Published bimonthly by the Libertarian Party of Washington
State
| Volume 6, Number 4 | August, 1998 |
Campaign '98: Three LP campaigns
profiled, Sundberg interviewed.
From the Chair, Mary Maas: Lessons from the National
Convention.
Grassroots Action:Young Libertarian Clubs, new LP office
holder, Town Committees, regional conventions, more.
Campaign '99, Kelly Haughton: The time to start planning is
now.
Liberty Belle, Janice Moerschel:How to reduce school violence.
Executive Committee, June: New Finance Chair, FY99 budget
priorities.
Volunteers Needed:by several Committees, a Task Force and the
Party.
Contents copyright © 1998 by Washington Libertarian. Any material may be reproduced with credit to the author and to Washington Libertarian.
For the latest on events, speakers, etc.,
see the ''Updates'' Calendar on the main LPWS web site, http://lpws.org/events.htm.
| CAMPAIGN '98 |
Support LPWS endorsed candidates and measures! State House, 8th
District: Committee to Elect Michael Harrington, 1507 Perkins Ave., Richland,
WA 99352. (509) 946-2476. |
Michael Harrington, James Brown, John Gearhart, Kris Sundberg, Matt Manker, No-Car-Tax Initiative, Brian Thomas
We have three strong Libertarian state House races this year. Libertarians are the opposition party in two races for sure, most likely three.
James Brown and Michael Harrington are "Fulcrum" candidates — challenging GOP incumbents who oppose the popular I-200 Civil Rights measure. They face no Democrats. John Gearhart has received 20% or more in three previous attempts, and routinely beats Democrat opponents.
Theses are serious races, tailored to their own districts. The districts are solidly Republican, so each campaign is challenging the GOP as a party of limited government, with civil liberties as the Libertarian difference.
All our candidates support popular measures like medical marijuana and I-200. None is running on outright drug legalization, but they do attack the War on Drugs as an abuse of civil liberties that (a) causes drug dealers to prey on school children, and (b) fills costly prison cells with non-violent offenders.
Two are considering a tactic used with great success in Michigan last year — mailing to registered but unlikely voters, the very voters likely to stay home in one-party districts.
Michael Harrington’s 8th District campaign shot off to a fast start. His nominating convention, in Richland, attracted two on-site TV interviews and front page coverage in the Tri-City Herald.
It wasn’t just the convention location — under a tree, in a vacant lot with a fishing hole — it was how he promoted it. "If nobody shows up," he had quipped, "I’ll just fish all day." Well, plenty of people showed up. Harrington got the required signatures by 10am, having then served only three doughnuts. He finished the day with triple the required signatures.
The unusual "convention" was promoted in flyers which deftly combined outrage with humor. Harrington’s campaign is a protest against one-party (GOP) rule in his district. His opponent, incumbent Shirley Hankins, had even rashly announced that she is unopposed. The 8th district covers most of Benton County, including Kennewick and Richland.
Mike tried to announce his convention in a letter to the Herald. Instead, he got a front page news story!
As we go to press, Harrington is working to stage a tax protest in Kennewick. That city, like several jurisdictions, raised property taxes 6% by invoking the "emergency" loophole in last year’s Referendum 47.
More support is on the way. A Benton/Franklin County organizing meeting is scheduled for August 8th. Mike has gone this far largely on his own, with public relations help from regional organizer Dave Carson. Harrington’s campaign announcement, also page one, brought immediate contributions and volunteers — largely from new friends he made under that tree.
Dave Carson contributed to this story, including the convention photo.
| From Harrington announcement:
"It is time to re-establish the State House as a forum of advocate representatives of the people, not political pullers of purse strings. "It is time to repeal laws that have eroded individual rights and liberties, and not merely rewrite old laws to serve as devices for getting deeper into our wallets. "It is time to reaffirm the right of peaceful, law-abiding citizens to live as they wish, free from unwarranted government intrusion into their lives. "It is time to rebuild and strengthen anew the libertarian principles of self-reliance, self-governance, and individual liberty upon which our nation was founded. |
|
Name recognition is critical for first-time candidates, especially Libertarians. Minor parties get a head start in Washington, by nominating a month prior to the primary filing deadline. By mid-July, Jim Brown had over 100 campaign signs in median strips of major streets, proclaiming his candidacy. "Elect a Libertarian …"
Most of those signs will likely disappear by the primary, but they typify Jim’s aggressive campaigning style.
