Libertarian Party of New York Interim State Committee

Libertarian Party of New York Interim State Committee (ISC) is the committee formed from the rules to govern the political entity of the Libertarian Party of New York. Originally, the committee was set to cover the period May 2019 to June 2020, and then after the change of primary dates and modification of the rules. The Interim State Committee existed from February 9, 2019 to September 27, 2020.

Background

Original Committee

On December 24, 2018, a set of rules were filed at the New York State Board of Elections, in which an Interim State Committee was documented in order to succeed the Transition Committee, to cover the period following the spring 2019 convention until the September 2020 Libertarian Party primaries. The original rules stated that the Interim State Committee would be elected as follows:

• 1) By the individual chapters within each Judicial District, the number determined based on the vote for governor and the number of enrolled Libertarians.
• 2) At the spring 2019 convention, in which officers and At Large members would be elected.

New York passed legislation in regards to many electoral laws, and the primaries were moved to June, and so the body convening would last until June 2020, as opposed to September 2020.

Modified Committee

The first Transition Committee meeting was set for January 27, 2019. During that time, the composition of the committee was established. However, there were concerns from Jim Rosenbeck and Larry Sharpe in regards to the rules, and the rules had to be fixed. Brian Waddell, Andrew Martin Kolstee, Mike Dowden, and Blay Tarnoff urged that the committee follow the amendment procedures of the rules, as opposed to redrafting them. On January 25, the meeting was cancelled by Larry Sharpe.

In early February 2019, an updated set of rules was compiled, which changed the Interim State Committee to cover the period from February 2019 to June 2020, which cancelled the 2019 elections of the Interim State Committee and removed the Transition Committee. The members of the Transition Committee were placed on the new Interim State Committee, with the composition changed, as four original members were removed and three new members were added to bring the committee to a total of 21 people.

The Interim State Committee held an election of officers at a meeting on February 9, 2019, in which only the 21 members of the Interim State Committee were invited by Larry Sharpe, who presided over the beginning of the meeting. Members of the existing Libertarian Party of New York State Committee who were not on the Interim State Committee were not invited.

The newly updated rules were presented and supported by the State Committee on February 10, 2019 and filed at the Board of Elections on February 11, 2019. To bridge communication between the two committees, a Liaison Subcommittee of the State Committee was established and Mike McDermott was appointed chair.

During the succeeding months, the committee was further modified when Cruger Gallaudet resigned as Treasurer and Lora Newell was appointed to fill the vacancy.

Current Status

With the creation of a new Interim State Committee, the Libertarian Party of New York now had two governing bodies. Several attempts were made to merge the committees or draft a proposal to dissolve or restructure the corporation in favor of continuing with the new one, and such discussion continued through the state convention. Andrew Martin Kolstee led the drafting of resolutions, one which was cancelled, and the other which failed, leaving the two entities separate. The convention created a turning point in the party history, in which the goals of each entity began to shift.

The Interim State Committee began to focus on county development and vetting candidates, while the State Committee of the corporation began working toward a number of other ideas for its future.

Current ISC Members

• Tony D'Orazio, Chair (starting April 15, 2020)
• Tucker Coburn, 1st Vice Chair
• Steve Minogue, 2nd Vice Chair (starting April 26, 2020)
• Fred Cole, Secretary
• Lora Newell, Treasurer (starting June 9, 2019)
• Cody Anderson (starting March 8, 2020)
• Michael Arcati
• Steve Becker
• Richard Bell
• Milva Dordal
• Mark Glogowksi
• Todd Haggarty
• Jim Harris
• Andrew Hollister
• Andrew Martin Kolstee (starting April 26, 2020)
• Mike McDermott
• Jeff Motta
• Gary Popkin
• Mark Potwora
• Ilya Schwartzburg (February 9, 2019—October 27, 2019; December 15, 2019—present)
• Duane Whitmer (starting September 29, 2019)

Former ISC Members

• Cruger Gallaudet, Treasurer (February 9, 2019—June 9, 2019)
• Alyce Auman (February 9, 2019—September 29, 2019)
• Mark Sargent (October 27, 2019—December 15, 2019)
• Jason Loveland (February 9, 2019—March 8, 2020)
• Jim Rosenbeck, Chair (February 9, 2020—April 15, 2020)

Note: Larry Sharpe served as Interim Chair in order to call the meeting to order, and then stepped down following the election of Chair Jim Rosenbeck.

