Alex Merced

Alex Merced
Photo of Alex Merced by Brian Waddell
Vice-Chair Libertarian National Committee
July 2, 2018—July 12, 2020
Predecessor:	Arvin Vohra
Successor:	Ken Moellman
Personal Details
Birth:	(1985-06-30) June 30, 1985 Hartford, Connecticut
Education:	Bowling Green State University (B.A.)
Occupation:	Financial Industry Trainer, Author, blogger, marketing consultant
Residence:	Brooklyn, New York
Party:	Libertarian Party
Media
Website:	AlexMerced.com
Facebook:	[Fb.com/AlexMercedforLNC Facebook]
Twitter:	[twitter.com/AlexMerced Twitter]
Instagram:	[instagram.com/AlexMerced Instagram]
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Alex Merced (born June 30, 1985) is an American technologist, author, developer advocate and Libertarian commentator. Since 2021 he has served as Head of Developer Relations at Dremio, a data lakehouse company, and he is the author of more than 39 books spanning technology, economics, philosophy and fiction, including the O'Reilly titles Apache Iceberg: The Definitive Guide and Apache Polaris: The Definitive Guide and the Manning title Architecting an Apache Iceberg Lakehouse.

Within the Libertarian Party, Merced is best known for his years as a New York activist and candidate and for his term as Vice-Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. He ran for Public Advocate of New York City in 2013, getting 10,400 votes. He ran for US Senate from New York in 2016, where he got 48,036 votes. He also ran for NYC Comptroller in 2017, getting 5,810 votes. In 2018 he was the Policy Director of the Larry Sharpe for New York campaign. He was Vice-Chair of the Libertarian National Committee from 2018 to 2020 and presided over the second sitting of the 2020 National Convention. He continues to publish Libertarian commentary through his newsletter The Loveatarian and the site AlexMercedLibertarian.com.

Early Life

Alex Merced was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1985. His mother is from Guatemala and his father from Puerto Rico.

His parents divorced after giving birth to his little brother. Merced's mother worked multiple jobs to raise her children while going to school. She eventually graduated, got a job, and bought a house in the suburbs.

In high school Alex attended Howell Cheney Technical Vocational School in Manchester, Connecticut, where he studied microcomputers. During this time he read Anthem by Ayn Rand, which Alex "found compelling and always held in the back of his mind as it sparked a deep value for individuality". He developed an early interest in technology by writing scripts for the online RPG GRAAL, building games with RPG Maker 2000, and designing fan sites in HTML and CSS.

Career

Merced is a graduate of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where he earned his B.A. in Popular Culture Studies and minored in Marketing. He was a host and Promotion Director for the local college radio station (WBGU-FM 88.1FM), and he promoted concerts in the BGSU music scene under the brand "Fashionably Numb Music". He also owned a hobby retail store called The Gamers' Lounge, which closed before he graduated.

During a trip to Manila, Merced watched the Fox Business News debate between Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul, which heavily influenced his Libertarian views.

After graduating in fall 2007, Merced moved in with his father in Long Island. He worked a marketing internship at high-end shoe brand Shane and Shawn. Later he was a stock broker for E1 Asset Management and worked at Greico Financial Training as a training specialist, training people across the financial industry from 2008 to 2019.

In 2008, Merced started a vlog on his YouTube channel where he discusses Libertarian ideas such as individual liberty and free markets. Over the years Alex curated many of his videos for easier access at websites such as Libertarian101.com, LearnEconomicsNow.com and IntrotoLiberty.com.

In 2016, Merced started Merliva LLC, a consulting company for social media marketing. Also in 2016 he started LibertarianWingMedia.com and several podcasts, including the AlexMercedCast, Breaking Progressives, Libertarian Comments, Economics Why Not?, Podcast and Vlogging: Tips & Tricks, Better Today, and The Bitcoin Blockchain Crypto Podcast.

Transition to Technology

In 2019, Merced shifted his career toward software development. He created GrokOverflow.com and produced a web-development masterclass video series on YouTube, continuing his focus on teaching. During this period he worked for the full-stack development agency Crossfield Digital, taught as a coding bootcamp instructor for General Assembly, and did occasional freelance work with clients such as CampusGuard.

Developer Relations at Dremio

Merced joined Dremio in 2021 and serves as Head of Developer Relations, focusing on data engineering, open source, and developer education, with particular emphasis on the Apache Iceberg and Apache Polaris projects. He speaks at global technology conferences including Oredev, Data Council, Data Day Texas, Confluent Current, and DataEngBytes, and he won a Dremio CEO Award in 2025.

Author

Merced is the author of more than 39 published books across technology, economics and philosophy, and fiction. His flagship technical titles are Apache Iceberg: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly), Apache Polaris: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly), and Architecting an Apache Iceberg Lakehouse (Manning). His catalog also includes works of political philosophy and Libertarian thought published under his commentary brand, available on Amazon.

Politics

Merced was the 2015 Web Chair of the Brooklyn Libertarian Party and 2015 Co-Media Chair of the Manhattan Libertarian Party. Merced resumed being the Media Chair of the Manhattan LP in 2018.

2013 New York City Public Advocate Election

In 2013 Merced ran for Public Advocate of New York City, getting 10,400 votes.

