Document:LNC Minutes 9-10 December 1995
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Minutes for The Washington, DC Meeting of The Board of Directors of The Libertarian National Committee, Inc. December 9 - 10 , 1995 Watergate Hotel 1 Call to order at 9:00 am by the Vice-Chairman Karen Allard 2 Credentials John D. Famularo National Committee Members in attendance: Stephen Dasbach Chair Karen Allard Vice-Chair Bill Evers Region 2 John Famularo Secretary Thea McLean Region 2 Hugh Butler Treasurer Joe Hauptman Region 3 Sharon Ayres At Large Gary Ilardi Region 4 Ron Crickenberger At Large Dan Karlan Region 5 Gary Johnson At Large Joseph Brennen Region 6 Don Ernsberger At Large Robert Franke Region 7 Tom Paswater Region 8 Absent: James Dan Region ! Tamara Clark At Large Alternates in attendance Jesse Markowitz Region 5 Steve Winter Region 6 Non-Voting: Perry Willis National Director Bill Winter Communications Director Bill Redpath Ballot Access Chair Kris Williams Project Manager Mr Ilardi had to return to Florida immediately due to a family emergency 3. Approval of Minutes Minutes from the August 26th meeting approved without objection. 4 Setting Agenda General discussion regarding the revision of the original agenda since there will be no TV coverage and other technical and travel difficulties Meeting was recessed for twenty minutes after which Mr Dasbach assumed the chair Continued discussion of revised agenda 5. Check of paperwork Agenda packet Director of Communications report Region 2 report Region 4 report Ballot access report Region 8 report 6. Executive Committee Minutes 7.1 Headquarters Report Perry Willis Mr. Kris Williams has been hired to replace Cynthia Fellows as project manager. He is implementing a project management system which will give us better control of the budget. Prospect mailing of 87,000 pieces will be going out in January. 70,000 pieces of the annual membership card report going out in the first week in January Prospecting projects for January New Letters Registered libertarian list in Pennsylvania list Testing of the tele-marketing to prospects after a rebuild of the tele-marketing operation due to the temporary loss of Scott Kohlhous Priority for the next thirty days Project management and budget tracking system Specifications for next computer system release Membership goals will be difficult to achieve. A new approach will be setting up a contest for individual activists instead of states to develop prospects and members Don Ernsberger asked that the minutes should reflect that he is very dissatisfied with the new membership cards. He said that he was assured by Perry and Bill back in August that the new membership cards would contain the non-initiation of force pledge and they do not. Bill Winter said that they had tried a number of layouts with the pledge included and could not settle on a satisfactory one, and since they were on a time deadline it was left off. Mr Winter said that since all members are required to sign the pledge when they join he did not understand the necessity to ritualistically resign each year. He further stated that it was a symptom of the problem with the organization that time was being spent on this trivial issue instead of other better uses of time to expand the organization. Discussion of the problem of getting more new members than membership lapses. Mr. Ernsberger said that the successful reinstatement telemarketing program by Scott Kohlhaus has masked the problem of low net new membership. Discussion about extending the number of renewal letters and where the cost out weighs the benefits. Discussion of the "Cost of Funds". Discussion of the evaluation of the goals. Discussion of first year vs renewal year lapses. Discussion of changing the goals Perry Willis said that projects aimed at local individual activists were being worked on for the current year. General discussion of membership growth possibilities Discussion of effect of the office move and staff turnover. Discussion of calculation of cost of new member acquisition. Mr Dasbach said that the cost of new members is approximately $25 for members that do not come in through the state affiliates. Discussion of handling the potential influx of inquiries generated by the convention C-SPAN coverage. Discussion of testing new prospect reply packages. Discussion of the lower number of 800 number calls this year versus previous years. 7.2 Treasurers Report Hugh Butler No progress on the vanity Visa Card, the company has not responded to the application packet. Thea McLean asked whether we would have to pay income tax on the income from the vanity tags. Mr. Butler said that he and Perry were in consultation with our CPA firm on this matter. Mr Butler says that the monthly FEC reporting has been working smoothly and has improved the timeliness and ease of reporting. Karen Allard asked whether the current accounting system is adequate for budget and project control. Mr Butler said that the current system is adequate with support from Stuart Reges and John Famularo. He is not in favor of replacing the current system Mr. Butler said he is concerned about the dispute in Oregon concerning who is the legitimate chair and treasurer of the Oregon party, and other affiliate party internal conflicts such as Arizona. Even though this is not currently a critical issue, we need a clear credentialling process. Mr. Butler will request people that are interested in exploring this issue to contact him. Recess for lunch and presentation on social security . 