The Libertarian Party of California Executive Committee Meeting Mailing Address: Meeting Location: 655 Lewelling Blvd. #362 Oakland, Calif. San Leandro, Calif. 94579 (800) 637-1776 The Executive Committee of The Libertarian Party of California met on Saturday July 23, 1994 at the Airport Hilton in Oakland. The following are the minutes of that meeting. Chair Kim Goldsworthy opened the meeting by noting that there were sufficient members present to constitute a quorum. Kim noted that Brian Schar and George O'Brian would not be present. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Kim asked Ray to read the minutes of April 23rd. Ray said that copies of all these minutes had been mailed to all members, and asked instead for corrections or up-grades. Kim said that on his copy several items that were indicated as "unclear". He had written copies of the unclear portions, and forwarded them to Ray. Kim asked if these items were now included in the minutes. Ray said that all but two of Kim's upgrades were now in the minutes, and the other two are included as attachments. Ray distributed the most current copies of the April 23rd minutes, but said that he inadvertently forgot to include the attachments. There were no up- grades to the minutes from the Ex-Com, but Kim suggested that Ray provide the Ex-Com with new copies of the minutes with attachments prior to the next meeting, when they could be officially approved. CHAIR'S REPORT Kim distributed copies of his report. Briefly, National will be sending their monthly package to the State Chairs. The 1995 Convention Contract is now signed. There are two new Regions now; at the last meeting, we approved the split of San Fernando Valley Region 61 into Region 61 and the new Antelope Valley Region, Region 68. Three northern California counties have merged: Almador, Calaveras and Tuolumne have become the Gold Country, Region 3. Kim announced that it is his intention not to run for State Chair in 1995. His accomplishments have been; the Party got itself out of debt, we now have a monthly paper we can be proud of, Party officers have been quoted in Newsweek, and archives and minutes have been collected and organized. NORTHERN VICE CHAIR'S REPORT Northern Vice Chair George O'Brian was not present, but he provided a written report. Copies were distributed, and are included in these minutes as an attachment. Jon Petersen moved that the Executive Committee recognize the Gold Country Libertarian Party, comprised of the counties of Almador, Calaveras and Tuolumne. The motion passed without dissent. The new Region will be Region #3. SOUTHERN VICE CHAIR'S REPORT Southern Vice Chair Gail Lightfoot provided a written report, and it is included as an attachment. Kern County appears to be inactive; Gail has not been able to talk with anybody from there. Bill Brown is the new Ventura County Chair. Mojave is inactive because the person who originally asked to create that Region, is no longer active. George Rese is running for Assembly in Orange County, and is having a fundraiser on August 14th in Santa Ana. Richard Halvorson said that Dick Rider has prepared some TV commercials for the Governor's race: Dick is dressed as a butcher, and is chopping bologna, to signify that he will cut taxes. It was suggested that with the Bobbit incident, this might not be the image we wish to project. Richard said that Dick has hosted the Wisenburger talk radio show on KGO 600, which can be heard along the coast from Santa Barbara south to San Diego. In the San Diego area, almost all the talk radio shows are libertarian in outlook, so Dick has received a lot of good coverage. Richard said that United We Stand was planning to hold a protest rally along the border, and issued press releases. They hit a stumbling block when Ross Perot would not support it. They then hit another stumbling block when they could not find any property owners who would permit them on their property. THE INTERNET DATA BASE Jon moved for a suspension of the rules to allow Mary Gingle to speak on a proposal by Joe Dehn. There were no objections. Mary said that Joe is requesting that the Ex-Com appoint him the "World Wide Web Home Page Coordinator" for the LPC. Today, the largest and most well known electronic bulletin board is the Internet. It is a de-centralized data base that can be cross referenced. A person desiring information on, say, civil liberties, will find a cross reference mark referring to the Libertarian Party's position. Joe would like to be the coordinator/overseer for Libertarian information. He would like to list and include in the Internet, all the Region Chairs, Libertarian Candidates, and Libertarian positions. For the time being, there would be no cost for this service, but this could change in the future. Wayne moved that the Libertarian Party Executive Committee name Joe Dehn as the Internet World Wide Web Home Page Coordinator (IWWWHPC). The