[Lnc-business] LNC goals for 2018 and the 2018-2020 term
john.phillips at lp.org
john.phillips at lp.org
Tue Jul 10 09:38:17 EDT 2018
Yes anything that makes it easier to stay organized.
John Phillips
Libertarian National Committee Region 6 Representative
Cell 217-412-5973
------ Original message------From: Alex Merced (LNC Vice Chair) via Lnc-business Date: Tue, Jul 10, 2018 8:28 AMTo: lnc-business at hq.lp.org;Cc: Alex Merced (LNC Vice Chair);Subject:Re: [Lnc-business] LNC goals for 2018 and the 2018-2020 term
Would everyone be interest in a shared google doc? Or using some other collaborative project management tool like Slack or Trello? I don’t want to complicate things so only worth it if there is interest.
Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee
> On Jul 10, 2018, at 8:23 AM, Caryn Ann Harlos via Lnc-business wrote:
>
> Some kind of working document would be ideal so we could all add
>
> On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 3:46 AM, Victoria Paige Lee via Lnc-business
> <[1]lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>
> I agree with Elizabeth. If we could possibly get this in the form of
> a PDF or essentially a more clean way to print this off I would
> appreciate it.
> Wonderfully done!!
> Victoria Paige Lee BSN,RN
> Region 2 Alternate
> Libertarian National Committee
> 901-390-0578
> "Every man must have freedom, must
> have the scope to form, test, and
> act upon his own choices, for any
> sort of development of his own
> personality to take place. He must,
> in short, be free in order that he
> may fully be human."
> -Murray Rothbard
>
> On 2018-07-09 17:39, James Lark via Lnc-business wrote:
>
> Dear colleagues:
> I hope all is well with you. I am writing to initiate a
> discussion
> of LNC goals for the rest of 2018 and the 2018 – 2020 term.
> In what follows, I offer some comments and suggestions about
> selecting our goals for 2018 and the 2018-2020 term, in addition
> to
> comments about some projects and outcomes I would like the LNC to
> consider. I hope you find my comments to be helpful. (Those who
> served with me during previous LNC terms may recall that I sent
> similar
> messages concerning goals for those terms.)
> Allow me to emphasize that the purpose of this message is to
> initiate a discussion of goals. While I have enclosed below some
> prospective goals for your consideration, I have not offered
> suggestions concerning the specific strategies, tactics, and
> resources
> required to achieve such goals. I believe we should prepare a
> list of
> reasonable goals for consideration, determine the ones for which
> suitable strategies and tactics exist (given our resource
> constraints),
> and then select and prioritize the goals we deem most
> appropriate.
> I. Assumptions and Preferences
> In offering these comments I have the following preferences
> and use
> the following assumptions:
> 1) Based upon information provided at the initial LNC meeting by
> treasurer Tim Hagan, I believe it is possible the LNC will
> conclude the
> 2018 fiscal year with a net operating surplus. However, since I
> prefer
> to be very conservative in estimating revenues, I shall assume
> for the
> purpose of discussion that the LNC will conclude the 2018 fiscal
> year
> with a net operating deficit between $50,000 and $125,000.
> 2) At this time, I believe it is not unreasonable to assume the
> LP
> will have between 15,000 and 17,000 sustaining members by Dec.
> 31,
> 2018.
> 3) I have a very strong preference for selecting goals involving
> matters over which the LNC has the ability to control or to
> influence
> substantially. For example, the quality of LPHQ service to our
> members
> and the suite of goods and services available to our members are
> matters over which the LNC has effective control.
> Although I have this preference, I have suggested below
> membership
> and fundraising goals for the 2018-2020 term; these goals are in
> some
> sense exceptions to this preference. That is, to a substantial
> degree
> our membership and fundraising levels are influenced by events
> outside
> our ability to influence substantially, much less control. For
> example, actions taken by President Trump may generate
> substantially
> increased interest in the LP. In addition, an endorsement of the
> Libertarian Party and its candidates by a prominent celebrity
> with no
> previous connection to the libertarian movement could help us
> greatly.
> 4) At the risk of belaboring what may be obvious, I believe it
> is very
> important for the LNC to ascertain to the extent possible the
> preferences of our members and affiliate organizations. In
> particular,
> I hope my fellow regional representatives are soliciting
> information
> about such preferences from their state affiliates.
> II. Goal Categories
> For the purpose of exposition, I shall use the list of
> categories
> below; they are listed in no particular order of importance. I
> hope
> you find this categorization method to be helpful. I realize
> there are
> other ways of categorizing our activities; you are welcome to
> recommend
> other ways for our consideration. Please note that these
> categories
> are not mutually exclusive; many goals can be included under
> several
> categories.
> 1) Financial Resources
> This category concerns issues associated with raising funds for
> our
> operations. Specifically, we should determine our financial
> needs in
> relation to our goals for the year and term, and identify the
> means by
> which we obtain funding for those needs. As part of determining
> goals
> in this category, we should consider the following:
> * How much do we need during the 2018-2020 term to accomplish our
> goals?