7.3 Ballot Access Karen Allard Ms. Allard asked Kris Williams and Bill Redpath to address the progress and problems with ballot access, and to address specifically problems with National Voter Outreach (NVO). Mr. Williams reviewed the ballot access report. We are officially in 26 states with active drives in Alaska (Scott Kohlhaus) and North Dakota (Al Anders). He is negotiating with various vendors in addition to NVO. Some problems in Oklahoma drive with NVO employees in collecting bad signatures. West Virginia is going well with Nick Dunbar doing the drive for NVO. Vermont is g-contacted with some organizations that have not performed satisfactorily. Competition with other petition drives has reduced the availability of professional petitioners. Discussion of encouraging the "Piggy back" technique of having petitioners circulating two petitions simultaneously which could reduce the average cost from one dollar per signature to eighty cents per signature. Discussion of the performance and exclusivity clauses in our contracts with NVO. Mr. Redpath said that $33,000 remained to be spent in 1995, which includes $5,000 for the Florida candidate substitution law suit (Gary Sinowski). The expenditures for 1996 are estimated to be $267,700. Discussion of 1996 ballot access budget. Mr. Redpath suggested that since no substitution is allowed in Maine, that each potential candidate get their own 4,000 signatures and agree to withdraw if they don't get the nomination of the party at the convention. Mr. Redpath said that the LP National office should work cooperatively with all presidential candidates to get their own signatures Discussion of petitioning for party qualification instead of individual qualification. Recess for lunch After reconvening after the lunch the next item was taken out of order without objection. 13B Washington/Illinois resolution on NAFTA/GATT Mr. Dasbach said that the Washington state party is requesting that the LNC to repudiate NAFTA and GATT and to join with the LPWA to urge Congress to repeal NAFTA and GATT. The LP of Illinois is supporting the resolution of LPWA. Discussion of the content of the motion. The item was tabled without objection until a copy of the actual motion is available 7.3 Ballot access (continued) Discussion of the details of requesting the presidential candidates to get themselves on the ballot in Maine. Discussion of fairness to all potential candidates, and possible effect on the presidential nomination process at the convention. Mr. Williams said that he had only discussed this with Sharon Ayres but would contact and work with each announced candidate to make sure they have equal help and information necessary to do this for themselves. Ms Allard made the following motion: "The LNC invites all Libertarian candidates for the nomination of president to petition to get their name on the ballot in Maine" Mr Karlan suggested that "by March 1st" be added to the motion Mr Dasbach said that we must know by March 1st so that we have time to do it ourselves. Further discussion on wording of motion. Mr Evers moved that consideration of the pending motions on the floor to be postponed for one half hour, Postponement passed without objection. 13B continued Washington/Illinois resolution on NAFTA/GATT Mr Franke read the revised draft resolution: "Whereas the North American Free Trade Agreement has proven to have little to do with free trade, but has instead become the vehicle for the unconstitutional transfer of billions of dollars from American taxpayers to the government of Mexico, Whereas the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs has subverted the sovereignty of the United States Congress and the United States Constitution and made our nation subservient to the will of an unconstitutional foreign body, the World Trade Organization, Be it resolved that the Libertarian Party by action of its National Committee on December 9th, 1995 urges the United States Congress to repeal NAFTA and GATT and hereby repudiates its previous support of NAFTA" Discussion of motion and the previous actions of the LNC. Discussion of the level of understanding of the details of NAFTA and GATT. Mr. Karlan suggested that the LNC should not make resolutions on issues where the general membership is sharply divided. Mr Ernsberger said that this is where more internal education is needed. Mr, Famularo said that while he does not support the current resolution as worded, he would have voted no originally had he known what he knows now about the complexity of the agreements, Mr Karlan made a motion to amend by substitution. "That the LNC rescinds its previous endorsement of NAFTA" Further discussion of problems of NAFTA and our