[Lnc-business] EMAIL BALLOT 200531-1 APPEAL FROM THE RULING OF THE CHAIR CONCERNING REMOVAL OF DANIEL HAYES FROM THE COC

[Alex Merced (LNC Vice Chair)]

Joe’s statements make sense, I vote yes

Alex Merced
Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee/LP

> On May 31, 2020, at 7:00 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos via Lnc-business <lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
> 
> I’m reserving my vote and argument for one day to give the chair his
> privilege.
> 
> I would encourage others to do the same
> 
> I would also encourage members to seek the counsel of Richard Brown
> 
>> On Sun, May 31, 2020 at 4:38 PM <joe.bishop-henchman at lp.org> wrote:
>> 
>> I vote yes, to sustain the ruling. The language of the policy manual is
>> that the non-LNC members are "selected by the LNC Chair" on the
>> recommendation of the COC. There is no explicit language governing
>> dismissals.
>> 
>> While I would agree that a new member would need recommendation by the COC
>> (although this may become moot due to a pending motion), our policy manual
>> chose to be silent on the mechanism of dismissal and in that case it rests
>> with who held appointment power. Presumably a Chair could refuse to appoint
>> someone recommended by the COC, and the result would be a vacant seat. The
>> Chair therefore ultimately selects the members.
>> 
>> In an analogous situation (President's removal of an appointee who had
>> received Senate confirmation for a fixed term, with no explicit language
>> governing dismissals), the U.S. Supreme Court held in Myers v. United
>> States that the President may remove such a person. Congress since has
>> deliberately included such language when the agency involved is intended to
>> be independent of the executive branch, vs. when it is intended to be
>> subordinate to the executive (or legislative). That case incidentally
>> officially exonerated President Andrew Johnson, whose impeachment was
>> pretextually about such a removal without Senate consent.
>> 
>> I've never been quite clear whether the COC is intended to be independent
>> or subordinate, as they can act independently in some, but not all,
>> decisions delegated to them. This lack of clarity also mitigates against
>> insulating members from removal. I would support efforts to clarify it
>> further, however.
>> 
>> JBH
>> 
>> 
>> On May 31, 2020 4:18 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos via Lnc-business <
>> lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>> 
>> EMAIL BALLOT 200531-1  APPEAL FROM THE RULING OF THE CHAIR CONCERNING
>> REMOVAL OF DANIEL HAYES FROM THE COC
>> 
>> We have an electronic mail ballot.
>> 
>> Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by June 7, 2020 at 11:59:59 pm
>> Pacific time.
>> 
>> Co-Sponsors:  Goldstein, Harlos, Longstreth, Phillips, Smith
>> 
>> =============================================
>> 
>> 
>> Motion: The Chair has ruled he can not only remove Daniel Hayes as CoC
>> chair but also from the committee entirely.  Harlos appeals from the
>> ruling
>> of the chair that he can remove Hayes from the committee without CoC
>> approval since appointment required CoC approval.
>> 
>> =============================================
>> 
>> THRESHOLD REQUIRED:  A majority vote is required to overturn the ruling of
>> the chair.
>> 
>> 
>> You can keep track of the Secretary's manual tally of votes here:
>> 
>> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VntkXkkuQouUiWbt9bnI_TjSMKDiTaDDpvsYtTmJdhE/edit#gid=1053534570.
>> 
>> Votes are noted with a link to the actual ballot cast for verification.
>> You
>> can find the time that the manual tally was last updated at the bottom of
>> the sheet.
>> 
>> 
>> Please notify me of any discrepancies.
>> 
>> *  In Liberty,*
>> * Personal Note:  I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome
>> (part of the autism spectrum).  This can affect inter-personal
>> communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas.  If anyone
>> found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux
>> pas) in an actual email, please contact me privately and let me know.  *
>> 
>> 
>> --
> 
> *  In Liberty,*
> * Personal Note:  I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome
> (part of the autism spectrum).  This can affect inter-personal
> communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas.  If anyone
> found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux
> pas) in an actual email, please contact me privately and let me know.  *