Document:LPNY Minutes 23 June 2001

Libertarian Party of New York
State Committee Minutes
June 23, 2001

Present: Richard Cooper, Audrey Capozzi, Blay Tarnoff, John Clifton,
Caryn Tarnoff, Jim Lesczynski, Bonnie Scott, Jeff Russell (by conference
call), Jim Harris (Suffolk Rep.), Gary Snyder (Manhattan Substitute
Rep.), Vince O'Neill (Nassau Rep.)

Treasurer's Report (John Clifton):
The complete report will be posted to the e-mail list.  The
pre-convention balance was $20,753.19.  Subsequently, we have had
approximately $4,800 in income and approximately $1,724 in expenses. 
The latest balance is $23,855.99.

Motion to Decertify Kings County:
Bonnie made a motion to decertify Kings County, seconded by Blay.  Jim
L. commented that Matt Siegel indicated that the chapter has not met in
two years.  Gary Popkin has commented that there is no point in staying
active and that the chapter members should be involved in the Manhattan
chapter.  The motion passed with nine votes in favor and two votes
opposed.

Kramer Campaign Request for $4,500:
Richard pointed out that the campaign has made a $4,500 request to the
LPNY.  Blay inquired about the difference between hard money and soft
money donations.  Richard indicated that "in kind" contributions, such
as money spent on mailings or petitioning, have to be reported.
Blay moved to donate $4,500 to the Kramer for Mayor Campaign.  Audrey
seconded.  

John requested a friendly amendment that this motion should supercede
all previous motions regarding donations to the Kramer campaign.  Blay
did not accept the friendly amendment.  Bonnie submitted John's friendly
amendment as a motion.  John seconded.  Bonnie's motion passed with
eight votes in favor and two opposed.

The amended motion to donate $4,500 to the Kramer campaign passed with
nine votes in favor and one vote opposed.

Yehuda Katz Endorsement:
Yehuda Katz would like to run for City Council, representing District
48, which is in Brooklyn.  Jim L. commented that Yehuda seems like he
would be a strong candidate.  Gary moved to endorse Yehuda Katz.  Caryn
seconded.  Blay asked what authority allows the State Committee to
endorse Yehuda.  Rich answered that the Convention gave the authority to
the State Committee to endorse candidates in areas not covered by county
or multi-county parties.  The by- laws give that authority to the State
Convention which delegated it to the State Committee.  There was some
discussion regarding whether the State Committee should donate money to
Yehuda, as well as other local candidates.  Bonnie commented that we
need to encourage local candidates.  The motion to endorse Yehuda passed
with ten votes in favor and none opposed.

Dalia Flores Endorsement:
Bonnie moved to endorse Dalia Flores for City Council.  She would
represent a district in the Bronx.  Caryn seconded.  Bonnie commented
that Dalia is a member of the LP and would like to cut taxes.  The
motion to endorse Dalia Flores passed with nine votes in favor, none
opposed, and one abstention.

John Marc Goldman for Bronx Borough President:
Rich indicated that Mr. Goldman would like our endorsement but will not
join the party until we endorse.  Our bylaws forbid such endorsements.

Subcommittee to Endorse Candidates:
Rich raised the issue of whether we should create a subcommittee to
endorse candidates.  The Committee agreed that this issue should be
handled at the next convention.

State Committee Meeting Schedule:
John moved that the State Committee should hold meetings on the fourth
Saturday in January, April, June, and August.  Caryn seconded.  

Blay then moved that the State Committee should meet at the annual
convention and the fourth Saturday in January, June, and August.  Caryn
seconded.  Blay withdrew his motion to amend when John agreed to accept
a friendly amendment to add the phrases "or at the Convention" after the
"fourth Saturday in April" and "or at the annual barbecue" after "the
fourth Saturday in August.".

John's amended motion regarding the State Committee meeting schedule
passed with ten votes in favor and none opposed.

Southern Tier Chapter:
Rich stated that the Southern Tier has submitted documentation of its
having met the LPNY requirements regarding recognition as an official
chapter.  Jim H. moved to recognized the Southern Tier as an official
chapter of the LPNY.  Jim L. seconded.  Blay commented that the amount
of land that the chapter covers should not matter in the LPNY decision
to recognize a chapter as official.  Jim H.'s motion to recognize the
Southern Tier passed with ten votes in favor and none opposed.

Petitioning:
Jim L. indicated that city-wide candidates need 7,500 signatures.  The
candidates could appear together on one petition.  

E-Mail Voting:
Blay moved that all pending e-mail motions terminate if they have not
concluded by the date of the next in-person State Committee meeting. 
Caryn seconded.  Blay's motion passed with ten votes in favor and none
opposed.

Jim L. made the following motion (seconded by Audrey): Upon approval of
this motion by the LPNY state committee, all prior email voting rules
are repealed.  The following procedures for Internet voting shall be
used by the LPNY state committee:

1. All voting between official meetings of the state committee shall be
done by polls on the lpny_committee Yahoogroups website. Committee
members will be made aware of such polls through email notices sent to
the lpny_committee email list whenever new polls are created. Votes will
only be counted if they are cast through the web poll; votes cast by
email will not
count.

2. Motions made by Internet poll do not need to be seconded.

3. All polls will be programmed to close automatically in exactly seven
days. Committee members can change their votes any time during the
seven-day voting period.

4. Motions to spend money via Internet poll may be for any dollar
amount.

5. An Internet poll motion shall carry if it:
a) receives a total number of votes equivalent to a quorum of the State
Committee, and
b) passes with a majority of those votes.
These conditions hold for all non-monetary items and for all monetary
items under $5,000.

For all items over $5,000, the motion requires a majority of the State
Committee to pass.

6. Because the lpny_committee Yahoogroups website can support no more
than 25 polls at a time, the secretary of the committee must certify all
Internet polls within five days of their closing, and the committee
member who created the poll must delete the poll from
the website within two days following the secretary's certification of
the vote.

7. Electronic polls must be completed between in-person committee
meetings. Any electronic polls still open on the day the committee meets
in-person must be deleted by their creators and any votes cast for those
polls must be disregarded.

Rich requested that State Committee members, when discussing official
business of the Committee, should write, "LPNY Business" on the subject
line of their e-mail messages.

Blay moved to table Jim L.'s motion until the next State Committee
meeting.  Blay's motion to table failed with four votes in favor and six
opposed.

Jim's motion regarding e-mail voting passed with five votes in favor,
four votes opposed, and one abstention.

The meeting adjourned at 12:41.