The Libertarian Party of California Executive Committee Meeting Mailing Address: Meeting Location: 655 Lewelling Blvd. #362 Long Beach San Leandro, Calif. 94579 (800) 637-1776 The Executive Committee of The Libertarian Party of California met on Saturday November 19, 1994 at Region 66's headquarters in Long Beach. The following are the minutes of that meeting. Chairman Kim Goldsworthy presided. Kim called the meeting to order and noted that Ted Brown would not be present. The following were also not present at the start of the meeting: George O'Brian, Wayne Nygren and Don Meyer. The first order of business after the agenda was set was the approval of the minutes of the July 23rd meeting. There were no up-grades or corrections, so the minutes were approved as written. Don Meyer arrived. CHAIR'S REPORT Kim said that a copy of the Chair's report had been previously mailed to all members of the Ex-Com, and asked for questions or comments. George O'Brian arrived. Bob Weber asked Kim why he withheld the Party's name from the list of organizations that were opposed to Prop 187. Kim said that he did this because according to his reading of the minutes, when the Prop 187 supporters approached the Ex-Com to ask for our support, we elected not to support 187. However, never did we decide to actively oppose 187. Since the Ex-Com did not vote to oppose, and because there are many Libertarians who support Prop 187, Kim thought it best not to lend our name to the list of opponents. Bob objected saying that when we reviewed the list of propositions, the Ex-Com recommended a NO vote on Prop 187, therefore the Party should have been listed with the list of opponents. Kim said that recommending a NO vote is not the same thing as actively opposing. Wayne Nygren arrived. Bob asked for a suspension of the rules for consideration of a new Standing Rule. Kim instead asked for additional time under the Chair's report to consider Bob's motion. Time was granted. Bob moved that the Chair shall have the responsibility for contacting organizations either opposing or backing statewide ballot propositions, and informing them of our position on that proposition, when we agree on their position. The motion passed with an 8 to 3 vote. NORTHERN VICE CHAIR'S REPORT George O'Brian delivered the Northern Vice Chair's report. Most of the activity in Northern California was concerned with the November elections. Both Richard Rider and Richard Boddie campaigned in Northern California. The San Francisco Examiner endorsed Libertarian Anton Sherwood for 12th Assembly District, the first time any major California newspaper has endorsed a Libertarian. Unfortunately, nobody heard about this endorsement, because the Examiner was on strike. Libertarians were successful in defeating a local bond issue when they were able to dub them "the Re- Decorating Bonds." Mark Sweany ran for city council in Chico (which is sort of the Santa Monica of the North), and finished fifth out of nine candidates for three positions. Linda DeGroat received 6,000 votes for State Senate. Terry Savage reported on his campaign for State Assembly. Terry said he only received 7% of the vote which was considerably less than he expected. Terry now questions how effective some of the low cost media can be in a campaign. Terry advertised extensively on cable TV and appeared on numerous radio programs, which the two major candidates did not. Print coverage was fair and equal except for the San Jose Mercury News. It was only on broadcast TV that Terry was not visible. Terry suggested that the voters are not yet ready to vote Libertarian. Since Libertarians make up less than 1% of the registered voters, that percentage needs to increase dramatically before a Libertarian can draw a large number of votes. Terry suggested that we need to reach out to those voters who are registered Independent, so that Libertarian becomes a viable choice for them. The good news, was that the campaign raised $50,000, and now knows how to raise money. The 1996 Terry Savage for State Assembly started on November 9. SOUTHERN VICE CHAIR'S REPORT Gail Lightfoot delivered the Southern Vice Chair's report. Kern County has become in-active. Gail said she experienced a problem in obtaining mailing labels from WithEase. Why does an officer of the Party need to obtain the permission of two other officers to obtain mailing labels from our vendor? Jon said that our By-Laws set this limit, and any change can only be completed at Convention. Gail disagreed, saying the By-Laws address providing mailing labels to the Regions, members, and to outside organizations. Gail feels that she should be able to obtain mailing labels to perform the functions of her office, without having to obtain the permission of two other officers. George suggested that this rule protects the vendor from charges of distributing mailing labels inappropriately. SECRETARY'S REPORT Ray Acosta delivered the Secretary's report. Ray received the old mail ballots from John Webster. Ray announced that November 30 is the official cutoff date for Region membership for the purposes of determining delegate allocation at Convention. Ray distributed a copy of a letter that WithEase will be distributing with the November 30 announcement. The letter tells the Regions how many delegates they may send, and asks them to provide the Secretary with the names of their delegates. Additionally, the Regions are also entitled to send a representative to the Platform Committee, and