By Greg Stempfle, Chair
Link to the May 2019 Michigan Libertarian
I would like to once again thank the delegates who attended the April 13 Libertarian Party of Michigan convention for electing me to be the new chairperson of the party. I am humbled by the amount of support I received from many of you and by the responsibility I will be undertaking.
For those that don’t know me. I have been involved with the Libertarian Party since 1996 when I saw Harry Browne speak at Michigan State. In the 20 plus years since that time, I have chaired both Wayne and Oakland Counties, served as Michigan Libertarian newsletter editor, served as 2nd vice chair/political director, and run for public office eleven times, including Secretary of State in 2018. I have seen the LPM do many things; some that worked, some that didn’t. I want to take all of that knowledge and experience to continue to build a more smoothly running political party that can provide support for our candidates for public office.
My primary goals during 2019 will be 1) to improve internal party communication between the LEC, affiliates, and our membership, 2) with the help of new Political Director Jamie Lewis, provide a better framework of support for candidates, and 3) with the help of Affiliates Director Ben Boren, establish affiliates in regions currently unaffiliated. To that last point, Ben and I will be attending an organizational meeting for Libertarian Party activists in Alpena on May 1st.
On Sunday, April 28, the LEC met in East Lansing to begin implementing these goals and to plan for the upcoming campaign cycle. Scotty Boman was selected as newsletter editor and Lisa Lane Gioia was selected to chair the Membership Committee. Other members of the Membership Committee are Norm Peterson, Ben Dryke, Catherine Filus, and Jerry Bloom. A number of other committee assignments (Legislative, Historical, Social Media, and Webmaster) were tabled until the next meeting to give us time to recruit volunteers. A request for volunteers for specific roles will be sent out to our membership within the week.
