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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>I agree 1000% with Mr.
Ludlow’s post immediately below.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><br>
Scott Lieberman<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Lnc-business
[mailto:lnc-business-bounces@hq.lp.org] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>Kevin Ludlow<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Friday, December 11, 2015
11:08 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">lnc-business@hq.lp.org</st1:PersonName><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Lnc-business] report
on <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
visit</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>While the conversation
has been sidetracked a bit, I would just like to say that I largely concur with
Mr. Katz here. It's an obvious shortcoming of the Libertarian Party from
anyone who is outside of it. I had about 30 young people work on my 2014
campaign. All have expressed an interest in continuing to work with
me. Only 2-3 have expressed an interest in continuing to work with the
LP. Why is that?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>While I worked incredibly
hard in my 2014 Texas House run, I was (and remained) greatly concerned that I
became viewed as a top-tier candidate in the state. I was seen as an
campaign expert simply because I raised money, arranged a team, ran complex
analytics, frequently got published, had highway billboards, successful ad
campaigns, etc. It's flattering, yes, but it also paints a horrible
picture of the party in general. I had no previous campaign experience
- zero - and did not get anywhere close to winning my race. My
point being that one should not be considered an expert simply because they
perform the bare minimum of what any campaign should do. And yet I still
hear it frequently.<br>
<br>
I write this to illustrate that Mr. Katz's point about "building a
bench" rings very true to me.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>When I ask about our
strategies, I am directly referring to creating long-term goals that groom
candidates for actual campaign success in the future. We should NOT
praise candidates who raise $10k. Instead we should fire ones who do
not. I bring this same attitude into the LNC and will continue to vote in
a direction that helps us pursue that goal. If we cannot improve our base
line, then really, what is the purpose of the Libertarian Party? There
are countless activism groups out there, none of whom are restricted by silly
campaign laws for their operation. If the purpose is not to win
elections, then I fail to see the benefit of the party. Apparently that's
debatable, though I really fail to see how.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Towards minimal
standards, I refer back yet again to the Give or Get conversation that took
place. It was immediately pointed out to me that the very mention of
"Give or Get" has bad blood associated with it. As if one's
personal feelings have relevance to the political machine. If a member
can neither afford $600 over a 12 month period nor figure out how to raise
$600, then I fail to see the value of said member. I realize it's a harsh
opinion to this group, but it really should not be considered harsh in any
way. The other two parties are certainly not sending us their sympathies
for our shortcomings and some of these shortcomings are rather obvious.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Apologies for sounding ranty. It seemed appropriate given the
conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>-Kevin Ludlow<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Region 7<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On Fri, Dec 11, 2015 at 12:26 PM, Joshua Katz <<a
href="mailto:planning4liberty@gmail.com" target="_blank">planning4liberty@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Sure, if anyone literally believed that electing one person to office
was this party's highest goal, we wouldn't even need to go recruit someone to
run in some small town - we've already done that many hundreds of times, so we
could just shut our doors. But that's not what anyone I've ever met
believes. Lots of us believe, on the other hand, that a political party
is an organization that works to elect candidates to office in the pursuit of
certain larger goals, and that the unique contribution of the LP to the liberty
world is its ability to engage in the hard, frustrating, but ultimately
rewarding work of governing - first by electing people to office, and next by
their actions in office - actions which will cut back the size and scope of
government, producing a freer, happier, more prosperous society.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>A lot of us further believe in the importance of a political party
building a farm team system to train its candidates as they move up the ranks
of governance - both to produce better candidates and to produce officeholders
who will be more effective at furthering libertarian objectives. I can
tell you that, when I was in high school, I happened to know a man whose
brother in law was getting involved in politics. When I heard that, I
naively asked "oh, what's he running for?" This gentleman
looked at me like I was crazy and said "they're grooming him - in 2 years
they think they'll be ready to run for school board." This man
happened to be a Yale educated attorney who practiced education law, was quite wealthy,
and was pretty well-known. I compare that to a system which doesn't build
a bench, and instead goes looking for new blood, untrained and untested, to run
for Congress, and I see an issue.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Of course, we work with what we have - but we also strive to have
more. I am of the opinion that we'd be in a very different place right
now if, 40 years ago, we had focused on building the bench. But we've
spent, in my opinion, too much time and treasure on "get free quick"
schemes. Like a get rich quick scheme, if these pay off, that's great,
but they usually don't - and when they don't, you end up no further ahead than
you were at the start. I can't do anything about that, but I can
influence what we do now, as we all can.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Of course, I agree with the Executive Director that I can do that - I
agree so much that I went and did it and got myself elected to office.