motion passed without dissent. Joe can be reached on (415) 858-1842. On the Internet he can be reached on: joe.dehn@dehnbase.fidonet.org. SECRETARY'S REPORT Ray said that Kim had gone through the Platform very thoroughly, and pointed out a number of errors; they have been corrected, and he provided the Ex-Com with new copies of the Platform. There were several requests that the copies be dated so that the old copies could be differentiated from the new copies. Jon suggested a certification page as the By-Laws use. Ray said he would do so. Ray said that Kim also went through the By-Laws, and found three misspellings. New copies are available upon request. Cullene said that Yolo County would like a copy. Kim said that we do not have any Region By-Laws on file, and asked that everyone contact the Regions they normally contact, and have them send Ray copies. Ray distributed the most current copy of the Standing Rules. Ray spoke about the security of the Database. He has worked out an agreement with Hugh and Thea to enter into the Database a phony name which will go out each time the Database is given out. When Lawrence requested the Database for the Newsletter startup, he also got the phony name. However, the name was not subsequently removed from the Database, so the phony name has continued to receive mail just like a normal party member. Ray requested that Thea remove the name from the Database, and only insert it in when the Database is given out, and then remove it. Thea agreed to this procedure. Ray announced that it was his intention not to run for Secretary in 1995. TREASURER'S REPORT Jon distributed his report. He announced that today we would make the final payment on the 1992 back dues, and be officially out of debt. However, he wished to caution us that a similar situation could arise again with the 800 number. Our 800 number appeared on the ballot pamphlet in April, and generated over $3,000 in calls in two months. The ballot pamphlet for November will have 200 word statements from all seven of our state-wide candidates, and they will list the 800 number. Jon said that our fundraising needs to raise about $10,000 to prepare for the November election's calls. The number has been successful: we normally get about 3 new members a month from the 800 number; that jumped to 10 with the ballot pamphlet, and the most current month (June) shows 20 new members from the 800 number membership application form. Jon said that while we are out of debt, our financial situation is not without peril. We should be getting about $3,000 from the State of California from people who checked party contributions on their income tax forms. Kim said he had been informed that the State would cut the checks by July 30th. (Saved by the State) Jon said, in regards to the PAC: Reports must by filed by July 31st, and that he would file them in time. There is currently only $1,000 in the PAC; however, Jon is holding checks for another $1,000 that he has not deposited yet. As to the audit of the 1993 books, Eric Lund has agreed to perform the audit, but as yet, Jon has not been able to pass the necessary material to Eric. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT Kim said that the Op-Com met on May 18th, and minutes of that meeting had been mailed to all Ex-Com members. Lawrence said that a letter has been sent to Dr. Dean Adel, but he has not received a response. He will be following up by phone. Jon said that his original letter to Mike Hodges was returned by the Post Office. Another letter was sent, extending the due date by one month, but there has been no response. Gail said that Mike always takes the month of July off for vacation. Lawrence asked that the record show that the Op-Com supported the idea that the LPC obtain a permanent office. Jon moved that the LPC, alone or in conjunction with selected other groups, submit a formal letter of complaint, regarding ballot pamphlet irregularities, to the Secretary of State. Richard said he would draft the letter. Jon said he would gather information from Santa Clara County. The motion passed without dissent. This year the ballot pamphlet will allow all parties a 200 word statement. The Op-Com, but primarily Lawrence, developed the Libertarian statement. It is included as an attachment to these minutes. LIBERTARIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE Thea reported that there has not been a Nat-Com since the last Ex- Com. The next Nat-Com will be August 20-21 in Washington DC. National fundraising is doing very well, as is Project Healthy Choice. The best response is coming from the Bill Winter's letters explaining what the National Party is doing. Jon moved that the Ex-Com commend the LNC, Bill Winters, Perry Willis, and the Staff in Washington DC, for the fine job they are doing, especially for Project Healthy Choice and Operation Safe Streets. Jon further moved that Kim draft a letter so stating, and forward it to National. Thea said that if the letter is available before August 12, she would be able to hand deliver it. There was no vote on the motion, but there were no objections, and Kim agreed to write such a letter. