Sunday, February 21, 2010

LPNY Reimburses CDL $449.00 For Untimely Convention Mailing Sent Out Without State Committee Authorization

At a Special State Committee Meeting held by teleconference on Sunday, February 21, 2010, the Libertarian Party of New York voted to reimburse members of the Capital District Libertarians $449.00 (7% of its current State Treasury Balance) for a Convention Registration Mailing sent out without prior State Committee authorization. This reimbursement was made even though Jeff Russell of the Capital District Libertarians had apologized to the LPNY State Committee and had indicated that those responsible for the mailing would cover its cost.

According to Dr. Tom Stevens, LPQC State Committee Representative, there were two major problems with the unauthorized mailing. The first problem was that it did not contain an option for LPNY members to register to attend only the Business Sessions of the convention for free. The second problem was that it was intentionally sent out well before the notice period required by the LPNY bylaws as an "extra mailing" and will, therefore, necessitate a second mailing being sent to all LPNY members formally announcing the convention.

The vote at the Special State Committee Meeting held solely for the purpose of authorizing this reimbursement was 9 in favor and 1 opposed. However, the one person opposed to the motion opposed it because it was felt a motion wasn't necessary to reimburse the Capital District Libertarians for the unauthorized mailing. Dr. Tom Stevens, LPQC State Representative, did not attend the Special State Committee Meeting.

Dr. Tom Stevens, LPQC State Representative, responding to the vote said:

Every State Committee Member has a fiduciary responsibility to spend LPNY State Treasury funds in a responsible manner. While I understand the desire many have to make sure that volunteers are not out money spent in good faith in support of LPNY activities, I also feel that seasoned LPNY activists should be responsible for their actions. It wouldn't have taken much effort to seek the approval of the State Committee before sending out a mailing that would cost 7% of the LPNY's State Treasury Balance, especially if the mailing was intended as an "extra mailing" that was not required by the LPNY bylaws. The Capital District Libertarians sought authorization for the deposit they needed to reserve the room at the hotel and should have come to the State Committee for authorization to do the mailing. The Capital District Libertarians also did not run the Convention Registration Fee Schedule by the State Committee for feedback. Had they done so, the absence of the "attending Business Session" for free option would have been caught immediately. People donate money to the LPNY and pay membership dues in the expectation that LPNY State Committee Members will spend that money wisely. This is a responsibility LPNY State Committee Members should take very seriously in the months and years ahead.

The LPNY State Convention will be held on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at the Hilton Garden Inn located at 1389 Washington Avenue in Albany, New York.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

LPQC Members Elected As Delegates To 2010 LPUS National Convention

The following members of the Libertarian Party of Queens County have been elected to serve as delegates from New York State to the Libertarian Party's National Convention that will be held May 28-31, 2010 at the Renaissance Grand Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri: Mark Axinn, Andrew Clunn, Dan Halloran, Dodge P. Landesman, Alden Link, Carl Person, Sam Sloan & Dr. Tom Stevens.

Each of the delegates have been encouraged to purchase at least the mandatory Basic Package, which costs $99.00 up front. However, a $50.00 rebate is available for those who purchase the Basic Package and who reserve a room in their name at the Renaissance Grand Hotel for a minimum two-night stay. The special convention room rate is $109.00 per night plus applicable taxes and fees. To be eligible for the rebate, each delegate must keep a copy of their Convention Registration Fee receipt and a copy of their final Hotel Bill. Rebate forms will be handed out at the National Convention. All reservations can be made through links at http://www.gatewaytoliberty.com/

Delegates have been informed that Southwest Airlines is the least expensive carrier flying from New York City to St. Louis although most of its flights are not direct. Most stop in Chicago. However, the fare on Southwest can total less than $300.00 round trip. It has been suggested that delegates fly into St. Louis on Friday morning and leave on Monday afternoon. Of course, if a delegate has more time to spare, adding an extra few days to the trip can serve as a nice vacation.

