[Lnc-business] Fwd: RE: LP Donation to Mark Miller Campaign

[Tim Hagan]

As mentioned on one of the numerous e-mails sent today, the $5000 limit applies to a National Committee contributing to a Federal Candidate Committee. The FEC publications use the term "committee" in a specific way and it refers to organizations whose federal election activities exceed one of the registration thresholds. The Federal Election Campaign Act does not set a limit on contributions from a National Committee to a non-federal candidate, which is why the LNC was able to contribute $10,000 (the limit set by Nevada law) to Assemblyman Moore.

According to the Texas Campaign Finance Guide for Out-of-State Political Committees (https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/guides/out_of_state_committees_guide.htm#PAC_REPORT), the reporting requirement is not burdensome: 

An out-of-state political committee that files reports electronically in another jurisdiction may comply with this reporting requirement by sending a letter to the commission specifying in detail where the electronic report may be found on the website of the agency with which the out-of-state political committee isrequired to file its reports. 
 I can handle this burden if the LNC contributes to the Mark Miller campaign.

Tim Hagan
      From: "starrcpa at gmail.com" <starrcpa at gmail.com>
 To: lnc-business at hq.lp.org 
Cc: Bob Johnston <bob.johnston at lp.org>
 Sent: Monday, September 19, 2016 10:32 AM
 Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] Fwd: RE: LP Donation to Mark Miller Campaign
   
That matches my recollection, but the rules for Texas may be different than they are (or were) in Indiana. 
Aaron Starr

Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 19, 2016, at 9:46 AM, Wes Benedict <wes.benedict at lp.org> wrote:


 
Robert says my recollection is 100% correct -- so now I'm 66.7% certain I remember correctly : ). Aaron Starr's confirmation would make it 100%.
  
 Wes Benedict, Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
(202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict at lp.org
facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational
Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership 
 
 -------- Forwarded Message -------- 
| Subject:  | RE: [Lnc-business] LP Donation to Mark Miller Campaign |
| Date:  | Mon, 19 Sep 2016 12:38:28 -0400 |
| From:  | Robert Kraus <robert.kraus at lp.org> |
| To:  | 'Wes Benedict' <wes.benedict at lp.org>, 'Bob Johnston' <bob.johnston at lp.org> |

 
 
  #yiv1659156149 #yiv1659156149 -- _filtered #yiv1659156149 {font-family:Helvetica;panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;} _filtered #yiv1659156149 {font-family:Tahoma;panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;} _filtered #yiv1659156149 {font-family:Verdana;panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;} _filtered #yiv1659156149 {panose-1:3 8 4 2 3 2 5 11 4 4;} _filtered #yiv1659156149 {font-family:Calibri;panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;} _filtered #yiv1659156149 {panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;} _filtered #yiv1659156149 {panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}#yiv1659156149 #yiv1659156149 p.yiv1659156149MsoNormal, #yiv1659156149 li.yiv1659156149MsoNormal, #yiv1659156149 div.yiv1659156149MsoNormal {margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:12.0pt;color:black;}#yiv1659156149 a:link, #yiv1659156149 span.yiv1659156149MsoHyperlink {color:blue;text-decoration:underline;}#yiv1659156149 a:visited, #yiv1659156149 span.yiv1659156149MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:blue;text-decoration:underline;}#yiv1659156149 p {margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12.0pt;color:black;}#yiv1659156149 pre {margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:10.0pt;color:black;}#yiv1659156149 span.yiv1659156149EmailStyle19 {font-family:Verdana;color:navy;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none none;} _filtered #yiv1659156149 {margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}#yiv1659156149 div.yiv1659156149Section1 {}#yiv1659156149   Your recollection is 100% correct.      Live Free!​​​​    Robert
 