Brown bolted the GOP recently, over the Wenatchee witch hunt and general Republican disregard for civil liberties. His primary issue is classically Libertarian – one can be "tough" on real crime without violating individual rights. He’d work to reform prohibition laws, restore maximum sentencing and eliminate plea bargaining.
Brown’s 41st district covers Bellevue, Mercer Island, west Issaquah and northeast Renton. The incumbent, Ida Balasiotes, faces a primary challenger for the GOP nomination. Even among Republicans, many believe Balasiotes is too aggressive on law enforcement. That’s an opening Brown hopes to run through, while also attracting civil libertarians in the other old party.
Another hot local issue is traffic congestion and population density. Brown attacks the Growth Management Act for mandating higher densities and more congestion in urban areas.
His campaign issues, like Harrington’s, follow a strategy that’s been most successful around the country -– explicitly Libertarian issues are combined with issues that voters already care about. That puts us into the mainstream, but still sets us apart from the older parties.
Brown has so far been endorsed by the Fully Informed Jury Association of Washington State.
| From Brown announcement: "I’m running," Brown says, "to restore the Constitution to our courts and representative government to the people." Believing that cutting government is the first step toward cutting taxes, Brown promises to doggedly seek the elimination of non-essential government regulations, agencies and services. Brown wants to reform prohibition laws, restore maximum sentencing and eliminate plea bargaining. "I’m a patriot," he says, "opposed to big government and determined to uphold the Constitution and Bill of Rights." Brown wants to see public schools again teaching Civics and the Constitution. "Our schools need to teach the virtues of limited government, and the guarantees of individual liberty provided by the Bill of Rights. I will always promote the necessity and value of freedom and self reliance for all citizens…" |
John Gearhart’s campaign is the first test of our party’s grassroots strategy. That strategy calls for electing Libertarians to nonpartisan office, then moving them up. It’s not a pure test; John was elected to Palouse city council only last year.
His 20% in previous outings has been quite solid for three-way races but, well, stagnant. In ’96, the district was struggling with heavy flooding, so there was little actual campaigning. This time, John is working to move up sharply.
In past campaigns, Gearhart has run on his unique and personal blend of small town populism, tolerance, distrust of government and common sense. This campaign is more disciplined, relying on precinct analyses from his ‘96 race. He then ran strongest in the college town of Pullman, capturing as much as 58% of the vote. His hometown vote should increase, from the council exposure. He ran weakest in farm precincts, and is now working with Libertarians like Tom Stahl to develop positions of interest to farmers.
The 9th District includes rural south Spokane County, plus all of Whitman and Adams counties. The incumbent is Republican Larry Sheahan. The September primary is a four-way, with two Democrats.
For first-time candidates like Harrington and Brown, two-way races tend to create higher vote percentages and thus credibility. The seasoned Gearhart prefers a large field, which reduces the percentage needed to win.
Kris Sundberg
Interview by Lauren S. Bain, Esq.
Ed. Note: The LPWS has endorsed Sundberg for the state Supreme Court.
LSB: Kris, what propelled you from a one-man private law practice to your candidacy for the Supreme Court?
KJS: My deep dissatisfaction with the judicial system in our state being used as a political tool to pad the pockets of private special interests as a result of my experiences in the publicly funded stadium and parking garage cases.
LSB: One of the themes of your campaign is restoring common sense to the courts. What sort of course correction do you have in mind?
KJS: There is a consistent pattern of court decisions extending the Legislature’s power (particularly in areas of taxing and spending) at the expense of the Constitution and, ultimately, at the expense of the citizens/taxpayers. Rather than acting as cheerleaders for the Legislature, the courts are supposed to be referees between the people and the Legislature’s expected and predictable attempts (as anticipated by our Founders) to constantly expand its power (of course, at the expense of the people).
