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 September 2020, and then after the change of primary dates and modification of the rules, the period now covers February 9, 2019 to June 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 committee was formed. 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. As the committee already formed, and the meeting was close, the group urged attending the meeting to address that and other important concerns, such as the important work the party needs to focus on in the upcoming year, as opposed to delaying progress.
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 four members removed and three members were added. No formal process was used in deciding which members were removed and which members were added. Those that were removed were Brian Waddell, Andrew Martin Kolstee, Mike Dowden, and Blay Tarnoff, who were unaware of their removal under after it happened, the same group that urged for amending the rules through the amendment procedures. Shawn Hannon resigned as Vice Chair during this time, and was on the Transition Committee, but not on the Interim State Committee.
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.
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.
Members
Current
- Jim Rosenbeck, Chair
- Tony D'Orazio, 1st Vice Chair
- Tucker Coburn, 2nd Vice Chair
- Fred Cole, Secretary
- Lora Newell, Treasurer (starting June 9, 2019)
- Michael Arcati
- Alyce Auman
- Steve Becker
- Richard Bell
- Milva Dordal
- Mark Glogowksi
- Todd Haggarty
- Jim Harris
- Andrew Hollister
- Jason Loveland
- Mike McDermott
- Steve Minogue
- Jeff Motta
- Gary Popkin
- Mark Potwora
- Ilya Schwartzburg
Former
- Cruger Gallaudet, Treasurer (February 9, 2019—June 9, 2019)
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.
Committees
- Local Affiliate Development Committee - Mark Potwora, Chair
- Vetting Committee - Tony D'Orazio, Chair
- Members: Fred Cole, Mark Potwora, Tucker Coburn, Jason Loveland, Mark Glogowski
- Rules Committee - Fred Cole, Chair
- Members: Ilya Schwartzburg
- Judiciary Committee - no chair has been appointed
Meetings
| Date | Location | Minutes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 9, 2019 | Teleconference | Election of officers held | |
| February 24, 2019 | Teleconference | ||
| March 10, 2019 | Teleconference | ||
| March 31, 2019 | Teleconference | First meeting open to observers | |
| May 5, 2019 | Rochester, New York | Held at convention in Rochester; issued certifications to several candidates and chartered 5 Interim County Organizations. | |
| May 19, 2019 | Teleconference |