> * How do we attract new donors (including those who are not LP
> members)?
> * How do we encourage current donors (including LP members) to
> increase
> their donations?
> * How do we recognize and reward donors for their generosity?
> * Are our current methods of fundraising appropriate?
> * Should we increase the amount we allocate to a reserve fund
> (e.g., a
> "rainy day fund")?
> I believe we should continue to enable our donors to select
> more
> easily the budget categories (or perhaps specific projects) they
> want
> their donations to fund. While LP.org already provides special
> webpages for affiliate support, ballot access, the building fund,
> historical preservation, the Legal Offense Fund, and the State
> CRM
> project, it may be helpful to provide a larger menu of choices
> (e.g.,
> candidate/campaign staff development, youth outreach) to which
> donors
> can direct their donations.
> 2) Member and Affiliate Support
> This category involves several areas of activity. I consider
> these
> issues to be of particular importance:
> * Do we have an acceptable level of performance in providing
> service to
> our members? In what ways can we improve our service?
> * In what ways can we improve our support to our affiliate
> organizations? This support can occur in many ways, such as
> funding
> ballot access activities and/or outreach activities, providing
> advice
> on improving organizational structure (e.g., filling potentially
> dangerous lacunae in organization bylaws), and providing legal
> advice
> on dealing with government regulations (e.g., campaign finance
> regulations).
> * How do we help our members become better activists and
> candidates?
> In particular, what educational and training programs should we
> sponsor?
> * In what ways can we improve the process of recognizing and
> rewarding
> our members?
> * In what ways can we improve LP.org, LP News, Liberty Pledge
> News, and
> our social media webpages to provide useful information to our
> members?
> If I understand correctly, the work performed by Andy Burns
> (State
> Affiliate Development Specialist) has been very well received by
> many
> state affiliates. The LNC should consider in what ways the
> program
> supporting Mr. Burns can be improved.
> During my service as national chairman (the 2000-2002 LNC
> term),
> executive director Steve Dasbach and I considered the possibility
> of
> funding a "regional director" to assist the state affiliates of
> New
> Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. We thought a "regional
> director"
> might be able to take advantage of economies of scale to improve
> the
> ability of these affiliates to respond to prospect inquiries, to
> generate media coverage, to monitor important legislation, and in
> general to make the affiliates more effective in their efforts.
> The
> LNC may wish to consider a similar idea.
> I am investigating ways in which to fund "field organizers"
> to
> assist with building Libertarian groups on college campuses,
> perhaps as
> part of a broader program to provide assistance to affiliate
> organizations. The LNC may also want to consider the possibility
> of
> funding "field organizers" as part of its support to affiliate
> organizations.
> Incidentally, the LNC has funded such programs in the past.
> For
> example, Joe Knight of New Mexico served as a "field organizer"
> to
> assist in building campus organizations during the early 1990s.
> If I
> remember correctly, by 1993 the LNC had discontinued the
> program. I
> believe the LNC decided that the program did not produce results
> that
> justified the cost. I believe the LNC also funded a position of
> "field
> organizer" for Marla Bottemiller during roughly the same time
> period.
> Again, the LNC eventually chose not to continue the program. I
> suspect
> the position was not continued for the same reason the campus
> field
> organizer program was not continued; however, I do not know this
> with
> certainty.
> 3) Membership Recruitment and Retention
> This category involves issues of how we recruit new members
> and
> retain current members. Of course, our ability to recruit and
> retain
> members depends upon many factors, such as the success of our
> candidates and the quality of our service to our members. Some
> questions for our consideration include:
> * Should we target specific population segments for recruitment
> efforts? For example, should we emphasize outreach to college
> students, owners of small businesses, members of certain
> demographic
> groups, etc.?
> * In what ways should we seek new members? These ways could
> include
> direct mail (both postal and Internet), advertising in various
> media
> (including radio and cable TV ads, YouTube videos, Google ads,
> billboards), and outreach efforts at conventions of various
> organizations.
> * In what ways can we improve our literature, website, and social
> media
> to facilitate our recruiting efforts?
> * In what ways can we improve the process of recognizing and
> rewarding
> our members? (This issue is common to several categories.)
> As you may know, I am involved in various ways in libertarian
> outreach to high school and college students. In addition, some
> of the
> funds I have donated to the LNC are under my control as the
> campus
> outreach coordinator. Also, I am a member of the board of
> directors
> (and member of the board of advisors) of libertarian
> organizations that
> promote outreach to college students.
> Thus, I may have conflicts of interest with regard to the
> approval
> of LNC goals involving campus outreach. Should I believe such
> conflicts exist, I shall bring them to the attention of the LNC
> and
> refrain from voting on such matters.