LSB: On your website (http://www.sundberg.wa.net), you present the statement, "[T]he Constitution does not exist to protect the public from the weakness or failings of its public officials." You invite those who disagree with this statement to join your campaign. How does this statement connect to candidacy for the Supreme Court?
KJS: I see this (perhaps unintentionally revealing) statement from King County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Learned in the third and final Mariners baseball stadium case as a remarkable acknowledgement of the Constitutional problem we face. The conventional wisdom now controlling the state’s courts seems to be that the citizens/taxpayers can’t depend on the Constitution to protect them from the venal acts of their elected officials.
LSB: Kris, when you worked as a city prosecutor in Virginia, you prosecuted pornography cases, taking two to the state supreme court. Briefly, what were the circumstances that you felt compelled prosecution?
KJS: I was not a prosecutor who specialized (or for that matter had any interest) in pornography cases. There was another attorney in the office who liked to do all of the pornography cases, which was fine with me. However, in 1984, he quit for another job after winning jury convictions in two pending cases. The city attorney asked me to handle the appeals, which I did, and which were upheld in the Virginia Supreme Court. No individuals were prosecuted and no one was jailed. The defendants were phony shell corporations that continuously rotated through the same store front in what the police department believed to be a Mafia money laundering operation.
LSB: If you are elected to the Supreme Court, there will be a three-justice minority favoring civil liberties and individual property rights.
KJS: First, I don’t see it as a fixed minority. Several of the justices seem to drift from one camp to the next depending on the issues. To the extent that my election will further a trend towards more consistent and intellectually honest decision making, as begun with the election of Justice Richard Sanders, then it’s moving us back in the proper direction. And to the extent that some of those same judges who drift are encouraged to return to common sense principles of justice, then we can make a difference for the better.
Bain is an LPWS member living on Vashon Island.
We reported last time on Matt Manker’s candidacy for the 14th District House seat, centered in Yakima. Matt’s nominating convention fell short of the required 25 good signatures.
Roger Erickson, chair of the Central Washington region, immediately stepped forward to assume full responsibility, to shield his candidate from any embarrassment, and to share the lessons learned.
"Everything looked so easy," Erickson says. "But ‘easy’ is where I made my mistake." The signature requirements are among the most lenient in the country. And Roger found the Public Disclosure forms much easier than he’d been told.
It was the location and the date. They rented space at a youth park on July 4th. The park would be crowded, so even party members were not alerted.
Most of the crowd was Latin-Hispanic. "These are honest, hard-working and gregarious people," Roger notes, "but they’re historically and justifiably suspicious of white males bearing clipboards, wanting support for any political agenda."
The lesson: in larger membership regions, 25 signatures can easily be obtained among party members. In sparser regions, it takes what Harrington combined — party members, and aggressive promotion of a well-known location.
Manker, originally recruited by Jesse Malkin’s Operation Fulcrum, will be back.
The LPWS-endorsed measure to repeal the auto excise tax fell short of the required signatures. The campaign reported over 165,000 signatures were collected, of 179,248 required.
General Chairman Tim Eyman explained that ninety days may not have been enough time. He plans a six month effort to expand the coalition, and another attempt next year.
Often called "Washington State’s Ron Paul", Brian Thomas — LPWS member and WL contributing editor — chairs the powerful House Finance Committee. Thomas is seeking re-election in the 5th District.
The LP does not endorse candidates on other party lines, but working on a professional campaign in either old party can be a good learning experience. Members wishing to help his campaign may phone Brian at home, 206-226-0463.
| FROM THE STATE CHAIR: Mary Maas |
This July 4th I attended my first national
LP convention, in Washington, DC. It was quite an experience. This issue’s column
will serve to highlight a few things learned which may be relevant to us in Washington
State. Don’t worry...the nitty gritty detail will be saved for another forum!
The first observation, based upon information gleaned at the State Chairs meeting, is that Washington State seems to be ahead of the vast majority of other states in membership, number of people in public office and fundraising ability per capita, as well as in level of professionalism of our organization.
