LP National Convention 2018

Author: Kenny Kelly

The Libertarian Party held its biggest non-presidential national convention in 2018 in New Orleans days before the Fourth of July holiday. The elections were intense, the fundraising skyrocketed, liberty was in the air, and fun was abundant.

The convention had a good start with a march of the fallen veterans led by Iraq War veteran and libertarian lion Adam Kokesh, protesting the corruption of the VA system. A memorial for the late Dr. Marc Allan Feldman was held - he was THAT libertarian.

Resolutions, such as a call to Donald J. Trump to Free Ross Ulbricht with a pardon and abolishing ICE, were passed, some members such as co-founder D Frank Robinson were honored with honorary life memberships, and sex work and polyamory planks were added to the party's platform. The "back door" of the 7/8 provision was finally closed, protecting the Statement of Principles (SoP).

About $100,000 was raised at this convention, compared to the $103,000 of the 2016 presidential convention, that's a lot. Life membership pins were "sold out" as many new life members joined.

Hatchets were buried. The "NOLA Accord" didn't officially pass, but it was put in practice. Mises adherents and libertarian socialists threw pies in each others' faces, and even the wives/girlfriends had fun.

A hurricane of hatred headed to New Orleans late June, but early July proved much of the conflict was internet hype. The 2018 convention shall never be forgotten. Now, let's get to work on bringing about liberty in our lifetime. I'm THAT libertarian.

Congrats to the following people, here are the results of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) elections:

For Chair:
1. Nicholas Sarwark - 65.443% (517 votes)
2. Joshua Smith - 22.152% (175 votes)
3. Christopher S. Thrasher - 5.823% (46 votes)
4. None of the Above (NOTA) - 4.117% (33 votes)
5. Matt Kuehnel - 1.646% (13 votes)
6. John Keil - 0.506% (4 votes)
7. Matthew Schutter - 0.127% (1 vote)
8. Write-in - 0.127% (1 vote)

For Vice Chair, first ballot:
1. Alex Merced - 35.519% (260 votes)
2. Joe Hauptmann - 24.590% (180 votes)
3. Sam Goldstein - 16.257% (119 votes)
4. Arvin Vohra - 9.016% (66 votes)
5. James Weeks II - 6.011% (44 votes)
6. Steve Scheetz - 5.874% (43 votes)
7. Matt Geiger - 1.503% (11 votes)
8. NOTA - 1.903% (8 votes)
9. Write-in - 0.137% (1 vote)

Second ballot:
1. Alex Merced - 44.112% (251 votes)
2. Joe Hauptmann - 27.944% (159 votes)
3. Sam Goldstein - 14.016% (80 votes)
4. Arvin Vohra - 7.557% (43 votes)
5. James Weeks II - 5.097% (29 votes)
6. NOTA - 0.703% (4 votes)
7. Write-in - 0.527% (3 votes)

Third/last ballot:
1. Alex Merced - 50.606% (333 votes)
2. Joe Hauptmann - 29.331% (193 votes)
3. Sam Goldstein - 8.663% (57 votes)
4. Arvin Vohra - 10.334% (68 votes)
5. James Weeks II - 6.011% (44 votes)
6. NOTA - 0.760% (5 votes)
7. Write-in - 0.304% (2 votes)

For Secretary:
1. Caryn Ann Harlos - 56.621% (372 votes)
2. Alicia Mattson - 35.769% (235 votes)
3. Jeff Wood - 5.784% (38 votes)
4. NOTA - 1.826% (12 votes)

For Treasurer:
1. Tim Hagan - 67.638% (441 votes)
2. Drew A. Layda - 20.092% (131 votes)
3. Robert Paulson - 4.908% (32 votes)
4. NOTA - 3.528% (23 votes)
5. Brad Thomas - 3.221% (21 votes)
6. Write-in - 0.613% (4 votes)

For At-Large Representatives (five seats; a suspension of the rules allowed the top five vote-getters in the approval voting method got seated)
- Sam GoldStein 
- Joe Bishop-Henchman
- Joshua Smith 
- Bill Redpath
- Alicia Mattson

For Judicial Committee members (seven seats; the said suspension of the rules was carried over for this election):
- D. Frank Robinson 
- Chuck Moulton
- Darryl W. Perry
- Ruth Bennett
- Geoffrey Neale
- Jim Turney
- Tricia Sprankle

For Region Representatives (each region elects their own representative and alternate):
Region 1 rep: Richard Tietjen Longstreth
Region 1 alt: Craig Bowden
Region 2 rep: Steven Nekhaila
Region 2 alt: Victoria Paige Lee
Region 3 rep: Elizabeth Van Horn
Region 3 alt: Dustin Nanna
Region 4 rep: Mayor Jeff Hewitt
Region 4 alt: Kenneth Brent Olsen
Region 5 rep: Dr. James Lark
Region 5 alt: Jane Hogarth
Region 6 rep: John Phillips Jr.
Region 6 alt: Phillip Anderson
Region 7 rep: Whitney Bilyeu
Region 7 alt: Erin Adams
Region 8 rep: Jim Rosenbeck
Region 8 alt: Jeff Lyons

#NOLA #LibertarianConvention #ImThatLibertarian #TaxationIsTheft #NOTA#ElectUs #Voluntaryism #Libertarian