previous resolution. Mr Evers said that while these agreements were not perfect they represented a significant move towards free trade and should be encouraged. Further discussion of the value of internal education. Mr Winter said that according to headquarters protest calls and letters, the NAFTA resolution was the most controversial action taken by the LNC in 1995. Vote on substitution motion 5 aye 8 nay motion on substitute fails Main motion failed on voice vote 7.3 continued Maine ballot access petitioning Ms Allard substituted the following motion for the one pending "The LNC shall request each announced candidate for the Libertarian Party nomination for President to petition in the State of Maine to place his or her name on the ballot. The request shall include the following qualifications: 1. The petition effort shall be organized and in operation no later than March 1, 1996. 2. Each candidate shall agree to withdraw his or her name from the ballot in the event that another candidate receives the nomination of the Libertarian Party's national convention. The Libertarian Party Headquarters staff shall work equally with all candidates to assist them in their Maine ballot efforts. Motion passed without objection 7.4 Communications Directors Report Bill Winter Mr. Winter said that we have been getting more incoming media calls that are consuming more office time. Media calls have increased fourfold over the last three years. Some interest in the foreign media. We will be trying to increase our media outreach in 1996. Less than 10 percent of the current media interest has anything to do with the upcoming campaign season. Our media database needs to be expanded and revised. New hardware is being contemplated to increase outgoing fax capacity. Mr Winter will be working with Don Ernsburger on the maximizing the return on the C-SPAN coverage of the convention. Libertarians in office is up to 160, an all time record Mr Ernsburger asked about the method of compiling the media interest statistics. Discussion about the "Third party interest" and how that may or may not enure to true interest in the Libertarian Party." Mr Karlan asked if the list of official presidential candidates was complete and if not why not Mr winter said that this issue came up regarding Mr Doug Ohmen. Mr. Winter said that he maintains a complete list of all people who have indicated an interest in running for president on the Libertarian ticket but only publishes those who he believes are running an active campaign. Mr Ohmen had appeared at the California and Colorado conventions last year and his name was published in the LP news along with Irwin Shiff, Harry Browne and Rich Thompkins. Mr Winter sent a letter to Mr Ohmen asking for proof that he was actively campaigning. Mr Ohmen responded in writing that he was still an active candidate but only included a position paper on his campaign. Mr Winter concluded that he was not running an active campaign. Mr Winter said that a number of questionable people had called or written the LPHQ expressing an intention of seeking the presidential nomination and that we need a criteria for maintaining a candidates list for the media. Mr Butler moved "A unanimous acclamation for Mr. Winter's wise decision in this matter" Discussion of meaning of the word "active'. Mr Famularo said that he had been in contact with Mr Ohmen as part of his convention management involvement and had received verification that Mr Ohmen was officially on the California ballot along with Browne, Shiff and Tompkins. Mr Famularo said that the issue was that Mr Ohmen was listed in LP News and then was removed by a new criteria. Mr Franke offered an amendment by substitution that: "We support Mr Winter's decision making process in these issues" Motion passed on voice vote Mr Karlan said that in the ed. Mr Jesse Markowitz, Maryland Chair, said that screening the list was a valuable and appropriate function of the Communications Director, but that an official set of criteria should be published so that there is no perception of inappropriate exclusion. Mr Winter said that the list does not allow or prevent anyone from seeking or getting our nomination, Mr. Ohmen could have contacted members directly or could have been appearing on TV. Mr Winter feels that it is his job and obligation to present the LP to the media in the most favorable light. Substitute motion passed on voice vote. Mr Ernsburger raised the question of the presidential debate at the convention and the role of FEE Ltd in setting a criteria for participating in the convention sponsored debate on C-SPAN. He asked for guidance form the body on such a criteria Ms Ayres said that FEE did not need the LNC permission. Mr Ernsburger said that FEE would like input from members of the LNC. 7.5 Campaigns Ron Crickenberger Discussion of the Bruce Van Buren winning campaign for city council of Avondale, GA We out worked and out spent the other guys. Approximately 500 man hours, and $2,000 for 432 votes. The hit pieces against our candidate were very good. Bruce was attacked for not voting in past elections and having no history of community service. Mr Crickenberger estimated that 80% of Bruce's votes came from his friendly personality and his walking of the precincts. Discussed results of the 71 responses Libertarian candidates survey. 