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By Greg Stempfle, Chair
The Libertarian Party of Michigan (LPM) is seeking a member of the party to fill a vacancy on the Libertarian Executive Committee (LEC). Fifth congressional district Representative Benjamin Dryke submitted his resignation earlier this month.
Per the LPM bylaws, we are asking members of the LPM that reside within the fifth district to apply for the vacancy. The LEC will vote on a replacement at our November 10th meeting. That person shall serve until the next state convention on March 14th, 2020 at Grand Valley State University. At that convention delegates who live in district five will chose a permanent representative.
If you are a member of the LPM, live in the fifth congressional district, and are interested in this position, please send a short written statement about yourself to LPM Chair Greg Stempfle at chair@michiganlp.org by November 8th, 2019.
The LEC is the governing board of the LPM and meets about once per month, usually a Sunday afternoon. They hold about half their meetings in physical locations and they hold the rest via zoom video-conference. Physical meetings are also available to attend via video conference.
The fifth district, is currently represented by Democrat Dan Kildee and covers the counties of Iosco, Arenac, Bay, northeastern Saginaw including the city of Saginaw, western Tuscola, and Genesee.
Because this convention will occur just two months before our national convention, we expect several presidential candidates to attend. The convention will also have a luncheon and will be followed by our annual Defender of Liberty Awards banquet. Please note that candidates for public office will not be selected at this convention. We will be holding a second candidate nominating convention in July.
More details and registration information will be made available as they develop. In order to be a voting delegate to the spring state convention, you will have to be selected by one of our affiliates or unaffiliated regions. These county conventions and region caucuses are expected to be held between February and early March.
You do not need to be present at the Grand Rapids convention to be selected as a national convention delegate. Please email state party Chair Greg Stempfle at chair@michiganlp.org and Secretary Wendi Parker at secretary@michiganlp.org if you would like to have your name placed into nomination.
Detroit, MI - At first glance it may seem ironic that a Libertarian would create a governing body of any kind, but this one receives no tax revenue and makes no laws. It has no enforcement powers either. Instead it is designed to bring more transparency to city government and provide a platform from which citizens may voice their concerns about government actions.
Detroit is subdivided into seven districts. District Four will be the second of those districts to establish a Community Advisory Council (CAC). This is thanks to the effort of perennial Libertarian candidate and former state chair Scotty Boman. He spent his summer collecting 1,570 signatures on a petition to create a Community Advisory Council for Detroit's fourth District. On October 4th the City Clerk confirmed that valid signatures exceeded the minimum threshold of 1,141 signatures, so the petitions were approved.
Boman, filed the petitions on Tuesday October 1st following a brief news conference with Detroit's Fourth District Councilman Andre Spivey. Spivey and Boman met up at 9:30 AM to answer questions at the Coleman A. Young Center, then walked the petitions down to the City Clerk's office. According to the Detroit City Charter, "The purpose of these Councils is to improve citizen access to city government." And "The City Council member elected from the non at-large district in which a Community Advisory Council resides, or their designee, shall attend all official meetings of that Community Advisory Council." Spivey and Boman also addressed the topic in the citizen comment portion of the Detroit City Council meeting which was held on the same day.
Boman commented, "In the course of circulating petitions to constituents I found that one of the most popular provisions was that a CAC may require that the City Council representative receive prior consultation from the Community Advisory Council on all issues which relate exclusively to that district. This makes the City Council more transparent and helps residents to become better informed about what their local government is doing. In some respects it's a watchdog group of the City Council.
Boman made it clear that the CAC won't get a dime of tax money. "Some people were concerned that creating an organization with seven office holders would strain the city's limited budget at a time when many retirees continue to suffer from lost benefits in the wake Detroit's bankruptcy. I wouldn't have undertaken this effort if it would add an additional burden on taxpayers. The Charter is clear on this. It says, 'Community Advisory Councils shall receive no appropriations from city funds, but may accept donations or grants in accordance with state, federal or local law.'"
One thing that may interest Libertarians about the CAC is that it is the only governing body in Detroit to have a seat reserved for a person under 18. The Libertarian Party has no minimum age for delegates or officers and a 14 year old delegate almost became national chair in 1993.
According to the Charter,
Each Community Advisory Council shall consist of five (5) members elected from a single non at-large district, who shall be residents and qualified and registered voters of the district; one (1) youth member between the ages of thirteen (13) and seventeen (17); and one (1) member selected as a representative for senior issues.The five elected members of the Fourth District Community Advisory Council will be chosen in the 2020 General election.
Upcoming Events
Some events are also posted by their hosts at the Meetup.com site. The Michigan Libertarian recommends contacting an affiliate officer or check the Website (or Facebook page) associated with the meeting host (if they have one) before arriving at a meeting. Some meetings can get canceled, or locations can change with short notice. Contact information connected to most events can be found by expanding the item on the "Agenda view" of the Events page of our website.