Some affiliates have, in the past, devoted large efforts to doing so, with good
results - such as <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>,
to my understanding. Other members of this board have been elected and/or
appointed to various offices. What we need is more than a random
scattering of officials, though - we need a concerted effort that gives us a
large bench and shows the world that Libertarians are serious about our task of
rolling back government, and also credible in our claims that we can govern
more effectively than our rivals in the Tired Parties. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Sidenote: This is why I have suggested, in the past, that
training sessions held by a political party might usefully include one or two
elected officials, who can presumably speak on two topics: 1. how
to win office as a Libertarian (something outside professionals can't usually
teach us, although they can teach us much), and 2. how to govern as a
Libertarian - how to effectively advance an agenda while in office and move
other office-holders (if serving in a non-executive capacity) to vote with you,
build a coalition, and get a freer society as a benefit.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Sidenote 2: Building a bench is far from the only reason to elect
local officials. A perhaps better reason is that so much of our contact
with government is local, and that local officials can substantially improve
the lives of the members of their communities.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Joshua A. Katz<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Westbrook CT Planning Commission (L in R seat)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On Fri, Dec 11, 2015 at 12:35 PM, Wes Benedict <<a
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Kevin, you wrote: "I
would argue that getting a single person elected to a partisan office would
have a far greater impact than simply allowing others (who will realistically
never win an election) to run for office through our ballot access
measures."<br>
<br>
Some Libertarians agree with you on this, but a lot of Libertarians do not
agree with you on this. But it is a common debate that has raged on daily for
decades between groups of people that refuse to listen to each other--so don't
count on it ending any time soon. <br>
<br>
Nationwide, there are 142 Libertarians holding elected offices: 38 partisan offices,
and 104 nonpartisan offices.<br>
<a href="http://www.lp.org/candidates/elected-officials" target="_blank">http://www.lp.org/candidates/elected-officials</a><br>
<br>
See the attached Chapter 15 of my book, Introduction to the Libertarian Party -
Why Run for Office, for some of my views on the issue. <br>
<br>
If getting just one person elected to a partisan office is your most important
goal, then you could personally recruit someone to run in a tiny district in <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:place></st1:State> and get it
done, almost 100% as a result of your efforts (plus the person you recruit). So
could other people who promote winning a partisan election above all else (and
in other states too--just that PA is easiest). And they don't need anyone's
permission to work on it.<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Wes Benedict, Executive
Director<br>
</span></font><font size=1><span style='font-size:7.5pt'>Libertarian National
Committee, Inc.<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>New address: <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street
w:st="on">1444 Duke St.</st1:Street>, <st1:City w:st="on">Alexandria</st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">VA</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">22314</st1:PostalCode></st1:address></span></b><br>
<a href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008%20ext.%20232" target="_blank"
value="+12023330008">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a><br>
<a href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a>
@LPNational<br>
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a href="http://lp.org/membership"
target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=2 color=black
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On 12/11/2015 12:14 PM, Kevin Ludlow wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt' type=cite>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Fair enough. Thanks
for pointing me to that. I will read over all of those minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Provided what you're
pointing me to answers that question then perhaps what we lack is simply
documentation organizing these strategies. I know we have some reports being
generated, but a simple mechanism to steer ourselves seems like it would be of
value rather than having to sift through minutes. Still, I'm happy to do
it and perhaps will propose a better system at our next LNC meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Thanks again.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Kevin<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On Fri, Dec 11, 2015 at 11:13 AM, Wes Benedict <<a
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The LNC discussed,
