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 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

• 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
• 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
• Mark Sargent (starting October 27, 2019)
• 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)
• Ilya Schwartzburg (February 9, 2019—October 27, 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.

Counties

ICO Chairs

• Albany - Veronica Diver (chartered June 30, 2019)
• Bronx - Enmanuel Torres (chartered July 28, 2019)
• Broome - Ed Hickey (chartered August 25, 2019)
• Cattaraugus - Luke Wenke (chartered June 9, 2019)
• Chautauqua - Andrew Martin Kolstee (chartered May 5, 2019)
• Chemung - Paul Sechrist (chartered July 14, 2019)
• Chenango - Tom Quiter (chartered October 27, 2019)
• Erie (chartered May 5, 2019)

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

• Fulton - Brandon Lyon (chartered August 25, 2019)
• Genesee - Mark Potwora (chartered June 9, 2019)
• Kings - Devin Balkind (chartered October 27, 2019)
• Monroe - Kevin Wilson (chartered May 5, 2019)
• Nassau - Blay Tarnoff (chartered June 30, 2019)
• New York - Ilya Schwartzburg (chartered September 29, 2019)
• Niagara - Charlie Flynn (chartered May 5, 2019)
• Orange - Pietro S. Geraci (chartered July 28, 2019)
• Orleans - Chase Tkach (chartered September 29, 2019)
• Onondaga - Shawn Hannon (chartered June 30, 2019)
• Ontario - Kari Bittner (chartered July 14, 2019)
• Otsego - Jason Loveland (chartered June 30, 2019)
• Queens - Michael Arcati (chartered July 14, 2019)
• Rensselaer - Philip Vecchio (chartered June 30, 2019)
• 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 - Gary Triestman (chartered July 28, 2019)
• Westchester - Mark Rosen (chartered July 28, 2019)

County Contacts

• Cayuga - Justin Burchard
• Chenango - Clarence LaBarr
• Columbia - Cody Anderson
• Cortland - Matthew McIntyre
• Delaware - Nathan Tweedie
• Dutchess - Steve Rifenburg
• Franklin - Mandy Atkinson
• Greene - TBD
• Madison - Mark Braiman
• New York - Ilya Schwartzburg
• Oneida - Craig Miles
• Putnam - Jeff Chang
• Richmond - Rocco Fama
• St. Lawrence - Mark Deon
• Steuben - Peter Olausson
• Schenectady - Fred Cole
• Warren - Nathan Dunn
• Washington - Dave Boddery
• Wayne - Jim Dayton
• Wyoming - Jim Wanke

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
• Members: Ilya Schwartzburg

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

Meetings

Date	Location	Minutes	Notes
Saturday, February 9, 2019	Teleconference		Election of officers held
Sunday, February 24, 2019	Teleconference
Sunday, March 10, 2019	Teleconference
Sunday, March 31, 2019	Teleconference		First meeting open to observers
Sunday, May 5, 2019	Rochester, New York		Held at convention in Rochester; issued certifications to several candidates and chartered 5 Interim County Organizations.
Sunday, May 19, 2019	Teleconference
Sunday, June 9, 2019	Teleconference
Sunday, June 30, 2019	Teleconference
Sunday, July 14, 2019	Teleconference
Sunday, July 28, 2019	Teleconference
Sunday, August 25, 2019	Teleconference
Sunday, September 29, 2019	Teleconference
Sunday, October 27, 2019	Teleconference
Monday, November 11, 2019	Teleconference