The main aspect where we lag is in number of candidates we run, which we knew intuitively and have been working on rectifying. Once someone decides to run for political office, it takes a year or two of preparation, as we have discovered for ourselves. Many of us are planning to run for office in 1999 and 2000. Hopefully many more will, so we can excel by this measure also. We will have a Libertarian form of government in Washington State only when we are elected to office. Obvious, yes, but it can’t be emphasized enough.
Although it is reassuring to measure our progress versus other state parties, it is only of limited benefit to us to do so. We don’t want to be as successful as any other state party; we want to succeed by any standard in any party.
We obviously need more members so we can have more candidates and more people to support those candidates. Some sizable target groups Charles Murray suggested reaffirm what many of us have been thinking. Small-business owners, which involve tens of millions of people either as owners and partners, employees or spouses and family members, should be a prime focus.
There are many small-business owners among our current membership. If you are one, please implement a plan to bring in others like yourself. There are professional groups affiliated with each industry as well as lobbying groups for small business that should be supporting our people above all others. We know this. We need those of us with the gift of first-hand knowledge of the issues facing small business to act.
Another group Charles Murray encouraged us to bring into our fold is Christians. Again there are tens of millions of Christians and other religious conservatives who, just like us, only want to be free. Many of you may not be aware I am a Christian myself. This has become a personal project. A few of us may not understand why religious conservatives should be Libertarians any more than they do themselves. Hopefully that will be clear before long, if it isn’t yet.
Mr. Murray also reminded us, to tremendous applause, we don’t just oppose stealing because it is against the law, we oppose it because it is immoral. He did an eloquent job pointing out Libertarians are moral, and we shouldn’t tolerate any mistaken image to the contrary.
We have the best message. Let’s go spread it intelligently, focusing where we can get the biggest membership boost for our efforts.
| GRASSROOTS ACTION |
| Another Libertarian in public office! When is it time to switch political parties? For Margaret Wiggins, a GOP Precinct Committee Officer, it was the Republican state convention — and a certain hostility to her views on legalizing drugs. Wiggins, a Bothel resident, was recently elected Commissioner on the Northshore Utilities District. She’d like a little more time on the job before sharing her experiences with WL readers, so will be profiled in a future edition. Young Libertarian clubs on the move Young Libertarian clubs, just announced in last month’s Projects Letter, have already sparked an enthusiastic response statewide — from Libertarians of all ages. Early contributions show over 1/4 including designated dollars to help seed this new project. Several other states are watching our progress. Jayne Peralta, state-level Project Manager, is lining up corporate sponsors for the independent organization. Exact organizational details will be determined by young libs themselves. A few early assumptions may help readers visualize the potential. Though much more than a campus group, YLs will not require party membership, as recommended by the LP’s Campus Organizing Manual. This significantly increases the outreach potential. There will likely be nominal annual YL dues, in the $10 range. A newsletter will hopefully be supported by corporate sponsors and/or marketers targeting young people. On-campus organizations would be a natural subset of YL groups. Professor Jim Lark, national LP campus adviser, believes outside support is critical to having stable on-campus organizations, especially when all the officers graduate at once. In the past, the LPWS maintained a supportive, but properly arms-length relationship. That left no direct outside nurturing. Recent grads and working part-time students are believed likely to have that interest. Peralta, who began organizing young people when she was in 11th grade, considers participation in events like the Puyallup and county fairs, to be excellent outreach activities, because attendance is dominated by younger people. She’s right. We have little experience in events staged for the general population, instead of gun shows and political affairs. Roger Erickson reports over 400 Nolan Booth prospects were obtained a few years ago, at a single fair in Yakima. For comparison, that Yakima fair discovered more new prospects, alone, than we got statewide from a 400,000 piece national