> 4) Influence/Impact
> This category involves issues of how we can influence the
> political
> landscape, and how we can increase the impact of our activities.
> Some
> questions for our consideration include:
> * In what ways can we improve our influence with various news
> media and
> information channels? (I use the term "information channel" to
> describe entities such as blogs.) For example, should we issue
> more
> press releases? Should we devote more effort to finding
> interview
> opportunities for LP members and candidates? Should we invest
> more
> resources in “social media”?
> * In what ways can we improve our ability to mobilize our members
> and
> friends to support specific projects? For example, if we need to
> mobilize our members to support/oppose a specific piece of
> legislation
> in Congress, how can we best achieve this? (One important aspect
> of
> this may involve how we recognize and reward those who respond to
> our
> calls for action.)
> * In what ways can we establish and improve relations with
> "libertarian
> movement" organizations (e.g., Cato Institute), "friend of the
> family"
> organizations (e.g., National Taxpayers Union), and
> issue-oriented
> organizations (e.g., Marijuana Policy Project)? For example,
> should we
> make a greater effort to obtain speaking invitations for LP
> members at
> conferences sponsored by the aforementioned organizations?
> Should we
> invest more resources in sponsoring information booths at such
> conferences?
> * In what ways can we benefit by working with other organizations
> on
> specific projects, such as promoting good legislation/defeating
> bad
> legislation in Congress?
> * Should we consider participating in litigation to achieve
> specific
> results? For example, should we consider additional challenges
> to
> campaign finance regulation?
> * Should we increase our participation in organizations that
> seek to
> make redistricting less partisan? Should we be more involved
> with
> efforts to move toward voting methods such as ranked choice
> voting?
> (Note: Our distinguished colleague Bill Redpath serves as
> treasurer of
> the Board of Directors of FairVote. In addition, former LP
> stalwart
> Paul Jacob serves as vice chair of the Board.)
> I believe an important component to our increasing our
> influence/impact is for the LNC to improve its capacity for
> strategic
> thinking and long-range planning. In particular, I believe we
> must do
> a better job of anticipating opportunities for the LP to make a
> positive impact on the political landscape.
> 5) Candidate Support
> This category involves issues of how we can best support our
> candidates at all levels. Some of the questions in this category
> include:
> * In what ways can we support candidates for election this year?
> * In what ways should we support the 2020 presidential
> campaign? For
> example, in what ways can we generate support for inclusion of
> the 2020
> LP presidential ticket in the debates?
> * What programs should we sponsor to train our candidates and
> campaign
> personnel? These programs should include not only training in
> the
> "nuts and bolts" of running successful campaigns, but also
> helping
> candidates to develop platforms that are both Libertarian and
> appealing
> to voters. (Note: It may be appropriate for us to outsource
> certain
> types of training to organizations such as the Leadership
> Institute.)
> * In what ways should we publicize our candidates, both inside
> and
> outside the LP? In what ways should we recognize and reward our
> candidates?
> * In what ways should we support our elected and appointed
> officials?
> As part of candidate development and support, I believe we
> need to
> develop and maintain a high-quality repository of information
> about
> prior campaigns, both to provide information about what ideas
> have been
> tried and to compile a list of "best practices" for campaigns.
> 6) Operations Issues
> This category includes various issues involving the
> operations of
> the LNC and our responsibility to conduct the affairs of the
> Libertarian Party. Some of the issues we should address include:
> * What are our goals for the 2020 national convention in Austin,
> Texas?
> * How should we evaluate prospective national convention sites
> for 2022
> (and perhaps 2024)?
> * Do we need to review our internal rules and procedures? For
> example,
> do we need to conduct a review of the Policy Manual?
> * Should the LNC adopt a more formal (or perhaps, more extensive)
> committee structure to assist us in our efforts?
> * Should we conduct a formal evaluation of the LP Bylaws and
> Convention
> Rules, with the purpose of offering suggestions for improvement
> to the
> 2020 Bylaws Committee? (Various problems associated with the LNC
> at-large and Judicial Committee elections at the 2018 national
> convention suggest that an evaluation of the Bylaws and
> Convention
> Rules could be helpful.)
> * Should we evaluate the current organizational structure of the
> LPHQ
> staff? (Of course, such an evaluation would require the
> participation
> of Wes Benedict in his capacity as Executive Director.)
> III. Suggested Goals
> Allow me to suggest that we consider adopting goals along the
> following lines. They are listed in roughly a descending order
> of
> importance. Please do not hesitate to offer comments and
> suggestions
> about the goals we should consider.
> G1: The LP will have at least 20,000 sustaining members as of
> May 1,
> 2020.
> G2: The LNC will take action to see that each state has an
> operational
> affiliate party by July 1, 2019. I suggest that "operational
> affiliate
> party" be defined in the following manner:
> * There is a properly maintained website for the affiliate
> (perhaps the
> website is paid for and maintained by the LNC).
