[Lnc-business] LP Donation to Mark Miller Campaign

Mon Sep 19 11:43:48 EDT 2016

I think a first bite at figuring out that likelihood would involve any poll
results that are available (if any), together with a rough estimate of
voters per dollar for top of the ticket third-party candidates in Texas.
If he's currently at 4%, that's very different from currently at 1% or
currently at 10%.

Joshua A. Katz
Westbrook CT Planning Commission (L in R seat)

On Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 10:39 AM, Aaron Starr <starrcpa at gmail.com> wrote:

> May we first have an opinion from legal counsel stating that we can direct
> funds this way to a candidate in Texas and what are the additional campaign
> finance reporting requirements (if any)?
>
>
>
> How do we intelligently gauge the likelihood that spending only this much
> money in the manner suggested will move the needle in a state the size of
> Texas? Are we trying to dilute a dirty lake with a glass of clean water?
>
>
>
> Aaron Starr
>
> (805) 583-3308 Home
>
> (805) 404-8693 Mobile
>
> starrcpa at gmail.com
>
>
>
> *From:* Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces at hq.lp.org] *On Behalf
> Of *Daniel Hayes
> *Sent:* Monday, September 19, 2016 7:11 AM
> *To:* lnc-business
> *Subject:* [Lnc-business] LP Donation to Mark Miller Campaign
>
>
>
>
>
> Mr. Chairman and fellow LNC members,
>
>
> We have been asked to make donations recently to certain campaigns.
> Despite having more money to do so than in the past, we clearly don't have
> the means, time or frankly, even the desire to donate to every person's
> campaign that is running as a Libertarian.  We need to develop some
> criteria to apply to the process to make it as fair and efficient as we
> possibly can.    I think that there should be implications of the campaign
> beyond just electing that one person to office.
>
>
>
> I intend to bring or support a motion for the NLP/LNC to donate funds to
> Mark Miller's campaign for Railroad Commissioner in Texas.  What's at stake
> is ballot access in Texas.  If they do not have a statewide candidate
> achieve 5% in this election, they lose their current ballot access and with
> the size of Texas, it will likely cost us multiple 6 figures getting it
> back.  At present Dr. Miller's campaign is the only one that could be
> considered more than a paper candidacy.  As we had been having discussions
> about which campaigns should the LNC be donating to, it crossed my mind
> that Mark Miller's was exactly the sort we should be lending assistance
> to.  It also occurred to me that we might be hearing a little less about it
> than we might because his campaign manager is also our Special Projects
> Director, Lauren Daugherty and I know she works very hard to try and keep
> those roles separated.
>
> Making it brief, Mark Miller has raised significant money already, his
> campaign stands to benefit the whole TX Affiliate and save it and the NLP a
> LOT of money, he is highly qualified for the job,  he has gotten major
> endorsements.
>
> With that in mind I reached out to Lauren yesterday.  Apparently, some
> other people were having some of the same thoughts at the same time.
> Here is Lauren's response to my inquiry.
>
> "
>
> Mark Miller is an exceptional candidate. He’s highly qualified for the
> position he’s seeking and more qualified (by far) than his 3 opponents. If
> he was elected, he would be well prepared to serve. He’s been a Libertarian
> since the 1970s and is well versed on Libertarianism and able to
> communicate Libertarian ideas well. And, he’s also a solid leader. He’s
> well liked, kind, and personable. Rarely do we find candidates of any party
> that are so well rounded.
>
>
>
> Mark’s race is the top of the ticket in Texas this cycle. The Texas
> Railroad Commission is one of the most powerful agencies in Texas. It
> regulates oil and gas and has nothing to do with railroads. In Texas, oil &
> gas often trump property rights. It’s messy and outrageous and will make
> any normal human being hopping mad if they look into it. Mark is outspoken
> about protecting property rights.
>
>
>
> Mark has a PhD from Stanford in petroleum engineering and has spent over
> 40 years in the industry. In contrast, none of his opponents have worked
> one day in oil & gas.
>
>
>
> For the Libertarian Party of Texas to retain ballot access for 2018, we
> need one statewide candidate to achieve 5% of the vote. This cycle, the