Archimedes mailing — thus dramatizing how Young Libertarians can help both themselves and our state party. Contact Jayne at younglibs@lpws.org. King County seeks converts Thanks to an invitation from Kirby Wilbur of KVI 570 radio, Libertarians were getting the message out at the KVI picnic in Carnation July 4. King County Libertarians Ken and Andria Houghton, Jane Peralta, and 41st Legislative District LP candidate James Brown handed out party literature. The Libertarian booth was a one stop shopping center for politics, with information on Justice Richard Sanders and State Supreme Court candidate Kris Sundberg, the NRA, and Initiative 211 on reciprocity for other states' concealed carry permits. The event's main draw was Republican presidential hopeful Steve Forbes, whose qualified message of economic liberty delighted the conservative audience. How conservative was this crowd? Some of these rural farm picnic scenes might have pony rides for the kids. The KVI picnic had tank rides. Two Bradley fighting vehicles and a couple HUMVEEs were on display not far from the Libertarian booth. A proven attention-getter for future literature tables: ask passersby if they know who they are voting for in the supreme court race this year. Almost nobody knows, thanks to what amounts to a gag rule on candidates for the bench. Suggesting Sanders and Sundberg makes a good bridge to talking about other supporters of constitutional government, like the Libertarian Party. -Brien Bartels County and Regional Conventions A recent flurry of county and regional conventions created expanded roles for some local parties, with only minor officer changes in most. The Kitsap County LP elected John Wiegenstein to the new position of Press Secretary. David Creech and Ron Ralstin were re-elected Chair and Vice-Chair respectively. John Thorne is still Secretary. Linda Gunning is Treasurer. Harry James is the new regional rep to the State ExecCom, with Don Reum the Alternate. Island County elected an entire new slate: Reece Causey as Chair, Brett Wilhelm as Vice-Chair, and David Maas as Secretary/Treasurer. It was also decided that the Chair will appoint the ExecCom Rep, with Causey now holding both positions. East King County added the new (and awkwardly named) position of Town Committees Committee, to form city-based Libertarian organizations. Mike Hihn will chair (see companion article). Doug Witt was elected as the new Chair, and Ralph Lieser as the new Vice-Chair. Jayne Peralta was re-elected Secretary, and Brian Brewer retained as Treasurer. Ernie Ludwick remains ExecCom Rep and chairs the Program Committee. John Evans chairs the Database and Membership Committees, and also hold the official title of Project Committee Reminder Dude. In later action, the eastside supper club was named Liberty Forum. East King Town Committees forming Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah Bothell and North Bend, then Kent/Auburn. Details were still being finalized as we went to press, but the East King LP hopes to form at least four Libertarian Town Committees in a single evening. Five eastside cities have 17 or more party members, the first five listed above. Only two or three members would do, if they’re energized enough. North Bend will be established by Doug Witt. Party membership is thinner in the south, Kent and Auburn, which may initially be combined at a meeting yet to be planned. The single organizing meeting is intended to foster some dynamics and idea sharing among a larger group, then split into separate sessions to form each city organization. Tentatively, this will occur the second Wednesday in September. The exact date, time and location will be announced in King County Libertarian.
Members are encouraged to demonstrate their leadership skills — a euphemism for helping with the work — by phoning other Libertarians in their city to boost attendance at the launch meeting. Contact Mike Hihn for a list of members in your city to phone. Haughton to join Muny League Kelly Haughton, Pierce County LP chair and active in civic affairs, has been invited to join the Municipal League of Tacoma-Pierce County. The non-profit, non-partisan organization’s mission is "to ensure that the local governments of Pierce County are models of justice and ethics, exercise sound fiscal management, and reflect the high standard of managerial excellence and responsiveness." Haughton will be involved in their candidate evaluation process. Franta considers running in ‘99 Why is that a headline, you may ask, if he’s only considering a nonpartisan campaign? One step at a time. David Franta, former Pierce County LP vice-chair, has committed to an important first step — attending board and commission meetings. The Key Peninsula Park and Recreation Commission has an open seat in 1999. Dave will attend a few meetings to learn the issues, and decide whether he should run. Regional chair Kelly Haughton says, "Seats on this commission are rarely contested. Dave has an excellent chance of winning, if he chooses to run. All we ever ask is to attend meetings and see if this is for you." |