debated, and adopted specific goals this term, not the "implied
goals" Mr. Olsen refers to. It was probably before you joined the LNC. I
realize you joined to replace another member that resigned. <br>
<br>
They're in at least one of the minutes here: <a
href="http://www.lp.org/leadership/lnc-meeting-archives" target="_blank"></a><a
href="http://www.lp.org/leadership/lnc-meeting-archives" target="_blank">http://www.lp.org/leadership/lnc-meeting-archives</a><br>
<br>
You might want to read all of the minutes for this term, because they have a
lot about ballot access in them, as well as other things. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Wes Benedict, Executive
Director<br>
</span></font><font size=1><span style='font-size:7.5pt'>Libertarian National
Committee, Inc.<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>New address: <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street
w:st="on">1444 Duke St.</st1:Street>, <st1:City w:st="on">Alexandria</st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">VA</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">22314</st1:PostalCode></st1:address></span></b><br>
<a href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008%20ext.%20232" target="_blank"
value="+12023330008">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a><br>
<a href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a>
@LPNational<br>
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a href="http://lp.org/membership"
target="_blank"></a><a href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On 12/11/2015 11:59 AM, Kevin Ludlow wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt' type=cite>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Wes,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>No, I definitely did not
know that. It seems like it would be the case as presumably we would get
more efficient with our efforts over time, but I've not seen any data to illustrate
that point.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In case I've come across
poorly, I don't want to seem as if I object to the idea or anything like
that. I just want to encourage the body to have specifically defined
strategic goals rather than the "implied goals" that Mr. Olsen was referring
to. As an advocate of the devil, while ballot access may be cheaper, one
could still ask what it's end goal is. I would argue that getting a
single person elected to a partisan office would have a far greater impact than
simply allowing others (who will realistically never win an election) to run
for office through our ballot access measures. I concede one affects the
other and am not making a case for either, but just illustrating how the
strategy could differ if it were defined that way.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>For the time being, I'm
delighted to see the party working so hard to help Oklahoma, am totally behind
the effort, and hope that it provides the party with a big morale boost and
helps boost the party throughout the state.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>-Kevin Ludlow<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On Fri, Dec 11, 2015 at 10:24 AM, Wes Benedict <<a
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank"></a><a
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Kevin, did you know that
ballot access has gotten easier and cheaper, year after year, as a result of
our decades of sustainable efforts?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Wes Benedict, Executive
Director<br>
</span></font><font size=1><span style='font-size:7.5pt'>Libertarian National
Committee, Inc.<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>New address: <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street
w:st="on">1444 Duke St.</st1:Street>, <st1:City w:st="on">Alexandria</st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">VA</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">22314</st1:PostalCode></st1:address></span></b><br>
<a href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008%20ext.%20232" target="_blank"
value="+12023330008">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank"></a><a
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a><br>
<a href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a>
@LPNational<br>
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a href="http://lp.org/membership"
target="_blank"></a><a href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On 12/10/2015 10:57 PM, Kevin Ludlow wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt' type=cite>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I appreciate the variety
of voices responding to my questions. And to Mr. Olsen, 6 paragraphs were
most certainly welcome :)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I apologize for not being
on the call on Monday. Unfortunately work does occasionally take
precedent over my extra-curricular activities - political or otherwise. I
was also fairly confident the vote would pass and of course it did. So
regardless of anyone's position on the matter, here we are.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The gist of what I was
getting at was simply to have the cost/benefits explained to me. Mr.
