MICHIGAN LIBERTARIAN
August 2021

Volume 50:08

In This Issue:

Comments from the editor

We had an excellent convention right at the end of June. This issue has an article about the Defender of Liberty awards, and more convention related content is yet to come.

Contributions welcome

We welcome new contributions with careful attention to our guidelines. Articles for the next issue of the Michigan Libertarian must be submitted to chair@michiganlp.org, and newsletter@michiganlp.org no later than the 20th of each month. This allows for publication on the first of each month. We routinely post articles to the website homepage ahead of our publication date.

Special thanks are in order to circulation editor Catherine Filus for her continued work, behind the scenes, to get these issues to our readers. Also to Jeff Pittel and James Weeks who have been exceptionally helpful with the transition from MailChimp to CiviCRM, which we will be using for distributions moving forward.

The Libertarian Party of Michigan depends on contributions to carry out it's mission Please Visit us at MichiganLP.org and scroll down to the bottom of our homepage to gain access to our contribution form.

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Libby Fest 2021 Winners Honored at Annual Banquet

By Scotty Boman, Editor

Nominator, Scotty Boman, delivered the Spokesperson for Liberty Award to Agnes Hitchcock in Detroit. Photo by Linda Moore.
Nominator, Scotty Boman, delivered the Spokesperson for Liberty Award to Agnes Hitchcock in Detroit. Photo by Linda Moore.

Revisit this article for Libby Fest videos!

Mount Pleasant, MI - On the evening of June 26th Libertarians gathered for the annual Liberty Fest Banquet (AKA Libby Fest 2021). This year the banquet was held as part of the 2021 Libertarian Party of Michigan (LPM) Convention. Winners received the 2020 Defender of Liberty Awards because they were being honored for accomplishments in the previous year.







Libby Fest 2021 featured some Sharpe wit

Larry Sharpe
Larry Sharpe

The Master of Ceremonies for Libby Fest 2021 was business consultant and 2016 Vice Presidential hopeful Larry Sharpe. He built up excitement and auctioned off items in support of the LPM. Also in attendance was 2020 Vice Presidential candidate Jeremy "Spike" Cohen and his wife Tasha.

The libertarian Congressman who came home to the Libertarian Party

Former Congressman Justin Amash was the Keynote speaker. Amash took office as a Ron Paul Republican and had a decidedly libertarian voting record for the duration of his term. However, he broke from Republicans in another way when he became the first member of the Republican Congressional delegation to call for the impeachment of Former President Donald Trump.

While other members of Congress, such as Ron Paul, had Libertarian Party memberships, Amash was the first member of Congress to instruct the Clerk of the House of Representatives to change his party affiliation to "Libertarian." This earned him the recognition of being "the first Libertarian in Congress." After speaking to delegates on how to increase their influence, he found himself to be among the Defender of Liberty Award winners.

The Defender of Liberty Awards are subdivided into three categories. There was one winner for each category.

Promoter of Liberty

Justin Amash with Promoter of Liberty Award. Photo by Scotty Boman Justin Amash with Promoter of Liberty Award. Photo by Scotty Boman

The Promoter of Liberty Award is intended to go to a libertarian whose efforts have done the most to promote the Libertarian Party and libertarian principles.

Justin Amash earned the award, at Libby Fest 2021, in a variety of ways including his libertarian voting record, transition to officially becoming a Libertarian member of Congress, and continuing to be supportive of the Libertarian Party after leaving Congress. He also stood out as taking the lead in civil rights near the end of his term as protests ignited around the country in response to police violence against African Americans.

In June of 2020 Representative Amash (L-Michigan), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts), introduced the "Ending Qualified Immunity Act" (HR 7085). He described the act as "Restoring Americans' ability to obtain relief when police officers violate their constitutionally secured rights." Violence being perpetrated by police has been more problematic than violence perpetrated by civilians because qualified immunity has made prosecutions of violent officers extremely difficult.

Producer of Liberty

TheProducer of Liberty award is intended to go to a dedicated,
Catherine Filus. Producer of Liberty.
Catherine Filus. Producer of Liberty.
behind-the-scenes Libertarian whose quiet labors over the years exemplifies the backbone of the LP. This describes Ms. Filus perfectly.

Catherine has faithfully ensured that the Michigan Libertarian arrives in member's inboxes every month for the past three years. Her work involves formatting the publication to be compatible with MailChimp. She creates Summaries of articles that link to the website for people who wish to read more.

She often does this on very short notice since we often get articles past the deadline that are too urgent to leave out. She does this behind the scenes with no more than a brief mention in the "Officers and Staff" portion of the Newsletter, as her compensation.