| CAMPAIGN '99 |
Yes, we have several campaigns to support this year, both partisan and nonpartisan. But we also need to be planning for next year’s local races. At the local level, we already have parity with the two older parties. Nationwide, Libertarians win 1/3 of the local, nonpartisan races we enter. Local elections have been a top priority for WL, starting with two columns last June. Next year’s nonpartisan races are critical to our grassroots electoral strategy, and a key component to our goals for the 2000 partisan elections. In New Hampshire, our most successful state, partisan candidates list their endorsements by elected nonpartisan Libertarians. That’s very impressive. We need to elect those local candidates in 1999, to help pave the way for the partisan races in 2000. A strong, visible local Libertarian presence, going into 2000, means local media will be more likely to cover our national campaign — which in turn boosts the local campaigns. How many candidates can we field next year? It’s too soon to tell, but we’re planning for fifty. With state memberships now just below 1200, that’s not unreasonable, but may require some coaxing and encouragement. Kelly Haughton has agreed to write a regular column on nonpartisan races. He‘ll also chair a convention panel on the same topic next year. In his own 1995 race for Pierce County Charter Review Commission, Kelly narrowly missed upsetting a sitting Port Commissioner (51-48%). Plan now for ‘99 by Kelly Haughton The LPWS is planning on running dozens of candidates for nonpartisan offices in 1999. You should consider being one of those candidates. Libertarians can win these nonpartisan races, which provide us a base of political and community involvement and visibility. To be most effective, some planning will be helpful. These are some tips on preparing now to help your campaign in 1999. First, check with your County Auditor to find out what positions you are eligible to hold. The most effective way is to physically go to the Elections Department at the Auditor’s office. Have your voters card with you if you can find it. Possible positions include city council, school board, park commission, port commission, water district commission, and fire commission. Select the positions in which you are interested. Attend a couple of the meetings of the commission/board/council. Assess the capabilities of the incumbents. Find out if the incumbents are planning on running for reelection. Know the election laws about the position. Be active in your community. Participate in Boy Scouts, Little League, Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, Rotary, your church, NRA, whatever is fun and interesting to you. Voters like to vote for candidates active in their community. You’ll be busy campaigning from July through November of 1999. Plan on winding down other activities during this period. Plan your vacations for 1999 taking into account the campaign. Gain your spouse’s support for running for office. Recognize that it will affect your spouse in a significant way. Recognize that your campaign will have an impact on your co-workers, clients, employees and friends. Most people have never known a candidate before, so they will curious, supportive and excited about your campaign. Recognize that deciding when, and if, to run is the hardest, and most important decision you will make. For example: Port Commission. Ports vary in size and scope from the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, which are big businesses, to ports like Mattawa, in eastern Washington, which are quite small. The area these ports cover also varies. For example, any voter in Pierce County can run for port commissioner for the Port of Tacoma. Other ports have smaller definitions. Call your County Auditor to determine if you are qualified to run for a particular port commission position. Some of these, like Seattle, are quite competitive. Others are not. The filing fees are small (e.g. $60 for Tacoma) or nonexistent. The filing procedure is simply filling out some forms at the County Auditors office during filing week (the last week of July). The Washington Public Ports Association (360- 943-0760) has a handbook for port commissioners entitled "Knowing the Waters" available for free via the mail. If you’re interested in running for port commissioner call and get a copy. The WPPA also has a "Port Directory" available which lists all of the WPPA ports, their facilities, and the times of the commission meetings. Consider running for port commissioner in 1999. You might win. We need to build our infrastructure and these races will do just that. Start planning now!