2016 Senate Election

In 2016, Merced ran for Senator of New York in order to unseat incumbent Chuck Schumer. "And neither of the two candidates in the senate race (Schumer and Long), or neither of the major presidential candidates, Trump and Clinton…have talked seriously, in a productive way about the drug war or foreign intervention abroad in a way that would save lives. I tell people, 'a vote for libertarian is not just a vote against two major parties, it's a vote for life and death. You're voting for the only party seriously talking about policy interventions that would save actual lives.'" says Merced.

His platform involved lowering regulations, a 20% flat tax on income with an age-based tax credit, rainy day saving accounts to replace IRA/HSA/Coverdell accounts, ending the war on drugs, and rolling back regime change in foreign countries. He was endorsed by 2016 Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, runner-up Austin Petersen, Will Coley, Vermin Supreme, founder of Everything Transgendered Jennifer Louise Lopez and four Republican candidates for New York State Assembly. In the 2016 election Alex Merced got over 48,000 votes.

2017 New York City Comptroller Election

In 2017, Merced ran for NYC Comptroller, campaigning mainly on the comptroller's role in advising the investment of pension funds. Alex Merced made the case that the pension fund is structurally building in too much risk, exposing pensioners to losses and taxpayers to being subject to "catch up" contributions. In the election, Alex Merced got over 5,800 votes for his run for Comptroller.

2018 Larry Sharpe Gubernatorial Campaign

Alex Merced served as the Policy Director on the executive team of the Larry Sharpe for Governor of New York 2018 campaign. In order to focus on his campaign for Vice-Chair, Alex Merced took on a different role as Senior Policy Adviser.

2018 Region 8 Alternate

After being vacated by Larry Sharpe, Alex Merced took on the role of Region 8 Alternate on the LNC. He did not run for re-election to the seat, as he was elected Vice-Chair. He was replaced by Jeff Lyons.

2018 Candidacy for Vice-Chair of the Libertarian National Committee

Alex Merced announced in December 2017 that he was running to be the next Vice-Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. Alex went on to win after 3 rounds of voting with 50.6% of the vote to become the next Vice-Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. In early 2020 Alex Merced announced he would not seek re-election as Vice-Chair in order to focus on his new career as a software developer.

Notable Moments During his Term

• Alex had to take the gavel during the LNC meeting in Austin during discussions of hiring a new development director when the Chair wanted to participate in the debate.
• Alex had to take the gavel during an online LNC meeting in April 2020 when there was a heated discussion about whether to have an in-person convention in 2020; the end result was the passing of a bifurcated convention to be held partially online and partially in-person.
• During the final moments of the online National Convention, the Chair expressed his intention not to chair the live portion of the convention and passed the gavel to Alex while a battle over competing motions to adjourn commenced.
• Alex Merced presided over the first hybrid live/online convention in party history.

Endorsements

• Libertarian Party Mises Caucus
• Individualist Caucus
• Larry Sharpe
• C Michael Pickens

2018-2020 Term as Vice-Chair of the Libertarian National Committee

Activities during Merced's term as Vice-Chair included:

• Moved and passed a motion to create an ad-hoc Blockchain Committee.
• Moved and passed a motion to create an ad-hoc Membership Committee.
• Co-headlined a sold-out fundraiser for the Libertarian Party of Florida on 10/13/18.
• Active in assisting the LP Social Media Team.
• Worked on starting a new LP podcast, Meet the Libertarians, to replace the previous Libertarians Working for You.

The 2020 Libertarian National Convention

In 2020, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the National Convention was split into two sittings: an online sitting held in May and a hybrid live/online sitting in July (both firsts in LP history). Alex Merced presided over the final moments of the online sitting and over the entirety of the July hybrid sitting. The chaotic nature of the untried hybrid format made for many memorable moments; out of appreciation for his presiding, many of the delegates signed a Jo Jorgensen sign and presented it to Alex on stage during the convention. A meme (see the Day 1/Day 4 of the Convention Meme) made by David Cox became viral among membership, perfectly capturing the essence of the event. This was the end of Alex's term as Vice-Chair; he was succeeded by Ken Moellman.

Merced Delegate Guide

After presiding over the National Convention in 2020, Alex Merced wrote up an article with advice for future delegates on LPedia. Merced's Delegate Guide

Sign given to Alex Merced on the last day of the 2020 Libertarian National Convention

Back of sign given to Alex Merced on the last day of the 2020 Libertarian National Convention

Viral meme of Alex Merced at 2020 LNC created by David Cox

Recent Libertarian Commentary

Since stepping back from party office, Merced has continued to publish Libertarian writing and commentary independently. He produces the newsletter The Loveatarian on Substack and maintains the site AlexMercedLibertarian.com, where he describes a philosophy that emphasizes pluralism, kindness, forgiveness and empathy, with the stated goal of building communities that reduce the demand for state intervention. He also hosts the Thoughts and Opinions of Alex Merced podcast and has published several books of political and philosophical commentary.

Personal Life

Alex Merced trained people in the financial industry for Greico Financial Training from 2008 to 2019. After a 2019 transition into software development, he joined Dremio in 2021, where he serves as Head of Developer Relations.

Alex Merced also makes music as a hobby, and he has revisited and re-produced a number of his earlier songs using AI tools.

External Links

• AlexMercedLibertarian.com — Libertarian commentary
• Books.AlexMerced.com — book catalog
• Facebook Page
• Campaign Facebook Page (defunct)

References

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