[Lnc-business] Email Ballot 2017-10: Donation to the Mark Wicks campaign

Mon May 15 22:31:06 EDT 2017

Hi Patrick,

You have admirably summed up the dilemma we are faced with on the Wicks motion. “Is this fair to all the other LP Candidates we don't support?” However, if you carry that question to its logical extension, there are only two choices, support all candidates or support no candidates. Neither are acceptable alternatives not to mention the weak face we would be putting on the LNC. Can you imagine the legitimate objections we would be bombarded with?

So, we must pick and choose who we support and how much we are willing to invest. First, they must have the courage to ask and then back it up with their credentials, their commitment for a serious campaign and willingness to raise the bulk of the funds they need. From our perspective, the most important thing we can offer is not the amount of money but the endorsement implied by even a small symbolic contribution not to mention the logistical support the request and our acceptance would generate from LNC members and volunteers.

My personal view is that Mr. Wicks is made of the right Libertarian candidate stuff like Mark Miller of Texas.

Thoughts?

~David

Dec 28-Jan 1 Omaha Roads to Liberty Un-Convention

~David Pratt Demarest

LNC Region 6 Representative (IA, IL, MN, MO, ND, NE, WI)

Secretary, LPNE State Central Committee

Cell:      402-981-6469

Home: 402-493-0873

From: Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces at hq.lp.org] On Behalf Of Patrick McKnight
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2017 9:04 PM
To: lnc-business at hq.lp.org
Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] Email Ballot 2017-10: Donation to the Mark Wicks campaign

I'm also on the fence. I used to think we should support every candidate who made a cogent request. However I am concerned our decisions are ad hoc. What is our criteria for making these decisions? Why do we support one candidate and not another, especially if ballot access is not an issue? Is this fair to all the other LP Candidates we don't support?

Thanks,

Patrick McKnight

Region 8 Rep

On May 15, 2017 8:56 PM, "Caryn Ann Harlos" <carynannharlos at gmail.com <mailto:carynannharlos at gmail.com> > wrote:

Thank you Alicia.

And Mr. Wicks is very responsive, I will gladly follow up with him on anything else needed.

-Caryn Ann

On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 6:53 PM Alicia Mattson <agmattson at gmail.com <mailto:agmattson at gmail.com> > wrote:

Thank you for the clarification!

-Alicia

On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 5:16 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos at gmail.com <mailto:carynannharlos at gmail.com> > wrote:

I spoke with Wicks about his budgeting plans - he already received $1000 which I understand went to buy needed voter lists for which they have been phonebanking, and the remaining, if passed, would go this way:

==I will divide the money up three ways. $2000 towards digital advertising through the Billings Gazette. $1015 towards 7 ads on the northern Ag Network that will air on 30 stations. That is the premier network, the balance will go towards Facebook ads.==

-Caryn Ann

On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 4:44 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos at gmail.com <mailto:carynannharlos at gmail.com> > wrote:

Well said Jeff.

On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 4:44 PM Alicia Mattson <agmattson at gmail.com <mailto:agmattson at gmail.com> > wrote:

Below is a copy of Jeff Hewitt's "yes" vote on this motion.  Most of us didn't receive it in our inboxes, but it's documented in the list archives.

-Alicia

----------------------------------
>From Jeff Hewitt hdigger2004 at aol.com <http://aol.com> 
Mon May 15 17:11:00 CDT 2017

Anytime we get a candidate who is in a special election for a congressional seat and gets in a televised debate and conducts himself well and actually wins that debate then our party benefits. Measurably so. Mark Wicks deserves our support and I hope this sends a message that we welcome his effort, as well as others in the future. I vote "yes" to allocate $5000 to his campaign. Jeff Hewitt Region 4 representative LNC.

On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 1:28 AM, Alicia Mattson <agmattson at gmail.com <mailto:agmattson at gmail.com> > wrote:

I am still on the fence for this vote.

There are some very positive things.  Mr. Wicks got into the debates and did well.  He put more money into the race than just a filing fee.  He raised a little more money than what he put in.  He mentioned that he wished to use the money for online ads, and I asked if the ads were ready.  I heard through the grapevine that a volunteer I know to be particularly talented with photography and video has completed some ads for him.

One thing I am confused about is the plan for using the $5,000.  If it were a larger amount of money, and there were more time in which to use it, perhaps the budget could be rough.  But with so little time to use the funding, there ought to be a definite plan for every penny.  The first info we received from the candidate was that online ads were the plan.  Then I saw on Facebook an ad to raise money for purchasing voter data, which volunteers would use for phone calls and text messages...then someone (not the candidate) emailed us to say that the funds were for voter data, not online ads.

I am still quite skeptical that an $11,600 budget can get traction at the last minute when the other parties are pouring so much money into the race.  Special elections are different creatures, often different demographics for the turnout, only one race being talked about in the media...but it also means the two major parties are not spread thin with races in other states and can put a lot of effort into this one race.

The LNC has limited funds.  I also voted against the deficit budget that was adopted, and would like to not spend as much as was budgeted.  

We are not able to put money into every candidate's race, so that means we have to choose races where we think our funds will provide the best value.  Those choices are usually made based on the circumstances, rather than directly based on the candidate.

What I've not yet heard is what makes this race different from any other randomly chosen Libertarian Congressional candidate.  Every candidate hopes to win, but it hasn't happened yet at the Congressional level.  Why should we expect to see results here that are better than the typical performance of a Libertarian running for Congress against both a Democrat and a Republican?  What is different enough that warrants us to deficit spend?

I think the money we invested into Mr. Miller's Texas ballot access race for railroad commissioner likely made a difference, as he retained by a slim margin, avoiding the need for a very expensive petition drive later.  He had endorsements from several newspapers, but the result was still within the range of a fairly typical outcome for a partisan L-branded candidate.  So while Mr. Wicks has some good reviews from the debate, and a media outlet calling him the winner of the debate, I'm not convinced that's enough to substantially improve his numbers.  This is not a ballot access race, and general goodwill as a result doesn't make this campaign particularly unique.

-Alicia

On Tue, May 9, 2017 at 11:18 PM, Alicia Mattson <agmattson at gmail.com <mailto:agmattson at gmail.com> > wrote:

We have an electronic mail ballot.

Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by May 19, 2017 at 11:59:59pm Pacific time.

Sponsor:  Sarwark

Motion: that the LNC contribute $5,000 to the Mark Wicks for Congress campaign

-Alicia

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-- 

In Liberty,

Caryn Ann Harlos

Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org <mailto:Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org> 

Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado <http://www.lpcolorado.org> 

Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org>  

Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee

A haiku to the Statement of Principles:

We defend your rights

And oppose the use of force

Taxation is theft

-- 

In Liberty,

Caryn Ann Harlos

Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org <mailto:Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org> 

Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado <http://www.lpcolorado.org> 

Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org>  

Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee

A haiku to the Statement of Principles:

We defend your rights

And oppose the use of force

Taxation is theft

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-- 

In Liberty,

Caryn Ann Harlos

Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org <mailto:Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org> 

Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado <http://www.lpcolorado.org> 

Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org>  

Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee

A haiku to the Statement of Principles:

We defend your rights

And oppose the use of force

Taxation is theft

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