that they should forward the name of their representative to the Secretary and the Platform Committee Chair. Gail asked Ray what procedures are in-place to inform the California Secretary of State of the names of the Libertarian Party officers. Ray said that is one of the first duties of the new incoming Secretary, and that he would instruct the new Secretary on how to complete this task. Richard asked Ray if any of the Regions had sent in copies of their local By-Laws. Ray said that none have. Richard suggested that this Delegate letter be modified to ask the Regions to forward to us copies of their By-Laws. Ray agreed. SUSPENSION OF THE RULES FOR ART OLIVER Laura McFadden moved to suspend the rules to allow Art Oliver to address the Ex-Com. There were no objections. Art is a member of the Bellflower City Council, the first elected Libertarian city council member in Los Angeles County. Art said that an interesting situation has occurred in the State Assembly that may be an opportunity to the Party. Republican Paul Horcher is in disagreement with the Republican leadership for a number of reasons, but most recently because he wants to be the new Assembly Speaker. Horcher's office has approached Art to see if it is possible for Horcher to bolt the Republican Party and become a Libertarian. As a Libertarian, he feels he can convince Willie Brown to gather the support of the remaining 39 Democrats to elect him (Horcher) to the Speakership. John asked why he just doesn't sign the pledge and send in his $25 and then he would be a Libertarian. Art said the question is do we want him as a Libertarian. Becoming a Libertarian is meaningless to Horcher if he cannot get some support from us. Gail said that Horcher is from her Region, comes from Diamond Bar, and has always generated controversy. He is a friend of Willie Brown, and constantly fights with Republican leadership. Lawrence moved that before we welcome Mr. Horcher into the Party, that we interview either him or a member of his staff to see if we can support him. Art suggest that a letter of invitation should be sufficient. Lawrence moved that the Chair draft a letter to Mr. Horcher to open discussions, and that the letter be written and mailed today. The motion passed without dissent. Art said he would call Horcher's staff to see if a representative could address the Ex-Com today. TREASURER'S REPORT Jon Petersen delivered the Treasurer's report. We are still financially afloat, barely. He is proposing a $61,500 budget for next year. John noted that we have a bill from Lysander's for $5,730 for operating the 800 number during the month of October. This does not include the bill from the phone company, which will probably be another $1,000. Fortunately, fundraising has been successful, and we have generated more than $10,000. George said that calls continued up to election day, so the November bill will also be high. In fact, call volumes are still higher than normal. Jon moved that in-active Regions be entitled, upon becoming an active Region, to any dues collected from that Region within the prior one year period, in-active Region funds not claimed after one year shall placed in the appropriate Vice Chair fund. Jon said this motion is necessary because currently he does not forward dues money to Regions that fall below 10 members. George and Gail objected to the 10 members cutoff for active Region designation. The motion passed 11 to 0. SUSPENSION OF THE RULES TO CONSIDER ACTIVE REGION DEFINITION George O'Brian moved to suspend the rules to consider a change in the Standing Rules defining an in-active Region. The suspension was granted, and Bob moved that Regions with 10 or more members, and elected officers, shall be considered active Regions. The appropriate Vice Chair may designate Regions with less than 10 members as an active Region. Lawrence moved to table this motion, but that motion failed. The main motion passed 11 to 0. OPERATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT Kim said that all members had received a written report in the mail, and asked for questions. There were none. Jon submitted a copy of the new Party Stationary Letterhead. We are reverting to the old Letterhead which says The Libertarian Party of California, as opposed to the Pat Wright California Libertarian Party. The Letterhead change was adopted without dissent. NATIONAL COMMITTEE REPORT Thea Mclean was not present to deliver the National Committee report, but a written report was distributed. There were no questions. CONTRACT VENDOR OVERSIGHT COMMITTEES REPORTS NEWSLETTER OVERSIGHT Dick Venable delivered the Newsletter Oversight Report, which had been previously mailed to all Ex-Com members. Dick noted that the LPC News is almost a year old, with just about the same crew that started the paper. The crew is starting to reach exhaustion, and would appreciate help. The paper is having a hard time obtaining good news from the Regions, and would like each Region to appoint a person whose responsibility would be to forward news to the paper. Dick also reported that the relationship between the Newsletter editor and the Convention Committee continues to deteriorate. Dick proposed three motions for Ex-Com consideration. First, that members of the Ex-Com actively look for qualified people to fill needed positions in the paper. Jon suggested that since this motion was not intended as a Standing Rule, and that since all members of the Ex-Com are present, it is not necessary to vote on