Minutes

of the
Libertarian Party of West Virginia
Executive Committee Meeting

1998-09-12

14:00, Undo's Restaurant, McClure Hotel, Wheeling, WV

(Approved 1998-11-21)

Present

Executive Committee

Chair John Brown present
Vice Chair Richard Kerr, M.D. absent
Treasurer John Sturgeon present
Secretary David Wallace Croft present
1st District Chair Bob Jones present
2nd District Chair Karl Swisher absent
3rd District Chair Wallace Johnson, M.D. present
VP/Membership Greg Henshall present
VP/Campaigns Joseph Whelan, M.D. absent
VP/Public Relations Allan Handleman present
VP/Finance Michael Todd, M.D. present
Historian Larry Durrette present

Members and Guests

John Bartlett, Alan Handleman, Joy Johnson, Mrs. Durrette

Call to Order

Mr. Brown called the meeting to order at 14:01.

Reading and Approval of Minutes

Mr. Croft. The minutes for the 1998-07-11 meeting were read and approved.

Reports of Officers, Boards, and Standing Committees

Treasurer

Mr. Sturgeon.

LPWV 1/1/98 thru 8/28/98
Payments $4,301.51
Deposits $4,542.15
LNC-Memberships $270.00
Bell Atlantic-WV $248.17
LDDS - Long Distance $0.00
Printing & Mailing $857.98
Room Rentals $0.00
Advertising $0.00
Press Releases $0.00
P.O. Box $40.00
Convention $2,384.36
Account Credits $501.00
Total Expenses $4,301.51
Checking Account Balance: $701.38

Vice Chair

Dr. Kerr absent.

VP/Campaigns

Dr. Whelan absent. Mr. Brown reported that campaign buttons, etc. were available. Two candidates have withdrawn, Alan Handleman and Liz Simmons, leaving 18 candidates running for the LPWV. Ms. Simmons had to withdraw as she was still registered as a Democrat.

VP/Membership

Mr. Henshall. Checked on inquiries to the 1-800 number. Sending responses with the LPWV letterhead stationary. He reported receiving a complaint about a letter to the editor in the name of the LPWV by one of the members. One gentleman that had complained that he had not received his membership packet was contacted. Mr. Henshall is continuing to work on the LPWV Quiz and will be posting the finalized version on the Internet. A poll of the ExeCom showed that 4 did not have Internet access and only 1 did not have a computer.

VP/Public Relations

Mr. Raines absent. Mr. Brown relayed that Mr. Raines had resigned his office in order to focus on his doctorate. Mr. Brown expressed appreciation for his efforts and then appointed Mr. Alan Handleman as his replacement.

VP/Finance

Dr. Todd. Discovered a list of 1.2 million names and addresses of political contributors on an FEC website (fec.gov). He will be working with Mr. Croft to port this to a database.

Mr. Henshall stated that 1/4th of 1% gives 80% of the money to political campaigns. Mrs. Johnson suggested that we should focus on the repeat donors in WV. Mr. Henshall brought up the Public Interest Research Group. Dr. Todd proposed soliticing out-of-state funds for races in which a Libertarian is running against a Democrat without a Republican candidate.

1st District Chair

Bob Jones. Will attempt to contact phone members of District 1 to distribute flyers for Dr. Kerr's campaign. Requested a list of the names of the chairs in the district in order to get member and registered voter lists. Mr. Bartlett suggested an opportunity for a booth for Dr. Kerr at the Buckwheat Festival on the 24th of September. Mr. Jones reported that 50% of the people quizzed at the Mon. Co. Fair tested as libertarian but that not enough names were collected for future contact. Mr. Bartlett raised the issue of the new ballot forms with the Libertarian Party on it were still not being distributed.

2nd District Chair

Karl Swisher absent. It was reported that he had been working the Meadowbrook Road issue.

3rd District Chair

Dr. Johnson. He has been working on the campaigns. Since the Democrats have no Republican opposition, it has been very quiet. The Democrats are not bothering to campaign. Considering TV commercials, 5 or 6 billboards, interviewing, an article in the paper. Proposing a campaign in which voters are encouraged to vote for just one Libertarian candidate instead of mixing it with other votes for Democrats. Recommended that the U.S. Congressional races run a campaign against Clinton's history as a Democrat.

Historian

Mr. Durrette. Preparing a media directory with the names and addresses of candidates for October 1st. Mr. Brown suggested that a media guide may be available. Mr. Durrette is collecting a hard copy archive of letters to the editor at his office. Will work with Mr. Handleman to put a history section on the website. Suggested archiving the upcoming vote count. Mr. Brown said that he would be able to provide those numbers after the elections from the Secretary of State.

Dr. Todd recommended a campaign to write one letter to the editor a month. Mr. Bartlett confirmed that at least one of Dr. Kerr's letters to editor has proven effective. Mr. Brown stated that there have been more letters to the editor generated in the last 6 weeks by the LPWV than ever before.

