2018 LPVA Convention - Video Highlights

The Libertarian Party of Virginia met in Richmond for its biannual convention on Saturday, March 10, 2018.

The main business of the convention was to elect party officers -- chairman, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer -- and to nominate a candidate for the U.S. Senate to represent the LP in November's general election.

Matt Waters, a political and non-profit fundraiser from Alexandria, won the nomination in an uncontested vote.  Before the delegates cast their ballots, Waters addressed the assembly to talk about the issues that animate him and to describe his vision for running a campaign against incumbent Democratic Senator Tim Kaine and the eventual Republican nominee, who will be chosen in a primary election on the second Tuesday in June.

Here are Waters' remarks to the LPVA convention:

Three Libertarian nominees for the U.S. House of Representatives also addressed the convention delegates. They each spoke briefly about their campaigns and answered a few questions posed by audience members.

All of the Libertarian candidates for Congress must submit petition with a minimum of 1,000 signatures from registered voters who live in their congressional districts.  The deadline for delivering the petitions is 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 12 -- the same day that Democrats and Republicans hold their primary elections to nominate candidates.  (Waters, as a statewide candidate, must submit 10,000 valid signatures, including 400 from each of Virginia's eleven congressional districts, by the same deadline.)

Joe Walton will challenge incumbent Republican Dave Brat in Virginia's seventh congressional district. Here are Walton's remarks:

Stevan Porter will challenge incumbent Democrat Gerry Connolly in Virginia's eleventh congressional district. Here are Porter's remarks:

Pete Wells will challenge incumbent Democrat Donald McEachin in Virginia's fourth congressional district. Here are Wells' remarks:

Before the official business of the convention began, LPVA members heard a presentation from Liberty University student Aaron Sobczak, who recently became vice chair of the Libertarian Youth Caucus.  Here is Sobczak's address to the Libertarian Party of Virginia:

The LPVA also elected delegates to the Libertarian Party's midterm national convention, which will take place in New Orleans from June 30 through July 3. At that convention, delegates will elect members of the Libertarian National Committee and vote on changes to the party platform and its bylaws.

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From the Archives: Gary Johnson presidential campaign racks up endorsements

Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on May 26, 2016, during the Libertarian Party's national convention in Orlando, Florida.  The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued Friday, July 1, 2016, and its web site is scheduled to go dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 6, 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

Gary Johnson presidential campaign racks up endorsements

In a bare-bones press release distributed on May 25, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson's campaign for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination unveiled a list of endorsements by celebrities, political activists, and Libertarian notables.

The list includes Nirvana bass guitarist Krist Novaselic, magician and TV personality Teller, professional football player Rudy Carpenter, podcaster Ben Kissel, and former CIA analyst John Kiriakou.

Other endorsers are 1980 Libertarian presidential nominee Ed Clark, Cato Institute founder and former president Ed Crane, 2014 Florida gubernatorial candidate Adrian Wyllie, 2012 Michigan congressional candidate Emily Salvette, and former Harris County (Texas) LP chairman Guy McLendon.

Duke University political scientist Mike Munger is also on the endorsement list, as is Tom Palmer, author of Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History, and Practice.

From Virginia, Robert Sarvis, who in 2013 earned more votes in his campaign for governor (against Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe) than any other statewide Libertarian candidate, endorsed Johnson, as did former LP national chairman and 2008 Virginia U.S. Senate candidate Bill Redpath.

In his endorsement statement, Sarvis said:

"Only Gary Johnson has the resume, the experience, and the credibility to combine with our party’s inspiring message of peace, prosperity, and freedom."

Johnson, he continued, "has a fundamentally libertarian outlook and a track record of furthering libertarian goals in office. He has a realistic and likeable approach to politics that attracts open-minded voters to a libertarian message. And he has the kind of credibility that cannot be bought or faked, that can only be earned through admirable personal and professional achievements."

Redpath, who has also served as chairman of the Libertarian Party of Virginia, said in endorsing Johnson:

"2016 presents the greatest opportunity nationally for the Libertarian Party in many years. For us to seize this opportunity, it is essential that our presidential candidate be credible, serious and a widely-recognized champion of small government and greater freedom. We are fortunate to have such a candidate in Governor Johnson. I am proud to support him, and look forward to working with him toward historic success in November."