> * There is at least one LP member in the state who actively
> serves as
> an official contact for the affiliate in its dealings with the
> LNC, and
> there is at least one LP member in the state who actively serves
> as a
> contact for the affiliate in its dealings with the state
> government.
> * LPHQ has a copy of the current bylaws and associated documents
> for
> the affiliate, along with a copy of the relevant laws of that
> state
> regarding political parties and ballot access.
> (We may wish to add to the definition something along the lines
> of
> "Inquiries to the affiliate receive a response in a timely
> manner.")
> G3: The LNC will raise at least $3.5 million from July 1, 2018
> until
> May 1, 2020.
> G4: The LNC will develop and approve new and revised outreach
> literature, to be available no later than Dec. 31, 2018. Some of
> the
> literature (e.g., issue pamphlets) should be available in the
> form of
> PDFs that can be downloaded from LP.org.
> Note: I believe the LNC should pursue this goal as part of a more
> general process of literature development and evaluation. In a
> separate message I shall send you some suggestions concerning
> this more
> general process.
> G5: The LNC will sponsor a series of seminars/workshops in 2019
> at
> various locations around the country. The workshops could be
> structured largely along the lines of the "Success '97" and
> "Success
> '99" seminars (instruction on the basics of affiliate development
> and
> candidate development). Note: Approval of this goal should be
> contingent upon the degree of interest demonstrated by our
> members and
> affiliates.
> As far as I can remember, the LNC did not vote to adopt goals
> for
> the 2016-2018 term. I believe it would be appropriate to discuss
> prospective goals for the term (along with goals for the
> remainder of
> 2018) between now and the next LNC meeting (probably to take
> place on
> Sept. 29-30), and to adopt goals during that meeting.
> IV. Additional Considerations
> In addition to the suggested goals, I hope the LNC will
> accomplish
> the following during the next several months:
> * Develop a well-maintained calendar of the events at which it is
> desirable to have an LP presence (e.g., speaker, information
> booth,
> literature distributed to attendees, advertising in conference
> program). For example, the calendar would include the dates of
> the
> national conferences of "friend of the family" organizations.
> Presumably the calendar would also include information as to
> event
> location, contact information for event coordinators, etc.
> * Utilize LP News and LP.org more effectively to recognize and
> reward
> quality activism. For example, I would like to see an article in
> each
> issue of LP News that recognizes an outstanding effort by an LP
> activist, affiliate organization, and/or candidate. Similarly, I
> would
> like to see at least one article per month on the website that
> recognizes such outstanding efforts.
> As an aside, I realize the work required to identify and
> recognize
> outstanding efforts can be substantial. Moreover, I realize that
> such
> recognition can actually cause problems. (Some members may
> believe the
> honorees do not deserve such recognition. Other members may feel
> slighted by the fact that their efforts have not been
> recognized.)
> However, all things considered I believe we shall benefit by
> including
> more material in our "house organs" about fine work by our
> members.
> * After analyzing the results of the 2018 elections, develop and
> approve a plan by Feb. 15, 2019 for dealing with ballot access
> issues
> during the 2019-2024 time period.
> I shall greatly appreciate any comments and suggestions you
> have
> concerning LNC goals and projects for this year and this term.
> In
> addition, I would be grateful if Mr. Benedict and his staff
> colleagues
> would review this message and offer their comments.
> I consider it likely that I have omitted some issues you will
> deem
> worthy of discussion. Hence, I may send a revised version of
> this
> message in the near future, along with a revised list of goals
> for
> consideration.
> Thanks for your work for liberty, and for your consideration
> of
> this message. Best wishes to you in all your endeavors; I look
> forward
> to seeing you in late September, if not before.
> Take care,
> Jim
> James W. Lark, III
> Professor, Dept. of Systems and Information Engineering
> Professor, Applied Mathematics Program, Dept. of Engineering
> and
> Society
> Affiliated Faculty, Dept. of Statistics
> University of Virginia
> Advisor, The Liberty Coalition
> University of Virginia
> Region 5 Representative, Libertarian National Committee
>
> --
>
> --
> --
> In Liberty,
> Caryn Ann Harlos
> Libertarian Party and Libertarian National Committee Secretary
> - [2]Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org or Secretary at LP.org.
> Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee - LPedia at LP.org
> A haiku to the Statement of Principles:
> We defend your rights
> And oppose the use of force
> Taxation is theft
>
> References
>
> 1. mailto:lnc-business at hq.lp.org
> 2. mailto:Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org
-------------- next part --------------
Yes anything that makes it easier to stay organized.
John Phillips
Libertarian National Committee Region 6 Representative
Cell [1]217-412-5973
------ Original message------
From: Alex Merced (LNC Vice Chair) via Lnc-business
Date: Tue, Jul 10, 2018 8:28 AM
To: [2]lnc-business at hq.lp.org;
Cc: Alex Merced (LNC Vice Chair);
Subject:Re: [Lnc-business] LNC goals for 2018 and the [3]2018-2020 term
Would everyone be interest in a shared google doc? Or using some other collabora
tive project management tool like Slack or Trello? I don’t want to complicate th
ings so only worth it if there is interest.
Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee
> On Jul 10, 2018, at 8:23 AM, Caryn Ann Harlos via Lnc-business wrote:
>
> Some kind of working document would be ideal so we could all add
>
> On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 3:46 AM, Victoria Paige Lee via Lnc-business
> <[1[4]]lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>
> I agree with Elizabeth. If we could possibly get this in the form of
> a PDF or essentially a more clean way to print this off I would
> appreciate it.
> Wonderfully done!!
> Victoria Paige Lee BSN,RN
> Region 2 Alternate
> Libertarian National Committee
> [5]901-390-0578
> "Every man must have freedom, must
> have the scope to form, test, and
> act upon his own choices, for any
> sort of development of his own
> personality to take place. He must,
> in short, be free in order that he
> may fully be human."
> -Murray Rothbard
>
> On [6]2018-07-09 17:39, James Lark via Lnc-business wrote:
>
> Dear colleagues:
> I hope all is well with you. I am writing to initiate a
> discussion
> of LNC goals for the rest of 2018 and the 2018 – 2020 term.
> In what follows, I offer some comments and suggestions about
> selecting our goals for 2018 and the [7]2018-2020 term, in addition
> to
> comments about some projects and outcomes I would like the LNC to
> consider. I hope you find my comments to be helpful. (Those who
> served with me during previous LNC terms may recall that I sent
> similar
> messages concerning goals for those terms.)
> Allow me to emphasize that the purpose of this message is to
> initiate a discussion of goals. While I have enclosed below some
> prospective goals for your consideration, I have not offered
> suggestions concerning the specific strategies, tactics, and
> resources
> required to achieve such goals. I believe we should prepare a
> list of
> reasonable goals for consideration, determine the ones for which
> suitable strategies and tactics exist (given our resource
> constraints),
> and then select and prioritize the goals we deem most
> appropriate.
> I. Assumptions and Preferences
> In offering these comments I have the following preferences
> and use
> the following assumptions:
> 1) Based upon information provided at the initial LNC meeting by
> treasurer Tim Hagan, I believe it is possible the LNC will
> conclude the
> 2018 fiscal year with a net operating surplus. However, since I
> prefer
> to be very conservative in estimating revenues, I shall assume
> for the
> purpose of discussion that the LNC will conclude the 2018 fiscal
> year
> with a net operating deficit between $50,000 and $125,000.
> 2) At this time, I believe it is not unreasonable to assume the
> LP
> will have between 15,000 and 17,000 sustaining members by Dec.
> 31,
> 2018.
> 3) I have a very strong preference for selecting goals involving
> matters over which the LNC has the ability to control or to
> influence
> substantially. For example, the quality of LPHQ service to our
> members
> and the suite of goods and services available to our members are
> matters over which the LNC has effective control.
> Although I have this preference, I have suggested below
> membership
> and fundraising goals for the [8]2018-2020 term; these goals are in
> some
> sense exceptions to this preference. That is, to a substantial
> degree
> our membership and fundraising levels are influenced by events
> outside
> our ability to influence substantially, much less control. For
> example, actions taken by President Trump may generate
> substantially
> increased interest in the LP. In addition, an endorsement of the
> Libertarian Party and its candidates by a prominent celebrity
> with no
> previous connection to the libertarian movement could help us
> greatly.
> 4) At the risk of belaboring what may be obvious, I believe it
> is very
> important for the LNC to ascertain to the extent possible the
> preferences of our members and affiliate organizations. In
> particular,
> I hope my fellow regional representatives are soliciting
> information
> about such preferences from their state affiliates.
> II. Goal Categories
> For the purpose of exposition, I shall use the list of
> categories
> below; they are listed in no particular order of importance. I
> hope
> you find this categorization method to be helpful. I realize
> there are
> other ways of categorizing our activities; you are welcome to
> recommend
> other ways for our consideration. Please note that these
> categories
> are not mutually exclusive; many goals can be included under
> several
> categories.
> 1) Financial Resources
> This category concerns issues associated with raising funds for
> our
> operations. Specifically, we should determine our financial
> needs in
> relation to our goals for the year and term, and identify the
> means by
> which we obtain funding for those needs. As part of determining
> goals
> in this category, we should consider the following:
> * How much do we need during the [9]2018-2020 term to accomplish our
> goals?
> * How do we attract new donors (including those who are not LP
> members)?
> * How do we encourage current donors (including LP members) to
> increase
> their donations?
> * How do we recognize and reward donors for their generosity?
> * Are our current methods of fundraising appropriate?
> * Should we increase the amount we allocate to a reserve fund
> (e.g., a
> "rainy day fund")?