Tomaso nailed one simply by citing the overall morale boost that ballot access
provides. While perhaps difficult to measure, there is no doubt relevance
to the claim. Mr. Olsen, however, adds a tick to the "con" side
in that he cites the difficulties with the sustainability of ballot access.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In most any business
model one would likely be advised to stray AWAY from something that is
unsustainable. It becomes difficult to predict costs, there is always an
element of being unsuccessful, and meanwhile there exist goals that actually
ARE sustainable should one direct their effort that way.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Perhaps I'm still just
too new, but it simply struck me that I could not really weigh the
cost/benefits of the financial decision we were about to make in any practical
way. I have since been informed of 1 or 2 costs and 1 or 2 benefits, but
it still seems the Libertarian party should really be making decisions almost
exclusively upon this kind of analysis and having a specifically defined
strategy rather than an implied one as Mr. Olsen points out.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Anyway, thank you all for
listening and for responding to my questions / concerns. I appreciate
your time.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>-Kevin Ludlow<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Region 7<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On Mon, Dec 7, 2015 at 2:44 PM, Scott L. <<a
href="mailto:scott73@earthlink.net" target="_blank"></a><a
href="mailto:scott73@earthlink.net" target="_blank">scott73@earthlink.net</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div link=blue vlink=purple>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>I am very glad that the Regional Representative from <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Colorado</st1:place></st1:State> is asking us to
look at and evaluate “This implied goal, or objective if you prefer, is 50+
state ballot access for the Libertarian party.”</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>Unfortunately, now is not a good time for a full-blown analysis of
the issues that the Regional Representative is asking us to look at.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>We are only 6 months away from the end of our LNC term, and only 6
months away from the beginning of the General Election portion of the 4 year
Presidential Election Cycle. I think we have a moral commitment to our
members to maximize the number of states that the <b><span style='font-weight:
bold'>2016 </span></b>Libertarian Presidential Nominee is on the ballot,
obviously constrained by how much money we have available to pay for
signatures.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>However – the next LNC <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>should </span></b>start
discussing the topic of ballot access at their very first full-weekend meeting
of the next LNC term. That way, they have at least 6 months before they
even have to begin collecting signatures to get a candidate on the ballot for
vote test purposes for the Nov. 2017 elections (VA, NJ, and a couple of
others).</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>That being said, I disagree with the Regional Representative’s
statement that “Since specific strategies and or objectives have not been
established, the vacuum is filled with the implied objective of achieving 50+
state ballot access. While a noble and legitimately political objective,
it suffers from several problems; the most significant of which is the
problem of being unachievable on a permanent, or even semi-permanent, basis .”</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>The Republican and Democrat Parties have permanent ballot status,
because they understand that if they removed ballot access for the other major
party in even one state, that “accomplishment” could be turned into a
nationwide scandal. But until the LP becomes a major party (1) the
Libertarian Party will not have “permanent” ballot access in any state.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'><br>
However, we CAN achieve semi-permanent ballot access in 50 states, or darn close
to that number. To do that, the LNC needs to stop focusing on October
ballot access, and instead focus on December ballot access. That probably
means sacrificing ballot access in a few states BEFORE an election in an
even-numbered year, and using the money saved to lobby or sue for lower vote
tests in states that have ridiculously high vote tests (<st1:State w:st="on">Alabama</st1:State>
and <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Connecticut</st1:place></st1:State>
come to mind).</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> Scott Lieberman</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>1. Defined by the FEC, for example, as receiving 25% of the
vote for President</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New\000D\000A"'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:
bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Lnc-business [mailto:<a
href="mailto:lnc-business-bounces@hq.lp.org" target="_blank"></a><a
href="mailto:lnc-business-bounces@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">lnc-business-bounces@hq.lp.org</a>]
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Norm Olsen<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Monday, December 07, 2015
11:50 AM</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma'><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <a
href="mailto:lnc-business@hq.lp.org" target="_blank"></a><a
href="mailto:lnc-business@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Lnc-business] report
on <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
visit</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>Hello Kevin . . .</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>>></span></font> why we should be focusing so many
efforts on <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>I’d like to take a shot at answering your
question. I have been asking similar questions for five years now.
I could write a book in response. But alas; you ask for a
paragraph. And a short one at that. Would I be unreasonable to
supply five or six paragraphs?</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>The LNC does not have a specifically defined strategy;
nor does it have a stated set of objectives. The indisputable result is
that it does not have a list of tactics (i.e. well defined activities) to pursue
to achieve any of these undefined objectives. While attempts have been
made, I am unaware of any meeting that has established such
strategies/objectives or any writing in the bylaws or policy manual that
establishes such. (The policy manual lists a set of “core activities”,
but that’s about it.)</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>Nevertheless, the LNC is not totally rudderless.
