Andrew Kolstee

Andrew Martin Kolstee
Communications Director Libertarian Party of New York
May 7, 2017—July 7, 2019
Predecessor:	Position Established
Successor:	Steve Minogue (Acting)
Chair Chautauqua County Libertarian Party
October 3, 2015—present
Predecessor:	Position Established
Successor:	Incumbent
Personal Details
Education:	A.A. in Social Sciences (2011) Jamestown Community College
Occupation:	Student, Writer, Genealogist, Political activist
Residence:	New York
Party:	Libertarian Party
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Andrew Martin Kolstee is Libertarian Party activist. He 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 and served as Communications Director from 2017 to 2019 as well as in numerous other capacities. He became an enrolled Libertarian in 2009 and joined National in 2014 and the Libertarian Party of New York in 2015.

Background

Kolstee graduated from Jamestown High School in 2009 and went on to attend Jamestown Community College, majoring in history. He graduated from there in 2011 with an Associate's in Arts - Social Sciences. He went on to attend SUNY Fredonia, continuing as a history major, but dropped out in 2013. In 2017, he returned to Jamestown Community College, with intentions to pursue a degree in political science. Kolstee is also a genealogy researcher, speaker, and historian and serves as Secretary at his local history center, the Fenton History Center. He is also a member of the Chautauqua County Genealogical Society. He volunteers at his church with the media department and youth group.

Activism

Kolstee had been somewhat interested in politics in High School, but had not yet looked into the Libertarian Party while following the 2008 Presidential election. He first registered to vote in 2009 as a member of the Libertarian Party, in which New York was holding its gubernatorial election. When researching for that election, he learned more about the Libertarian Party when he followed the Libertarian Party's candidate, Warren Redlich. After the 2010 election, he didn't pay much attention to politics.

In 2012, Kolstee's interest in libertarianism increased when he started to follow the Presidential campaign of Ron Paul. When Paul didn't get the Republican nomination, Kolstee threw his support behind Gary Johnson and from that point forward, he began to learn more about libertarianism. As early as 2013, he thought about getting more involved in the party. In 2015, he first got involved in the Libertarian Party of New York when he attended the state convention in Rochester in April 2015. There, he met several party members of the Libertarian Party of New York and learned that they were working to establish local affiliates in unreached counties, such as Kolstee's home county of Chautauqua. The Western New York Libertarian Party was a proposed regional chapter, which turned into a plan to create three separate chapters in western New York.

Kolstee was a delegate to the 2016 national convention. He voted for Austin Petersen for President and Larry Sharpe for Vice President. Following the convention, served as Southwestern New York Area Field Director for the Gary Johnson 2016 Presidential campaign.

In 2017, Kolstee rebuilt the LPNY's website, taking over administration from Christopher Edes. Kolstee led efforts to introduce a Divisional Structure to the Libertarian Party of New York, which was adopted in May 2017. Subsequently, Kolstee was appointed Communications Director.

On April 5, 2019, he announced his candidacy for Secretary of the Libertarian Party of New York and his intention to step down as Communications Director on May 31, 2019. After losing the election 53—33 to Bill Schmidt, Kolstee decided to stay on as Communications Director, but later resigned on July 7, 2019.

Campaigns

2016 Gary Johnson / Bill Weld Presidential Campaign

Kolstee served as Southwestern New York Area Field Director the campaign.

2018 Larry Sharpe Gubernatorial Campaign

Kolstee served as Deputy Field Director for Western New York from January 31, 2018 to September 2018. He coordinate volunteers, sent correspondence, and organized logistics for petitioning during July and August. He served as Chautauqua County Coordinator throughout the duration of the 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.

Positions

• Chair (October 3, 2015—present)
• State Representative (October 3, 2015—present)
• Treasurer (July 6, 2017—present)
• Webmaster (2015—present)

Libertarian Party of New York

Kolstee joined the Libertarian Party of New York in April 2015 and became a member of the State Committee as the Representative for Chautauqua County in October 2015. He also serves on several committees. He was appointed Communications Director in 2017.

Positions

• State Representative from Chautauqua County (October 3, 2015—present)
• Communications Director (May 7, 2017—July 2019)
• Webmaster (April 2017—July 2019)
• Blog Editor (2017—July 2019)
• Facebook Administrator (2017—July 2019)
• Twitter Administrator (December 2017—present)

Committee Assignments

• Communications Committee (October 4, 2015—July 2019)

• Member (October 4, 2015—December 4, 2016)
• Chair (December 4, 2016—July 2019)

• Member, IT Subcommittee (December 4, 2016—present)
• Chair, Strategic Planning Subcommittee (February 5, 2017—present)
• Co-Chair, Historical Subcommittee (June 4, 2017—present)
• Member, Finance Committee (October 1, 2017—present)
• Administrative Committee

• Member

• Member, Party Rules Subcommittee (December 2, 2018)

Former Committee Assignments

• Member, Chapter Development Committee (2016)
• Chair, Organizational Structure Committee (December 4, 2016—May 7, 2017)
• Member, Model Bylaws Committee (December 4, 2016—early 2017)
• Chair, Committee on Standing Rules for 2018 Convention (April 8, 2018—April 21, 2018)
• Chair, Resolutions Committee for 2018 Convention (April 8, 2018—April 21, 2018)
• Chair, Volunteer Subcommittee (February 20, 2018—February 10, 2019)

External links

• Profile at Facebook
• Profile at LinkedIn