> I believe we should continue to enable our donors to select
> more
> easily the budget categories (or perhaps specific projects) they
> want
> their donations to fund. While [10]LP.org already provides special
> webpages for affiliate support, ballot access, the building fund,
> historical preservation, the Legal Offense Fund, and the State
> CRM
> project, it may be helpful to provide a larger menu of choices
> (e.g.,
> candidate/campaign staff development, youth outreach) to which
> donors
> can direct their donations.
> 2) Member and Affiliate Support
> This category involves several areas of activity. I consider
> these
> issues to be of particular importance:
> * Do we have an acceptable level of performance in providing
> service to
> our members? In what ways can we improve our service?
> * In what ways can we improve our support to our affiliate
> organizations? This support can occur in many ways, such as
> funding
> ballot access activities and/or outreach activities, providing
> advice
> on improving organizational structure (e.g., filling potentially
> dangerous lacunae in organization bylaws), and providing legal
> advice
> on dealing with government regulations (e.g., campaign finance
> regulations).
> * How do we help our members become better activists and
> candidates?
> In particular, what educational and training programs should we
> sponsor?
> * In what ways can we improve the process of recognizing and
> rewarding
> our members?
> * In what ways can we improve [11]LP.org, LP News, Liberty Pledge
> News, and
> our social media webpages to provide useful information to our
> members?
> If I understand correctly, the work performed by Andy Burns
> (State
> Affiliate Development Specialist) has been very well received by
> many
> state affiliates. The LNC should consider in what ways the
> program
> supporting Mr. Burns can be improved.
> During my service as national chairman (the [12]2000-2002 LNC
> term),
> executive director Steve Dasbach and I considered the possibility
> of
> funding a "regional director" to assist the state affiliates of
> New
> Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. We thought a "regional
> director"
> might be able to take advantage of economies of scale to improve
> the
> ability of these affiliates to respond to prospect inquiries, to
> generate media coverage, to monitor important legislation, and in
> general to make the affiliates more effective in their efforts.
> The
> LNC may wish to consider a similar idea.
> I am investigating ways in which to fund "field organizers"
> to
> assist with building Libertarian groups on college campuses,
> perhaps as
> part of a broader program to provide assistance to affiliate
> organizations. The LNC may also want to consider the possibility
> of
> funding "field organizers" as part of its support to affiliate
> organizations.
> Incidentally, the LNC has funded such programs in the past.
> For
> example, Joe Knight of New Mexico served as a "field organizer"
> to
> assist in building campus organizations during the early 1990s.
> If I
> remember correctly, by 1993 the LNC had discontinued the
> program. I
> believe the LNC decided that the program did not produce results
> that
> justified the cost. I believe the LNC also funded a position of
> "field
> organizer" for Marla Bottemiller during roughly the same time
> period.
> Again, the LNC eventually chose not to continue the program. I
> suspect
> the position was not continued for the same reason the campus
> field
> organizer program was not continued; however, I do not know this
> with
> certainty.
> 3) Membership Recruitment and Retention
> This category involves issues of how we recruit new members
> and
> retain current members. Of course, our ability to recruit and
> retain
> members depends upon many factors, such as the success of our
> candidates and the quality of our service to our members. Some
> questions for our consideration include:
> * Should we target specific population segments for recruitment
> efforts? For example, should we emphasize outreach to college
> students, owners of small businesses, members of certain
> demographic
> groups, etc.?
> * In what ways should we seek new members? These ways could
> include
> direct mail (both postal and Internet), advertising in various
> media
> (including radio and cable TV ads, YouTube videos, Google ads,
> billboards), and outreach efforts at conventions of various
> organizations.
> * In what ways can we improve our literature, website, and social
> media
> to facilitate our recruiting efforts?
> * In what ways can we improve the process of recognizing and
> rewarding
> our members? (This issue is common to several categories.)
> As you may know, I am involved in various ways in libertarian
> outreach to high school and college students. In addition, some
> of the
> funds I have donated to the LNC are under my control as the
> campus
> outreach coordinator. Also, I am a member of the board of
> directors
> (and member of the board of advisors) of libertarian
> organizations that
> promote outreach to college students.
> Thus, I may have conflicts of interest with regard to the
> approval
> of LNC goals involving campus outreach. Should I believe such
> conflicts exist, I shall bring them to the attention of the LNC
> and
> refrain from voting on such matters.
> 4) Influence/Impact
> This category involves issues of how we can influence the
> political
> landscape, and how we can increase the impact of our activities.
> Some
> questions for our consideration include:
> * In what ways can we improve our influence with various news
> media and
> information channels? (I use the term "information channel" to
> describe entities such as blogs.) For example, should we issue
> more
> press releases? Should we devote more effort to finding
> interview
> opportunities for LP members and candidates? Should we invest
> more
> resources in “social media”?
