Minutes of Libertarian Party of West Virginia
Executive Committee Meeting
March 14, 1998
1:30 P.M.
Muriale's Restaurant
Fairmont, West Virginia
Present: John Brown, Dr. Joseph Whelan, Karl Swisher, David Wolfe, John Bartlett, Bob Jones, Dr. Richard Kerr, David Croft, John Welbourne, Greg Henshall, Bill Clem, Dr. Wallace Johnson, Alan Handelman, John Sturgeon.
The meeting was called to order by State Chair John Brown.
In order to save time, copies of the minutes of the January 10, 1998 Executive Committee meeting were distributed to those present to read. The minutes were approved with two revisions. Under Old Business / Candidates and Convention: strike "or independent", change "general" to "primary".
Officer Reports:
Secretary/Treasurer: John Sturgeon reported $289.25 in the cash account. Expenses so far in 1998 are $499.37, income $329.38.
Vice Chair: Dr. Richard Kerr had nothing new to report.
1st District: David Wolfe had nothing new to report.
2nd District: Bill Clem reported that he had been distributing pamphlets to area libraries.
3rd District: Dr. Wallace Johnson reported that in his 27th District race for West Virginia House of Delegates, eight Democrats and no Republicans had filed to run in the primary election. Five seats are available from the district. If Dr. Johnson can come in fifth or better in the general election, he wins a seat. A fund raiser is planned in the Beckley area sometime in April or May.
VP-Membership: Karl Swisher had nothing new to report.
VP-Campaigns: Dr. Joseph Whelan repeated his generous offer to assist any Libertarian candidate in the state with their campaigns. He plans to begin campaigning soon himself. The best response he's gotten has been from the door-to-door approach.
VP-Public Relations: Travis Raines was unable to attend. John Brown reported that an editorial Brown had written has been sent to newspapers in Huntington, Charleston, Clarksburg and Beckley.
Special Orders and Reports:
Unified Membership Plan (UMP): John Brown reported that the LPWV is now a participant in the UMP. The party will begin seeing the benefits after the "ramping in" period of six months has passed. Then the national party will send the LPWV $1 for every active member each month. Most of our new members come through the national party.
Old Business:
Candidates:
Slate: A slate showing the candidates who have expressed a likelihood of running in the 1998 election was distributed. There are nineteen possible candidates at this point.
Paperwork: There was discussion about the new voter registration forms. It was suggested that the county chairs do a spot check to see if the new forms are being used. The position of the county clerks seems to be that they will continue to use the old forms until the supply is depleted and then start using the new forms which list "Libertarian" as a choice. This may be mentioned during the media coverage of the convention.
Campaigning: It is likely that some candidates may decide at the convention that they want to run. The LPWV goal was to field twenty candidates, and we are close to that now. If the Republicans appoint candidates in the races where none are currently running, the LPWV will have affected change, and that is another goal achieved. Dr. Whelan suggested using Reader's Digest reprints, adding that the magazine has been favorable to Libertarian ideas. John Brown distributed a list of outreach materials available from the national party.. He also displayed a brochure he has prepared for his own campaign.
A motion was made to have a short recess. The motion was seconded and passed.
Convention:
Registrations: So far, not many members are registered to attend.
Schedule: The schedule was distributed and reviewed.
Awards: A list of possible candidates for awards was distributed. Drs. Kerr and Johnson are to meet and select the winners.
New Business:
Candidate Nominations: A motion was made to nominate all candidates on the slate that was distributed earlier, with the exception of Blair in the sixth district House race. The motion was seconded and passed.
Delegate Nominations: A motion was made to nominate the following as delegates to the 1998 Libertarian National Convention: Dr. Wallace Johnson, Joy Johnson, Greg Henshall, John Welbourne, David Croft, Dr. Richard Kerr, John Brown, Christine Fishbeck. The motion was seconded and passed.
Officer Nominations: The following people were nominated for Executive Committee:
Chair - John Brown
Vice Chair - Dr. Richard Kerr
A motion was made to split the office of Secretary/Treasurer into two offices. The motion was seconded and passed.
Treasurer - John Sturgeon
Secretary - David Croft
District One Chair - Bob Jones
District Two Chair - Karl Swisher
District Three Chair - Dr. Wallace Johnson
VP-Membership - Greg Henshall
VP-Campaigns - Dr. Joseph Whelan
VP-Public Relations - Travis Raines
Constitutional Amendments: Nine have been submitted to be voted on at the convention. The text of the amendments will be published in the Convention Issue of the newsletter.
Tax Day Protest(s): The LPWV will stage its annual Tax Day Protest on April 15, 1998 at the main post office in Charleston. Festivities will get under way at 5:00 PM.
Newsletter: The Convention Issue will be out later this month.
Other: Dr. Whelan urged that name recognition is extremely important in winning an election. Most people make up their minds at the polls, so if they remember your name, you've probably got their vote. He displayed one of his yard signs which was cut in the shape of a spouting whale, tying visually to his name. (Whalin' / Whelan)
The meeting was adjourned. Next meeting to be held at the state convention, Charleston House Holiday Inn, Saturday May 9, 1998, 1:45 PM.