[Lnc-business] LNC goals for 2018 and the 2018-2020 term
kenneth.olsen at lp.org
kenneth.olsen at lp.org
Tue Jul 10 12:55:44 EDT 2018
Personally I use Google Docs quite a bit and find it useful, especially
for sharing documents.
On 2018-07-10 06:28, Alex Merced (LNC Vice Chair) via Lnc-business
wrote:
> 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
>> <lnc-business at hq.lp.org> 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
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