this motion. Don asked for a suspension of the rules, to discuss these proposals as a "committee of the whole". Kim agreed, and George presided. When the regular meeting re-convened, Dick agreed to withdrawal the first motion. The second motion was: that favorable consideration be given to expanding the Regional functions to include responsibility for regular communication with the State Newspaper, the LPC News. Gail said the only regular submission of local newsletters come from: San Diego, East Bay, Nevada, LPLAC, and Alaska. Other Regions provide newsletters, but they arrive too late. Submissions for the LPC News need to arrive to Gail before they are included in the local newsletters. Dick said what we need to do is to encourage the Regions to plan their news articles ahead, and send in the stories prior to the events occurring. Lawrence suggested that the words "favorable consideration be given to expanding" be stricken from the motion. George objected, saying such a mandated change in Region functions must be accomplished through a By-Law change, which this body does not have the power to do. The motion, without the change, passed with a 9 to 0 vote. The third motion was that the Convention Contractor be reprimanded, and be directed to maintain more positive and consistent communication with the State Newsletter. Laura moved to amend by adding: the Convention Oversight Committee, and other committees that work with the Convention, as established by the Executive Committee. Lawrence moved that consideration of this motion be postponed until the Ex-Com discusses Convention business. This motion to postpone passed without dissent. CALIFORNIA LIBERTY BUDGET REQUEST Lawrence Goldberg distributed a memo from California Liberty publisher David Nolan. After publishing 8 issues of California Liberty, actual costs are available, and they are higher than anticipated. This is primarily due to the delay in the positioning of the newsracks, and advertising revenues being lower than anticipated. Therefore, Dave is requesting that the charges for printing the LPC News increase by $423 per month to $1,273 per month beginning with the February 1995 issue. However, it is possible that the the newsracks will be placed by February, and that advertising revenues will improve, and that the additional money will not be needed. Ray said we do not have the authority to set the Newsletter budget for next years Ex-Com, we can only recommend. Gail said that the February issue will be printed in the first week of January. The March issue will be printed in early February, prior to the Convention. Therefore, this Ex-Com can vote to increase the budget for those two issues. Jon said that in reviewing Lawrence's memo, he notices that the costs include $1,125 for the printing of 3,000 LPC Newsletters, and 10,000 California Liberty's. Jon said the Party's costs should only include the cost for 3,000 California Liberty's. Lawrence replied that 10,000 is the most cost efficient number to print, and that the difference is often used by Party members as recruitment material. Jon said that that was irrelevant, that the Party only contracted for, and only needs 3,000 copies of California Liberty. George said that the issue is did we contract to pay for 3,000 copies or 10,000 copies. Lawrence responded that it was the intent of the publisher that California Liberty would be so successful that the Party would only have to pay for 3,000 copies, but that has not yet happened. In order for the LPC News and California Liberty to continue publishing, additional monies will be needed for a short period of time. Richard said that the San Diego Region, which had been taking up to 1,000 copies of California Liberty for outreach, has not found it effective, and will be changing their request to only 100 copies. Wayne said that he is an independent contractor, and underestimating costs is an occupational hazard. When he accepts a job, he can not go back and ask for more money because he incorrectly estimated costs. However, sometimes a subcontractor will ask him for more money, and he has to weigh all the circumstances before deciding to pay. Wayne suggested that we loan the vendor the requested funds until the paper becomes profitable. Robert said that the original selling point of California Liberty was that the Party would save money by having the LPC News produced with California Liberty, but now the reverse appears to be the case. Dick said that the cost to print 3,000 copies of LPC News and 3,000 copies of California Liberty would be $950. Richard moved to amend the motion by adding: $400 of which shall be a non-recourse loan, for the February, March and April issues. Richard explained that a non- recourse loan does not have to be repaid if the borrower can not repay it. The amendment passed with 10 aye votes. The amended main motion: Beginning with the February issue, that budget item for printing the LPC News, will be increased from $850 per month, to $1,273 per month, $400 of which shall be considered a non- recourse loan to the publisher, for the February, March and April 1995 issues. This motion passed with an 11 to 1 vote. 800 NUMBER OVERSIGHT Kim said that Mark Hinkle had recently arranged for the installation of additional lines, and that his report had been distributed. Don Meyer reported that the recent surge in call volumes with the 800 number has placed a strain on the relationship between himself and the ISIL personal who staff the 800 