40 candidates have already announced for 1996. 17 new people have volunteered for the campaign committee. Candidates have indicated a willingness to run again by a margin of 4 to 1 State and local support was minimal By 2 to 1 candidates said party building was only a side issue of campaign 8 out of 71 had a written campaign plan one half had walked their precincts one half had a computerized list of voters 11 got endorsements from the NRA 67 got media attention some got endorsements from: Americans against Gun Control, Citizens for safe government, Hawaii Rifle Association, Small Business Hawaii, Abortion rights group, United We Stand America, FIJA, Gun Owners of America. Most had speaking engagements. 5 to 1 thought campaign manual was useful A significant number reported that they did not receive the manual or that materiels were missing from the candidate package. No consensus on what new position papers should be produced. Mr Crickenberger discussed targeting marketing to both "left" and "right" leaning swing vote and pitching that to the media. Sal Gazette will be running a two day campaign seminar at the 1996 National Convention (Tue and Wed). There will be at least three seminars on successful Libertarian campaigns (city commission, school board, issues campaign). Next version of the campaign manual is scheduled for January 31st. Discussion of the 218 house candidates goal. Mr Dasbach said that California and Texas participation, and the Illinois law suit are key factors to the achievement of this goal. Perry Willis said that there was staff and money allocated to this project at the LPHQ. 8 Auditors Report Thea McLean Ms McLean said that she audited the office yesterday and determined that all the recommendations she made last year were implemented. She found nothing out of order in any respect. She will be producing a written report to the executiv 9A Convention Oversight Committee Dan Karlan 1996 Convention Mr Karlan said that Fee has selected Bumper Hornberger as the keynote speaker and that unless the LNC vetoes the selection by January 1, 1996, later requests for a change would trigger a penalty clause in the contract. Discussion of keynote selection. Ms Allard said she has spoken to Mr. Hornberger and he assured her that his board at FFF did not object to him speaking as the "Head of a libertarian organization", and that in his speech he will address us as delegates of a political convention. Mr Ernsburger said FEE would like a supportive vote so that FEE can go ahead with developing promotional material as scheduling advertizing. The selection of Jacob (Bumper) Hornberger was approved without objection. Mr Karlan reviewed the convention time line: Nov 1, 1995 Submission of business session requirements to FEE Apr 1, 1995 Final changes to business session requirements Dave Walter has been submitting financial reports in a timely manner. FEE will be filing FEC reports. The remainder of the 1996 report was tabled until copies of the platform committee resumes are available. Mr. Ernsberger distributed materials regarding a proposal by FEE to tabulate the platform plank voting required by the bylaws. Mr. Ernsberger said that if additional displays, decorations or services are desired beyond what is provided in the contract, the LNC would have to authorize those funds. Discussion of additional costs for a professional stage display for C-SPAN coverage. MR Dasbach said that the 1991 convention generated 15,000 inquiries and that a better presentation should generate more in 1996. 9B 1998 Convention Mr Karlan said that Kris Williams is working with the Atlanta convention bureau on the scheduling of the convention Discussion of the selection of the hotel site. Discussion of the role of the Convention Oversight Committee where the convention is being managed by the headquarters staff. 10 Program Committee Mike Tanner Mr Tanner discussed areas where local issues could be addressed in addition to national issues for the benefit of state and local campaigns. 11 Legal Action Committee Joe Hauptman Discussion of potential actions of the committee and the maintenance of a list of volunteer lawyers by specialty. Mr Dasbach said that the motivation for legal action should be because the LP has some unique standing where we could bring a case where others can not. Discussion of Oregon dispute. Mr Evers moved that a sub-committee of Hugh Butler, Joe Hauptman, and Sharon Ayres be appointed to review the Oregon materials and report back to the committee with a proposed written resolution. The motion failed for a lack of a second. The Chair said he will appoint a sub-committee to review the materials. 