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE Ted reported that there has been no formal meeting of the membership committee, but the committee participated in Lawrence's June meeting. The committee is handicapped in that there is no money in the Treasury to do a membership mailing. Ted said that we should avoid the type of membership recruitment such as occurred 2 to 3 years ago, where 70% of those new members failed to re-new, but to recruit from those who inquire about the Party. In effect, this would be a second contact to those who call the 800 number. Ted moved that sufficient funds be allocated to solicit memberships from inquires to the 800 number, and from inquires to the National Party, in a periodic manner. Jon suggested that membership solicitations also be send to lapsed members. Laura suggested that the Regions make the second contact to new inquires. The motion was changed to: solicit memberships from inquires. The motion passed without dissent. Jon noted that membership recruitment currently has a zero budget. Ted moved to change the budget to reflect $1,000 under membership recruitment. Lawrence moved to table Ted's motion. The motion to table passed without dissent. FUNDRAISING Lawrence reported that he inadvertently failed to bring copies of his Fundraising report, but would arrange to the Secretary to distribute copies. [Secretary's Note: Copies were mailed to the Ex- Com on August 9th] Lawrence has prepared the first of three fundraising letters. However, this first letter was going to suggest that our members subscribe to Exculine Long Distance, so that the Party would get a 6% rebate. He has since learned that Wil-Tel Unidail will offer the Party a 25% rebate, and that their rates are lower than Exculine's. Richard noted that the San Diego Region was proposing that its members sign up with another Long Distance Carrier, so that the San Diego Region would get the rebate. Lawrence said he would be trying Wil-Tel for a month, and if all goes well, he would like the Op-Com's approval to suggest that our members subscribe. Kim suggested a motion that the Ex-Com approve the offering of Wil-Tel to the membership. The motion passed without dissent. Lawrence said that Wil-Tel would assume the burden of calling all our members, and soliciting their subscription, if we provide them with our members' names and phone numbers. Ted moved that we provide such a list to Wil-Tel after Lawrence has solicited the membership in a fundraising letter, and subject to authorization by the Operations Committee. The motion passed with two dissenting votes. Lawrence said that he has researched the possibility of selling merchandise with the Libertarian name or logo on it, and he passed around samples of promotional items that could carry our name: license plate frames, coffee mugs, key tags, ball caps, tee shirts, etc. These items would have to be ordered in quantity, and paid for in advance. Lawrence was asked if selling merchandise would jeopardize our non-profit status. He answered no, the other political parties and other non-profit groups sell merchandise, but there are restrictions we must follow. Lawrence asked that the Party supply the initial seed money of about $2,000 to order merchandise; if that was not available, he thought that individual Libertarians might be willing to loan the money, and be re-paid from the proceeds. LEGAL COMMITTEE Ted reported that legally, we are fine, we are not being sued by anybody, nor we suing anybody. There is a legal issue that we need to consider: with California moving up the Primary Election to March, we need to change our By-Laws to reflect the way we wish to choose our delegates. Ted said he would draft a By-Law change that could be reviewed at the next Ex-Com meeting, for submission to the By-Laws Committee. Richard Winger addressed the Ex-Com to say that in 1986, the voters approved proposition 49 which made it illegal for a political party to endorse a candidate in a non-partisan race. The law has been challenged, but the challenge has been rejected as improperly filed. The Democratic Party has endorsed a candidate in San Diego, and is again challenging the law, and they are asking all the other parties to join them in their lawsuit, and endorse a candidate in a non-partisan office. Richard was asked what the penalty is for endorsing a candidate. He said that what has happened in the past, is that the other party gets mad, and gets a court injunction that says don't ever do it again until next time. Ted moved that the LPC endorse Libertarian Sandy Webb for re-election to the Simi Valley City Council, and that we enter into the law suit with the Democratic Party as a