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Libertarian Party of Iowa: Difference between revisions
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→History: Added history. Mostly taken from Kevin Litten's LPIA History document
Jakeporter (talk | contribs) (Added history) |
Jakeporter (talk | contribs) (→History: Added history. Mostly taken from Kevin Litten's LPIA History document) |
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==History== | ==History== | ||
The Libertarian Party of Iowa was founded in April of 1975, four years after the national party, by a small group of mostly young adults dissatisfied with the direction our country was heading. Dr. Bill Bockhoven was our first Chairman. Other members included Bill's wife Doris, John Ball – our first governor's candidate, Gary Roewe, Ben Olson and his mother, Dorothy, and two other people. These members promoted Libertarian ideals by speaking to small groups throughout the state and running for public office. They were active in Ed Clark's presidential campaign of 1980 which had the second percentage vote totals for a Libertarian presidential candidate. | |||
The party dissolved in 1985 as several of the founding members began families or moved out of state. The party also faced financial problems. | |||
Members of the National Libertarian Party living in Iowa came together to re-form the state party with a new charter in 1987. Before this time membership in the national and state party were separate. A new program called the United Membership Program (UMP) allowed members to join both parties for a single fee with the proceeds being split evenly with the national party handling the record keeping and renewal functions. | |||
Over the next 15 plus years the party continued to grow gaining members and winning several local elected offices. In 1996 the party had approximately 80 dues-paying members.The party's first official newsletter was named “Prairie Fire”. By the 1990s the name was changed to “Libertarians in Action” (aka LIA) because an Iowa socialist group had also began using the name “Prairie Fire” for their newsletter and to get the word Libertarian into the title. Throughout the 1990's and well into the first decade of the 21st century 500 printed copies of Libertarian's in Action were mailed out to members and interested people 4 to 6 times a year. “LIA” is no longer published. | |||
In 1997 the party began its internet presence with a web page at www.LPIA.org promoting party principles and events. This web page remains the official party page. The LPIA began its Facebook presence in 2006. | |||
In 2002, Clyde Cleveland of Fairfield spent a year of his life to travel the state and raised nearly $70,000 dollars in his campaign for Iowa Governor. He recruited members to run for nearly every statewide office and authored a book, Restoring the Heart of America, to promote the ideals of his candidacy. In addition to Cleveland, Hughie Tweedie of Montrose ran a very active campaign for state house. His actions and message were felt beyond his state house race, across Iowa and into the Southern tri-state area. Because of their efforts membership in the state party swelled to over 250 in 2004. | |||
The national party decided to end their UMP policy in 2005. Members could no longer pay a single fee to become a member of both the state and national party. This confusion caused membership in the state party to fall to only 23 members in July of 2006. According to former LPIA Secretary Kevin Litten, the party had no money coming in to run its functions. The bylaws were rewritten to include voting (dues paying) or supporting members. An effort was made to inform members of the change and recruit expired members. By the end of 2006 voting membership was back up to nearly 100. The party had to cease its 500+ newsletter mailings and the Executive Committee lost some key members after a disagreement over dues. | |||
In 2005, with the help of the ACLU, the Libertarian Party of Iowa and the Green Party sued the Secretary of State’s office. In 2007, the Secretary of State’s office settled the lawsuit and in 2008, Iowan’s could register as Libertarians. The state offered the Iowa LP Non-Political Party Status (NPPO) beginning in January 2008. By the end of 2008 the party had nearly 1100 voters who had switched their registration to LIB (Libertarian Party). In 2014, Secretary of State candidate [[Jake Porter]] uncovered a database error that was preventing thousands of Iowans to register as members of the Libertarian and Green parties. The issue was resolved with help from the Iowa Senate Democrats. | |||
In 2016, Presidential candidate Gary Johnson received over 2% of the vote in the general election which gave the party major party status which allows the party to hold special conventions and primary elections. In 2017, [[Bryan Jack Holder]] became the first Libertarian to run as a major party candidate in his special election for Iowa House District 22. As of November 2017, the party had 9,517 registered Libertarians in the state. In order to maintain major party status, the party must receive at least 2% in the race for Iowa Governor in 2018. Former Secretary of State candidate [[Jake Porter]] is facing Marco Battaglia in the first Libertarian Primary for Governor. | |||
[[LPIA History By Kevin Litten]] | [[LPIA History By Kevin Litten]] | ||