I obviously disagree with Bruce about raising dues, but I do share his
view that ballot access is a legitimate thing for the National LP to be
spending money on. It is in the interest of the party as a whole to be
able to get our presidential and VP candidates on the ballot in all 50
states. Being on the ballot nationwide enhances our credibility as a
grassroots alternative in a way that is easy for the media and
non-Libertarians to understand. Having an LP candidate for president on
the ballot probably helps get more votes for down-ticket candidates,
and of course ballot status exposes many more people to the Libertarian
Party.
Some states have much tougher requirements for getting on the ballot
than others. I imagine that states where it's harder to run for office
as a Libertarian tend on average to have smaller LP chapters with fewer
resources, since without candidates they are less likely to attract
members and activists. These state LP chapters may not be able to mount
successful campaigns to get ballot access without outside assistance.
That's where help coordinated by the National office can come in with
the expertise of having worked on similar campaigns in many states.
I would much rather see the national staffers out in the field
registering Libertarian voters and getting our candidates on the ballot
than spending time on marketing and strategic planning. Better to let
volunteers brainstorm about stuff like that, and send the paid staff
out to do the grunt work.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>
Kelley,
I agree with you wholeheartedly, except for one thing.
It's the job of the national LP to maintain ballot access.
It's no 'pet' project. It's mandatory for survival.Bruce!
From: "Kelly Simpson" <KellySimpson@pacbell.net>
To: <lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 7:51 PM
Subject: Re: [lpsf-discuss] [Fwd: Please don't raise LP dues]Bruce,
Thanks for your response. Actually, I did not say that the LNC should
cut the size of the LPHQ staff. I said that the LPHQ staff could move
into a cheaper office and do only the tasks that they are in a better
position to do than the state and local affiliates.If I were on the LNC and were convinced that $25 is not enough to
cover
the costs of recruiting and maintaining a member, even in a cheaper
office with staff focused on core functions, I would consider a dues
increase. However, the fact that the national LP has been spending
hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on ballot access makes me
wonder whether some of the dues have been subsidizing ballot access.I have made donations to the LP for special projects in the past, and
I
will do so in the future if I hear of good ones, but I don't want the
dues to subsidize any pet projects of national staff.Kelly
Subject: Re: [lpsf-discuss] [Fwd: Please don't raise LP dues]
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 17:58:11 -0700
From: "Bruce Cohen" <brucedcohen@cox.net>
Reply-To: lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com
To: <lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com>
References: <3F4BE0BF.5050801@pacbell.net>Dear Kelley,
Thank you for your well thought out and intentioned sentiments.
To address your points, first of all the LNC has cut the LPHQ staff
drastically over the past several years and in fact just fired several
more people, including Ron Crickenberger. There's not much more
left to cut without closing up entirely.As far as the actual cost of the membership, it costs far more than
$25.00
to recruit a member, much less maintain one. As well, we have to
remember
that under UMP, each state LP gets the lions share of the dues, not
national.
The LP is a business and membership in it is a product. We cannot
continue to sell this product for less that its cost and stay in
business.If we lose 10% of our members, when the dues go up to $50.00 a month,
we have an increase in revenue of 80%. And, most people don't think
we'll lose that many. In fact, a large group feels that we will
actually
sell MORE membership as the perceived value goes up.One more thing. Before UMP, LPCa membership was $25.00 and national
LP membership was also $25.00 for a total of $50.00. This was years
ago.
To set the dues at $50.00 is not an increase, but in reality just a
return
to
the original price of dual membership.Four dollars a month just isn't that much money to ask for.
I respect your viewpoint and the LPCa Executive Committee carefully
considered it when we voted to support an increase. We're a private
organization and we have to stay solvent to be involved in politics.Thanks again for your concern and involvement.
Yours,
Bruce Cohen
LPCa Executive Committee (Board of Directors)PS I answer all my e-mail so, always feel free to write me about this
orany
other concern.
From: "Kelly Simpson" <KellySimpson@pacbell.net>
To: <lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 3:35 PM
Subject: [lpsf-discuss] [Fwd: Please don't raise LP dues]I just sent the message below to the members of the Libertarian
National
Committee. I got their email addresses from this Web page:
http://www.lp.org/organization/lnc/directory.php
According to the August 2003 LP News, they will be voting on whether
to
increase dues at their meeting on September 13-14.The talk of raising dues got me to write about something I've been
meaning to write about for a long time: the tendency of the LPHQ
staff
to take on too many projects, especially ballot access in difficultstates.
Kelly
Subject: Please don't raise LP dues
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 15:14:45 -0700
From: Kelly Simpson <KellySimpson@pacbell.net>
To: chair@lp.org, kbisson@usa.net, givot@softwarena.com,
wredpath@his.com, taylorgorman@juno.com, BetteRose@aol.com,
Austin.Hough.LNC@attbi.com, Carolinnus@aol.com,
mdixonLP@earthlink.net, edsway@sprynet.com, jwd3@dehnbase.org,
gbsnavas@infomagic.net, RUTHERFORDLAW@prodigy.net,
GilsonDeLemos@msn.com, fchildress@fastmail.fm,
mcenci@mindspring.com,
strinward@comcast.net, lpiachair@mchsi.comDear LNC members,
Please don't raise the LP membership dues.
In my opinion, the disadvantages of raising dues (especially the loss
of
good members and potential members who are unable or unwilling to pay
the dues) far outweigh the possibility of increased revenue.If the national LP cannot meet its basic expenses with $25 dues, it
should cut those expenses.The LPHQ staff could move into a cheaper office and do only the tasks
that they are in a better position to do than the state and local
affiliates: answer inquiries, forward inquiries to the relevant local
affiliates, coordinate projects that involve *multiple* LP affiliates
(such as the national convention), publish the LP News and some basic
brochures, maintain the Web site, and communicate with the media
about
issues and LP activities. (In his fundraising letter, Joe Seehusen
claimed that the LP can't afford to fax press releases. That reminds
me
of supporters of school bonds who claim that teachers will have to be
let go and children won't have books if the bond doesn't pass. They
don't mention the possibility of reducing the scope of
administrators'
jobs or moving them into cheaper offices.)It's possible that the LPHQ staff are not in a better position than
the
state and local affiliates to handle ballot access and candidate
training. Even if they are, they should not spend any time on those
tasks until the national LP has been paid in advance for their timefrom
an account funded by special donations for those projects.
Thanks for your attention, and thanks for the time you give to the
LP!Sincerely,
Ms. Kelly Russell Simpson
LP of San FranciscoTo unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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