Document:New York Newsletter February 2000 Free New York

FREE NEW YORK February 2000

CONTENTS

Inside This Issue

1.) State Convention Speakers Announced

2.) State Convention Info

3.) Ready, Fire, Aim - Time for a New Strategy

4.) Treasurer's Report

5.) Platform Preamble Project

STATE CONVENTION SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED

The Libertarian Party of New York will present challenging speakers with a variety of perspectives at the 2000 convention Saturday, April 29th at the Royal Regency Hotel in Yonkers, NY in Westchester County.

Accepted speakers include:

Audrey Capozzi-Pappaeliou, LPNY Vice-Chair and 1999 candidate for Brookhaven Town Supervisor, on school choice and separating school and state.

Kanchan Limaye, an arts critic written about in Vanity Fair, Nov. 1999 in "Damsels in Dissent," by Sam Tanenhaus. Limaye, founder of www.theoccasional.com, will speak on "Multiculturalism and Political Correctness versus Interculturalism."

Robert Schulz, 1994 LPNY candidate for Governor, engineer and founder of the All-County Taxpayers Association, on "Why New York's Government Is Out of Control."

Lawrence Parks, is an economist and founder of Foundation for Monetary Education. He will speak on sound and honest money.

Carol LaGrasse is a retired civil engineer and founder of the Property Rights Foundation of America. She will speak on property rights under assault in New York.

Steven Landsburg is an economist, a professor at the University of Rochester, and columnist for Salon. He is the author of "The Armchair Economist" and "Fair Play." He will speak on "fair play", explaining economic issues such as free trade to the lay public.

Rich Cooper is the Media Director of the Libertarian Party of New York and will speak on "Making A Difference In New York."

We expect either Ron Crickenberger or Steve Dasbach to speak on party building.

We are still waiting for acceptances from:

Brian Thomas on getting elected and minority outreach; John Lott on "More Guns, Less Crime"; and dairy farmer Nathan Lapp on the dairy price-fixing scheme.

While the speakers do not necessarily endorse the Libertarian Party, and the Libertarian Party of New York does not necessarily endorse their views, every member attending should find the convention speakers stimulating and worthwhile.

We will also hear from our Senate candidate(s) and are awaiting word from presidential nomination candidate Harry Browne and others. We will elect new officers, presidential electors and delegates to the national convention in Anaheim, California.

For the latest info on the state convention, visit our web site at: http://ny.lp.org.

STATE CONVENTION INFO

THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF NEW YORK presents

2000 STATE CONVENTION at the

Royal Regency Hotel in Yonkers 165 Tuckahoe Road (Exit 6 off of I-87) April 29, 2000

To register for the convention, contact the LPNY at :

LPNY P.O. Box 728 Bellport, New York 11713

You can also contact Audrey Capozzi-Pappaeliou at: (631) 286-7631 or 1 (800) 204-6209 option #2.

Or e-mail her at: Audgeo@aol.com.

If registered by:

Feb 15:

       Lunch -            $30    Dinner - $50     Both - $75
       Speakers Only $20                   $25                $40

After Feb 15:

       Lunch -            $33    Dinner - $52     Both - $79
       Speakers Only $23                   $27                $49

At Door:

       Lunch -           $40    Dinner -  $55    Both - $89
      Speakers Only $30                   $60                $59

Rooms at the Royal Regency Hotel are approximately $109 plus tax, but you can obtain a 20% discount by mentioning the LPNY. Call them at (914) 969-7500 for room reservations.

READY, FIRE, AIM - TIME FOR A NEW STRATEGY

by Thomas M. Reidy

I am placing my name in nomination for the position of Vice Chair, LPNY. I believe that the LPNY needs to develop a more effective strategy for recruiting new members, and winning campaigns.

Proponents of the Ready, Fire, Aim approach point out that the party membership has tripled since 1994. Nationally, there are more than 182,000 registered voters, and 250 office holders in 36 states. By contrast, in 1990 the paid membership stood at 8,211. Ten years later there are 32,828 paid members with candidates running for office at over 2000.