11A Regional Reports Region 1 No Report Mr Dasbach suggested the Oregon dispute be discussed. A task force of David Bergland, Steve Winter, Hugh Butler, Joe Hauptman, Karen Allard, and Steve Dasbach has met and discussed the Oregon dispute with Bob Franke, Thea McLean, Dan Karlan, and Ron Crickenberger attending) Mr Dasbach said that the consensus of the task force was to inform Oregon that we respect their process and bylaws and as of this point according to the materials provided it does not appear that there has been any changes in the composition of their state committee. We will continue to communicate with the same people we have been in the past. Mr Dasbach will send a letter to the Oregon party informing them of the decision. Mr. Butler said the affiliate party study group we are trying to constitute might give some input to the constitution and bylaws committee at the convention, and to review the affiliate bylaws with an eye towards advising the affiliates on how to avoid similar crises in the future. Mr Bultler advised the regional reps that his is soliciting members of state parties in their region who wish to serve on the study group. Mr Bergland said that the LNC should maintain the concept of state party autonomy and should resist interference in state party disputes even when asked. Region 2 Thea McLean California will have 152 candidates for office in 1996. Hawaii Mr Evers commented on the effectiveness of the HLP for its small size. Discussion of taking advantage of special elections. Region 3 Joe Hauptman Indiana has committed to fill its 10 congressional races and considers the 218 as an important goal Michigan will run 16 congressional candidates Ohio petition drive is getting geared up for the petition drive but they are lacking David Bergland's signature. Kentucky is optimistic about their petition drive but can not make any commitment concerning congressional candidates. Region 4 (Gary Ilardi had to leave due to an emergency) Region 5 Dan Karlan Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland chairs met for a regional conference PA convention set for Friday 1 March through Sunday 3 March. NJ convention is set for the March 16 MD had their convention in October PA and NJ will attempt to fill their congressional races Discussion of problems of getting signatures in PA for candidates in the rural counties. Region 6 Joseph Brennan Rhode Island - contact has been re-established with the Rhode Island chair Connecticut had their convention with Harry Browne, Rich Thompkins and Irwin Shiff attending. The party is up to 200 members. Previous local candidates have gotten double digit results. Maine - getting organized for their convention New York - will have Operation Politically Homeless booths operating for 50 days in 1996 New Hampshire - convention was held on October 15th and was well attended. Steve Winter has been appointed political director. Vermont eight out of the ten cities required for ballot access have been organized. Massachusetts - can not be contacted. Region 7 Robert Franke Minnesota - new newsletter staff with a graphics artist Raised their joint dues from 38 to 40 Started a pledge program 96 convention to be held in April or May Kansas - Seth Warren has taken over as Chair. Raising money for TV cable ads Will have 4 confessional candidates for 1996 and one senatorial candidate Illinois - Mike Ginsberg is extremely active campaigner and activist. State committee is having some organizational problems. Andy Spiegel is on annual retainer as counsel to LP of Illinois North Dakota - no information Wisconsin - the LPWI is a plaintiff in a suit challenging the state sales tax to build a stadium in Milwaukee. James Wall is running in a special election for state senate Dec 12 Nebraska - 4,000 of 6,000 signatures collected Iowa - State chair Tim Herd returning to Treasurers job after recruiting Dick Cruz effective February 3rd at the state convention. Missouri - continuing with all its activist activities. 3000 on newsletter list Organized in 42 counties out of 115 30 candidates recruited for 1996 9 congressional candidates Question on status of unified state-national membership Region 8 Tom Paswater Louisiana - Alexandria chosen for convention June 1st Oklahoma - Convention held - no congressional candidates Mississippi - Presidential candidates not invited to convention because it is being held in a public library. Mark Bushman now acting state chair Texas - Jay Manifold guesses that they will have 10 to 15 congressional candidates. Convention set for June 8th Arizona - All presidential candidates invited (except Doug Ohmen) 6 congressional candidates Tabloid newsletter sent out to all new Libertarians The Pima county group has only served the Chair and Treasurer even though all members of the state committee have been named as defendants. They are also seeking all the names addresses and social security numbers of anyone who attended the last Arizona convention, including LNC members. General discussion concerning the Arizona situation and the voter registration drive. Mr. Dasbach said that the money from the LNC was used almost exclusively to get registrations in Maricopa county (Phoenix), the Pima county drive (Tucson) was paid for by the Ed Kahn campaign and the Pima county group. The Maricopa drive was 300 short of qualifying Mr. Dasbach said that copies of all the registrations are on file in the office and copies have been sent to Tamara Clark (Arizona State Chair). . Mr Karlan raised the concern that the Louisiana and Texas conventions were being held after the deadline to submit delegate lists for the national convention. Mr Winter said that all the Chairs have been notified of all the deadlines, and he will follow up with reminders. 