Haughton chairs the Pierce County LP |
| LIBERTY BELLE by Janice Moerschel |
| Stop school violence Recent school shootings have precipitated wide debate. Why are children becoming so violent and what can we do about it? I could cite numerous possibilities for school violence. One is that school students are subject to enormous peer pressure — whether it’s to smoke, drink or use drugs, to date or engage in sexual activity at increasingly younger ages, or to join gangs. The tendency in the school situation is for children to want to be like the others around them, for better or worse. They all want to fit into a group, and this can have negative effects on children. Then there are so many broken families, single-parent families, step- families, etc., etc. It is tragic that so many children reap psychological harm from such situations but there is not and should not be a legislative remedy. Individuals should not only be responsible for themselves but should also be looking out for the well-being of their children—as I believe most parents do. We cannot overlook the dangers of drugs. I do not refer to the illegal drugs but to the legal ones. Drugs like Ritalin and Prozac are all too routinely prescribed to children diagnosed with ADD (ADHD) or to children who are considered to be difficult to manage or control. Their problems need to be addressed, but I don’t think drugs are the answer for most children. In fact, they could be part of the problem. It should be noted that shooter Kipland Kinkel was on Prozac. Last but not least are the negatives found in pop culture: violent movies, TV shows, video games, music lyrics—not to mention the evening news report. All of these things, I believe, can be detrimental to children. But it is up to parents to exert their authority. Some proposals for dealing with school violence scare me more than the violence itself. Installing metal detectors and guards in schools or conducting searches will only make them seem more like prison. As it is , children are required by law to be at school for a certain number of hours per day, a certain number of days per year, and a certain number of years. Such an atmosphere, when combined with metal detectors, guards and searches, would not be very conducive to learning. Further, such measures set the expectation that in adulthood their privacy will routinely be violated. After all, it’s for their own good and the public safety. Then there are the folks who think we have to psychologically analyze the kids and track the ones we think are potentially dangerous. How will this be done? Should all children be interrogated about their family life or about what weapons their parents may own? I think not. The most common proposal is to "get the guns out of the hands of children." Sounds good, doesn’t it? Until you realize that you must infringe upon the second amendment of the Bill of Rights in order to accomplish that. If parents are required to lock up their guns, it would limit their ability to access one in the case of an emergency situation, thereby causing a law-abiding person to lose their life to a criminal. And, certainly, banning all guns would render the American people defenseless against tyranny. Obliterating the right to keep and bear arms would endanger all of our freedoms. I believe the real solution is gun ownership. Perhaps willing and able teachers should get training in the safe use of guns and be armed. It sounds radical, I know, but what student would dare to make innocent victims of others if they knew there was a good chance they could be harmed? It is estimated that 75 lives are saved for every one lost to a gun. And where concealed-carry permits are available, crime rates drop. Truly guns are an effective crime deterrent. The 2nd amendment should be well exercised. Otherwise it may fade away into oblivion. Let’s stop school violence now. |
| Getting two newsletters? If your household now receives two newsletters, typically a spouse or significant other, you may now choose to receive just one each from national, state and local. Just tell us who the two or more members are, at the same address, and which one should get the newsletter. database@lpws.org |
| STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: June, 1998 |
| Hougthon elected Finance Chair, FY ‘99 budget deferred The June state ExecCom meeting convened in Everett. Ken Houghton was elected Finance Chair, a position not filled at the convention. The party’s local Seattle phone line will eventually be replaced with the state 800 number. This will allow a live person to answer, with flexibility on who that person is, because 800 numbers can ring anywhere. Convention committee chairs were appointed for next year’s state convention. Mike Hihn again chairs the Convention Committee. Tom Stahl again chairs Platform. Brett Wilhelm chairs Credentials. Ken Houghton again chairs Constitution and Bylaws (see letter-invitation in "Your Turn" department). Hihn later appointed himself one of three co-chairs to the Nominating Committee, with the other co-chairs yet to be recruited (see companion article). The board reviewed a formal legal opinion regarding Public Disclosure Commission filings, the convention Resolution on the same topic, and the $1200 legal fee. The opinion confirms past party practice, that filings are not necessary if certain direct candidate support is not done by the party itself. $1500 will be transferred to the ‘99 Convention account for required deposits, and