At first glance, you would think that this is a policy of success. I beg to differ. The Libertarian Party has existed for over twenty years, yet as a national party, it has only 32,000 paid members. In Monroe County where I live, there are 398,000 registered voters; 145,000 Republicans and 137,000 Democrats. Compare those numbers to our national base of 182,000, and we start to see how minuscule we are nationally, statewide and locally.

We have few in numbers and even less in money, yet we seek people to run for political office, using their time, talent and treasure. This is a tremendous waste of resources, and in fact hurts the growth of our party.

The reason that the party has grown since 1994 is twofold: 1.) The disintegration of leadership of a Republican led Congress. 2.) The moral revulsion of the Clinton Administration. With the approach of the year 2000 and presidential elections, these factors will provide less of a draw as new events unfold.

I believe now is the time to build an organizational foundation that attracts large numbers of new members and provides resources, plus leadership training for new candidates. We need to build our strength if we want to be anything more than a fringe party.

Here is what I propose: 1.) Place a temporary moratorium on running candidates for office at the state level. Use the money saved as seed money for developing local county chapters and regional councils. 2.) Set a goal for each county chapter to develop a registered voter base of 10% of the eligible voters of that county. 10% is not a large percentage (ex. 36% Republicans, 35% Democrats in Monroe County) but it would translate into having enough local resources to win local elections. 3.) The LPNY should provide an organi- zational manual for each local chapter so that time is not wasted in "reinventing the wheel." The LPNY should actively seek to have a healthy party organization in every county and borough. 4.) A leadership training academy should be developed. Ideally, this would be designed around a program calendar of evening classes, or weekend seminars that would strengthen the leadership skills of our future candidates. Courses on American History, sessions on Constitutional Law, comparative economics and how to effectively run a political campaign are some courses that everyone could benefit from. If this program is developed, it could also attract high caliber candidates committed to the Libertarian Party - ideals instead of personal agendas (eg. Howard Stern). 5.) Establish a state PAC. Fund raising is a critical issue to the growth and success of the party. Money raised through a state PAC should be made available to the local chapters on a project list. The state PAC should have an intelligence gathering capability so that it can channel resources into local campaigns where it would be most effective in winning local office.

Over time, a healthy statewide LPNY will be in better position to field a strong slate of candidates. We are the party of principle. It is time for us to organize, compete and win at every level.

TREASURER'S REPORT

LPNY Annual Treasurer's Report January 1, 1999 - December 31, 1999

Category/Item Amount

Income Convention Registrations, etc. $5,171.86 Unified Membership Plan $18,868.25 LP National Special Incentives $0.00 Gifts, Individual/Member/Chapter $2,263.27 Miscellaneous Income $383.99 TOTAL INCOME $26,687.37

Expenses Convention Expenses $3,212.74 Free NY Newsletter (Russell) $4,880.00 Free NY Newsletter (Doty) $2,053.94 Petitioning Expenses (Harris) $12,740.00 Petitioning Expenses (Other) $312.00 State Supported Programs (Ads, PR) $506.00 Candidate Support (Capozzi, Campbell) $633.00 Miscellaneous Exp. (Marriott, PO Box, etc.) $427.00 TOTAL EXPENSES ($24,764.68)

12/30/1999 YEAR END BANK BALANCE $7,072.85

PLATFORM PREAMBLE PROJECT

David Aitken, a longtime activist in Colorado, is looking for support from party members for his proposal to add a short clause at the beginning of many of the planks of the Libertarian Party's platform. The planks would begin with wording similar to "Because we trust you to do ...".

For example, "Because we trust you to make responsible decisions about using potentially harmful substances or engaging in potentially unsafe behaviors, and because only actions that infringe on the rights of others can properly be termed crimes, we favor the repeal of all federal, state, and local laws creating 'crimes' without victims."

Mr. Aitken explains that, "... implicit in our message is a message of trust; that individuals can and should be trusted to run their own lives. That message is not, however, explicit, and I think it should be."

The proposed changes can be viewed by going to Mr. Aitken's personal web site - http://members.tde.com/daitken, and selecting the Platform Preamble Project. He is open to suggestions from libertarians about other amendments. The amended planks will be submitted to the Platform Committee for consideration at the convention. Anyone who will be a delegate to the national convention should acquaint themselves with the proposed amendments.