Spokesperson for Liberty

The Spokesperson for Liberty Award is for a member of the

Scotty Boman giving Spokesperson for Liberty Award to Agnes Hitchcock. Photo by Linda Moore.
Scotty Boman giving Spokesperson for Liberty Award to Agnes Hitchcock. Photo by Linda Moore.

community whose activism and conviction have inspired contributions to the cause of Liberty. My choice for this award is Agnes Hitchcock for her activism dedicated toward restoring victims of excessive property tax assessments in Detroit.

As libertarians we know that all taxation is theft, but over-taxation of those least able to endure the loss is especially heinous. At a time when many Detroiters have been losing their homes to property tax foreclosures, Detroit News journalists uncovered the fact that a huge number of people were "over-taxed:" That is to say their property was assessed at an inflated value that caused their tax bills to be much higher than they would have otherwise been. This theft added up to $600 Million dollars.

Overtaxed Detroiters found their heroine

Ms. Hitchcock played a critical role in motivating large numbers of protesters to rally at Detroit City Hall (The Coleman A. Young Center) to demand the City of Detroit pay full restitution for the error and "Make us whole." Mayor Duggan and other office -holders were quick to offer half-measures, but Hitchcock and here comrades in "Call 'em-Out!!!\Make Us Whole Detroit" stood their ground and lead chants of "Cut the Check!" In this article there is a photograph of Ms. Hitchcock being dragged away from the protest by police, because she wouldn't be silenced: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2020/02/28/protesters-call-duggan-mayor-pay-back-overtaxed-detroiters/4885105002/

Left to right: Larry Sharpe, Spike Cohen, Mike Saleba, Representative Justin Amash
Left to right: Larry Sharp, Spike Cohen, Mike Saleba, Representative Justin Amash.
Later in 2020 she organized activist to canvas the city with flyers calling for a "No" vote on the stealth property tax called "Proposal N." Politicians tried to claim it wouldn't cost Detroiters anything though it would raise $250 Million. She knew that bonds must be repaid, and that it would be the taxpayers who would be stuck with the debt. While the effort was unsuccessful, her activists were the most visible opposition to borrow and tax scheme. Here is an article about that: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2020/11/04/detroit-proposal-n-blight-remediation-bond-heads-toward-passage/6161149002/

I have never heard Ms. Hancock call herself a libertarian, but I find that she gets motivated by government over-reach when it noticeably hurts those who are least able to bear the consequences. I think the Libertarian Party has often missed the boat by focusing on taxation and over-regulation as middle- and upper-class issues. There is homegrown activism in Detroit (and other urban communities) on a variety of issues where the libertarian approach can be applied. We should celebrate activist like Agnes Hitchcock who advance the cause of Liberty by mobilizing her neighbors to stand up to abuse of power by the political class and their cronies.

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Legislative Committee: Re-imagining Ways to Capitolize on LPM Activism

The Legislative Committee will visit the Michigan Capitol Lansing.
The Legislative Committee will visit the Michigan Capitol Lansing.

By Tim Yaw, Chair

Call to Members, Reestablishing the Legislative Committee

A major part of my plan for the party during my current 2 year term, as chairman, is a fiercely re-imagined legislative committee. This committee has traditionally been a few members who showed a willingness to visit the state house in Lansing. They would speak, on behalf of the Michigan party, regarding bills legislators were introducing.

To take on the extra responsibility, I hope to significantly increase the scope of this committee. Therefore I will also significantly increase the size of the committee. I feel that the committee can also serve as an information arm to the membership so each of you are informed about upcoming, important legislation.

While we are struggling to consistently get elected to office, we should be doing more to make our collective voice heard by the current office holders. We need to get out ahead of legislative actions that have typically slipped past us. The new and improved committee will change all of that.

For more on the plan, please take a moment to watch this video I made explaining it in more detail.

Steps to Getting Involved in This Effort

As I mentioned, the committee has generally been 2 to 5 people for as long as I recall. I believe we need that to be a minimum of 10 people and that could be expanded considerably as the committee itself begins to strategize and possibly build on my plan.

The executive board will be selecting members for this committee and someone to chair the committee at our next monthly meeting, happening on Monday, August 9th. We need highly motivated individuals who understand the importance of this expansion and who are ready to roll up their sleeves and put in the work.

If you are interested in joining this effort, you can submit your intent in writing, attend the Zoom meeting on the 9th, or do both. Whether in written form or live, please include a brief explanation of why you believe you would be an asset to the committee.

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Mailers and Strategic Libertarian Campaigns

Donna Gundle-Krieg, Mancelona Township Trustee

Mailers can help Libertarian campaigns.
Mailers can help Libertarian campaigns.

This article on mailers is the last in a series of articles about "How to Get Elected as a Libertarian." This article focuses on how to effectively create a mail campaign.

In summary, while campaigning as a Libertarian, it is vital to reach as many voters as possible. It is preferable to meet voters in person, but that is not always possible. In addition, if someone meets you in person, a mailing will help them remember you on election day.