number. ISIL knew that additional lines would be required for the anticipated increase in calls, yet it appears that they made no effort to install any additional lines. In addition, a considerable amount of time and effort was spent to revamp the material that the 800 Number people would mail to inquirers. Don thought that the 800 Number people understood that new material would be furnished to them. However, none of the new material was mailed to the inquirers, and the new material sits on a self, un- used. The end result is that money was spent for new material that was not used, and money was spent to get Mark Hinkle to arrange for the installation of additional phone lines. Don said that the situation now is that he no longer wishes to work with the 800 Number people, and believes that the feeling is mutual. George spoke for ISIL, and said that at no point did they agree to mail out new material using bulk mail. Such a change would require a modification to the contract, which is currently set up to use first class mail. Libertarian bulk mail, mailed from liberal San Francisco, has the lowest priority, and would never reach inquires in time for the election. As to the installation of the phone lines, ISIL did attempt to get the lines installed, Telephone Company personal arrived, but there was no access to the Telephone Terminal Box. ISIL is so displeased with their relationship with the Oversight Committee, that they will not bid for a renewal of the contract in 1995. Jon noted that the material that ISIL mailed out to the inquires was ISIL pamphlets, with ISIL's name and address on the back. In as much as we are a major customer of ISIL, why can we not have our name and address printed on material mailed to to people who are inquiring about the Libertarian Party? Don was asked to explain the relationship between Lysander's, ISIL, and Mark Valverde. ISIL (International Society for Individual Liberty) is an independent libertarian organization based in San Francisco, and their function is to promote libertarian ideas. Most of ISIL's San Francisco people are also members of the San Francisco Region of the Libertarian Party. Lysander's is an organization created by ISIL to operate the Libertarian Party's 800 number under contract. Mark Valverde is an employee of Lysander's, hired to run the 800 number. Don asked to be relieved of this position and recommended that Mark Hinkle replace him until the new Ex-Com can appoint a permanent replacement. Kim said that he as accepted Don's resignation. Mark Hinkle was contracted, with pay, to arrange for the installation of the additional lines, and has agreed to serve as 800 Number Oversight, without pay, until February. Kim said he would verify his understanding with Mark. Jon said that if there was a problem, he would serve in lieu of Mark. OPENING A STATE OFFICE Lawrence spoke on the need to open a state office to facilitate fund raising and 800 number answering, and recommended that the office currently being used by Long Beach Region 66 and also by LPLAC, could also be as a state office. This office could also be used as a publicity center issuing press releases. Space could be rented to Atlas Communications to facilitate newsletter production. Lawrence moved that we establish this as the official LPC office, and that we move the 800 Number operations to this office. Jon moved to split the question, and Kim agreed. John asked if the state office proposal was agreeable to Long Beach Region 66. Kim responded that Laura McFadden is the Region 66 Chair, and would be given an opportunity to speak. Wayne spoke against the motion noting that the Party has unsuccessfully opened state offices in the past, and has always regretted it. George agreed, and said that there are a number of complex issues that have to be addressed: such as our relationship with Region 66 and the office owner; who is authorized to have keys; equipment and data base security. Jon moved to amend that the Op-Com to have final approval by December 15th. Wayne asked what the financial impact of this motion would be? As worded, we could establish a state office with zero dollars budgeted to operate the office. The amendment passed with a 12 to 0 vote. Richard asked for Laura's comments; Laura said she had nothing to say, except that if this motion was adopted, she would be actively involved in contract negotiations. The main motion, as amended, passed with a 12 to 1 vote. The next motion was to move the 800 Number operations from the present contractor to the State Office. Jon noted that we incurred a $300 installation charge from the Phone Company to install 3 additional lines in San Francisco. Moving the 800 Number to Long Beach would require additional installation charges from the local Phone Company. Don said that our current contract requires a 30 day notice to terminate, unless the contractor would agree to give up the contract sooner. The vote on this motion was 6 aye votes and 1 nay vote. 8 ayes votes were required to carry the motion, so it failed. George said that it is his opinion that ISIL wishes to terminate the contract as soon as practical, so that we need to determine who is going to answer our 800 number. Lawrence move that the Party fund a bulk mailing of the new material, to all the people who called the 800 number, and received ISIL material. Gail asked Jon if there were sufficient funds to complete this mailing. Jon said that depends upon which budget item this will be charged