> * In what ways can we improve our ability to mobilize our members
> and
> friends to support specific projects? For example, if we need to
> mobilize our members to support/oppose a specific piece of
> legislation
> in Congress, how can we best achieve this? (One important aspect
> of
> this may involve how we recognize and reward those who respond to
> our
> calls for action.)
> * In what ways can we establish and improve relations with
> "libertarian
> movement" organizations (e.g., Cato Institute), "friend of the
> family"
> organizations (e.g., National Taxpayers Union), and
> issue-oriented
> organizations (e.g., Marijuana Policy Project)? For example,
> should we
> make a greater effort to obtain speaking invitations for LP
> members at
> conferences sponsored by the aforementioned organizations?
> Should we
> invest more resources in sponsoring information booths at such
> conferences?
> * In what ways can we benefit by working with other organizations
> on
> specific projects, such as promoting good legislation/defeating
> bad
> legislation in Congress?
> * Should we consider participating in litigation to achieve
> specific
> results? For example, should we consider additional challenges
> to
> campaign finance regulation?
> * Should we increase our participation in organizations that
> seek to
> make redistricting less partisan? Should we be more involved
> with
> efforts to move toward voting methods such as ranked choice
> voting?
> (Note: Our distinguished colleague Bill Redpath serves as
> treasurer of
> the Board of Directors of FairVote. In addition, former LP
> stalwart
> Paul Jacob serves as vice chair of the Board.)
> I believe an important component to our increasing our
> influence/impact is for the LNC to improve its capacity for
> strategic
> thinking and long-range planning. In particular, I believe we
> must do
> a better job of anticipating opportunities for the LP to make a
> positive impact on the political landscape.
> 5) Candidate Support
> This category involves issues of how we can best support our
> candidates at all levels. Some of the questions in this category
> include:
> * In what ways can we support candidates for election this year?
> * In what ways should we support the 2020 presidential
> campaign? For
> example, in what ways can we generate support for inclusion of
> the 2020
> LP presidential ticket in the debates?
> * What programs should we sponsor to train our candidates and
> campaign
> personnel? These programs should include not only training in
> the
> "nuts and bolts" of running successful campaigns, but also
> helping
> candidates to develop platforms that are both Libertarian and
> appealing
> to voters. (Note: It may be appropriate for us to outsource
> certain
> types of training to organizations such as the Leadership
> Institute.)
> * In what ways should we publicize our candidates, both inside
> and
> outside the LP? In what ways should we recognize and reward our
> candidates?
> * In what ways should we support our elected and appointed
> officials?
> As part of candidate development and support, I believe we
> need to
> develop and maintain a high-quality repository of information
> about
> prior campaigns, both to provide information about what ideas
> have been
> tried and to compile a list of "best practices" for campaigns.
> 6) Operations Issues
> This category includes various issues involving the
> operations of
> the LNC and our responsibility to conduct the affairs of the
> Libertarian Party. Some of the issues we should address include:
> * What are our goals for the 2020 national convention in Austin,
> Texas?
> * How should we evaluate prospective national convention sites
> for 2022
> (and perhaps 2024)?
> * Do we need to review our internal rules and procedures? For
> example,
> do we need to conduct a review of the Policy Manual?
> * Should the LNC adopt a more formal (or perhaps, more extensive)
> committee structure to assist us in our efforts?
> * Should we conduct a formal evaluation of the LP Bylaws and
> Convention
> Rules, with the purpose of offering suggestions for improvement
> to the
> 2020 Bylaws Committee? (Various problems associated with the LNC
> at-large and Judicial Committee elections at the 2018 national
> convention suggest that an evaluation of the Bylaws and
> Convention
> Rules could be helpful.)
> * Should we evaluate the current organizational structure of the
> LPHQ
> staff? (Of course, such an evaluation would require the
> participation
> of Wes Benedict in his capacity as Executive Director.)
> III. Suggested Goals
> Allow me to suggest that we consider adopting goals along the
> following lines. They are listed in roughly a descending order
> of
> importance. Please do not hesitate to offer comments and
> suggestions
> about the goals we should consider.
> G1: The LP will have at least 20,000 sustaining members as of
> May 1,
> 2020.
> G2: The LNC will take action to see that each state has an
> operational
> affiliate party by July 1, 2019. I suggest that "operational
> affiliate
> party" be defined in the following manner:
> * There is a properly maintained website for the affiliate
> (perhaps the
> website is paid for and maintained by the LNC).
> * There is at least one LP member in the state who actively
> serves as
> an official contact for the affiliate in its dealings with the
> LNC, and
> there is at least one LP member in the state who actively serves
> as a
> contact for the affiliate in its dealings with the state
> government.
> * LPHQ has a copy of the current bylaws and associated documents
> for
> the affiliate, along with a copy of the relevant laws of that
> state
> regarding political parties and ballot access.