co-plaintiff, on the condition that the LPC not assume any financial liability. The motion passed without dissent. CAMPAIGN 94 Ted asked Ray for 55 copies of the Platform to send out to all our candidates. Ray agreed to arrange for reproduction. Jon noted that Campaign 94 was $200 over budget as of the end of June. The new acting Secretary of State, Tony Miller, has been a breath of fresh air: he approved the new 100 word statements in the Primary ballot pamphlet, and is asking candidates for a 200 word statement for the November ballot pamphlet. He has also allowed the Green Party to include "None of the Above" in their primary ballot. Our eight statewide candidates' statements plus our Party statements means we will have 1,800 words in the ballot pamphlet. Ted said he would like to work with the newsletter to produce a single news-page covering the eight statewide candidates, so that that page could be used by the people answering the 800 number. Dick said that he would be working with Ted to provide a price quote. Wayne suggested that the PAC could finance the printing. Jon said the eight candidates must jointly and formally request the money from the PAC overseers. Ted moved that the Ex-Com authorize the expenditure of up to $1,000 to produce and distribute a campaign slate flier covering the statewide candidates, half to be charged against the 800 number budget, and half to be charged against the Campaign 94 budget. Jon spoke against the motion, saying that the 800 number budget will be exhausted with the anticipated calls in October and November. Wayne spoke against the motion, saying all the money should come from the PAC. Ted asked to withdraw his motion, with the understanding that he would arrange for the statewide candidates to ask the PAC for $1,000 to produce and distribute the slate card. There were no objections. CALIFORNIA CIVIL RIGHTS INITIATIVE Richard Halvorson introduced Dr. Thomas Wood, professor of Philosophy at Cal State San Francisco. Dr. Wood said that he is the Executive Director of the California Association of Scholars, the only academic group actively challenging "Political Correctness" on college campuses. This means that the Association is opposed to the distribution of favors, positions, and grants on the basis of race or gender, specifically as it concerns admissions and faculty hiring. What most people do not know is that while Federal Law requires certain instances of favoritism based on race, or gender, there are no laws or court decisions that make it mandatory that one practice universal favoritism. Therefore, the Initiative's sponsors propose this initiative: that in those instances where it is not mandatory to dispense favors based on race or gender, that discrimination based on race or gender be prohibited. Dr. Wood said that none of the language in the initiative is in conflict with written law, but it is in conflict with current court opinions which seem to say, yes it is bad to discriminate on the basis of race or gender, but it is OK to grant preferential treatment or dispense favors on the basis of race or gender. Lawrence asked what would be the effect of this initiative in those cases where schools have a higher entrance requirement for Asians, and lower entrance requirements for Blacks or Hispanics? Dr. Wood answered that unless there was a specific court order requiring the triple standard, it would be unlawful. Lawrence moved that the Ex-Com endorse the California Civil Rights Initiative. The motion passed without dissent. TELEVISION COMMERCIAL Bob Weber discussed an anti-drug-war TV commercial, being prepared by Bob and other Region 64 members. So far, they have assembled some old black and white 1920's gangster movie scenes; we've all seen the speeding car with guys leaning out the windows shooting tommy guns. The voice-over will say "Ending prohibition put the gangsters out of business, and made the streets safe again." The red circle with a diagonal, the "no" symbol, will appear over the gangster scene, fade out, and fade in to a contemporary gang scene: graffiti covered walls, contemporary gang members shooting contemporary automatic weapons, and then a graphic bloody body on the street being covered by the coroner. The voice-over will say: "Ending the war on drugs will put the gangs out of business, and make our streets safe again." Bob said that he is underwriting the production costs of about $1,500. The commercial is generic, meaning any Libertarian group or candidate can use it. Bob moved that he be given permission to use the mail list to do a fund raising letter to complete the commercial and recover his costs. Bob also moved that he be given permission to negotiate with the Drug Policy Foundation to exchange mailing lists. Lawrence asked if it was Bob's intent to conduct a separate fundraising letter, or to work this in to the current schedule of fundraising. Bob said it was his intent