[Lnc-business] Policy citations for our review
Caryn Ann Harlos
caryn.ann.harlos at lp.org
Sat Feb 24 04:56:53 EST 2018
==Earlier this term, Mr. Sarwark instructed staff to provide to Ms.
Harlos the login information for the LNC's Adobe Connect account so
that the Radical Caucus could use it for their caucus meeting. Staff
then sent me a request to remind them of the login information. We
don't have an LNC policy specifically about the use of party assets by
caucuses, however I objected based on the recurring theme of the other
LNC policies, and this offer was not being extended to all caucuses,
and the idea died there with Ms. Harlos agreeing that the Radical
Caucus would find another meeting option.===
The deciding factor there was our contractual agreement with Adobe that you
must be present to administer all meetings. Libertarians keep contracts
and that was unworkable. Nick was perfectly amenable in letting other
groups use it and making that widely known until that came up. You could
not be expected to attend all those meetings. I think that personally was
a bad deal to sign up for and that there are much better conferencing
options (and cheaper) that could be used by more people, but that wasn't
the issue then. When adobe renewal comes up, there are far better options
that don't require reliance on one person.
==Policy Manual Section 2.03.4 : Conventions==
This is speaking about national party conventions and delegates.
== Policy Manual Section 2.03.5 : Credit Card and Expense Reimbursements==
== NOTE: This allows travel reimbursements for "officers".===
That is a good point and a very good catch but in context it certainly is
in the context of the reality that officers will have to regularly do this
and there was to be no question that it could be reimbursed. It does not
say or imply that others could not be only that such was not an expected
guarantee. The main take away here is Party related activities.
== Policy Manual Section 2.03.9 : Related Party Reporting==
And the treasurer had all this noted for the next report which is when it
would have been included as per this section.
== Policy Manual Section 2.08.2 : Limitations on Party Support for Public
Office==
Not running for public office.
==Policy Manual Section 2.09.6 : Limitations on Party Support for Party
Office
"Party resources shall not be used to provide information or services
for any candidate for party office unless:
* such information or services are available and announced on an
equal basis to all Libertarians who have DECLARED they are seeking
that office, or=== [emphasis added]
I have not declared and this section obviously again means information and
services related to that campaign. Or does that mean you can no longer ask
for services or information that have nothing to do with campaigning unless
it is offered to me (if I declared)? Of course not. This is about
providing support for campaigns for DECLARED Party candidates. I was
neither campaigning nor was I declared.
== Policy Manual Section 3.03.1 : Affiliate Relationships
"Special agreements with states require the approval of the LNC."==
I also have no idea what this means, but I cannot conceive of any intent in
which it would apply here.
No policies were violated. You can have your opinion that wrong discretion
was used and that is fair. And subjective. I followed the rules and
directions and got the appropriate approvals.
On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 1:37 AM, Alicia Mattson <alicia.mattson at lp.org>
wrote:
> Below I'm going to quote a number of LNC policies that we should keep
> in mind for evaluating the subject of the day.
> There is a large body of LNC policy establishing a framework of keeping
> things on an even playing field. Some of the policies were
> specifically written after real-life experience with a situation that
> generated objections.
> Our policies require fairness regarding use of party assets by
> pre-nomination candidates for public office, or for internal party
> office. Our policies forbid giving some national convention delegates
> financial advantages over others. Our policies require that "special"
> agreements with affiliates (agreements not offered to all) require LNC
> approval. Our policies require advance approval of related party
> transactions and then various financial disclosures beyond just FEC
> reporting.
> Earlier this term, Mr. Sarwark instructed staff to provide to Ms.
> Harlos the login information for the LNC's Adobe Connect account so
> that the Radical Caucus could use it for their caucus meeting. Staff
> then sent me a request to remind them of the login information. We
> don't have an LNC policy specifically about the use of party assets by
> caucuses, however I objected based on the recurring theme of the other
> LNC policies, and this offer was not being extended to all caucuses,
> and the idea died there with Ms. Harlos agreeing that the Radical
> Caucus would find another meeting option.
> I think the current situation may run afoul of some of our policies
> below, but we shouldn't have to write a policy to anticipate every
> potential idea that might arise. There's enough collective experience
> on this board that good judgment should be able to spot the bad optics
> here.
> Policy Manual Section 2.03.4 : Conventions
> "The Party shall not directly or indirectly compensate or otherwise
> underwrite or subsidize the convention travel, lodging (excepting room
> upgrades which the Party received at no cost), entertainment costs or
> speaker fees/honorariums of any Convention delegates. This policy shall
> not prohibit the Party from underwriting organized convention events
> offered to all donors of a particular level. Nor shall it prohibit
> delegates from receiving complementary meals or access to convention
> events in rough proportion to their level of volunteer work. All
> volunteer compensation must be approved by the Convention Oversight
> Committee, and contemporaneously published when actual compensation is
> received."