to. Currently Membership Recruitment has zero dollars available. The motion passed with an 11 to 0 vote. Kim said that it was his understanding that Lawrence would write the cover letter, and the Bergland material would be enclosed, but that the actual stuffing and mailing would be determined later. DATABASE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE 4:25 P.M. Jon reported that he has talked to Mark Hinkle who has talked to Hugh & Thea about printing the telephone numbers on the renewal form, on pin feed forms, and Mark said that there are no technical problems. The reason for this is that we often receive back renewal forms with illegible writing. With the name and phone number pre-printed on the renewal form, it is then easy to call and ask for clarification. Kim said that he had just received labels from National for National renewals. The labels have been forwarded to Hugh & Thea, and those people will be receiving a normal renewal request, modified to mention renewing their membership in National also. COURTESY RESOLUTION Kim said he would like to move that the Ex-Com recognize the excellent work of Laura McFadden on the Statement of Work. The motion passed. CONVENTION OVERSIGHT Laura said that all members had received her written report by mail. Kim has asked Laura if it would be possible to get Richard Boddie to be the Keynote Speaker at the Convention. (The Keynote Speaker is the first speaker on Saturday morning, and attempts to set the tone for the Convention.) Richard has responded that he would like airfare, meals and hotel paid for him, plus a $300 fee. Kim said that the total cost to the Party would be $809, and he moved that the Ex-Com authorize the expense. Jon said such a charge would come from Convention Expenses. Richard asked what was the precedent for paying Keynote Speakers. Kim said that usually the Convention Organizer arranged for the Keynote Speaker, without consulting the Party, and without expense to the Party. Bob suggested that we not pay Richard Boddie a fee, since he will be running for President, and addressing the Convention will be to his advantage. Wayne said that if we approve the full amount asked, Richard would probably the highest paid speaker at the Convention. Richard Halvorson said that Richard Boddie is a professional speaker, and that $800 is not out-of-line with what professional speakers charge. Ray moved to amend the motion to strike the COC recommendation of a $300 fee. This passed with a vote of 11 to 1. Terry Savage was given an opportunity to address the Ex-Com. Terry said that he paid Richard to speak during his campaign, and that Richard is an excellent speaker, probably the best around, but in retrospect, he paid him too much. Terry recommended that the Ex- Com offer Richard a Connoisseur Convention Package, no airfare, no hotel. Jon moved that Terry's recommendation be considered as a substitute motion. The Connoisseur Package would cost $205 if purchased prior to November 30; $235 if purchased after. Wayne moved to amend the motion to authorize COC to also offer one nights lodging, if the package by itself was unacceptable. This motion passed by a vote of 10 to 0. Bob moved to amend the main motion to offer only one nights lodging instead of three nights. This amendment passed with a vote of 11 to 0. Wayne moved to offer a substitute motion to authorize Laura to spend up to $345 in any combination of air fare, hotel lodging or Convention Packages that would be acceptable to Richard Boddie. Kim ruled this motion out-of-order, as there can only be two competing motions on the floor at once. The vote on the substitute motion (Connoisseur Package) was 3 aye votes and 8 nay votes, and so was eliminated from consideration. At this point, Wayne re-introduced his substitute motion. The vote on this motion was 12 to 0, so it became the main motion. The vote on Wayne's motion (as the main motion) was again 12 to 0, so it passed. George moved that if Richard Boddie turns down the above offer, that this money be made available to recruit another Keynote Speaker. the vote on this motion was 12 to 0, so the motion passed. Returning to Laura's Convention report, she said she is still having problems with the Convention Contractors getting calls return, and getting reports. Laura said she is so frustrated, that if it were not so close to the Convention, she would recommend that we find another Contractor. She does recommend that in the future, any proposals by this Contractor be viewed very critically. Laura asked that the tabled motion: that the Convention Contractor reprimanded and be directed to maintain more positive and consistent communication with the State Newsletter, be re- introduced, and she moved to amend by adding: the Convention Oversight Committee, and other committees that work with the Convention, as established by the Executive Committee. Wayne responded by saying that he is hard to get a hold of, but that he has asked that Convention questions be directed to Eric Lund. Eric has told Wayne that there have been no Convention messages. Kim said that he called Eric on election day, and again two days later, and did not receive a return call. Laura said she too has had difficulty getting in touch with Eric, and when she has made contact, Eric has said he will follow up, and there is never a follow up. Wayne said he apologized for the Convention Team, but they have been very busy with both the election and the Convention. He brought with him, Convention