It is also very important to organize your mailing campaign, which requires you to make several decisions about your mailings.

How should you start creating your mail campaign?

You could do a blanket mailing using post office or other marketing services to send out post cards or fliers.

While this may seem like the most inexpensive way to do mailings, many people throw away "junk mail," especially during election season. In addition, you will be sending mail to non-voters and people with second homes who may vote in other areas.

Instead of mass marketed post cards, I used what I learned as a real estate broker. Our company has had much better luck with personal "Dear Neighbor" letters than with mass marketed post cards.

Remember, the purpose of the mailing is to get voters to know, like, and trust you. In my campaign letter, I included a picture and description of myself, my community activities, and my goals as an elected official.

Who should you send mailers to?

Obviously the more mailers you send, the better. However, mail campaigns can be the most costly of all the campaign methods. The biggest cost is postage, envelopes, and other supplies. You also have to factor in your time.

During my campaign, I decided to only target the voters whose houses I did not visit during my door knocking. After organizing the Excel sheet from my county clerk, I tracked who I had already seen, and mailed information to the rest of the voters.

When should you send the mailers?

I suggest sending them all right after the applications for mail-in ballots are sent out. You definitely want to hit as many absentee voters as possible, and many of these people vote as soon as possible.

There is nothing wrong with continuing to mail out letters after this date, right up until a couple days before the election.

In summary, mailing campaigns can help propel you to victory when running for office as a Libertarian, especially in local races!

As an elected Libertarian for a Township Trustee in a small rural northern Michigan town, I believe that the Libertarian Party of Michigan should recruit as many qualified, freedom loving candidates as possible to run for similar local roles across the state.

This concludes the Series: How and Why to Get Local Libertarians Elected.

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Officers & Staff

General Contact: Libertarian Party of Michigan: PO Box 27065, Lansing, MI 48909; Phone: 888.FREE.NOW.

Chair: Tim Yow. chair@michiganlp.org
First Vice Chair: Ben Boren. vcaffiliates@michiganlp.org
Second Vice Chair: Andrew Chadderdon vcpoliticaldirector@michiganlp.org
Secretary: Daniel Ziemba. secretary@michiganlp.org
Treasurer: Norman Peterson. treasurer@michiganlp.org
District 1 Rep: Ryan Roberts. dist1rep@michiganlp.org
District 2 Rep: Steven Fox. dist2rep@michiganlp.org
District 3 Rep: Jordan Martin. dist3rep@michiganlp.org
District 4 Rep: Rich Theelon. dist4rep@michiganlp.org
District 5 Rep: Dave Canny dist5rep@michiganlp.org
District 6 Rep: Brandon Warzbyok. dist6rep@michiganlp.org
District 7 Rep: Brian Ellison. dist7rep@michiganlp.org
District 8 Rep: Joe Hartman. dist8rep@michiganlp.org
District 9 Rep: Mike Saliba. dist9rep@michiganlp.org
District 10 Rep: Joe. dist10rep@michiganlp.org
District 11 Rep: Bruce Jacquays. dist11rep@michiganlp.org
District 12 Rep: Daniel Muehl-Miller. dist12rep@michiganlp.org
District 13 Rep: Breona Arold. dist13rep@michiganlp.org
District 14 Rep: Paul Vainer. dist14rep@michiganlp.org

Judicial Committee Members

Connor Nepomuceno. judicialcommittee@michiganlp.org
Robert Roddis. judicialcommittee@michiganlp.org
Joshua Smith. judicialcommittee@michiganlp.org

Volunteers

Webmaster: James Weeks III. Webmaster@MichiganLP.org
Newsletter Editor: Scotty Boman. newsletter@michiganlp.org
Ciculation Director: Catherine Filus. catherine@catherinefilus.com
Social Media Director: Connor Nepomuceno cjnepo1@gmail.com
Historical Committee Chair: Emily Salvette esalvette@gmail.com

Affiliate Contacts

Capital Area: Luke Sciberras, Chair. 248-302-1064, capitalarealp@gmail.com
https://capitalarealp.wordpress.com
Genesee County: Chair David Canny, cannyds@gmail.com.
https://www.facebook.com/LPGCMI
Huron-Raisin: James Hudler, (734) 475-9792, james.hudler@gmail.com or contact Larry Johnson at: michlibertarian@gmail.com
https://lpwc.wordpress.com
Jackson-Hillsdale: Norman Peterson, (269) 330-2980 norman.peterson@comcast.net
https://www.jhlp.org
Livingston County: James Weeks II, (810) 422-8769, j.weeks@riseup.net
http://livingstonlibertarians.org
Macomb County: Mike Saliba, chair@macomblp.org
https://macomblp.org
Northern Michigan: Philip Lindsay. philiplindsay25@gmail.com
Oakland County: Paul Vainer, paul.vainer@gmail.com or Vice Chair Ben Carr at 248-919-8152
http://lpocmi.org
Southwest Michigan: Jason Brandenburg. swmi4liberty@be-innovative.net
https://swmlp.com
Straits Area: Chair Andy Evans, (231) 625-8403, . amevans_1968@yahoo.com
straitslp.com or facebook.com/StraitsAreaLP
Upper Peninsula Libertarian Party: Chair Ryan Roberts, (906) 420-2995, . ryan_r03@hotmail.com
Wayne County: Jami Van Alstine, jamiracquel2004@yahoo.com
https://michiganlpwayne.wixsite.com/index
West Michigan: Bob VanNoller . (616) 406-7784, Email Bob VanNoller at bob@rollaway.biz
http://lpwm.org