to work within the current schedule. The motions passed without dissent. NEWSLETTER OVERSIGHT Dick distributed copies of his report. Dick said that he desperately need someone who can do graphics and/or layouts. Also, we've had a mailing problem because the people who mail are not the same people who do the printing, resulting in 565 more labels than newspapers available. Dick asked that the LPC reimburse the Publisher for the extra costs incurred. Finally, Dick said that so far, communications between the 1995 Convention Organizers and the Newsletter, have not been good, and asked that the Organizers provide the Newsletter with information and/or advertising materials. Wayne moved that discussion of Dick's final point be deleted from discussion. There was no objection to Wayne's motion. Dick's first recommendation did not require any action of the Ex- Com, but the Chair encouraged all members of the Ex-Com to seek out qualified individuals. On Dick's second point, Jon objected to consideration, saying that we still do not have a signed contract with Atlas Communications to publish the Newsletter, and Jon has not received any documentation or requests for reimbursement from Atlas. Lawrence said that when Atlas' initial proposal was approved by the Ex-Com, it was understood and anticipated that initial mailings would be to a larger group than just our membership, and it was understood that Atlas would be paid for the total number of mailings, therefore we should consider Dick's second recommendation. Jon objected again, saying that proper procedure is for Atlas to submit a bill, but it is improper for the Newsletter Oversight Committee to request money to be given to Atlas. Kim agreed, and asked Dick if he would inform Atlas that they should submit any and all bills to Jon. Dick so agreed. The discussion turned as to the status of the Contract with Atlas Communications. A Contract was presented by the Newsletter Oversight Committee for Ex-Com approval and signature. Kim asked that the Ex-Com review the contract before he approved it. Laura asked why the contract had not be first forwarded to the Contract Services Committee? Kim said that the Contract Services Committee no longer exists, and has not existed since it was not re-newed in February. Concerning the proposed Contract, Jon expressed concern about article 1C: Atlas Communications shall reserve the right to reject material considered to be unsatisfactory. Since Atlas is our vendor, they should not have the right to reject material we want published. Lawrence said that clause applies to Atlas' and Dave Nolan's California Liberty, not to the Newsletter. Bob said that our newsletter Editors has always had the right to determine what stories would and would not be printed, but then the Editor serves at the pleasure of the Ex-Com. Bob moved that we accept and sign the Newsletter contract, except that we strike article 1C. Lawrence moved to amend, to accept the contract as written, only adding to article 1C, after: "reject material" the words: "submitted to California Liberty that is". Bob accepted this change as friendly. The motion passed without dissent, and Kim signed the contract for the LPC. 800 NUMBER OVERSIGHT Don Meyer reported that because our 800 number appeared in the ballot pamphlet, May was our busiest month, with over 800 packets mailed out to inquirers, where we normally mail about 100. Volume has tapered down to about 100, but he expects that when the November pamphlet comes out in late September/early October, the volume will increase again. Don is still working with the contractor to optimize the packets and reduce the postage cost, and re-work the pamphlets. Jon noted that the bill from ISL for the 800 number comes complete with a list of the incoming telephone numbers. This is a valuable resource for recruitment because in theory, we have the ability to call back every single person who calls into the 800 number. Don said he would like to look into setting up an automated answering system like voice mail, that could handle the most common inquires before linking to a live person, but felt that equipment purchase would be too expensive. Jon and Ray said that Don should check with the local phone company, which could probably install a voice mail system before the election, without a large up-front cash outlay. Ray asked what our strategy is for the high call volume. We do not want to be caught in the same trap we were two years ago with the bounty hunters. We should be frank with ISL, and say we are only prepared to answer up to a finite number of calls, or have some other strategy for paying ISL. Lawrence said that as fundraising chair, he would insure that there were sufficient funds to pay ISL regardless of the call volumes. Ray said if fundraising fails, we should have a fall back position; we stop printing the newsletter, or we default to the 800 vendor, or we cease paying