Redpath also added that he is "grateful for Governor Johnson’s work, often behind-the-scenes, to help ensure that Libertarian candidates are not unfairly denied ballot access. The fight against those who try to keep us off the ballot never ends, and Governor Johnson has been and continues to be a great supporter of our efforts."

In an interview with The Libertarian Vindicator, Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, pointed out that a Johnson presidential candidacy would enhance the Libertarian Party's efforts at gaining ballot status in several states. "With 2%, we could be a qualified party for the first time in Iowa and Kentucky," Winger said, "and with 1% in Connecticut (but for president only for the 2020 election). We have never done that in any of those 3 states." (Winger had put himself on record as endorsing the Johnson campaign.)

With Gary Johnson's naming of former Massachusetts Governor William Weld as his running mate last week, the campaign has won unprecedented attention from the mainstream media, with interviews on CNN, ABC News, and MSNBC, and stories in POLITICO, The Hill, The Washington Post, New York Times, Boston Globe, and other news outlets.

(Full disclosure: Writing in a personal capacity, the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner also endorsed Gary Johnson for President.)

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Original URL:  http://www.examiner.com/article/gary-johnson-presidential-campaign-racks-up-endorsements

From the Archives: Libertarian Party chair Nicholas Sarwark predicts ‘epic’ national convention

Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on May 26, 2016, during the Libertarian Party's national convention in Orlando, Florida.  The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued Friday, July 1, and its web site is scheduled to go dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

Libertarian Party chair Nicholas Sarwark predicts ‘epic’ national convention

In an interview on the eve of the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominating convention in Orlando, Florida, today, the party’s national chairman, Nicholas Sarwark, predicted that the weekend is “going to be epic.”

Sarwark told the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner in an exclusive interview at the Rosen Centre Hotel that “this may be the biggest Libertarian national convention that we’ve ever had. There are a couple, like 1979 in Los Angeles, that may be similar in size.”

Considering the space in the convention hall, he said, “we will be close to our theoretical maximum for delegates. For observers, we’re probably pushing 500.” The number of delegates, he said, will be more than 950 and possibly as many as 1,000.

As a result of the gathering – which has delegations from every state except Oregon, where the affiliate chose not to send delegates to the national convention – “ Orlando is the center of the American political landscape,” said Sarwark. “This is the eye of the storm. This is the biggest thing happening in politics right now, so I expect it’s going to be very exciting.”

‘Toughest and best choice’
Referring to the presidential contest, which includes former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, software entrepreneur John McAfee, and former Fox News producer Austin Petersen as well as about a dozen others – Sarwark said that the field includes “some of the best candidates that I’ve ever seen vie for our nomination and these delegates have probably the toughest and best choice in my memory.”

The Libertarian Party is also attracting a lot of attention from the news media, he said.

“I have not been off the phone with reporters for the last three weeks. Ever since Cruz dropped out after Indiana,” Sarwark explained, “it has been non-stop. I’ve talked to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Hill, POLITICO, Reason.” He said he had an interview scheduled with C-SPAN and another with CNN later in the day.

“Every minute of my time at this convention that’s not at a business session is basically booked with interviews,” he added.

The attention is well-earned, he noted.

‘Our time to shine’
“It’s been 45 years that we’ve been waiting for this opportunity, doing the hard work of building the state parties, getting ballot access in all fifty states, and this is our time to shine.”

The party aims to have at least 1,000 candidates on the ballot across the United States in 2016, “including president, senate, congress, governor, state house, state senate, dog catcher.”

The LP, Sarwark said, has been trying “to fill the ballot every state, every election, all the time, because every American deserves to have a Libertarian option on their ballot.”

The “wasted vote” that some people warn about, is “when a person wakes up and says, ‘You know, I’m not going to vote for the two old parties anymore. I’m just done with it. I’m tired of them lying to me. I’m tired of the bullying, I’m tired of the fear tactics, I’m going to vote Libertarian’” but when they get into the voting booth and “there’s not a libertarian on their ballot – that’s a wasted vote. Those are the wasted votes that I want to catch.”

The Libertarian Party convention continues through Memorial Day. The presidential and vice presidential nominations will take place on Sunday morning, May 29, following a nationally televised debate on C-SPAN Saturday evening, May 28.

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Original URL:  http://www.examiner.com/article/libertarian-party-chair-nicholas-sarwark-predicts-epic-national-convention