9A continued 1996 convention Mr Ernsberger reviewed the FEE proposal to provide Scantron voting forms and a machine to tabulate the votes on the platform planks. Discussion of requirements of a signature on the voting forms. Mr Famularo raised the question of the need for a backup Scantron machine. Mr Dasbach said that his experience was that the Scantron machines were very reliable and that the backup could be manual tabulation. Discussion of printing additional instructions and graphics on the form. Ms Allard moved to accept the following proposal: FEE Inc. will rent a SCANTRON X-101 49 column reader tabulation machine and will print the needed copies of the Platform Ballot. These ballot must be printed upon the SCANTRON FORM 888E purchased from SCANTRON inc. FEE will make these forms available to the Party Secretary immediately following the adoption of the Convention agenda. After three hours, FEE will collect the completed ballots from the National Secretary and tabulate them. All tabulation will be supervised by a committee made up of one representative of the Platform Committee, one representative of the National Committee and two representatives appointed by the National Chair from party groups working on platform revisions and or restoration. Copies of the results with a total vote on each plank plus the total number of "retain" and "reject" votes will be provided to the National Secretary and to the Chair of the Platform, Committee within one hour of the completion of the balloting process. FEE will provide to the Party Secretary immediately following the end of the Platform report copies of ballots with the required remaining planks for delegate voting. After three hours FEE will collect from the National Secretary all ballots for tabulation with the same procedure above . Total bid price: $500 Mr Dasbach made a motion to replace the sentence; " All tabulation will be supervised by a committee made up of one representative of the Platform Committee, one representative of the National Committee and two representatives appointed by the National Chair from party groups working on platform revisions and or restoration." With; " All tabulation will be supervised in a manner specified by the LNC" Ms Allard accepted the motion as friendly. Motion passed on voice vote Mr Evers urged that we establish a signature requirement for the voting forms. Mr Karlan made the following motion: "The Secretary shall accept no ballots for tabulation during platform balloting without the credentialed delegates signature" Motion passed on voice vote Nominations for the platform committee: Bumper Hornberger of VA Mile Tanner of DC Dean Ahmad of MD Dave Nolan of CA Ceicil Bohanon of IN Nancy Lord of GA Andrew Spiegel of IL Jim Campton of WA John Buttrick of AZ Jack Jones of MD Timothy O'Brien of MI Lorenzo Gaztanaga of MD Jimmy Harris of GA Discussion on candidates qualifications Platform Committee vote First ballot 14 ballots cast State Nominee Votes VA Bumper Hornberger 13 * DC Mike Tanner 13 * MD Dean Ahmad 14 * CA Dave Nolan 13 * IN Ceicil Bohanan 9 * GA Nancy Lord 6 IL Andrew Spiegel 5 WA Jim Compton 5 AZ John Buttrick 14 * MD Jack Jones 0 MI Timothy O'Brien 10 * MD Lorenzo Gaztanaga 5 GA Jimmy Harris 7 * indicates election by a majority of the votes cast Nominations for temporary chair of the Platform committee Dean Ahmad of MD Dave Nolan of CA vote for temporary chair of the Platform Committee Nominee Votes Dean Ahmad 5 Dave Nolan 7 Dave Nolan elected by show of hands Mr Evers moved "that we reopen the voting on the Platform committee for Mr Harris now and elect the balance of the committee by mail ballot within one month" Mr Ernsberger moved to divide the question 1. to vote on Mr Harris Motion carried on voice vote Vote on electing Jimmy Harris to Platform Committee Aye Nay Joe Brennan x Dan Karlan x Ron Crickenberger x Thea McLean x Robert Franke x Karen Allard x John Famularo x Sharon Ayres x Don Ernsberger x Bill Evers x Gary Johnson x Joe Hauptman x Steve Dasbach x 2 vote on selecting remaining positions by mail ballot Motion failed on voice vote Nominations for platform committee were reopened Joe Dehn Kathleen Richman Second ballot for two remaining positions on the Platform committee 13 ballots cast State Nominee Votes GA Nancy Lord 5 IL Andrew Spiegel 0 WA Jim Compton 0 MD Lorenzo Gaztanaga 1 CA Joe Dehn 8 * VA Kathleen Richman 6 * * elected by majority vote The platform committee as elected consists of: Dave Nolan Interim Chair Bumper Hornberger Mike Tanner Dean Ahmad Jimmy Harris Ceicil Bohanan John Buttrick Timothy O'Brien Joe Dehn Kathleen Richman 13a Resolution on Bosnia Mr Evers proposed the following resolution: Whereas the United States of America is a