[Lnc-business] [Statechairs] Emergency email ballot to move LP HQ

Wed Apr 1 13:11:20 EDT 2015

Mr Wiener,

Thank you for providing this information to the state chairs.

I am happy to allocate some of Nevada resources to assist with this matter,
specifically, I can assign members of our Legal Committee to review this
and provide immediate guidance. I personally have some experience in this
matter due to my background in finance and dealing with estate planning
issues.

I do agree that action is probably the most important thing at this time.
Talking to the estate benefactor is also important as we will get an
indication of what their intentions are. Lastly, based on the wording in
the will this could be an amazing opportunity for the entire Libertarian
Party due to her generosity. Unless it specifically states that the money
must go to the Libertarian National Committee, some of the funds could be
appropriated to each state affiliate. Otherwise, a sizeable donation like
this could sit in escrow (or hopefully a money market fund yielding
interest) and disbursements will be made according to FEC regulations which
would release only a very small dollar amount each year. Lastly, if the
wording is that the money is to benefit the Libertarian Party in general,
this could qualify some candidates to be recipients of the donation.

I would suggest a prudent approach to immediately setting up shop in ND and
working directly with the ND Affiliate to see if there is temporary office
space available which we could use. Having headquarters outside of DC
shouldn't be an issue with anyone. Furthermore, unless specifically
stipulated in her will, there is no reason we cant maintain a presence in
DC via and office suite.

I am volunteering to assist the LNC anyway I can and I hope the LNC will
take advice from people with experience in this specific matter. Please let
me know what I and LPNevada can do to be helpful.

Best,

Brett H. Pojunis
Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Nevada
The Political Party - Founder
1771 E. Flamingo Road, Suite 201 A
Las Vegas, NV 89119
702.763.9301 | Office (direct)
702.325.7426 | Las Vegas Mobile
202.505.3606 | Washington D.C. Mobile
brett at pojunis.com
*www.LPNevada.org <http://www.LPNevada.org>*
*www.PoliticalPartylv.com <http://www.PoliticalPartylv.com>*

On Wed, Apr 1, 2015 at 9:57 AM, Daniel Wiener <wiener at alum.mit.edu> wrote:

> This is a heads-up to the LNC that I expect to shortly be asking for
> co-sponsors for an email ballot to immediately relocate our headquarters to
> North Dakota.  This matter is extremely urgent, for the following reasons:
>
> You may already have read on Twitter the sad news that Wyoming Knott
> passed away early this morning, after she fell 60 feet from the top of a
> fracking drilling rig.  Wyoming Knott is of course better known as the
> "North Dakota Fracking Queen" and was an ardent advocate for personal
> liberties. She was an uncompromising individual who demanded total freedom
> from any state interference in the booming fracking industry.  She will be
> sorely missed, and our heartfelt condolences go out to her family and
> friends and the entire fracking community.
>
> Back in 2003, Ms. Knott apparently altered her will to bequeath a quarter
> of her estate to the Libertarian Party.  At the time her estate consisted
> primarily of undeveloped land near Williston, North Dakota worth an
> estimated $375,000.  A quarter of that ($93,750) was certainly a generous
> amount even back then.  Today, as a consequence of development of the
> Bakken Shale Formation which underlies it, that land has appreciated
> enormously, with a November, 2014 appraisal coming in at just over $6
> billion.  That would put the value of her bequest to the Libertarian Party
> at $1.5 billion, although that may have since declined to about $900
> million due to the drop in oil prices.
>
> However, Ms. Knott detested everything connected with Washington, D.C.,
> including the fact that the LP's office was located there.  So she added a
> codicil to that bequest that it would only be effective if the Libertarian
> Party's office was located in North Dakota, which to her represented the
> cultural and ideological opposite of Washington, D.C.  She believed that
> removing the Libertarian Party from the center of government corruption
> would help it avoid the inevitable rot.
>
> One possibility is that we could challenge that condition in court.  But
> let's be realistic.  Regardless of whether the eventual value is $1.5
> billion or $900 million or somewhere in between, there will be scores of
> lawyers crawling out of the woodwork, anxious to do everything possible to
> deny us that bequest, if they can cobble together even the slightest
> pretext.  So the sooner we can move our headquarters to North Dakota to
> prove we are complying with her codicil, the better.
>
> Again, time is of the essence.  If all LNC members immediately vote on the
> upcoming email ballot, we ought to be able to complete it by the end of
> today.  In the meantime, our Executive Director can fly to North Dakota and
> rent a temporary office to get us started, until we can construct a major
> new high-rise office building.  (It's been suggested that it be named the
> Wyoming Knott Memorial Office Building, and my response is "why not"?).  If
> all this gets finished today (on the same day as her death, April 1, 2015)
> I think it will greatly strengthen our legal position.
>
> Daniel Wiener
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Statechairs at hq.lp.org
> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/statechairs_hq.lp.org
>
>
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