Dr. Tom Stevens, LPQC State Representative, who made the motion to have the above-mentioned individuals elected as delegates, has requested that he be told when each of the elected delegates has purchased the Basic Package, made their room reservations, and purchased their round trip airline tickets. Time is of the essence since Convention Registration Fees and airline fares both go up the closer it gets to the event.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Bill McMillen Informs LPNY He Will No Longer Be The Contact For The Hotel At Which The LPNY Is Holding Its Convention

After receiving criticism for sending out an unauthorized Convention Registration mailing to all Libertarian Party members living in New York State that provided no option for delegates to register to attend the Business Session of the LPNY Annual Convention for free, LPNY Member Bill McMillen has now announced that on Tuesday, February 16, 2010, he intends to call the Hilton Garden Inn, where the LPNY Convention is scheduled to hold its Annual Convention on Saturday, April 24, 2010, to tell them he wants his name removed as the contact for the contract he signed as a member of the Capital District Libertarians on behalf of the Libertarian Party of New York. Unless immediate action is taken to communicate with the hotel and provide a new contact person, Bill McMillen's action may very well jeopardize the LPNY's ability to hold its Annual Convention at that hotel requiring it to start making new plans from scratch for a new location.

Bill McMillen sent out a mailing last week to all Libertarian Party members living in New York State without having obtained approval for the mailing from the State Committee nor did he or anyone else run the Convention Registration Fee Schedule by the LPNY State Committee for feedback. He came under criticism by Dr. Tom Stevens, LPQC State Representative, for apparently establishing a "poll tax" and "floor fee" for voting at the Business Session of the Annual Convention since no option was provided for an LPNY member to register for free to attend and vote exclusively during the Business Session. Dr. Stevens conceded that this was probably just an oversight and an error. However, he stated that it would probably now necessitate a refund to all those who pay $25.00 for the "speakers and business session" option but who only wished to attend the Business Session. Dr. Stevens also criticized the Convention Fee Schedule for charging registrants $50.00 if they wanted to partake in the "deli lunch" offered from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. before the business session commenced. He believed that price for a "deli lunch" to be a bit steep.

On Sunday, February 14, 2010, the State Committee was notified that even though Bill McMillen signed the hotel contract as a member of the Capital District Libertarians on behalf of the LPNY and therefore was not financially responsible, that he would nevertheless call the hotel on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 to tell them to remove his name and number as the contact for the event. The LPNY has been told that without a contact person, the Hilton Garden Inn will no longer hold and reserve the rooms we contracted for. The result will be that the Libertarian Party of New York will need to search for a new location at which to hold its Annual Convention in Albany, New York this year.

Since the Libertarian Party of New York authorized the Capital District Libertarians to contract for the convention location, the CDL must designate someone new to be the contact person for the hotel and must have that person substituted by Tuesday, February 16, 2010 if they intend to save the contract Bill McMillen has now placed in jeopardy by his impulsive ultimatum.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Libertarian Party Fails To Maximize Income From Membership Dues

Basic Membership (a/k/a Sustaining Membership) in the Libertarian Party requires a $25.00 contribution. A number of members from New York State recently decided they wished to be relieved of the responsibility of keeping track of their renewal dates and would prefer to increase their annual contribution to the Libertarian Party to $36.00 annually by joining the Liberty Pledge Club and making a monthly contribution.

These members were told they could not make that increased contribution to the party through a monthly pledge and that the only way they could join the Liberty Pledge Club is if they donated a minimum of $10.00 per month for an annual contribution of $120.00. As a result, these members have kept their annual contributions at $25.00.

Dr. Tom Stevens, a member of the Libertarian Party, stated:

This policy of requiring a minimum monthly pledge of $10.00 for an annual contribution of $120.00 makes no sense. If a Sustaining Member wishes to increase his or her contribution from $25.00 to $36.00 or $48.00 or some other figure lower than $120.00, the Libertarian Party should set them up in the Liberty Pledge Club and take their monthly contribution. Whatever credit card fee is charged for this automatic processing is more than covered by the increased contribution that member is making to the Libertarian Party. The monthly minimum contribution required to join the Liberty Pledge Club should be immediately reduced to $3.00 per month, which is $36.00 per year. A member may be inclined to donate $5.00 per month, which would be an annual contribution of $60.00 per year. The Libertarian Party is losing an opportunity to increase the revenue they collect from dues. The leaders of the party should rectify this situation without further delay.

Dr. Tom Stevens serves as a member of the Judicial Committee of the Libertarian Party and is the LPQC State Representative to the Libertarian Party of New York.