constitutional republic with jurisdiction limited to its boundaries, not a global empire, or policeman of the world, whereas governments that devote themselves to international intrigues and power politics do not hesitate long before violating people's rights, liberties, and any constitutional constraints that stand in there way, Whereas the vital interests of the United States, namely our constitutional liberties, our national independence, and our security from invasion or attack from abroad, are not at stake in Bosnia or the rest of the Balkans; Whereas the American people do not wish to send 20,000 American troops into the mountains of the Balkan region whether to slay Bosnian Serb miscreants or to rebuild the Bosnian governmental apparatus. Whereas the foreign-policy elites in America have their own reasons for sending troops: maintaining European regional stability that elites believe is vital to American prosperity, or discouraging present or future action or influence of Germany or Russia; or preserving U.S. credibility as muscular, internationally active, and preeminent among the powers none of these reasons, certainly under present circumstances, is worth a single American or Bosnian life; Whereas the commander-in-chief clause makes the Presidential general-in-chief in wartime, it does not give President Bill Clinton or any other past or future President the authority to dispatch U.S. forces into what is in reality a war zone, without a Congressional declaration of war. Therefore be it resolved by the Libertarian National Committee that the Libertarian Party opposes the deployment of U.S. expeditionary forces to Bosnia and other Balkan countries and calls for the immediate withdrawal of those forces; Be it further resolved that the Libertarian Party applauds those Americans -- especially Congressmen Dana Rohrbacher of California and Joel Hefley of Colorado -- who are opposing and lawfully resisting U. S. Military involvement in the Balkans; and Be it still further resolved that the Libertarian Party declares itself willing to join in single-issue coalitions dedicated to immediate U. S. Withdrawal. Only immediate U, S, military withdrawal and a rededication to a foreign policy of "no foreign wars" can give American the opportunity to show herself to the world as a shining example of a successful free society. Mr Karlan moved to strike the word "miscreants" in the third paragraph Motion carried on voice vote Resolution was adopted unanimously Nominations for Credentials Committee Gary Johnson of TX Dan Karlan of NJ Eric Lund of CA Vote for Credentials Committee 13 ballots submitted Gary Johnson 12 Dan Karlan 12 Eric Lund 8 Motion to name Gary Johnson as Interim Chair Motion carried without objection Nominees for Bylaws committee Dave Bergland of CA Mary Gingell of CA John Paff of NJ Hugh Butler of UT Ruth Bennett of WA Bylaws committee voting 13 Ballots cast State Nominee Votes CA Dave Bergland 13 CA Mary Gingell 12 NJ John Paff 12 UT Hugh Butler 12 WA Ruth Bennett 11 motion to name Dave Bergland Interim Chair passed without objection 12 1995 Budget Amendments Mr Butler moved to accept the following budget changes Line Item Amount 51101 +6051.67 51103 +3482.88 51104 +6618.65 5202 -16,153 Motion passed on voice vote 13 1996 Budget Steve Dasbach Mr Dasbach and Mr Willis presented the proposed 1996 budget (see Attached) General Discussion of proposed budget \ Mr Butler proposed the following budget amendments: 1 Item 20 +2,000 Change name to Tax, Legal, Regulatory and Banking 2 Item 20 +3,000 Accounting/Legal 3 Item 17 +24,000 Software and equipment 4 Item 16 +70,500 Paid Staff - operations manager ---------- $99,500 5 Item 20 -6,000 FEC monthly closing support (Stuart Reges) Item 17 -24,000 Special software projects (Stuart Reges) ---------- $30,000 Net $69,500 Discussion on operations management requirements and qualifications. Mr Willis said that he had a particular individual in mind for this position. Discussion of possible conflict of interest of proposed operations manager candidate. Mr Butler said that the operations manager should be a full time manager and not working for another organization. Discussion of the technical versus management requirements of the operations manager. Mr Famularo said that he agreed that the operations managers function is required but would like to further discuss the details of the position before a specific individual is hired. Mr Ernsberger said that he was not confident that the individual being discussed was a competent manager. Discussion of difficulty of finding a competent manager. Mr Hauptman asked whether an aye vote was a vote to hire a particular individual. Mr Dasbach said that this was only budget authorization. Motion on the amendment carried on voice vote Main motion carried on voice vote. 13.1 Mr Butler asked to add an item of business concerning conflict of interest Mr Butler proposed the following resolution: "Whereas, the LNC is aware that LP headquarters employees have accepted outside consulting work, and, in as much as the LNC deplores conflicts of interest within the Party, Therefore be it resolved that consulting work carried on by headquarters staff members are authorized by the LNC so long as: 1. Both the work and income amounts are disclosed to the Chair. 