> Policy Manual Section 2.03.5 : Credit Card and Expense Reimbursements
> "... Travel expenses incurred by officers for the explicit purpose of
> conducting Party business (excluding those incurred for the purpose of
> attending LNC meetings) may be reimbursed. Business travel expenses
> not pre-authorized by the LNC must be deemed necessary and approved in
> writing by the Chair to qualify for reimbursement. All travel expense
> reports are to be audited by the Treasurer, and approved by the
> Treasurer and the Chair."
> NOTE: This allows travel reimbursements for "officers".
> Policy Manual Section 2.03.9 : Related Party Reporting
> "For each related party engaging in one or more financial transactions
> with the Party, all interim financial statements shall include a report
> of the status, nature and current and year-to-date amounts with respect
> to such transactions, including contributions, expenses, loans,
> commitments, guarantees or any other transaction."
> Policy Manual Section 2.04.3 : Contracts and Contract Approval
> "All contracts or modifications thereto shall be in writing and shall
> document the nature of the products or services to be provided and the
> terms and conditions with respect to the amount of
> compensation/reimbursement or other consideration to be paid. ... No
> agreement involving a financial transaction with a related party shall
> be executed unless first approved by the LNC. Any such agreement shall
> be disclosed in a conflict of interest statement."
> Policy Manual Section 2.08.2 : Limitations on Party Support for Public
> Office
> "Party resources shall not be used to provide information or services
> for any candidate for public office prior to the nomination unless:
> * such information or services are available and announced on an
> equal basis to all Libertarians who have declared they are seeking
> that nomination,
> * such information or services are generally available and announced
> to all party members, or
> * the service or candidate has been approved by the state chair."
>
> Policy Manual Section 2.09.6 : Limitations on Party Support for Party
> Office
> "Party resources shall not be used to provide information or services
> for any candidate for party office unless:
> * such information or services are available and announced on an
> equal basis to all Libertarians who have declared they are seeking
> that office, or
> * such information or services are generally available and announced
> to all party members."
>
> Policy Manual Section 3.03.1 : Affiliate Relationships
>
> "Special agreements with states require the approval of the LNC."
>
> NOTE: I am not certain the exact motivation for adding this language,
> but it may have been one of the following. It could have been during
> Project Archimedes in which states with partisan voter registration
> were targeted for membership drives because there already existed a
> list of people in that state who are philosophically aligned with the
> party. It could have been a situation during the Unified Membership
> Program in which an affiliate combined state-specific mailings with LP
> News. It didn't cost the LNC additional expense. The affiliate paid
> the marginal cost of the extra postage, and the LNC paid the same
> postage they would have otherwise incurred for LP News.
>
> -Alicia
>
-------------- next part --------------
==Earlier this term, Mr. Sarwark instructed staff to provide to Ms.
Harlos the login information for the LNC's Adobe Connect account so
that the Radical Caucus could use it for their caucus meeting.
Staff
then sent me a request to remind them of the login information. We
don't have an LNC policy specifically about the use of party assets
by
caucuses, however I objected based on the recurring theme of the
other
LNC policies, and this offer was not being extended to all caucuses,
and the idea died there with Ms. Harlos agreeing that the Radical
Caucus would find another meeting option.===
The deciding factor there was our contractual agreement with Adobe that
you must be present to administer all meetings. Libertarians keep
contracts and that was unworkable. Nick was perfectly amenable in
letting other groups use it and making that widely known until that
came up. You could not be expected to attend all those meetings. I
think that personally was a bad deal to sign up for and that there are
much better conferencing options (and cheaper) that could be used by
more people, but that wasn't the issue then. When adobe renewal comes
up, there are far better options that don't require reliance on one
person.
==Policy Manual Section 2.03.4 : Conventions==
This is speaking about national party conventions and delegates.
== Policy Manual Section 2.03.5 : Credit Card and Expense
Reimbursements==
== NOTE: This allows travel reimbursements for "officers".===
That is a good point and a very good catch but in context it certainly
is in the context of the reality that officers will have to regularly
do this and there was to be no question that it could be reimbursed.
It does not say or imply that others could not be only that such was
not an expected guarantee. The main take away here is Party related
activities.
== Policy Manual Section 2.03.9 : Related Party Reporting==
And the treasurer had all this noted for the next report which is when
it would have been included as per this section.
== Policy Manual Section 2.08.2 : Limitations on Party Support for
Public
Office==
Not running for public office.
==Policy Manual Section 2.09.6 : Limitations on Party Support for
Party
Office
"Party resources shall not be used to provide information or
services
for any candidate for party office unless:
* such information or services are available and announced on an
equal basis to all Libertarians who have DECLARED they are
seeking
that office, or=== [emphasis added]
I have not declared and this section obviously again means information
and services related to that campaign. Or does that mean you can no
longer ask for services or information that have nothing to do with
campaigning unless it is offered to me (if I declared)? Of course
not. This is about providing support for campaigns for DECLARED Party
candidates. I was neither campaigning nor was I declared.