the Regions, but we should discuss it now, and not wait until we are forced to make a quick choice. Don introduced Mark and Jim from ISL to discuss their view of the 800 number. They said that we should consider getting a 900 number. Many people who call the 800 number simply wish to debate us, as if we were Talk Radio. If we had a voice mail system on our 800 number, and then a 900 number for "Dial-a-Libertarian" for people who get their jollies yelling at us, we might make a buck. Jon said Terry Savage is setting up a 900 number for his campaign, and he should have some "getting started" information by the next meeting. DATABASE OVERSIGHT John Webster distributed his report and noted that the expired credit card problem has been fixed, and that printing addresses directly on renewal forms rather than printing labels would not necessarily save money, because the form would have to be redesigned to go through the printer. Gail moved that we authorize a change in the renewal form to enable it to go through the printer. Jon suggested that Steve Alexander be asked to head-up this change. Lawrence suggested that any new design be run by Membership Committee Chair, Ted Brown. The motion passed without dissent. Kim said that per our request, With-Ease has submitted a new contract for our approval, with new rates and charges. Thea said that we are not now, or ever been, charged two rates for the same work. We are charged either an hourly rate or a piece rate, but not both. Richard moved that the Ex-Com ratify the new contract. Lawrence objected to the price for coping a disk, $10 plus $0.01 a name. Thea agreed to change the price to $5 plus an hourly rate for set-up time. Don noted that the rates and charges list $0.60 to establish a new record in the database, but lists $0.40 to modify an existing record; the charge for modification seems excessive. Thea said that the charge is intentionally high because it subsidizes lower costs on other outputs. Additionally, the charge is competitive with the rates charged by other database vendors. The motion to approve the contract, with one modification, passed without dissent. Thea announced a change in National's policy on renewals. Currently, National sends out up to 5 renewal letters to National members when their membership expires. National has decided to send out only up to 4 renewal letters, but is mailing the State Committees mailing labels that would normally be used on the first request for renewal letters. If members renew their National membership through a State renewal letter, the State gets to keep a portion of the dues; when a member renews from a National letter, National keeps all the dues. Thea said that currently the list is available only as labels, and not as electronic media. Jon moved that the matter be referred to the Membership Committee to determine how best to utilize these labels, and that the Committee be charged to report their recommendation within one month, and that the Op-Com be authorized to act on this recommendation. The motion passed with the dissent of only the Membership Committee. FINAL PAYMENT OF THE DEBT Jon announced that he had written the final checks to payback the Regions. Representatives from Santa Clara County and from Santa Cruz County were present to receive their checks. BALLOT PROPOSITIONS Ted announced that there will be eight propositions on the November ballot. He submitted arguments on four of them, but we were superseded by other organizations. Ted presented the propositions, and his recommendations, and asked for the Ex-Com concurrence: PROP 181: The Passenger Rail and Clean Air Bond Act proposes to sell 1 billion dollars in Bonds to subsidize the rail systems in California. The Ex-Com voted to recommend a NO vote on this measure. PROP 182: The California Housing and Jobs Investment Bond Act proposed $185 millions in bonds for first time home buyers. The Ex-Com voted to recommend a NO vote on this measure. PROP 183: Recall Election of State Officers proposes changing the time within which a recall election must occur from 80 days to 180 days, the object being to consolidate recall elections to occur with normal elections. Ted recommend a NO vote, asking why should the voters be forced to put up with a scoundrel any longer than necessary. The Ex-Com voted to recommend a NO vote on this measure. PROP 184: Sentence Enhancement Repeat Offenders Initiative Statute, otherwise known as the "three-strikes-and-your-out law". This is currently law, but this initiative would place it in the State Constitution. The Ex-Com voted to recommend a NO vote on this measure. PROP 185: Public Transpiration Trust Fund Gasoline Sales Tax proposes an additional 4% sales tax on gasoline, the proceeds to be deposited into a Transit and Highway Trust Fund for Electric Rail, Light Rail, Commuter and Inter-City Rail, etc. The Ex-Com voted to recommend a NO vote on this measure. PROP 