Andrew Kolstee

Andrew Martin Kolstee is a libertarian activist and has been the Chair of the Chautauqua County Libertarian Party since 2015. He is also a member of the Libertarian Party of New York State Committee. He became an enrolled Libertarian in 2010 and joined National in 2014 and the Libertarian Party of New York in 2015.

Background

Kolstee graduated from Jamestown Community College in 2011 with an Associate's in Arts - Social Sciences. He went on to attend SUNY Fredonia, pursuing a career in history, but dropped out in 2013. In 2017, he returned to Jamestown Community College, with intentions to pursue a degree in political science.

Activism

Kolstee first became interested in the Libertarian Party after researching the 2010 gubernatorial race in New York, where he followed the Libertarian Party's candidate, Warren Redlich. In 2012, his interest in libertarianism increase when he started to follow Ron Paul. When Paul didn't get the Republican nomination, Kolstee threw his support behind Gary Johnson. In 2015, he first got involved in the Libertarian Party of New York when he attended the state convention in 2015. Kolstee was a delegate to the 2016 national convention and served as Southwestern New York Area Field Director for the Gary Johnson 2016 Presidential campaign.

Party involvement

Chautauqua County Libertarian Party

Kolstee attended the Libertarian Party of New York State Convention in Rochester in April 2015, where he met several members of the leadership of the state party. The original plan for western New York was to establish a regional chapter of the four western counties (Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, and Cattaraugus), but it was decided to have each county form separately. On October 3, 2015, the Chautauqua County Chapter had its founding convention, and Kolstee was elected chair, and has served in that position since.

Libertarian Party of New York

Kolstee is a member of the Libertarian Party of New York State Committee as a Representative for Chautauqua County. He also serves on several committees:

Committee Assignments

• Chapter Development Committee (Member, 2016)

• Model Bylaws Subcommittee (Member, December 4, 2016)

• Communications Committee (Member, October 4, 2015; appointed Chair, December 4, 2016)
• IT Committee (Member, December 4, 2016)
• Organizational Structure Committee (appointed Chair, December 4, 2016)
• Strategic Planning Committee (appointed Chair, February 5, 2017)