== Policy Manual Section 3.03.1 : Affiliate Relationships
"Special agreements with states require the approval of the LNC."==
I also have no idea what this means, but I cannot conceive of any
intent in which it would apply here.
No policies were violated. You can have your opinion that wrong
discretion was used and that is fair. And subjective. I followed the
rules and directions and got the appropriate approvals.
On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 1:37 AM, Alicia Mattson
<[1]alicia.mattson at lp.org> wrote:
Below I'm going to quote a number of LNC policies that we should
keep
in mind for evaluating the subject of the day.
There is a large body of LNC policy establishing a framework of
keeping
things on an even playing field. Some of the policies were
specifically written after real-life experience with a situation
that
generated objections.
Our policies require fairness regarding use of party assets by
pre-nomination candidates for public office, or for internal
party
office. Our policies forbid giving some national convention
delegates
financial advantages over others. Our policies require that
"special"
agreements with affiliates (agreements not offered to all)
require LNC
approval. Our policies require advance approval of related party
transactions and then various financial disclosures beyond just
FEC
reporting.
Earlier this term, Mr. Sarwark instructed staff to provide to Ms.
Harlos the login information for the LNC's Adobe Connect account
so
that the Radical Caucus could use it for their caucus meeting.
Staff
then sent me a request to remind them of the login information.
We
don't have an LNC policy specifically about the use of party
assets by
caucuses, however I objected based on the recurring theme of the
other
LNC policies, and this offer was not being extended to all
caucuses,
and the idea died there with Ms. Harlos agreeing that the Radical
Caucus would find another meeting option.
I think the current situation may run afoul of some of our
policies
below, but we shouldn't have to write a policy to anticipate
every
potential idea that might arise. There's enough collective
experience
on this board that good judgment should be able to spot the bad
optics
here.
Policy Manual Section 2.03.4 : Conventions
"The Party shall not directly or indirectly compensate or
otherwise
underwrite or subsidize the convention travel, lodging (excepting
room
upgrades which the Party received at no cost), entertainment
costs or
speaker fees/honorariums of any Convention delegates. This policy
shall
not prohibit the Party from underwriting organized convention
events
offered to all donors of a particular level. Nor shall it
prohibit
delegates from receiving complementary meals or access to
convention
events in rough proportion to their level of volunteer work. All
volunteer compensation must be approved by the Convention
Oversight
Committee, and contemporaneously published when actual
compensation is
received."
Policy Manual Section 2.03.5 : Credit Card and Expense
Reimbursements
"... Travel expenses incurred by officers for the explicit
purpose of
conducting Party business (excluding those incurred for the
purpose of
attending LNC meetings) may be reimbursed. Business travel
expenses
not pre-authorized by the LNC must be deemed necessary and
approved in
writing by the Chair to qualify for reimbursement. All travel
expense
reports are to be audited by the Treasurer, and approved by the
Treasurer and the Chair."
NOTE: This allows travel reimbursements for "officers".
Policy Manual Section 2.03.9 : Related Party Reporting
"For each related party engaging in one or more financial
transactions
with the Party, all interim financial statements shall include a
report
of the status, nature and current and year-to-date amounts with
respect
to such transactions, including contributions, expenses, loans,
commitments, guarantees or any other transaction."
Policy Manual Section 2.04.3 : Contracts and Contract Approval
"All contracts or modifications thereto shall be in writing and
shall
document the nature of the products or services to be provided
and the
terms and conditions with respect to the amount of
compensation/reimbursement or other consideration to be paid. ...
No
agreement involving a financial transaction with a related party
shall
be executed unless first approved by the LNC. Any such agreement
shall
be disclosed in a conflict of interest statement."
Policy Manual Section 2.08.2 : Limitations on Party Support for
Public
Office
"Party resources shall not be used to provide information or
services
for any candidate for public office prior to the nomination
unless:
* such information or services are available and announced on
an
equal basis to all Libertarians who have declared they are
seeking
that nomination,
* such information or services are generally available and
announced
to all party members, or
* the service or candidate has been approved by the state
chair."
Policy Manual Section 2.09.6 : Limitations on Party Support for
Party
Office
"Party resources shall not be used to provide information or
services
for any candidate for party office unless:
* such information or services are available and announced on
an
equal basis to all Libertarians who have declared they are
seeking
that office, or
* such information or services are generally available and
announced
to all party members."
Policy Manual Section 3.03.1 : Affiliate Relationships
"Special agreements with states require the approval of the LNC."
NOTE: I am not certain the exact motivation for adding this
language,
but it may have been one of the following. It could have been
during
Project Archimedes in which states with partisan voter
registration
were targeted for membership drives because there already existed
a
list of people in that state who are philosophically aligned with
the
party. It could have been a situation during the Unified
Membership
Program in which an affiliate combined state-specific mailings
with LP
News. It didn't cost the LNC additional expense. The affiliate
paid
the marginal cost of the extra postage, and the LNC paid the same
postage they would have otherwise incurred for LP News.
-Alicia
References
1. mailto:alicia.mattson at lp.org
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