There exists an implied basic goal and implied tactics to achieve the implied
goal. I became aware of this implied goal (although I did not immediately
recognize the significance of it) at my very first LNC meeting in November of
2010 in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Orleans</st1:place></st1:City>.
At that meeting, the following motion was adopted:</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><i><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D;font-style:italic'><a
href="https://www.lp.org/files/2010-11-20-LNCMeetingMinutes-NewOrleans.pdf"
target="_blank"></a><a
href="https://www.lp.org/files/2010-11-20-LNCMeetingMinutes-NewOrleans.pdf"
target="_blank">https://www.lp.org/files/2010-11-20-LNCMeetingMinutes-NewOrleans.pdf</a></span></font></i><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> (printed page 17, .pdf page 17):</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face="Century
"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century\000D\000A";color:#1F497D'>. . .
moved to authorize the Executive Committee to encumber expenses for ballot
access,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face="Century
"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century\000D\000A";color:#1F497D'>notwithstanding
the provisions of section 1.05 of the Policy Manual, for the year 2011.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=1 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>[Section 1.05 of the Policy Manual is that section which
limits Executive Committee encumbrances to that which has been budgeted.]</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>This motion was made, seconded, <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>and the question called</span></b> in a time frame of
about 35 seconds. It was approved by a 11-1 roll call vote. This
implied goal has been recertified, implicitly, in every budget resolution pass
by the LNC in the last 5 years. The Ballot Access Petitioning Expense
line typically receives 65% to 85% of the budgeted discretion funds in each
year. You participated in the budget discussions of the 2016 budget where
Ballot Access Petitioning Expense was allocated 70% of the funds available for allocation
among the Policy Manual’s “core activities”.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>This implied goal, or objective if you prefer, is 50+
state ballot access for the Libertarian party, with some added emphasis on
Presidential elections. On the surface, this appears to be a noteworthy
objective. However, it has been adopted implicitly rather than
explicitly. That is why the question you asked comes up from time to
time. Gaining ballot access in all 50 states is the primary focus of the
LNC, and remains a primary focus in fundraising efforts. (It’s hard to
raise funds to purchase office supplies, much easier to raise funds for ballot
access.) And so, given the improved chance to gain ballot access in <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>, even if it is
for a single election cycle, it is not surprising that the effort is getting a
large share of our attention and resources. Given that this has been the
primary focus of what the LNC does, and has been doing for at least two (if not
four) decades, it is something we must demonstrate success at or we begin to lose
the respect of our members and donors.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>That answers the primary question, but the leaves the
follow up questions begging for an answer.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>Since specific strategies and or objectives have not
been established, the vacuum is filled with the implied objective of achieving
50+ state ballot access. While a noble and legitimately political
objective, it suffers from several problems; the most significant of
which is the problem of being unachievable on a permanent, or even
semi-permanent, basis . Thus, the LNC has a single overpowering objective
which is absorbs most all of its resources to achieve, and continued
consumption of these resources to maintain to the degree achieved. In
other words, a pleasant way of saying an enormous, perpetual, drain on resources
which precludes most all other possible uses of financial resources.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>I have been suggesting for some time now that expending
most all of our discretionary funds on ballot access petitioning may not be the
best use of the financial resources entrusted to us by our members and
donors. For that, I have been unofficially dubbed the “nattering nabob of
negativity” of the Libertarian Party. However, things are looking
up. Thanks to efforts of the Chair and Executive Director, the 2016
budget includes $45,000 for Affiliate Support, up 4,500% from where it was in
2014. Our Affiliate Support Specialist contractor appears to have made
more progress in just three months than the LNC has in the previous six years
(since the formation of the Affiliate Support Committee). I look forward
to the time when the “core activities” other than the Ballot Access Petitioning
activity are allotted equivalent amounts of the financial resources entrusted
to us. At that time, the primary question and the follow up questions
will both, hopefully, be moot.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>We have ballot access in 28 states; and ballot access is
reasonable (e.g. ~1,000 signatures) in another 10 states. The low hanging
fruit in the ballot access arena has been picked. It’s time to start
producing political success in the 38 states where we have ballot access or can
reasonable obtain such.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>Norm</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>--</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>Norman T Olsen</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>Regional Representative, Region 1</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>Libertarian National Committee</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>7931 South Broadway, PMB 102</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;color:#1F497D'>Littleton</span></font></st1:City><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CO</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode
w:st="on">80122-2710</st1:PostalCode></span></font></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'><a href="tel:303-263-4995" target="_blank"
value="+13032634995">303-263-4995</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:
Calibri;color:#1F497D'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:
bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Lnc-business [mailto:<a