fliers to be included in local newsletters. Terry said he just called Eric's number, and there was no answer, not even a machine. George spoke against the motion saying he has never seen a motion of reprimand accomplish anything positive, and asked if a new motion could be formulated that would direct someone to complete a specific and measurable action. Kim proposed a substitute motion: that in-as-much-as the three principal Convention Organizers, Wayne Nygren, Colleen Lang, and Eric Lund, have not been returning phone calls, that a new liaison person be chosen, and he suggested Marion McQuen or Terry Floyd. Terry Floyd was chosen because he has an E-mail address. This motion became the main motion by a vote of 11 to 0. The motion passed with a vote of 12 to 0. Wayne announced that there are still openings for vendors; if anyone knows of anyone who would like to rent a booth at the Convention, put them in contact with Wayne, Colleen, Eric or Terry. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE Robert Leet said that everyone should have received in the mail, a graph plotting membership over the last four years. The plot shows that membership increased to a peak of about 4,000 about three years ago, and has been declining since. We now have about 2,155 dues paying members. Joe Dehn also presented a membership study of Region membership, and his study confirms the decline in membership is across all Regions. Robert said that it appears we have a hard core of about 2,000 members; the large increase was due to Pat Wright's use of bounty hunters and direct mail campaigns. The members thus recruited, however, did not appear to have a thorough understanding of what we were about, and have since dropped out. Jon said that 40% of the new members who joined during the Pat Wright era, dropped within their first year. Another 25%, or 65% of those new members, dropped within two years. Normal attrition for members with more than two years membership is about 10% a year. Robert recommended that we mail membership solicitations to lapsed members, sometime between Christmas and New Years. Gail moved that the February issue be also mailed to this list of lapsed members; this issue would be mailed in early January. Lawrence asked that the February issue also go to the 800 number inquirers. Kim restated the main motion: that the February issue of the LPC News be mailed to the two-year lapsed list, as described by Bob Leet; and the inquire list as suggested by Lawrence Goldberg. The motion passed with 12 to 0 vote. Jon moved that the budget be adjusted by decreasing the Data Processing item by $2,000, and increasing the Membership Recruitment item by $2,000. This money to be used to support the above authorized mailings. The motion carried with a vote of 12 to 0. FUNDRAISING Lawrence said that the first fundraising letter that was mailed returned $7,000. A second fundraising letter mailed at about the time of the election has insufficient data to report, except that one person sent us a check for $1,000. A third and final fundraising letter will be mailed after the Holiday season. Concerning Execuline phone service, we now have 206 members signed on. We have the potential to generate $20,000 per year if we get 1,000 members to sign up. Signing up new pledgers has not been successful. He hopes to come up with a premium to give to new pledgers. Lawrence said that his idea to sell Libertarian merchandise has gone on a back burner because the start-up capital is not available. LEGAL Kim said that Ted Brown was unable to attend this meeting, but that he had submitted a report. Ted did not have new information about the joint lawsuit regarding the Party endorsement in non-partisan races as described by Richard Winger. Kim has heard elsewhere that the courts have issued a favorable ruling, and political parties can now endorse candidates in non-partisan races. Richard, Gail and Jon said they had heard the same thing. Ted said he would wait for the formation of the Convention By-Laws Committee before proposing a modification to the By-Laws to reflect the change in the State Primary Election. In 1996, the Primary will be held in March instead of June. Bob asked there has been any consideration to appealing the Lightfoot vs. Eu decision regarding nominating candidates by Convention? Kim said that there was no one present who could speak to the question, and that the best source of information would be Richard Winger. CONVENTION CONSULTATION COMMITTEE George said that he was appointed to this Committee without his knowledge, and was unclear as to the function of the Committee. Bob explained that the Committee was to assist the Convention Organizers in choosing speakers; Convention Organizers would have final say, but will "consult" with the Consultation Committee to avoid embarrassments. George said that the Convention Organizers had sent him a list of potential speakers, and he indicated names he was less-than enthralled with. Wayne said the same list was given to Bill Evers. INTERNET WORLD-WIDE-WEB Joe Dehn explained to the Ex-Com what he was doing to get the LPC to be a part of the Internet. Joe explained that Internet is simply a network of computers somehow linked or tied together. There are many networks, but the Internet is becoming the most important. One of the things one can do with such a network is send E-mail, but there are other uses. The World-Wide-Web (WWW) is another application. WWW is like a library, where one can