LPWI: Minutes of August 10, 2003
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LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF WISCONSIN, INC. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING Tomah, Wisconsin – August 10, 2003 Preliminary MINUTES This EXCOM meeting was held at Ed Thompson's Tee Pee, in Tomah, Wisconsin. Called to order at approximately 1:08 PM by State Chair Ed Thompson. Members Present: Ed Thompson (Chair), Craig Mohn (Treasurer), Jim Sewell (1st), Ben Masel (2nd), Paul Kitzman (3rd), Dave Howard (4th), Nick Piergrossi (6th), Tim Krenz (7th), Ben Malliett (8th), Jim Mueller (At-Large), Robert Haynes (At-Large) Guests: Tim Peterson, Julie Cordry, Tom Ender, Jim Maas, Roy Leyendecker, Carl Klug, Phil Gress. Meeting Minutes: Nick Piergrossi moved to accept the minutes from the last meeting, seconded by Jim Maas. Passed. Treasurer's Report: Craig went over some numbers: sold about $2500 in raffle tickets, received $1610 in donations and $570 in memberships, $180 in non-credit card pledges. Around $4000 at the end of the week with $3400 expensed, should be around $500 in the black. Jim Mueller moved to accept, seconded by Paul Kitzman, passed. Paul Kitzman asked about outstanding bills with the State Fair, Craig said that there may be some that he wasn't aware of. Chair's Statement: Ed Thompson talked about the Patriot Act demonstration in Rhinelander - there was a good turnout. Working on creating more affiliate parties in counties. A group in Marathon county petitioned to become a local party. Jim Maas said that the Chairman is a former chair of the Republican Party. Ben Masel moved, with Craig Mohn seconding to accept. Passed. Need to find a location to pick the raffle winner on Labor Day. Prefer a public location. Suggestions included a mall, tavern, parade, SummerFest grounds. Jim Mueller suggested that if we plan on the SummerFest grounds during Laborfest, we should contact the organizers and ask for permission. Dave Howard volunteered to contact them; if it wasn't okay the plan was to have the drawing outside the gate. Ed stated that his goal is to get four people elected in the State next year. Someone asked if it would be okay for him to be treasurer for a campaign in a neighboring county (to lend credibility to that candidate) - Julie Cordry and Tom Ender said it would be okay if there were no Libertarian opponent (conflict of interest). Jim Mueller said he would check to see if it would be okay with the elections board. Ben Masel stated that the sheriff of Portage county would be unpopular after the residents get the legal bill for his case which he won against the county - should be easier to win that seat. Campaign Committee: Paul Kitzman said that they were working on prioritizing campaigns, determining which are winnable. Working on issues - position papers, ect. Membership Committee: Robert Hains brought a proposal to raise lifetime dues to $2000, remove the no mail no calls dues, or raise the amount. He has been in contact with affiliate chairs. Craig Mohn said it would be easier to have affiliates be responsible for membership - it would minimize reporting at the state level. Ben Masel pointed out that contributions less than $20 don't have to be itemized - making each amount less than that would eliminate itemizing. Jim Mueller proposed to keep the current method. Paul Kitzman moved with Nick Piergrossi seconding a motion to table the proposals until the next meeting - passed. The membership card needs areas for membership, not just pledging. Dave Howard suggested changing the quote tag. PR Committee: Tim Krenz passed out a letter stating he was stepping down as chair of the committee. Ed Thompson proposed that Paul Kitzman be chair. Dave Howard asked if he would have enough time for that in addition to being webmaster. Finance Committee: Jim Maas moved to allocate $400 at the chairs discretion to use for sending press releases. Paul Kitzman seconded. Passed. Break: 3:35 to 3:50 pm Finance Committee continued: Stated that they will work with candidates. Newsletter: Tim Krenz asked where to mail from? He could have it printed near him, but the bulk mail is in Milwaukee. Recommended to mail from Milwaukee until the permit runs out. Ben Masel suggested to change the format and print 2000 - the extras to distribute. Carl Klug said that we didn't need our own permit - most printers will let us use theirs. Jim Maas suggested to put in on the website, and let people get it from there - don't mail to save money. Ben Masel suggested including a calendar of events in the future, of Libertarian events and related groups. Dave Howard suggested the LPWI logo be included. Paul Kitzman moved to let the chair decide how many newsletters to print, up to 1000, seconded by Jim Sewell. Dave Howard clarified that the newsletters should be mailed to all members until we can ask them if they prefer via Internet or mail. Passed. Next Meeting: To be held in Steven's Point on October 18th, a Saturday at 1:00 pm. Paul Kitzman will notify people of time and place. Discipline: Rolf Lindgren shouldn't use his official title as Vice-Chair unless the party approves. (He wrote a letter supporting the recall of Doyle.) Jim Mueller moved to write a letter clarifying the policy to Rolf regarding the use of his official title and have the Chair talk to him. Seconded by Dave Howard. Passed. Miscellaneous: Ben Malliet asked to please get meeting minutes to list in a timely fashion. They should be sent to the PR committee first to remove sensitive parts. Discussion about affiliate parties - they have autonomy to decide what issues they will pursue. Ed said that he was replacing Ross Gabrick with Tim Wesley on the Public Relations Committee. Ben Masel moved with Nick Piergrossi seconding to appoint Tom Ender to the Judiciary Committee, and add him as a lurker to the EXCOM email list. Passed with 1 NOA. Dave Howard moved to give Beau Bushie a complimentary membership for one year, seconded by Jim Mueller. Passed. Adjournment: Dave Howard moved to adjourn about 4:59 PM. Seconded by Ben Masel. Passed unanimously. |