href="mailto:lnc-business-bounces@hq.lp.org" target="_blank"></a><a
href="mailto:lnc-business-bounces@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">lnc-business-bounces@hq.lp.org</a>]
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Kevin Ludlow<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, December 02, 2015
2:21 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <a
href="mailto:lnc-business@hq.lp.org" target="_blank"></a><a
href="mailto:lnc-business@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Lnc-business] report
on <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
visit</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Wes,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Thank you for this
update. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I would like to
make a request of the LNC body. Is there a member that could, in a short
paragraph or less, explain why we should be focusing so many efforts on <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>? As the
Region-7 rep I find myself in an interesting position with this issue. On
the one hand I am biased to see <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
get additional resources, but on the other hand I am a practical business
person who sees numerous flaws with pouring money into this.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Do we want ballot
access across the country? Of course! This doesn't even need to be
discussed. But at what cost are we willing to attain that goal?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>What is the actual
downside of us losing <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
ballot access? I don't fully understand the loss would affects others
running in the state, but even if it entirely prevented their own candidacy,
how much do we lose with that? This isn't meant to be antagonistic, but
rather something the LNC should be tasked with carefully analyzing. There
was a lot of conversation that it hurts our brand in <st1:State w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:State>
(a similar argument was used in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:State>).
No doubt this is true, but in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
specifically, by how much does it hurt us? Do we raise an exorbitant
amount of money in OK each year that we might not see in 2016 if we cut our
losses? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I will refer back
to a point I've made before. Would any of you personally spend tends of
thousands of dollars of your own money on this cause? I remain extremely
frustrated we couldn't even get our own body to commit to $50 / month as top
representatives of the Libertarian Party and yet here we are cavalierly about
to discuss whether to spend $10s of thousands of additional dollars on a cause
which by all accounts we simply may not succeed in. I feel very strongly
this is the kind of difficult decision the LNC **should** have to make and it
strikes me that we haven't really analyzed the cost/benefits of it.
Rather we relying upon the notion of: "we believe in ourselves so let's
pour more money into this." ...a la every government pep-talk ever.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I will also
concede that I fully appreciate and understand the position the party
(specifically the Chair) is in for having raised certain monies specifically
tied to us making this effort. I do get that. But I'm merely
wanting us to consider how much more useful that money could possibly be in
other areas. Are we not a political party? Could we not politick
donors into understanding WHY the money they donated was ultimately moved to a
different state cause? Since everyone is a philosopher here, there is
very basic Aristotelian logic at play here regarding donation
distribution. In the famed question, "There is a surplus of flutes,
to whom do they go?", they go to the flutists as those are the only people
who can use them. My point being that there is simply no sense in us
pouring money into a cause we cannot win when that money could be given to
states/people who can actually improve the overall results of our Party -
rather than MAYBE catch us up to the status quo.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>So to conclude, I
am in no way saying we SHOULD cut our losses. But I would really like
somebody to quantify for me specifically what we lose (objectively) if we don't
chase this goal. Or for that matter if we chase it and fail. I am
asking that because I believe the "goal" right now is far too broad;
of course we all want ballot access. I want to know if what we would lose
is tolerable to the body. That question seems far more relevant in the
decision process.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>Please feel free to email/call/text me any time of day
at <a href="tel:512-773-3968" target="_blank" value="+15127733968">512-773-3968</a>
with any questions / comments.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>Thank you much for your time.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times\000D\000A"'>Kevin
Ludlow</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times\000D\000A"'>Region
7 <br>
<a href="tel:512-773-3968" target="_blank" value="+15127733968">512-773-3968</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=3 color=black face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New\000D\000A";color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times\000D\000A"'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times\000D\000A"'>On
Wed, Dec 2, 2015 at 2:47 PM, Wes Benedict <<a
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank"></a><a
href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>>
wrote:</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'> I went to <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
for two reasons: first, to help with the petition drive, but second, to get a
closer look so I could decide if I thought we should just shut it down. We are
spending about $2,500 a week there, and we're about to double that rate, so if
we are going to cut our losses and end it, the sooner the better.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>My bottom line report to the LNC executive committee is
that I'm confident we can ramp up our signature collection rate enough to
finish the drive before the March 1 deadline, but we are going to have to
exceed the $65,000 budget for <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
by $15,000 to $25,000 to finish the drive.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>I'm recommending we try to finish the drive, but it
wouldn't be so unreasonable to end it now if that's what you decide to do.
