without this amendment. Opposed: Flores, Hogarth, Longstreth, Feintech, Nekhaila, Redpath, Robson, Shaw, Thompson, Knebel. Chair abstains. Vote is 7-10-1.
Motion, Danke, Move to dispose of all ballots 60 days after the end of the National Convention. Martin: Q is whether we should keep the records when there is a risk of litigation. Amendment from the Vice Chair: Save the ballots until the minutes of the national convention have been approved. Passed, I think.
My computer crashed but I think they then finished business and took a break.
ExComm meeting
They came to order. There was a motion to strike NM issues from the agenda. Motion failed.
There was a motion to appoint a litigation committee. They get the McArdle suit, the Harlos FEC complaint, two New Mexico lawsuits, to be supervised. The ExComm and LNC members go to executive session to discuss the New Mexico Trademark suit. A few members of the audience are arguing about the absence of a written chat to accompany the Zoom meeting. They emerge from executive session.
They move to adjourn and adjourn.
I didn’t ask. I was asked and I agreed.