> only statewide candidates on ballots in Texas are Railroad Commission
> (Mark’s race) and judicial races. Almost all of our judicial candidates
> this year are “paper candidates”. Mark is running the most active campaign,
> by far.
>
>
>
> We started this campaign 1 and a half years ago, when I left employment
> with LPTexas. We’ve raised over $70k so far and received 2 of the biggest
> media endorsements in Libertarian history. I expect that we’ll break $100k
> within the next 2 weeks. Mark is a full-time candidate. We anticipate that
> he’ll very likely get more media endorsements over the coming weeks. He’s
> talking with reporters almost daily and traveling extensively.
>
>
>
> We’ve just started robo calls to strategic areas and will have mailers
> promoting our endorsements starting in the next few days. We are planning a
> major radio buy that will flood the talk radio airwaves across Texas with
> Mark’s name and info on his endorsements and the LP for 2 weeks before
> early voting begins. This will cost $50k and we think this is critical to
> achieving the 5% needed to ensure ballot access. We’ve raised approximately
> $30k towards this so far and we expect to receive the final funding on that
> within the next week.
>
>
>
> If we are unable to achieve the 5% needed to secure ballot access, it will
> take approximately 80,000 verified signatures to regain ballot access. I’m
> told we’d need to shoot for approximately 125,000 signatures or more to
> make sure we have enough “good” signatures. In Texas, if someone votes in a
> primary, they are not eligible to sign a ballot access petition and this
> makes it more difficult. The signatures would have to be gathered within a
> 75 day window. Experts tell me that this would likely cost between $250,000
> and $500,000.
>
>
>
> In my opinion, it is far better to spend money now, promoting an
> exceptional candidate, rather than having to scramble to raise even more
> money to regain ballot access in 2018 or 2020. I know the fundraising
> situation in Texas better than anyone. If we lose ballot access, it will
> likely be 2020 before we can afford to regain it.
>
>
>
> Mark is a candidate that makes us all extra proud to be Libertarians. He’s
> highly qualified, and skilled communicator, and represents us very well. He
> can walk into a room of people who are skeptical or even of the Libertarian
> Party and when he walks out, they respect us and many support us.
>
>
> Here are our goals for Mark’s campaign: 1) achieve 5% (or far more!) of
> the vote in order to retain ballot access for 2018; 2) grow the Libertarian
> Party. Mark’s a team player. We are promoting Libertarians up and down the
> ballot whenever we can."
>
> "
>
> If the LNC donates to Mark’s campaign, we’d use the money on radio buys,
> and/or carefully targeted robo calls, and/or large postcard to strategic
> areas, educating voters about the endorsements, Mark’s credentials, and the
> LP.
>
>
>
> I think the max that the LNC could give Mark’s campaign directly, by law,
> is $5k. My understanding, based on what Bob Johnston has told me, is that
> if the LNC wanted to give more, they could donate it to LPTexas (which is
> currently an FEC filing entity) with the understanding that LPTexas would
> then donate the funds to the campaign. LPTexas receives directed donations
> regularly and I don’t foresee any problem with working with them in this
> way. One SLEC member said in the SLEC meeting yesterday that “Mark is our
> shining star”. SLEC, the officers, and key players, all agree and I think
> they’d be delighted to help in this way.
>
>
>
> Folks can read more about Mark here: miller4tx.com"
>
> "
>
>
>
> "Thank you for considering supporting his campaign. If anyone would like
> to talk with me directly, they can call/text me at 931 249 9924 or email
> me at lauren at miller4tx.com"
>
>
>
> Here are some links she sent to me also:
>
>
>
> http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/recommendations/
> article/For-the-RRC-9206271.php?t=76087424ea438d9cbb
>
>
>
> http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20160915-
> we-recommend-mark-miller-for-texas-railroad-commissioner.ece
>
>
>
>
>
> Daniel Hayes
> LNC At Large Member
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> _______________________________________________
> Lnc-business mailing list
> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org
> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>
>
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