2. Employees agree to terminate specific work when requested by the Chair. 3. The National Director is not authorized by this motion to accept outside work. 4. The Chair and the National Director shall report all such activities to the LNC. Mr Butler said that his motion did not cover all the potential problems but that the LNC needed to be informed of all activity, and that the National Director should not under any circumstances he should be accepting outside income without there being an inherent conflict of interest. Mr Ernsberger said that he objected to any conflicts whether disclosed or not. Mr Karlan said as a regional representative he should have been informed. Mr Butler said that his intention was not to imply that full disclosure was sufficient and that the Chair should be able to determine if there is a conflict of Interest and prohibit the activity Mr Ernsberger said that a staffer working for any political campaign internal to the campaign was inherently a conflict of interest that was not remedied by full disclosure. Mr Willis said he strongly objected to this resolution because what should be of issue is the application of the resources of the Party and whether or not those are misappropriated. Mr Willis said he could determine on an individual basis whether a specific request from Sharon Ayres for the Browne campaign would or would not violate his fiduciary responsibility to the party. Mr Willis said that if he could not do any outside work he would resign his position. Mr Willis said he currently has outside clients and will not discontinue working with them when he has the time. Mr Famularo asked what the current status is regarding conflicts if this motion is not passed. Mr Dasbach said that this motion would be a greater restriction than the current policy since there is currently no mandate for disclosure. . Mr Williams asked if the motion intended to cover all outside work regardless of type. Mr Brennan said that there could be a perception of conflict among those members who are supporting candidates other than Harry Browne. Mr Willis said that we should not decide issues on appearance but on actual facts. He said that Sharon Ayres is his friend and would give her advice if asked but that does not constitute conflict of interest. Mr Butler said he considered the withdrawal of the restriction on the national director as a friendly amendment. Further discussion of the concept of conflict of interest. Ms Ayres asked whether her dual role as LNC development manager and Browne campaign manager was a conflict of interest. Mr Willis and Mr Ernsberger said she should recuse herself from any vote affecting the Browne campaign. Ms Allard raised the question of other areas of potential conflict of interest such as Mr Ernsberger and Mr Famularo as agents of FEE, or Mr Famularo getting reimbursed for work on the computer system. MR Karlan said there was a distinction between paid staff and LNC members. Mr Ernsberger said he always abstained on votes concerning FEE. Mr Bergland said that rules that may apply in the corporate world might not apply to us because of "the thinness of our bench". Mr Williams objected to the total disclosure of outside work regardless of type. Mr Famularo said that unless a manager knows the total workload of one of his employees, he can not effectively make judgements as to whether to encourage an increase or decrease in project workload. Further discussion of what constitutes conflict of interest. Mr Willis said it would be too difficult to weigh each encounter with Sharon Ayres or any other LNC member who was involved in an internal campaign in the light of a possible conflict of interest. Mr Willis said that he should be judged on his performance. Discussion as to the difference between paid and non-paid outside work. Mr Dasbach said that the current policy is that staffers can not do work for internal campaigns for free but can do so if paid. Mr Butler said that his concern about this issue is not new and that we should make sure that membership has faith in what this body is doing. Mr Butler restated his motion as amended as follows: "Whereas, the LNC is aware that LP headquarters employees have accepted outside consulting work, and, in as much as the LNC deplores conflicts of interest within the Party, Therefore be it resolved that employees of the LNC may accept outside consulting work so long as : 1. Both the amount of work and the income from it shall be approved by the chair, 2. Employees agree to terminate improper work when requested by the chair. 3. The Chair will report the facts to the LNC." Motion passed on voice vote. Mr Ernsberger asked that his nay vote be recorded Ms Ayres asked that her abstention be recorded. 14 Future meetings The Spring LNC meeting will be held on March 23, 24 at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill 400 New Jersey Ave., NW Washington, DC 20001 1-800-233-1234 Meeting adjourned,