placed into a 6-month CD. This allows discount rooms to be blocked at the convention facility, which could not be done this year. For direct selling of memberships on the LPWS Web site, the board ruled that the "signature" required for the party oath could follow the same requirements as the "signature" accepted for the credit transaction — per accepted commercial practice. The oath affirmation would, however, be a separate event. Budget Fundraising expenses would shift from the General Fund (dues revenues) to the Project Funds (contributions) When fundraising resumed last year, costs were charged as newsletter expenses, and the newsletter was reduced from monthly to bimonthly. This allowed fundraising to begin with no increase in costs, but is improper accounting as permanent policy. Within the General Fund, this shift allows budgeted Regional Support to quadruple, paid from the party’s most secure source of funds. As part of this same shift, the Director also proposed exchanging his current commissions (paid by the General Fund) for a commission paid on net (after expenses) fundraising. The Director also proposed, and the board approved, a temporary Budget Committee chaired by Treasurer Chris Caputo, to review the changes for the August meeting. |
| HELP NEEDED: Committees, Task Force & Administration |
| Nominating Committee co-chairs For next year’s state convention, the Nominating Committee will consist of three co-chairs. The objective is to recruit at least two candidates for each state office then open: State Chair, and the Membership and Campaigns Chairs. (Post-publication note: Finance Chair will also be open.) Mike Hihn is co-chair for recruiting from King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties. Another co-chair is needed for the balance of Western Washington, plus another to recruit from east of the mountains. Contact Hihn at nominate@lpws.org for details or to apply for appointment. Constitution & Bylaws Committee In addition, any member who is unable to physically attend committee meetings or merely wishes to present his/her concerns to the committee may do so by forwarding them to the Committee Chair. All Party member input will be presented to the Committee for full consideration and discussion. As was done last year, all committee meeting minutes and meeting schedules will be forwarded to the regional SEC Representatives, and any other interested Party members. If you wish to be added to the mailing list, please let me know. I look forward to working with everyone on this project, and in our future success as an agent of change in the political climate of Washington State. Ken Houghton, Chair Task force expands Some re-tuning is necessary. Every party member can have a vote in that ... and/or co-sponsor next year‘s convention proposal. The method is the same as last time. To encourage participation by members outside the Seattle area, and minimize meeting time, all votes are by mail, as many as it takes to reach consensus (it’s called "Delphi Polling"). Every member can make proposals to be voted on, and every member receives all results. Clear concepts and sharp goals will be agreed upon before any language is written. No meetings to attend, unless needed at the end. New ideas have since been added to the table. For example, we’re about the only state with a separate Constitution and Bylaws. Merging the two would eliminate a lot of drek. We start from separate Central and Executive Committees, patterned after the national party but adopted to our state’s laws. That saves hundreds of hours now wasted in meetings. But how big should each committee be? How should authority be divided? To consider joining the Task Force, contact Mike Hihn at taskforce@lpws.org, and request the initial polling form and guidelines. With current plans to quadruple party membership, this is a critical responsibility. That’s why it’s been made so easy for every member to participate, and create a grassroots consensus for change. Volunteers Needed Assistant database manager. Requires Microsoft Access 97. Regional Support Manager. Primarily assist with regional newsletters, final layout, delivery to printer and mailing house. Regions supply all copy, of proper length. Microsoft Publisher 98 or Word 97. Assistant Editor, Washington Libertarian. Microsoft Publisher 98 or Word 97. Or capable of converting to the online edition (HTML). Communications Manager. Become familiar with outreach and training materials, from mostly Advocates for Self-Government, then work with regions to match with their needs. For example, the Advocates has an off-the-shelf Speakers Bureau. All needed materials are budgeted. Campaigns Committee (1-2 members). A project of John Gearhart, state Campaigns Chair, coordinated by the Director. Draft a 4-5 page, step-by-step candidate guide, for inclusion in a larger Regional Resource Manual. |
Publisher: Libertarian Party of Washington State. PO Box 69223, Seatlle, WA 98168-9223 Seattle: 206-329-5669. Toll-free: 800-353-1776 Editor: Mike Hihn, editor@lpws.org 206-241-6058, fax: 206-241-6128 Contributing Editors: Brian Bartels, Janice Moerschel, Doug Thornton, John Tyson, Rep. Brian Thomas Regional Correspondents: Janice Moerschel (Spokane) Change of Address: Notifying either the state or national party will do for both. Advertising Rates: Click here to download a rate sheet in Acrobat (pdf) format. Click here to request a rate sheet via snailmail.
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