Things have gone worse than we had originally planned. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>We initially hoped that we could do this drive for $2
per signature and that we could finish it by early fall. Recent petition drives
in places like <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Arkansas</st1:place></st1:State>
have gone well, and with stories of petitioners fighting over turf and
demanding the opportunity to work for us in some places, it seemed like we might
actually be exceeding the market rate for signatures in some cases.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>But things have been harder than expected in <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>. On
October 27, we raised the rate in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
from $2 to $2.50 per signature, and even at that higher rate, finding enough
people to work has been a challenge. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>Before we started the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State> drive, stalwart libertarian
petitioner Andy Jacobs warned us that petition drives for initiatives in other
states in the fall would be competing with us for workers and would drive up
our costs, so we needed to get it done over the summer. Unfortunately, we
didn't start until the end of the summer. And while Andy did good work
for us in <st1:State w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:State> for several weeks, he, as
well as other petitioners, have indeed left <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State> for the higher paying non-Libertarian
Party Petition work in other states that he warned us about. Although Andy is
out of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
now, he does continue to stay interested in our progress and has been generous
with suggestions for improvement. I'm sure he'd be happy to share his thoughts
on our <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
effort with any of you directly if you reach out to him. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>One suggestion from Andy is that we should pay more to
entice petitioners back and possibly even pay $5 per signature for door to door
petitioning. Our petitioners have had hard times finding good locations with
lots of the kind of foot traffic that makes for productive petitioning.
Door-to-door petitioning can give very high validity signatures, so the
$5/signature rate for 100% validity is not so far off from $2.50 per signature
for around 65% validity. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>In hind sight, I wish we had started this drive earlier.
But I don't think right now we need to offer a higher pay rate (not that we
could afford it, anyway). Instead, we need to focus on recruiting more
petitioners, and we are already seeing success from that. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>Projections I've sent to Bill Redpath and Nick Sarwark
show that with the new workers we've already recruited, we will likely finish
the drive on time. But we also have several more petitioners saying they will
probably be here soon to help, and if just a couple of those pan out, we could
finish in January. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>I've heard lots of complaints from petitioners that it's
been very hard to find good locations in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
to collect signatures. Petitioners have told us the grocery stores won't let
them petition, public places like universities and festival grounds have been
hostile, and the Oklahoma Driver's licensing places are too numerous to have
significant people at any single location. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>My uncle lives in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma
City</st1:place></st1:City>. I visited him Saturday night briefly and was
surprised when he told me he had seen petitioners lately at the grocery and
post office and he assumed they were ours. I asked him exactly which locations
because I wondered about the conflicting reports. He specified by name the
Crest grocery, Buy For Less grocery, and post office near his home. I had hoped
to find time to visit those stores myself to ask why they might be letting
petitioners for other efforts work there but not libertarians (assuming that was
the case). </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>I didn't find time for that, but LPOK vice chair Tina
Kelly has since told me that even she had been personally told by those chains
she couldn't petition there, only to find out later that one of the petitioners
she recruited somehow did get permission at a location of both chains. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>I think some of our stalwart petitioners like Andy are
used to finding locations where they occasionally hit the jackpot and collect
over 500 signatures on a single day. That makes up for the more common slow
days. Petitioners who come from out of town usually have transportation and
motel expenses they pay out of pocket. Locals don't have the travel overhead
and we are getting a few locals working. They may be slower than someone like
Andy, but they can go slower and still make the economics work. Locals can
spend more time asking for permission at more places and can afford to get
chased away from more locations. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>I personally saw the entire batch of petition forms.
