Ken Mattes
Kenneth Martin Mattes (b. 26 Nov. 1979) is the Secretary of the Libertarian Party of Illinois and Chapter Secretary for the McHenry County Libertarians and the Fox Valley Libertarian Party.
| Ken Mattes | |
 | |
| Secretary Libertarian Party of Illinois | |
| Sep 23, 2022— | |
| Chapter Secretary McHenry County Libertarians | |
| Feb 8, 2021— | |
| Chapter Secretary Fox Valley Libertarian Party | |
| Dec 1, 2021— | |
| Personal Details | |
| Birth: | November 26, 1979 Woodstock, Illinois, USA |
| Education: | 2005 - A.S., Business, McHenry County College |
| Occupation: | Transportation Entrepreneur |
| Residence: | Algonquin IL |
| Party: | Libertarian (2017-Present) |
| Media | |
| Website: | http://kennethmartinmattes.business.site |
| Facebook: | |
| view image gallery | |
Ken is a transportation entrepreneur in the same-day delivery industry and an FAA licensed commercial drone pilot.
Libertarian Background/Influences
Ken's interest in outsider politics was sparked by observing non-conventional humor on popular media during the 1990's, including Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. He was particulary fascinated by Norm MacDonald, Dennis Miller, and Conan O'Brien.
Ken was introduced to libertarianism by his late best friend Brian who had found the Neal Boortz show on the radio by accident. Boortz later described a call to the show from Ken as 'serendipitous' when Ken asked what Neal thought of Gary Johnson, whom Neal was about to mention he had booked as a guest. Ken was a renegade volunteer supporter of Johnson in 2016, placing yard signs and collecting ballot petition signatures without being asked to by anybody except for the LPIL state party website.
Ken officially joined the Libertarian party in 2017 and surreptitiously collected signatures again in 2018 and 2020. Ken supported the campaigns of Jo Jorgensen, Danny Malouf, and William Redpath. When McHenry County began to recognize LP as an established party in 2020, Ken stepped forward to become a precinct committeeman and quickly became the chapter secretary as well.
Ken was an active participant at the National Convention 2022, serving as Illinois Delegate to the Platform Committee and singing in the National Party Choir, in addition to being one of the Illinois delegates.
Volunteerism
Ken was a campaign volunteer for Ashley Shade in 2021 and Thomas Quiter and Feena Bonoan in 2022. He is also a frequent blood donor for The Red Cross and a volunteer member of the McHenry County Emergency Management Agency, where the skills he learned as a pilot (navigation, airspace law, meteorology) can help aid the public and provide another example of an excellent Libertarian member of local government.
Political Campaigns
- McHenry County Board (2022)[1]
Organizational Positions
- Illinois Platform Committee Delegate, National Convention 2022
- Delegate, National Convention 2022
- Secretary (2022-)
- Precinct committeeman and Voter Registrar (2020-)
- Chapter Secretary (2021-)
- Chapter Secretary (2021-)
- McHenry County Emergency Management Agency
- Search and Rescue Volunteer (2021-)
- Mentor (2022-)
- Presidential Volunteer Service Award (2023)[2]
Other Libertarian Achievements
- Member, Libertarian National Party Choir (2022)[3]
- Libertarian Rookie of the Year Award, Illinois Convention 2022