store documents as data files, that all Internet users have access to these data files. More and more users are adding more and more information to WWW. The unique thing about WWW is its Web ability: key words and phrases can be linked to their occurrence in other documents, so that a document that mentions "Civil Rights" can be linked to our document(s) concerning "Civil Rights". A non- libertarian user could be reading some document on some subject that includes "Civil Rights" in the document. The user could see that "Civil Rights" is linked to many other documents in the Web, and could look at any of those documents, maybe ours. Joe said that he has entered Libertarian documents into the WWW, documents such as our newsletters, our platform, our list of officers, statement of principles, position papers, and candidate information. Joe walked us through an example using articles from the newsletter concerning the Terry Savage Campaign. Bob moved that the Ex-Com commend Joe Dehn for the excellent work he has performed. There was no debate, and the motion passed unanimously. Gail suggested that Joe write an article for the Newsletter instructing how the local Regions may submit articles for inclusion in the World Wide Web. ELECTION OF THE BY-LAWS COMMITTEE Kim announced that nominations were open for members of the By-Laws Committee. The following were nominated: Bob Weber, Mary Gingle, Jon Petersen, Terry Savage, Joe Dehn, John McCready, and Wayne Nygren. The following were elected: Mary Gingle, Jon Petersen, Bob Weber, Joe Dehn, and Terry Savage. These individuals will meet the Friday before Convention, choose a Chair, and review all proposed By-Law changes, and provide recommendations to the Convention. Kim asked the new By-Laws Committee to meet prior to Convention for consideration of the proposed Richard Winger By-Law change concerning the California Primary Election. Kim said he would like to see the recommended change in sufficient time to be published in the Convention Agenda. ELECTION OF THE CHAIR OF THE PLATFORM COMMITTEE Kim announced that nominations were open for the Chair of the Platform committee. The following were nominated: Ted Brown, Bill Evers, and John McCready. Ted Brown was elected. APPOINTMENT OF AUDIT COMMITTEE Kim said an auditor must be chosen to review the financial records of 1994. Jon said that the 1993 audit was never done, and also need to be completed. Eric Lund performed the audit of the 1992 records, and was chosen to perform the 1993 audit, but it was never started. Lawrence and Bob suggested that Gail Moore would be qualified to perform the audit. Lee Horton was also recommended. Jerry Douglas was also suggested. The preference of the Ex-Com was Gail Moore, Jerry Douglas, and Lee Horton. These individuals will be approached in this order to see if they will accept the position. GROWING THE PARTY Jon said that the mood of the last election is that the voters want a smaller, less intrusive government. They have thrown out the Democrats, and will see what the Republicans have to offer. We, of course, do not believe the Republicans will come through. If they do, fine, we will have accomplished our purpose. But they won't. The bottom line, is that for us to succeed in creating a more libertarian society, we must appear to be a viable choice to the voter, not a never-win third party. The election results show that we get more votes than our registration figures support, but we need to grow the number of registered Libertarians we have. Jon proposes that the Party sponsor a ballot initiative that will capture the imagination of the voter, something like No Un-funded Mandates. Richard said its already being done; the State legislature has passed a resolution asking the Federal Government not to impose un-funded programs. Jon said we should champion No Un-funded State Mandates to the cities and counties. Terry said that among local politicians, this issue has bi-partisan support. Gail said our elected Libertarian City Council members have told her the same thing. Richard said that it has been his experience that libertarian initiatives can be passed successfully if they are not identified as Libertarian; the minute we propose an initiative as "Libertarian", the two major parties will throw all their weight against us, and crush it. Jon asked to introduce two motions. First, that a special committee be created to implement By-Law 2, which would grow the Party in the traditional way of education, and outreach. Second, that another committee be created that would explore and develop a Libertarian sponsored State-wide initiative. Kim said both motions could be considered together. The motions carried with a 11 to 0 vote. Kim asked Richard Halvorson to act a interim chair of the By-Law 2 Committee, and Terry Savage to act a interim chair of the Initiative Committee. They were charged with recruiting members and support, and reporting to the new Ex-Com in February. OLD BUSINESS LIBERTARIANS IN THE MEDIA AWARD Lawrence said that Dr. Dean Adell responded to our attempt to present him with our award. He said he was pleased, but it is his policy not to attend partisan functions. Lawrence said he will correspond back to the Doctor, and ask if it would be possible for him to send a representative to receive the award in his name. Otherwise, the award will be mailed to the Doctor. Kim asked Lawrence for copies of this correspondence. BULK MAIL PERMIT Gail restated that if anyone anticipates using