Situation Report: Sixty-four days away
There are sixty-four days until the opening gavel of the Libertarian National Convention, which is terrible timing for resignation of the Convention Committee chair.
Dear Friends,
A lot can happen in sixty-four days.
A Cessna 172 took off on December 4, 1958 and didn’t land until February 7, 1959, with a total manned flight time of 64 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes, and 5 seconds. It was an endurance feat that has not been surpassed since.
Sixty-four days from today, the Libertarian Party national convention will be held in Washington, D.C.
Delegates from around the country, sent by all 50 state party affiliates (and D.C.), will choose a Presidential ticket as well as the entire Libertarian National Committee.
This was the day that Adrian Malagon, Mises Caucus organizer and at-large member of the Libertarian National Committee, responsible for bringing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the California convention earlier in the month, decided to resign from the Convention Oversight Committee for the national convention that starts in sixty-four days.
Malagon’s resignation comes after RFK, Jr. only got a single vote at the California convention and appears to be planning an independent ballot access drive rather than try for the Libertarian nomination. It also comes on the day that a February FEC filing showed that the LNC posted only $96K in total revenue for the month, while burning through nearly $129K in expenses.
Now that the Convention Oversight Committee is without a leader, it would be a wise move for the LNC to appoint a new chair to prevent the convention from being a total disaster for the Libertarian Party. Preferably from outside a committee that has struggled with basic operations and someone who has previously organized a national convention.
Nancy Neale of Texas, BetteRose Ryan of Colorado, or Alicia Mattson of California all have the experience necessary to plan and execute a successful national convention. If any of them would be willing to take the reins and were given the authority necessary, it would prevent the party from going into an even deeper financial hole.
Naturally, the Mises Caucus dominated LNC is instead planning to hand the Convention Oversight Committee chair position to Angela McArdle, the LNC chair who hired her domestic partner in violation of the D.C. nonprofit code and who has been at the helm of staff and revenue dropping by half, and who hand-picked Adrian Malagon for the Convention Oversight Committee position in the first place. Not only that, she co-sponsored the motion to appoint herself.
It would be wise for Angela McArdle to resign from all positions in the Libertarian Party before she does any further damage, but it is unlikely that she will do the wise thing. That means that it will bu up to other concerned board members and members to take action to remove her from her position for continuing breaches of her legal and ethical obligations under the law.
Expect updates on those efforts early this coming week.
In the meantime, Mark Rutherford has announced a plan to achieve ballot access in all 50 states for the Libertarian Party, including New York, where there are only six weeks to collect 45,000 valid signatures around the state. If you know someone who wants to spend a month or two making money and serving the Libertarian Party, please share the sign up link with them.
Together, we will reconstruct the Libertarian Party until it is better than it has ever been.
Yours in liberty,
Nick
P.S. If you want to read more about the record breaking 64-day flight, this Reddit thread has much more detail.