Michael Lopez raised several issues:
I’m hearing the following:
• Kauffman is voting for NH in the region
• The region voted to exclude GSLP
• LPVT was ejected from the voting and discussions
How much of that is true?
If GSLP and LPVT are not permitted to participate in the region, can they withdraw from the region (or argue that they’ve been kicked out, same thing?)
If VT and NH are not in the region, does the region fail to meet its membership requirements and get dissolved?
If some other random region decided to let a Democrat satellite party participate in lieu of the Libertarian Party affiliate, how loud would the people letting a Republican satellite party participate cry foul?
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Archie Flower (LPVT Vice-Chair) answered. Speaking in my capacity as vice-Chair of LP Vermont:
Our chair recently left the region 6 signal chat, started by Alfa Shaw, because Jeremy Kauffman (and his vc) were still in the chat. She did not intend to pull Vermont from the region, so Vermont is still part of region 6.
Not long after our chair left, Alfa Shaw summarily removed me from the group due to alleged “privacy concerns”, without ever having a conversation of any length with me. He has since been speaking with our chair, who expressed that I should not have been removed, and asked that I be added back. It is my understanding that Alfa had the other chairs vote on this, and that the vote was to keep me out. This means, in effect, that the other chairs get to disenfranchise Vermont.
For the record, I have never shared screenshots from that chat, and I’m loathe to do so from any private group; I could count the number of times I’ve done so on one hand.
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The question arose as to whether or not LPNH was allowed to continue to participate on Region 6 State Chair Meetings. Carol Vest answered:
. When the LNC says we withdraw the affiliation we extended to the entity in NH, then that entity can’t legally continue to vote on decisions that bear on the relationship between the LNC and its other still-affiliated entities. By its nature, a region rep only exists to accommodate that very relationship. So no, Alpha Shaw cannot continue allowing them to do so.
It’s an acessory contract issue. The contracts between the regions are accessory and only exist because of the overriding relationship to the parent organization, so they can send reps to the LNC body. When the main contract fails, all accessory contracts fail as well.
Someone needs to tell this to Alfa Shaw if he is indeed doing that and is the NH region rep. He should probably talk to a lawyer who isn’t with the MC.
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Justin O’DOnnell wrote: Our region rep is an obstructionist ass hat hell bent on propping up destructive elements sympathetic to the worst remaining vestiges of McArdle’s apparatus of destruction.
He’s entrenched solidly in his position because the chairs in every region 6 state except Vermont, fully support his continued collusion with disaffiliated elements working against the interests of the party, yes all of them, including PA. And the proof of all of that is out thanks to the VT chair blowing the whistle and releasing the screenshots.
Hell, even the Maine chair’s condemnation of LPNH on Twitter loses all of its sauce when the screenshots show that hours earlier he was getting permission from Kauffman to do it to save face publicly.
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James Parent
As a chair in the region, I can tell you with certainty the following: LPNH(Kauffman) has not voted since disaffiliation. The region agreement is between the existing state affiliates and GSLP is not part of that region. It is my understanding that according to bylaws, affiliates cannot be added until the next national convention.
The LPVT chair removed herself from the chat, because she was called out for publicly sharing(and intentionally misinterpreting) private conversations, she(LPVT) still has full voting rights in the region. To suggest or insinuate otherwise is just plain lying and gaslighting.
The chat is a communication tool set up by chairs to allow us to work together in the region. Until her sharing private conversations, I welcomed and enjoyed her contributions to discussions as it usually gave an alternative viewpoint while still being libertarian. Publicly sharing these communications is a breach of trust and I do not believe Mr Flower to be capable of maintaining the trust.
This was further reiterated by his comment in this thread about confirming his previous sharing of private conversation. If he was involved, I, and I suspect others, would simply find another way of communicating with the other chairs in this region.
Most people will not like my opinion here (and this term is showing in spades region are a train wreck and need to be eliminated):
Kauffman should not be in that chat unless they are allowing all general membership in. He is not a chair and shame on those affiliates and the reps for allowing.
GSLP was never a party to that agreement and cannot be voted in.
Disaffiliation does not cause the region to fold just as dropping membership does not. It is set as if delegation allocations.
Kudos to the VT chair. Pox on everyone else,