186: Health Services Taxes Initiative Consititional Amendment proposes a health-security fund supported by taxes on employers and individuals, sur-taxes on tobacco products, to be administrated by an elected Health Commissioner. This proposal would set up a California Health Care Plan similar to the Canadian Health Care Plan, and is often called the "Single-Payer" plan. The Ex-Com voted to recommend a NO vote on this measure. PROP 187: Illegal Aliens Ineligibility for Public Services Verification and Reporting Initiative. The supporters of this initiative approached us before and asked for our support, and we elected to oppose it instead. The Ex-Com voted to recommend a NO vote on this measure. PROP 188: Smoking and Tobacco Products Statewide Regulation would establish uniform statewide smoking regulations and repeal the Clean Air Act of 1976. This measure is sponsored by the Tobacco Industry which would prefer to live with this moderate statewide regulation, rather than the hodge-poge of stricter local regulations currently being enacted throughout the state. Pete Wilson has recently signed into law a statewide smoking regulation that is stricter than this measure. There were 6 Ex-Com members who recommend a YES vote, 1 recommended a NO vote, and 2 recommended we take NO POSITION. It was moved to recommend a YES vote, but to include a qualifier that we are opposed to all regulations which seek to deny people a free choice, that this measure is less offensive than other regulations, and that we would be in favor of repealing this proposition if it passed. This motion passed with 10 aye votes, and 1 nay vote. CONVENTION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Gail distributed her report, and announced her resignation from the committee. Laura McFadden has accepted the position of Chair of the committee. Gail said that Laura has produced a "Statement of Work" (SOW) which is a document which lists the Party's expectations concerning the production of a Convention. This document will be given to all prospective convention bidders. Gail moved that the Ex-Com accept the "SOW" as the official Libertarian Party's Conventions expectations, to become a part of the Standing Rules. Ray noted that the Statement requires the State Party Secretary to provide Convention badges; in the Conventions he has officiated, the Convention organizers provided badges to paid Convention participants; the State Party Secretary provides ribbons to credentialed delegates. Jon moved that the middle two sentences of Paragraph 3 on the cover sheet be included at the very beginning of the SOW. Gail moved to amend to change "Convention Contractors will work to" to "potential Convention Contractors will address". Jon accepted this as a friendly amendment, and there were no objections. There was no formal vote on the amended motion. Wayne said that the SOW listing of speaker times is not consistent with the proposed 1995 speaker time, and the restrictions limit the profit potential of the Convention Contractors. Cullene noted that the Ex-Com might want to change Paragraph D4: "On all contracts that provide remuneration to the LPC, the LPC reserves the right to audit said contract." should probably read: "On all contracts that provide remuneration to the LPC based on attendance, the LPC reserves the right to audit the books." Laura said she would make that change. On the vote to approve the SOW, as amended, the motion passed without dissent. Laura said she would provide a corrected copy to Ray for the record. Wayne discussed the progress of the Convention Contractors. He said that a special discounted price for a complete package is available to members of the Ex-Com. The Convention organizers are also seeking input from anyone concerning activities and/or speakers that would enhance the Convention. Wayne is considering having a Convention Poster commissioned, and the art work could be placed on a Tee-shirt, and sold at the Convention. Wayne acknowledged that he has not been able to return telephone calls as he has been expected to, and that in the future, if he can not be reached, messages should be left with Eric Lund, who will be assisting him, at (408) 737-9744. NEW MEMBERSHIP KITS Bob discussed the progress that the committee has made on developing a new member's kit. The committee has reached agreement on the contents of the kit, but has not yet produced such a kit. Bob distributed his report. Richard was concerned that the focus of the kit seemed to be on elections, whereas he felt that more attention should be given to our positions on current issues. Lawrence said that new members should get America's Libertarian Heritage and an embossed plastic membership card. DATABASE SECURITY Kim said that Mark Hinkle has reviewed Database Security, and has submitted his report with suggestions. At the Op-Com meeting, the report was reviewed, and portions were recommended for