Mr. Durrette proposed a greater use of online chat. Dr. Todd suggested ICQ which will alert users when others are online and available for chat. Ms. Johnson stated that she did not have ready access to the Internet and that the Internet encouraged push-button mentality without careful thought. Mr. Handleman described the advantages of the Internet. Mr. Jones cautioned that the Internet was not a saturated medium and advocated the continued use of regular mail. Dr. Todd agreed that it would never replace a convention but felt that the Internet was useful.

Reports of Special Committees

None.

Special Orders

Mr. Brown was discussing the voter registration cards issue with Bill Herrington, Chief of Staff for the Secretary of State. 90% of the store of cards printed without the Libertarian Party as an option were ruined when flooded. The old cards may run out in just a few more months. Mr. Brown advocated a primary for the next election cycle as the LPWV did not receive enough press from the convention. It is rumored that Mr. Hornberger will be looking for support and will support West Virginia in his year 2000 bid for the nomination for President.

Unfinished Business and General Orders

It was moved and passed to amend the minutes of the convention to reflect the creation of the office of Public Relations.

Mr. Croft provided copies of the constitution as amended at the convention and then requested approval on the interpretation. He recommended that future amendments state explicitly where and how they should be inserted into the document. He stated that there was some confusion because the constitution and bylaws had previously been treated as a combined document despite the different voting requirements for constitutional amendments vs. the bylaws. To avoid future confusion, he recommended keeping all unratified and ratified bylaws passed after the convention within a document separate and apart from the constitution.

Mr. Brown recommended moving the newly adopted Statement of Principles to the top of the Constitution as a preamble. Mr. Jones asked whether there had ever been a constitutional committee. Mr. Brown responded that Mr. Fritz had put the constitution together early on. Mr. Henshall was requested to form and lead a new committee to recommend updates to the constitution and bylaws. Mr. Henshall made an open invitation to all to submit recommendations. The Executive Committee approved the updated constitution with the recommended change.

Mr. Bartlett suggested that our primaries should be open to independents as well.

New Business

Mr. Croft moved to create a special committee to recommend the manner in which Initiative, Referendum, and Recall (IR&R) for the LPWV members could be introduced into the constitution and bylaws. The motion was withdrawn in light of the earlier formation of the special committee on the constitution and bylaws.

Election activities were discussed. Dr. Kerr was campaigning that day at a local wine festival. Mr. Brown suggested holding a function and presentation in Charleston to introduce area residents to the LPWV. It was mentioned that some LPWV candidates have websites.

The newsletter is two months late on its quarterly schedule. $700 is available for the publication. The format is limited to 4 pages due to the cost. The mailing cost is covered by a bulk rate permit. Mr. Brown, Mr. Handleman, and Mr. Durrette will be working to put the next issue out. Mr. Bartlett suggested sending copies to non-LPWV members but Mr. Brown cautioned that resources were limited.

Mr. Croft was invited by Mr. Brown to introduce his motion at that time on the renaming of the Executive Committee to an Executive Board. Mr. Croft declined but stated that such that the formation of a separate Executive Board may be necessary in the future to provide oversight of the Executive Committee, especially with regard to the expenditure of funds.

The place and time of the next meeting was discussed. The fact that the current meeting in Wheeling was not advertised was mentioned. There was a discussion of whether the beginning of the meetings could be closed to the public. Mr. Croft raised the issue of the newly adopted constitutional requirement to keep all Executive Committee meetings open to the public but conceded that there was no requirement to publicly advertise such meetings. It was suggested that an open forum for after the meeting could be advertised to the public to discuss or debate local topics such as mountaintop removal.

The next meeting was set for 13:00, Saturday, November 21st, 1998 at the Raleigh County Courthouse, Beckley. Dr. Johnson volunteered to make the reservation.

Mr. Brown announced that he had transferred the lpwv.org domain name to Mr. Handleman's Internet Service Provider (ISP). Mr. Croft questioned whether Mr. Brown had the independent authority to obligate the LPWV to expenditures such as the website. Mr. Brown questioned whether Mr. Croft had acted inappropriately by independently initiating the purchase of an lpwv.org website account on behalf of the LPWV. A discussion ensued which culminated in the Executive Committee unanimously passing motions to authorize the disbursement of funds to support the website, post office box, newsletter, and toll free phone number.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned.

Attachments 


                        HISTORIAN'S REPORT
                         LPWV - 09-12-98


     I.   Projects currently under way

               A.   Development of Media Directory for LPWV members/candidates
                         1.   Estimated completion date 10-01-98
                         2.   Distribution to all active candidates in WV
               B.   Hardcopy Filing System
                         1.   Historical data on local, state and national issues
                         2.   Editorial letters

     II.  Projects planned

               A.   Web site of historical data (work with David and Alan)
               B.   Spreadsheet of Election '98 results by county
               C.   Spreadsheet of Election '98 results by state

     III. Other/Suggestions

               A.   Use of LPWV chat room
                         1.   Special meetings
                         2.   ExeCom meetings (particularly in Winter)

David Wallace Croft, Secretary, LPWV