Monday, February 8, 2010

LPNY Opposes LPUS Mandatory Convention Registration Fee

On Sunday, February 7, 2010, the Libertarian Party of New York passed the following motion opposing the institution of a mandatory convention registration fee imposed upon all elected delegates seeking to attend the Libertarian Party's National Convention in St. Louis over Memorial Day Weekend:

MOTION: Whether or not the Libertarian Party's National Committee has the legal right to assess a registration fee upon all duly elected delegates attending the LPUS National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri over Memorial Day Weekend, the payment of which is being treated as a mandatory prerequisite to the Credentials Committee seating said delegates, it is the opinion of the Libertarian Party of New York that such a mandatory registration fee should not be assessed for delegates who wish to attend and vote exclusively at the business sessions of the LPUS National Convention.

Dr. Tom Stevens, who serves as the State Representative of the Libertarian Party of Queens County, drafted and proposed the motion. During debate, he said: "putting aside the issue of whether the Libertarian Party's National Committee has the legal right to assess a mandatory registration fee on duly elected delegates, the payment of which has become a prerequisite to the Credentials Committee seating said delegates, this motion merely expresses the opinion of the LPNY that such a fee should not be assessed for delegates who wish to attend and vote exclusively at the business sessions of the LPUS National Convention. While this motion will have no impact on the rules adopted for this convention, I hope that national takes our opinion into account when establishing the rules for the 2012 LPUS National Convention."

Sam Sloan, State Representative of the Manhattan LP, supported the motion stating that "some of our most important activists make an extraordinary effort to simply attend the convention" and that "requiring a mandatory registration fee would effectively exclude these individuals from participation during the business sessions of the national convention."

Blay Tarnoff, State Representative of the Nassau LP, in opposing the resolution called the language of the motion "bellicose" and stated that "a $25.00 mandatory registration fee" was acceptable to him. Joseph Dobrian, LPNY Vice-Chair, who spoke in favor of the motion stated, "there is nothing "bellicose" in the language of the motion". Dr. Stevens then spoke again pointing out that the mandatory convention registration fee is $99.00, not $25.00. M Carling, who serves as LPNY Secretary and in a number of appointed positions on the national level, warned that although he will ask for national's financial help with upcoming statewide petition drives both this year and in 2012, he fears his requests will fall on "deaf ears" if the LPNY expresses its opposition to the mandatory convention registration fee. In the end, Chris Edes, LPNY Chair, broke a tie and voted in favor of the motion. He will be informing national of the LPNY's opinion on this issue.

Dr. Stevens stated: "It is important that the Libertarian Party of New York express itself on this issue. In my opinion, the LPUS can charge for its cocktail parties, for convention materials, for access to the vendor floor or even to hear speakers. However, it should not require a mandatory registration fee be paid before the Credentials Committee will seat a duly elected delegate. In my opinion, every duly elected delegate should be credentialed and should have the right to vote during the business sessions of the LPUS National Convention."

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

OPNY Holds Read-In To Celebrate Ayn Rand's Birthday

On Tuesday, February 2, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Objectivist Party of New York held a Read-In to celebrate Ayn Rand's Birthday at Panera Bread located at 160 Walt Whitman Road in Huntington Station, New York.

OPNY members brought the following books written by Ayn Rand to the Read-In: Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, Anthem and We The Living. Each person read their book for 15 minutes identifying an interesting quotation or situation. Then each person shared their thoughts on that text during a 30 minute discussion period. This format was then repeated a second time.

Dr. Tom Stevens, OPNY President, hosted the event.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Objectivist Party Governing Board Holds Meeting In Manhattan

On Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 10:00 a.m., the Governing Board of the Objectivist Party held a meeting at Cafe Mocha located at 116 2nd Avenue (on the southeast corner of 7th Street) in Manhattan.

Present at the meeting were Dr. Tom Stevens, Dodge P. Landesman and Dallwyn Merck. Jonathan Damgaard Jakobsen was unable to attend.

The current state of the Objectivist Party was discussed as was its policies and programs.

OPNY Holds Executive Committee Meeting In Manhattan

On Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 11:00 a.m., the Objectivist Party of New York held an Executive Committee Meeting at the Ukrainian East Village Restaurant located at 140 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.

Present at the meeting were the following officers:

President - Dr. Tom Stevens
Executive Vice-President - Andrew Clunn
Vice-President - Dodge P. Landesman
Secretary - Dallwyn Merck

The following officers were absent:

Treasurer - Ronald S. Ramo
Executive Assistant - Jay Stempel
Youth Coordinator - Peter Schonert

Upcoming events and plans for the future were discussed.