the generic Libertarian Bulk Mail permit, that they be sure to review the Postal requirements for record keeping, and forward these records to the Secretary. So far, no one has used this permit. Kim asked Gail to provide Ray with a copy of these requirements, so that they may be included as an attachment to the minutes, and in the archives. ANTI-DRUG WAR TELEVISION COMMERCIAL Bob announced that he has completed the commercial, and that he has sent out a fundraising letter asking for financial support to run the commercial on television. He has received about $5,500 so far. Requests for copies of the tape have come from the Alaska Party, the Tennessee Party, and the Louisiana Party. He has purchased 118 spots on Continental Cable in Los Angeles. It was actually run over 140 times the week before the election, on A&E, CNN and MTV. The 800 number people said the commercial has generated about 5 calls a day that specifically mention the ad. The Riverside Region has purchased a copy of the tape and independently arranged for broadcast with a Riverside Cable Company. Bob said he has also produced a modified version for broadcast between elections, and a modified version with the National 800 number. So far, this undertaking has generated about an $800 profit. Bob moved that this money be used as seed money to produce an anti-tax commercial for broadcast in April. He would also like to use no more than $100 of the profits to purchase a gift for the Graphic Artist who donated her time. This motion passed without dissent. UNORGANIZED COUNTIES SOLICITATION, ONE-YEAR FOLLOW-UP Kim said that there are twenty five counties that do not have an active Libertarian Organization. About a year ago, Gail mailed a solicitation to the reg-libs in these counties to ask them to subscribe to the Newsletter; Kim now asked for funding to do a second mailing as a follow-up; there would be about 2,000 letters. The last letter netted about $1,500. Lawrence said that this could be a subject of the next fundraising letter: i.e., we have hot lists of people we need to mail to, send money to finance the mailings. The motion passed without dissent. PROPOSED AGENDA FOR POST-CONVENTION EX-COM MEETING Kim said that Gail had given to him an agenda for the post- Convention Ex-Com meeting, and he distributed it for review. Kim said that he had some reservations about this agenda, and said he would like to develop a new agenda, and run it by the current officers, prior to the beginning of the Convention. NEW BUSINESS CITIZENS AGAINST LEGAL ABUSE Richard said that there is an organization called Citizens Against Legal Abuse with Chapters in most counties, and suggested that we align ourselves with them were we can. He said the organization is primarily conservative in nature and in their proposed solutions, but that we might be able to influence their direction. He suggested that we inform the Regions, and suggest that they invite representatives of CALA to speak at our supper clubs. The Ex-Com was not enthusiastic because they could not get a good sense as to CALA's specific goals, and how these goals would tie into libertarianism. However, it was suggested that CALA be invited to rent a booth at the Convention. STEVE GREEN RACE FOR CITY COUNCIL Richard said that Steve Green ran a good race for Santee City Council, raising $10,000. However, he lost by 109 votes. During the last two days of the campaign, the opposition drove around in a van with large signs on the side saying "Vote for Green, Say Yes to Drugs and Prostitution, Say No to Government Interference." Lawrence said that the Green Campaign has the license plate number of the van, and that they are studying to see if they have any recourse. PROPOSITION 187 Richard said that we recommended a No vote on Prop 187 in part because of the police powers it granted government. Late in the campaign, the proponents of Prop 187 agreed to dropped their requirements for everyone to carry Identity Cards, and dropped their requirements that State employees report on aliens. Several Libertarians candidates supported 187 because they then saw the measure as a way to reduce government spending. PRIVATIZATION OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES Richard reported that in San Diego County, two local School Board Candidates ran supporting a Voucher system, and received 48% of the vote. In addition, San Diego County has privatized all of their hospitals. The privatization of the School System is not far away. LIBERTARIANISM IN THE MEDIA George said that he was recently interviewed by a film crew from Great Britain. They later filmed a fundraiser by the opponents of Civil Assets Forfeiture. The working title of their program is: "People Against the Grain". CANDIDACY FOR 1995 STATE OFFICES Terry Savage announced that he will be running for State Chair at the next Convention, and hoped to get the support of everyone present. Jon Petersen announced that he will be running again for State Treasurer, and hoped to get the support of everyone present. In two years, he plans to run again for Treasurer of the State of California. NEXT MEETING Kim said that this should be the last official meeting of this Ex- Com. However, he is considering calling a retreat meeting in January where a professional trainer would speak as to how non- profit boards of governors work. Ex-Com members who anticipate returning for next years Ex-Com are encouraged to attend. We will next meet at the February Convention in Oakland.