 
  Robert S. Kraus - Dir of Operations
 Operations at LP.org
 Libertarian National Committee
 Ph: 202.333.0008 x 231    Join today: https://www.lp.org/membership LP FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/libertarians     size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>  From: Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces at hq.lp.org] On Behalf Of Wes Benedict
 Sent: Monday, September 19, 2016 12:16 PM
 To: lnc-business at hq.lp.org
 Cc: Bob Johnston
 Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] LP Donation to Mark Miller Campaign     Perhaps Aaron Starr remembers, but I'm thinking the issue was that the LNC would have had to file some campaign finance reports with the state of Indiana , and you all decided that Aaron Starr and the LNCC would be willing to handle the burden of that extra campaign finance reporting. I don't think it was an  issue of prohibitions on giving directly to Ed Coleman--rather reporting hassles, but again, that's off the top  of my head and is about something from over 5 years ago.    Wes Benedict, Executive Director Libertarian National Committee, Inc. 1444 Duke St. , Alexandria , VA 22314 (202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict at lp.org facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership  On 9/19/2016 12:03 PM, Sam Goldstein wrote:  
  If memory serves, when the LNC contributed money to Ed Coleman's campaign for Indianapolis  City-County Council, the money had to flow through the LNCC since Ed want not a federal candidate.  I don't think the LNC can give any money directly to the Miller campaign but it would be a good  question to pose to Paula Edwards.        Sam    
     Sam Goldstein   Libertarian National Committee   Member at Large   8925 N Meridian St, Ste 101   Indianapolis IN 46260   317-850-0726 Phone   317-582-1773 Fax         On Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 11:59 AM, Wes Benedict <wes.benedict at lp.org> wrote:  Bob, if you're researching this, also be sure to check on any timing issues, in  other words are there restrictions or deadlines on when a committee has to tell  the Texas Ethics Commission they plan to spend money on a candidate for the November 8, 2016 elections. It could vary whether it's the state party or directly to the candidate, so that might affect whether giving through LPTexas versus directly to the candidate.     Wes Benedict, Executive Director Libertarian National Committee, Inc. 1444 Duke St. , Alexandria , VA 22314 (202) 333-0008 ext. 232, wes.benedict at lp.org facebook.com/libertarians @LPNational Join the Libertarian Party at: http://lp.org/membership  On 9/19/2016 11:40 AM, Daniel Hayes wrote:  
  Bob,        Research fast please.  It would be good to get this up today.             Daniel Hayes   LNC At Large Member
 
 Sent from my iPhone   
 On Sep 19, 2016, at 10:35 AM, Bob Johnston <bob.johnston at lp.org> wrote:  
   Daniel,   I need to research how much the LNC can donate to a non-federal candidate, and get back to you.   My original thought was to donate the funds directly to the  LPTX, which is a federal filing party, and have them funnel the funds to the  Miller campaign.   Bob         From: Daniel Hayes [mailto:danielehayes at icloud. com] 
 Sent: Monday, September 19, 2016 11:30 AM
 To: lnc-business at hq.lp.org
 Cc: bob.johnston at lp.org
 Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] LP Donation to Mark Miller Campaign     Sam,       I agree about the time.  I wanted to hit send on what I had written already this morning  before the hygienist started the cleaning.           I started writing this current email in the dentist chair, when he came up and saw my Louisiana Libertarian shirt  he said he liked it.  He's currently independent but is going to be ReRegistering along with his wife.  She apparently is former military and has been donating to the  Johnson campaign.           But back on topic, before we put a motion out there, how much should we commit?         Should we do two separate motions?  One to Mark's campaign and one to TX LP with the understanding  they donate to his campaign?         
 I have CCed Bob Johnston on here since apparently he and  I are psychically linked and both wrote Lauren at almost the same time and  he seems to have a better understanding of what we can do in TX than I do.       Bob what are the limits that the NLP/LNC could donate to the Mark Miller campaign?       Daniel Hayes   LNC At Large Member           Sent from my iPhone      On Sep 19, 2016, at 9:43 AM, Sam Goldstein <goldsteinatlarge at gmail.com> wrote:   
   Daniel,      I would co-sponsor a motion for a LNC contribution to Mark Miller's  campaign and/or a targeted contribution to the LPTX in    his behalf based on the information provided above.       However, you better write the motion and get it submitted for an  email ballot very quickly as time is running out on this    election year.       Live Free,       
     Sam Goldstein  Libertarian National Committee   Member at Large   8925 N Meridian St, Ste 101   Indianapolis IN 46260   317-850-0726 Phone   317-582-1773 Fax        On Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 10:11 AM, Daniel Hayes <danielehayes at icloud.com> wrote:       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.co m/opinion/recommendations/arti cle/For-the-RRC-9206271.php?t= 76087424ea438d9cbb   http://www.dallasnews.com/opin ion/editorials/20160915-we- recommend-mark-miller-for-texa s-railroad-commissioner.ece     Daniel Hayes
 LNC At Large Member                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .............................. .................. 
 
 
 
 
    
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