Counties

ICO Chairs

• Albany (chartered June 30, 2019)

• Veronica Diver (until 2019)
• Todd Haggarty (since 2019)

• Bronx - Enmanuel Torres (chartered July 28, 2019)
• Broome (chartered August 25, 2019)

• Ed Hickey (August 25, 2019—May 1, 2020)
• [[Jennifer Koelsar (May 1, 2020—present)

• Cattaraugus (chartered June 9, 2019)

• Luke Wenke (June 9, 2019—May 16, 2020)
• Peyton Kunselman (May 16, 2020—present)

• Chautauqua - Andrew Martin Kolstee (chartered May 5, 2019)
• Chemung - Paul Sechrist (chartered July 14, 2019)
• Chenango - Tom Quiter (chartered October 27, 2019)
• Columbia - Cody Anderson (chartered December 15, 2019)
• Erie (chartered May 5, 2019)

• Edward Garrett (until August 14, 2019)
• Duane Whitmer (August 14, 2019—present)

• Fulton - Brandon Lyon (chartered August 25, 2019)
• Genesee - Mark Potwora (chartered June 9, 2019)
• Kings (chartered October 27, 2019)

• Devin Balkind (October 27, 2019—2020)
• Daniel Christmann (2020—August 4, 2020)
• Matthew Morgan (August 4, 2020—present)

• Madison (chartered January 11, 2020)

• Mark Braiman (January 11, 2020—July 11, 2020)
• David Penner (July 11, 2020—present)

• Monroe (chartered May 5, 2019)

• Kevin Wilson
• Steve Becker (August 23, 2020—present)

• Nassau (chartered June 30, 2019)

• Blay Tarnoff, County Committee (September 18, 2020—present)
• Jonathan Gunther, Exective Committee (September 18, 2020—present)

• New York - Ilya Schwartzburg (chartered September 29, 2019)
• Niagara (chartered May 5, 2019)

• Charlie Flynn
• Nick Phelps (August 2, 2020—present)

• Orange - Pietro S. Geraci (chartered July 28, 2019)
• Orleans - Chase Tkach (chartered September 29, 2019)
• Onondaga - Shawn Hannon (chartered June 30, 2019)
• Ontario (chartered July 14, 2019)

• Kari Bittner (until May 21, 2020)
• Eric Cooper (May 21, 2020—present)

• Otsego (chartered June 30, 2019)

• Jason Loveland (June 30, 2019—February 9, 2020)
• Dylan Harris (February 9, 2020—present)

• Queens - Michael Arcati (chartered July 14, 2019)
• Rensselaer - Philip Vecchio (chartered June 30, 2019)
• Richmond (Staten Island) (chartered March 25, 2020)

• Joe Portelle (February 9, 2020—present)

• Saratoga - Rob Arrigo (chartered June 30, 2019)
• Schoharie - Lora Newell (chartered October 27, 2019)
• Suffolk - Mike McDermott (chartered May 5, 2019)
• Tioga - Melvin Foster (chartered June 9, 2019)
• Ulster (chartered July 28, 2019)

• Gary Triestman (July 28, 2019—November 11, 2019)
• Sean Wells (November 11, 2019—June 29, 2020)
• Jay Carr (June 29, 2020—present)

• Westchester (chartered July 28, 2019)

• Mark Rosen (until 2020)
• Dan Singer (2020—present)

• Wayne - Jim Dayton (chartered November 11, 2019)

County Contacts

• Cayuga - Justin Burchard (since June 30, 2019)
• Clinton - Zachary Remian (since January 26, 2020)
• Cortland - Matthew McIntyre (since June 30, 2019)
• Delaware - Nathan Tweedie (since June 30, 2019)
• Dutchess - Steve Rifenburg (since June 30, 2019)
• Franklin - Mandy Atkinson (since June 30, 2019)
• Oneida - Craig Miles (since June 30, 2019)
• Putnam - Jeff Chang (since June 30, 2019)
• St. Lawrence - Mark Deon (since June 30, 2019)
• Steuben - Peter Olausson (since June 30, 2019)
• Sullivan - Robert Norbury (since January 26, 2020)
• Schenectady - Fred Cole (since June 30, 2019)
• Warren - Nathan Dunn (since June 30, 2019)
• Washington - Dave Boddery (since June 30, 2019)
• Wyoming - Jim Wanke (since June 30, 2019)

Appointees and Committees

Local Affiliate Development Committee (created February 9, 2019)

• Mark Potwora, Chair
• Members: Tony D'Orazio, Milva Dordal

Vetting Committee (created February 24, 2019)

• Tony D'Orazio, Chair
• Members: Fred Cole, Mark Potwora, Tucker Coburn, Jason Loveland, Mark Glogowski

Rules Committee (created February 24, 2019)

• Fred Cole, Chair
• 2019 Members: Ilya Schwartzburg, Tucker Coburn, Jim Rosenbeck
• 2020 Members: Cody Anderson, Tony D'Orazio, Mark Glogowski, Andrew Kolstee, Lora Newell, Christopher Olenski

Judiciary Committee

• Vacant

Vacancy Committee

• Tony D'Orazio, Chair

Platform Committee

• Jeff Motta, Chair
• Members: Mark Braiman, Fred Cole, Andrew Martin Kolstee, Mike McDermott, Lora Newell, Mark Potwora, Jim Rosenbeck, Ilya Schwartzburg

Delegation Selection Committee (created September 29, 2019)

• Members: Fred Cole, Lora Newell

Public Engagement Committee

• Kari Bittner, Chair (?—March 8, 2020)
• Cody Anderson, Chair (March 8, 2020—preseet)

IT Committee (created December 15, 2019)

• Andrew Martin Kolstee, Chair
• Members: Cody Anderson, Tony D'Orazio, Paul Grindle, Trevor Sammis, Dustin Tait, Bob Zahm