That was reassuring. In fact I pulled an all-nighter Monday and scanned all
2,000 sheets in case we need help remotely with validation, and because while
often hearing anecdotes of certain petitioners routinely getting better
validity than others, I wanted the opportunity to see for myself. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>LP vice chair Tina Kelly has been indispensable to this
drive. Petitioners turn in signatures to her, she gives us the counts, we wire
funds, she writes checks, and pays the petitioners. She also visits with the
elections authorities to find out important rules and procedures for our
petition drive. She has worked to get cooperation from a couple single-issue
groups doing ballot initiatives. Although results from those cooperation
efforts have been lower than hoped, we’ve gotten a couple thousand signatures
from the cooperation. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>Tina's son recently put the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State> registered voter database online in
a searchable format to assist with validity checking. That will be hugely
helpful. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>While Tina has done lots of work, it's hard for one
person to do all that she does plus respond to all the complaints from current
petitioners and inquiries from prospective petitioners, not to mention
answering frequent questions about progress from Bill Redpath and me. We
recently decided to have Paul Frankel help with some of the local management
assistance. I had gone to <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
with the expectation that I might recommend removing Paul to save money, but
right now I think we should keep him at least for a month to make sure new
petitioners have someone they can reach quickly any time of day. Later we can
reevaluate the cost of having him there. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'> Tina invited me and the LPOK officers and
activists to a nice restaurant Tuesday night. I asked who would be a candidate
if we got ballot access. Out of about ten people, at least 3 indicated interest,
including one who was against attempting this daunting petition drive
originally (because it’s so much work), but would run if we made it. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>I told the prospect who might be interested in US Senate
I'd give $200 towards the $1,000 filing fee if he runs in 2016, and someone
else quickly offered another $200. I think we’ll get several people to run for
office in addition to having our candidate for President on the ballot if we
get ballot access.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>(My plane, where I'm writing most of this note, just landed
in DC. Final thoughts below from the office.)</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>I’m not counting on legal help to make a difference in
time for us. However, if our counsel or the Oklahoma ACLU is successful in
time, of course that might make things easier. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>I’m also mindful of keeping alive the dream for 50 state
ballot access, and the negative impact giving up in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State> now might have.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>A Libertarian from <st1:City w:st="on">Austin</st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">Texas</st1:State>, Michael Chastain, donated $4,000 last
week to help the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
petition drive. That’s in addition to the five thousand or so we raised online
recently: </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'><a
href="http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/serious-help-needed-for-oklahoma-petition-drive"
target="_blank"></a><a
href="http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/serious-help-needed-for-oklahoma-petition-drive"
target="_blank">http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/serious-help-needed-for-oklahoma-petition-drive</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>I rushed out to <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:State>
Saturday partly so I could be back in the office Wednesday to meet Mr. Chastain
in person (he was visiting the D.C. area and was interested in visiting the
headquarters today--Wednesday).</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>I’ll have more good news about support from Mr. Chastain
soon. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>The LNC-EC is schedule to meet Monday 12/7/2015, to
decide whether or not to continue the LPOK drive. I’m sending this info to all
of you know in case you’d like more information before that meeting.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New
"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Times New\000D\000A"'>cc'ing Richard Winger.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>-- <br>
Wes Benedict, Executive Director<br>
</span></font><font size=1><span style='font-size:7.5pt'>Libertarian National
Committee, Inc.</span></font> <o:p></o:p></p>
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"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times\000D\000A"'> </span></font><font
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