> (We may wish to add to the definition something along the lines
> of
> "Inquiries to the affiliate receive a response in a timely
> manner.")
> G3: The LNC will raise at least $3.5 million from July 1, 2018
> until
> May 1, 2020.
> G4: The LNC will develop and approve new and revised outreach
> literature, to be available no later than Dec. 31, 2018. Some of
> the
> literature (e.g., issue pamphlets) should be available in the
> form of
> PDFs that can be downloaded from [13]LP.org.
> Note: I believe the LNC should pursue this goal as part of a more
> general process of literature development and evaluation. In a
> separate message I shall send you some suggestions concerning
> this more
> general process.
> G5: The LNC will sponsor a series of seminars/workshops in 2019
> at
> various locations around the country. The workshops could be
> structured largely along the lines of the "Success '97" and
> "Success
> '99" seminars (instruction on the basics of affiliate development
> and
> candidate development). Note: Approval of this goal should be
> contingent upon the degree of interest demonstrated by our
> members and
> affiliates.
> As far as I can remember, the LNC did not vote to adopt goals
> for
> the [14]2016-2018 term. I believe it would be appropriate to discuss
> prospective goals for the term (along with goals for the
> remainder of
> 2018) between now and the next LNC meeting (probably to take
> place on
> Sept. 29-30), and to adopt goals during that meeting.
> IV. Additional Considerations
> In addition to the suggested goals, I hope the LNC will
> accomplish
> the following during the next several months:
> * Develop a well-maintained calendar of the events at which it is
> desirable to have an LP presence (e.g., speaker, information
> booth,
> literature distributed to attendees, advertising in conference
> program). For example, the calendar would include the dates of
> the
> national conferences of "friend of the family" organizations.
> Presumably the calendar would also include information as to
> event
> location, contact information for event coordinators, etc.
> * Utilize LP News and [15]LP.org more effectively to recognize and
> reward
> quality activism. For example, I would like to see an article in
> each
> issue of LP News that recognizes an outstanding effort by an LP
> activist, affiliate organization, and/or candidate. Similarly, I
> would
> like to see at least one article per month on the website that
> recognizes such outstanding efforts.
> As an aside, I realize the work required to identify and
> recognize
> outstanding efforts can be substantial. Moreover, I realize that
> such
> recognition can actually cause problems. (Some members may
> believe the
> honorees do not deserve such recognition. Other members may feel
> slighted by the fact that their efforts have not been
> recognized.)
> However, all things considered I believe we shall benefit by
> including
> more material in our "house organs" about fine work by our
> members.
> * After analyzing the results of the 2018 elections, develop and
> approve a plan by Feb. 15, 2019 for dealing with ballot access
> issues
> during the [16]2019-2024 time period.
> I shall greatly appreciate any comments and suggestions you
> have
> concerning LNC goals and projects for this year and this term.
> In
> addition, I would be grateful if Mr. Benedict and his staff
> colleagues
> would review this message and offer their comments.
> I consider it likely that I have omitted some issues you will
> deem
> worthy of discussion. Hence, I may send a revised version of
> this
> message in the near future, along with a revised list of goals
> for
> consideration.
> Thanks for your work for liberty, and for your consideration
> of
> this message. Best wishes to you in all your endeavors; I look
> forward
> to seeing you in late September, if not before.
> Take care,
> Jim
> James W. Lark, III
> Professor, Dept. of Systems and Information Engineering
> Professor, Applied Mathematics Program, Dept. of Engineering
> and
> Society
> Affiliated Faculty, Dept. of Statistics
> University of Virginia
> Advisor, The Liberty Coalition
> University of Virginia
> Region 5 Representative, Libertarian National Committee
>
> --
>
> --
> --
> In Liberty,
> Caryn Ann Harlos
> Libertarian Party and Libertarian National Committee Secretary
> - [2][17]Caryn.Ann.[18] Harlos at LP.org or[19] Secretary at LP.org.
> Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee -[20] LPedia at LP.org
> A haiku to the Statement of Principles:
> We defend your rights
> And oppose the use of force
> Taxation is theft
>
> References
>
> 1. mailto[21]:lnc-business at hq.lp.org
> 2. mailto[22]:Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org
References
1. tel:217-412-5973
2. mailto:lnc-business at hq.lp.org
3. tel:2018-2020
4. mailto:]lnc-business at hq.lp.org
5. tel:901-390-0578
6. tel:2018-07-09 17
7. tel:2018-2020
8. tel:2018-2020
9. tel:2018-2020
10. http://LP.org/
11. http://LP.org/
12. tel:2000-2002
13. http://LP.org/
14. tel:2016-2018
15. http://LP.org/
16. tel:2019-2024
17. http://Caryn.An/
18. mailto: Harlos at LP.org
19. mailto: Secretary at LP.org.
20. mailto: LPedia at LP.org
21. mailto::lnc-business at hq.lp.org
22. mailto::Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org
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