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Upcoming Events

Please contact local affiliate officers to learn how to get involved in their meetings.

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.

August 3, 2021 - Detroit Primary Election. Volunteer to get Scotty Boman on the Board of Police Commissioners, 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Scotty Boman's campaign page here
Detroit polling locations.
For more information, contact Scotty Boman at (313) 247-2052 [Voice only] or email ScottyEducation@yahoo.com.

August 5, 2021 - Livingston County Monthly Meeting, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Due to covid-19 this event may have been moved to an online platform, please contact that affiliate chair for more information. Some virtual meeting information is posted here
Live meetings are at Brewery Becker. 500 W Main St, Brighton, MI, 48116.
For more information, contact James Weeks II at 810.422.8769 or email jamestweeks@outlook.com.

August 7, 2021 - Celebrate the life of Marvin Surowitz. "Earth Community World Party Day", 3:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Ralston Festival Site (Behind WJZZ). 19730 Ralston St. Detroit, MI.
For more information email ScottyEducation@yahoo.com.

August 10, 2021 - Southwest Michigan Libertarian Party Affiliate Meeting, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Traveler's Cafe and Pub. 5225 Portage Rd. Portage, MI 49002
For more information, contact Jason Brandenburg email at swmi4liberty@be-innovative.net

August 11, 2021 - Libertarians of Macomb County Affiliate Meeting, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Ike's Restaurant. 38550 Van Dyke Ave, Sterling Heights, MI 48312.
For more information, contact Mike Saliba at macomblp@gmail.com

August 11, 2021 - Libertarian Party of Wayne County Business Meeting, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Deluca's Restaurant. 27424 Warren Rd, Westland, MI 48185-2622, United States.
Please visit the Libertarian Party of Wayne County's new Website for updates.
For more information, contact Jami Van Alstine, jamiracquel2004@yahoo.com

August 12, 2021 - Huron-Raisin Affiliate Meeting, 7:00 PM
Pizza to The Wurst Bar. 705 W Cross St, Ypsilanti, MI, 48197
For more information, contact Larry Johnson at 734-475-9792 or email michlibertarian@gmail.com or call (734) 320-7237

August 15, 2021 - Straits Area Libertarian Party Affiliate Meeting, 2:00 PM
The 211 Bar and Grill family restaurant. 5 Miles North of Onaway. 3444 M-211, Onaway, MI 49765
For more information, contact Andy Evans at (231) 625-8403 or email amevans_1968@yahoo.com.

August 15, 2021 - Capital Area Affiliate Meeting 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub. 131 Albert Ave, East Lansing, MI
Contact Luke Sciberras at 248-302-1064 or email capitalarealp@gmail.com for event details and instructions to join.

August 18, 2021 - Jackson-Hillsdale Affiliate Meeting 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Steve's Ranch Restaurant. 311 W Louis Glick Hwy, Jackson, MI
Contact Norman Peterson, (269) 330-2980 norman.peterson@comcast.net
https://www.jhlp.org

August 18, 2021 - Libertarian Party of Oakland County Affiliate Meeting, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM.
Farmhouse Coffee and Ice Cream. 29936 W 12 Mile Rd, Farmington Hills, MI 48334-3900.
Business starts at 7:00 PM. To confirm the meeting email Paul Vainer at: paul.vainer@gmail.com https://lpocmi.org/

August 22, 2021 - Libertarian Party of Genesee County Affiliate Meeting, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM.
White Horse Tavern. 621 W Court St, Flint, MI, 48503.
Business is from Noon to 2:00 PM. To confirm the meeting email Chair David Canny, cannyds@gmail.com.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LPGCMI


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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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Copyright 2019 Libertarian Party of Michigan, All rights reserved.


The Michigan Libertarian is a publication of the Libertarian Party of Michigan Libertarian Party of Michigan: PO Box 27065, Lansing, MI 48909; Phone: 888.FREE.NOW. The Libertarian Party of Michigan website is paid for with regulated funds by the Libertarian Party of Michigan Executive Committee, Inc. d/b/a the Libertarian Party of Michigan. Not authorized by any candidate.