Ex-Com approval. There was some discussion on one of Mark's recommendations concerning the use of bulk mail permits and our non-profit status as a political party. Jon moved that the Ex-Com adopt the recommendations of the Op-Com. Kim said this would be items 2A through F, leaving off the first sentence starting off with: "All those..." and then continuing on; and including item 3. Item 3 includes all of the indented paragraphs, down to, but not including: "those are my recommendations." Kim moved to amend to delete item 2B: Encryption. The motion to amend failed by a vote of 3 to 5. The main motions carried by a vote of 8 to 0. BULK MAIL RECORD KEEPING Gail wished to caution those who are using the general LPC bulk mail imprint that does not have the permit number printed within it, that regulations require records be kept for one year. Each time this permit is used, the post office issues a receipt. This receipt should be forwarded to the Secretary. This does not apply to bulk mail permits which print the permit number. MEMBERSHIP POLICY Gail said that our current membership policy grants automatic membership to anyone who contributes $100 or more to the Party. This is inappropriate since the donor has not signed the Pledge, and the donor may not wish to become a member. Gail suggested we change this policy. Bob said such donors, because they have not signed the Pledge, become associated non-voting members, not members. Lawrence moved that the policy apply only to existing members; for non-member donors who contribute $100 or more, that we mail these associated members a letter and Pledge card, saying that they qualify for membership if they will just sign the Pledge card. The motion passed without dissent. CONVENTION CONSULTATION COMMITTEE The following were nominated to serve on the Convention consultation committee: Lawrence Goldberg, Bill Evers, George O'Brian. There were no other nominees, and the above three were accepted. Cullene Lang said that she is the Convention Speaker Coordinator, and asked that they contact her as soon as possible. POST CONVENTION EX-COM MEETING AGENDA This item was tabled until the next Ex-Com meeting. ADVERTISEMENTS WITHIN NO-PROFIT BULK MAIL Gail said that the Postal Service announced that it was changing its regulations concerning advertising within mail that uses a non- profit bulk mail permit. It appears that implementation of these changes has been delayed. This item was therefore tabled until the next Ex-Com meeting. ENDORSEMENT OF THE TAXPAYERS LEGAL FOUNDATION This group has changed its name to Citizens for Common Sense, and met last Thursday. Kim said he believed George O'Brian attended for the Party, but since George was not present, this item was tabled until the next Ex-Com meeting. PERMANENT OFFICE FOR THE STATE PARTY Lawrence was to speak on this issue, but as he left early, this item was tabled until the next meeting. CAMPAIGN COORDINATION Jon said that he would like to assemble a list of Libertarians who would be willing to work with several of our strong candidates later as the election comes up. Several strong candidates such as Sandy Webb and Terry Savage will be needing help. Jon and Gail will get together to write an article for the Newsletter. RELEASE OF THE MEMBERSHIP LIST Cullene Lang asked for access to the list of Northern California Libertarians. Kim, Jon and Ray approved. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be on Saturday November 19th in Long Beach. LIBERTARIAN PARTY POLITICAL PARTY STATEMENT (for inclusion in the November Ballot Pamphlet) What ever the problem, the Republican, Democrat solutions usually make things worst. They pass more laws -- 1500 new ones in California -- but where is the improvement in your neighborhood, your school, your savings account. The Libertarian Party has clear principled and practical solutions to todays problems, but they are often overlooked because they involve using less government instead of spending more tax-payer money. Libertarians want more personal responsibility and control, and less time-consuming government mandidated paper-work and its restraints. We stand for lean limited government whose main responsibility ought to be protecting our lives and property from criminals and trespassers, and to leave peaceful citizens alone. We support the rights of individuals to defend themselves and live in complete freedom provided they do not violate the life, liberty, or property of others. Since we favor financial responsibility, Libertarians question all government spending and borrowing. Thus, we oppose all taxes and public debt, like the bond propositions that appear every election. We seek free market solutions. Please phone our toll free inquiry lines: National:(800) 682-1776, or State: (800) 637-1776 for free information on our common sense approaches to health care, crime, education, poverty, the economy. and political corruption.