Libertarian Party of Queens County
| Libertarian Party of Queens County | |
| General Information | |
| Jurisdiction: | Queens County, New York |
| Chartered: | April 2, 2017 |
| Status: | Active |
| Officers | |
| Chair: | John Clifton |
| Vice-Chair: | Francisco Olvera |
| Secretary: | Shari Rolnick |
| Treasurer: | Mark Weinblatt |
| Media | |
| Website: | Website |
The Libertarian Party of Queens County is a County Affiliate of the Libertarian Party of New York, comprising the entirety of the county-borough of Queens, New York in the City of New York.
History
The chapter was originally founded on October 6, 1994 in Flushing, New York. It was decharted by the State Committee on December 3, 2006 and merged with Kings County to form the Brooklyn-Queens Libertarian Party in 2007. That chapter was later decharted and the Brooklyn Libertarian Party formed its own chapter in 2009 and the Queens County had its own chapter. The Queens County Libertarian Party was decharted for a second time, on December 14, 2016.
In 2016, following the decharter, Elliot Axelman eventually became Temporary County Chair. The group involved in the decharted affiliated formed Queens Libertarians in January 2017 and continued to meet.
A convention was held on March 28, 2017 with Elliot Axelman elected Chair. On April 2, 2017, the Libertarian Party of Queens County was chartered as an affiliate of the Libertarian Party of New York. Axelman served until October 2017, and then Vice-Chair Christopher R. Fuentes-Padilla became Chair on November 19, 2017 and served until late 2018, when Kenneth Mulvena became Chair.
Following the momentum of the Larry Sharpe campaign in 2018, the affiliate became an Interim County Organization under the new rules in 2019 with Michael Arcati as Chair, having been elected on February 11, 2019.
Leadership
- John Clifton, Chair (2023—present)
- Francisco Olvera, Vice-Chair (November 15, 2022—present)
- Shari Rolnick, Secretary (November 15, 2022—present)
- Mark Weinblatt, Treasurer (February 11, 2019—present)
Conventions
| Year | Date | Location | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | October 6 | ||
| 1999 | June 12 | Astoria, NY | Bohemian Hall |
| 2002 | January 12 | ||
| 2005 | April 9 | ||
| 2006 | April 8 | ||
| 2012 | January 14 | Astoria, NY | Bohemian Hall, 29-19 24th Avenue |
| 2014 | January 11 | ||
| 2015 | January 10 | ||
| 2016 | January 9 | Queens Pride House | |
| 2017 | March 28 | Manhattan, NY | |
| 2017 | November 19 | Bayside, NY | Gino's Pizzeria, Springfield Blvd |
| 2018 | March 24 | Fresh Meadows, NY | Hooters |
| 2019 | February 11 | ||
| 2019 | June 18 | ICO | |
| 2020 | October 19 | ||
| 2022 | November 15 |
Notable Members
- Larry Sharpe (Former LP Vice-Presidential Candidate in 2016)
- Aaron Commey (Former Candidate for New York City Mayor in 2017)
- Alex Merced (Former Candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016 and New York City Comptroller in 2017)
- Eric Butkiewicz (Candidate for State Senate in 2018)
Past leadership
Chair
- Christiana Mayer (May 1995)
- Bradford Arter (1998—1999)
- John Clifton (May 1999)
- John Procida (2003)
- John Procida (January 9, 2010—?)
- John Clifton (2012—2013)
- Tom Stevens (January 11, 2014—December 14, 2016)
- Elliot Axelman (December 14, 2016—March 28, 2017) (as Temporary County Chair)
- Elliot Axelman (March 28, 2017—October 2017)
- Christopher R. Fuentes-Padilla (November 19, 2017—late 2018)
- Kenneth Mulvena (late 2018—February 11, 2019)
- Michael Arcati (February 11, 2019—November 15, 2022)
- Mark Weinblatt (2022—2023)
Vice-Chair
- John Clifton (January 9, 2010—?)
- John Procida (2011—2013)
- Thomas Adair Rossman (January 9, 2016—December 14, 2016)
- Christopher R. Fuentes-Padilla (December 25, 2016 - March 2017) (Acting / Temporary)
- Christopher R. Fuentes-Padilla (March 28, 2017 - November 19, 2017)
- Usman Ali Chohan (November 19, 2017 - March 24, 2018)
- Kenneth Mulvena (March 24, 2018—late 2018)
- Vacant (late 2018—February 11, 2019)
- Kenneth Mulvena (February 11, 2019—October 19, 2020)
- Eric Cordova, Vice-Chair (October 19, 2020—November 15, 2022)
Secretary
- Dallwyn Merck (January 9, 2010—?)
- Dallwyn Merck (2012—2013)
- Alden Link (January 9, 2016—December 14, 2016)
- Armin Nassiri (March 28, 2017—November 8, 2017)
- Kenneth Mulvena (November 8, 2017—February 11, 2019)
- Gabrielle Cordova, Secretary (February 11, 2019—November 15, 2022)
Treasurer
- Jeff Monheit (August 28, 2002—September 24, 2003)
- Ronald S. Ramo (January 9, 2010—?)
- Ronald S. Ramo (2012—2013)
- Tim Popko (January 9, 2016—January 26, 2016)
- Sam Sloan (January 26, 2016—December 14, 2016)
- Usman Ali Chohan (March 28, 2017—August 7, 2017)
- Vacant (August 7, 2017—March 8, 2018)
- Kenneth Lee (March 8, 2018—February 11, 2019)
State Representative
- Tom Stevens (January 9, 2010—?)
- Tom Stevens (2012—2013)
- John Clifton (April 25, 2015—2016)
- Elliot Axelman (April 1, 2017—April 16, 2017) Acting / Temporary
- Christopher R. Fuentes-Padilla (April 17, 2017—November 8, 2017)
- Kenneth Lee (November 8, 2017—March 25, 2018)
- Aaron Commey (March 2018-present) [FLP has not dissolved yet]
- James Mcinnis, Deputy (June 2017 - before February 28, 2019)
Appointed Positions
- Tom Stevens, Political Director, Membership Director (January 9, 2010—?; 2012—2013)
- Usman Ali Chohan, Political Director / Public Affairs Director (January 2017-March 2017) (Acting / Temporary)
- Larion Ross, Commissioner of Community Outreach (November 7, 2017—February 4, 2018)
- Christian Urquiza, Commissioner of Support Services (November 9, 2017—February 11, 2018)
- Franklin Gonzalez, Communications Director (November 9, 2017—March 24, 2017)
- Jim Strawhorn, Membership Secretary (August 28, 2002)
- Eric Cordova, Public Relations Director (c 2018/2019)
Former Committees
- Sub-Committee on Communications and Media
- Communications Director - Simon Lee (March 2018 - before February 28, 2019)
- Deputy Communications Director - Elliot Axelman (March 2018 - before February 28, 2019)
- Alex Merced, Member (Website and Facebook Administration) (?—before February 28, 2019)
- Sub-Committee for Party Outreach and Relations
- Member at-Large - Aaron Commey (August 2017-?)
- Member at-Large - Larry Sharpe (August 2017-?)