November 5, 2019 - Southwest Michigan Libertarian Party (SWMLP) Monthly Membership meeting, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
The SWMLP will meet at The Crew Family Restaurant, 3810 East Cork Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49001. For more information, contact Jason Brandenburg at swmi4liberty@be-innovative.net
November 6, 2019 - Huron-Raisin Social Meeting, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Aubree's Pizzeria & Grill; 2122 Whittaker Rd, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
For more information, contact James Hudler at 734-475-9792 or email james.hudler@gmail.com
November 7, 2019 - Livingston County Michigan Libertarians Business meeting, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
The meetings have two parts:
Cleary's Pub, 117 E Grand River Ave. Howell, MI 48843
For more information, contact James Weeks II at 810.422.8769 or email j.weeks@riseup.net
November 12, 2019 - Libertarian Party of West Michigan (LPWM) Monthly Membership meeting, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
The LPWM will meet at Buffalo Wild Wings, 2720 44th Street S.W., Wyoming, MI 49519. More details are posted on the Libertarian Party of West Michigan Facebook Page, or link to the event page. For more information, please contact Jamie Lewis at jkl620@yahoo.com.
November 13, 2019 - Libertarians of Macomb County Monthly meeting, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Ike's Restaurant, 38550 Van Dyke, Sterling Heights
For more information, contact Mike Saliba at macomblp@gmail.com
November 13, 2019 - Libertarian Party of Wayne County business meeting, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
The new venue and day for business meetings is on the second Wednesday of each month at Leon's Family Dining. 23830 Michigan Ave, Dearborn, MI 48124. Phone: (313) 563-3713
For more information, contact Scotty Boman at (313) 247-2052 or email ScottyBoman@hotmail.com
November 17, 2019 - Capital Area monthly business meeting, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Harper's Restaurant and Brew Pub. 131 Albert Ave. East Lansing, MI 48823.
Contact Luke Sciberras at 248-302-1064 or email CapitalAreaLP@gmail.com to confirm location.
Times and locations may very from month to month.
November 20, 2019 - Northwest Michigan affiliate monthly business meeting, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
The house of Phil Lindsay. 7905 Hilleys Rd SW. South Boardman, MI 49680.
Contact Donna, the affiliate chair, or Ben Boren, affiliate vice chair for details.
Please see the Events Page for more information. Business meetings will focus on the group's goals of electing political candidates and conducting outreach and educational activities. Anyone is welcome!
The monthly meeting will be also be held electronically as well. For more information, please contact Donna Gundle-Krieg at dokrieg@gmail.com.
November 20, 2019 - Jackson-Hillsdale Libertarian Party monthly meeting, 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Speaker - To be announced.
Steve's Ranch Restaurant, 311 W. Louis Glick Hwy. Jackson, MI 49201
We encourage Teachers, Politicians and Public Officials to attend this meeting. IT'S YOUR TAX MONEY! For more information contact Norman Peterson (269) 330-2980. JHLP Website: https://www.jhlp.org/
November 20, 2019 - The Libertarian Party of Oakland County monthly meeting, Dinner at 6:30 PM, meeting at 7:30 PM.
Rusty Bucket. 30450 Telegraph Rd, Bingham Farms, MI 48025. For more information contact Connor Nepomuceno, Cjnepo1@gmail.com or Vice Chair Ben Carr at 248-919-8152
November 27, 2019 - Libertarian Party of Wayne County general meeting, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Regular business meetings have been moved to the second Wednesday of the month. However we will now have a general meeting on the 4th Wednesday of the month at Livonia Elks at 31117 Plymouth Rd, Livonia, MI 48150. Directions: south side of Plymouth, just a short distance east of Merriman. Park in the back; enter through rear entrance. - Walk straight ahead through the vestibule, lobby area, and then turn down the hallway to the right. Walk down about 50' or so, and turn left into the short hallway; pass the couple of restrooms - and there we are!
There may be additional changes in the future, so please call ahead for future meetings.
For more information, contact Scotty Boman at (313) 247-2052 or email ScottyBoman@hotmail.com
November 27, 2019 - Libertarian Party of West Michigan (LPWM) Video Conference - Business Meeting, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
The Executive Committee holds a business meeting every month by video conference. If you would like to be a part of it, please contact Jamie Lewis at jkl620@yahoo.com to get a log in.
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If you are new to the Michigan Libertarian, you can link to 2016 issues here, http://michiganlp.org/category/newsletters . Other issues are preserved in our historical archives here: http://old.michiganlp.org/resources-2/newsletter.
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