Spring Convention Delegates getting down to business. Photo by Ben Dejong

The day began with a Benefactor breakfast followed by the start of business. There were officer reports, agenda approval, and open floor. Open floor included an announcement by Co-Director of Decriminalize Nature Michigan (DNM) Myc Williams. He informed the delegation that DNM had a ballot initiative petition ready to circulate and that they would be looking for volunteers. In addition to decriminalizing entheogenic substances, the initiative calls for de-felonizing all drug possession.

Looking ahead, Ben Boren said there would be two new affiliates by the next Convention.

LNC Candidates had a panel discussion at the Luncheon. Photo by Ben Dejong

Candidates and Speakers

The 2022 Spring Convention also featured a couple candidate announcements. The Libertarian Party of Michigan's (LPM) 2014 candidate for Governor, Mary Buzuma announced that she would be seeking the LPM nomination for that office at the Summer Convention. Another delegate, Bruce Jaquays, also announced his intent to seek the nomination for Governor. Also, former Chair and 2018 Secretary of State candidate, Greg Stempfle, announced that he would be seeking the nomination for that office again this year.

Spring Convention Speakers

Fenix Amunition Co. CEO Justin Nazaroff. Photo by Ben DeJong.

Convention business was punctuated by guest speakers. The luncheon featured a Libertarian National Committee (LNC) Candidate Panel. The convention speaker was Justin Nazaroff. He is the CEO of Fenix Ammunition Company. The Central Michigan University and Walsh College graduate spoke on operating his business during pandemic lockdowns, and how being on the receiving end of authoritarian policies motivated his activism. He is also a competitive shooter, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt.

There were also legislative candidate announcements including Greg Black for State Representative and Mile Saliba for US House.

Spring Convention Platform Amendments

Vice Amendments

The Spring Convention delegates also voted to reword Article V. Vice Laws, Section 4. While Cannabis would be included, implicitly, in Section 1, it was previously mentioned explicitly because of high-profile ballot proposals that eventually led to the legalization of Marijuana in Michigan. In a similar spirit, the Platform Committee proposed expanding the language to include entheogenic. Decriminalize Nature has spearheaded several local initiatives, and a statewide ballot initiative, to decriminalize these naturally occurring hallucinogens.

National Convention Delegate Nominations

One of the reasons the LPM has two conventions, in even years, is to meet early enough to nominate national convention delegates, while meeting late enough to nominate candidates after we know who the primary eligible parties have run in their primaries. It also allows for a seamless transition to standard practices of primary eligible parties in years when the LPM qualifies as such.

2022 National Convention Delegates

The Michigan Convention delegates chose the following people to be delegates to the 2022 National Convention:

LPM Chair Tim Yow is automatically a National Convention Delegate. Photo by Ben DeJong.

• Tim Yow
• Luke Sciberras
• Daniel Ziemba
• Liz Franzago
• Nathan Hewer
• Joe Hartman
• Connor Nepomuceno
• Angela Thornton
• Andrew Chadderdon
• John Jascob
• Ryan Roberts
• Josh Smith
• David Bockelman
• Mary Buzuma
• Greg Black
• Leah Dailey
• Bruce Jaquays
• Rhett Hamel
• Ryan Brennan
• Jeff Lentz
• Jessica Sentman



Delegates from the Mises Caucus. Photo by Ben DeJong.

• Daniel Woike
• Jason Barton
• Ben Boren
• Kevin Ellis
• Gordon Huston
• Daniel Muehl-Miller
• Adam Nolin
• Andrew Ranta
• Andy Koons
• Laine Minor
• Gunther Ruck
• Bill Hall
• Theodore Petzold

2022 National Convention Alternates

The Michigan Convention delegates chose the following people to be alternates to the 2022 National Convention (In descending order of preference, with ties settled by a roll of the dice):

Ryan Roberts (Left) and Andrew Ranta (right) came all the way from the Upper Peninsula to attend this convention in Ann Arbor. Photo by Ben DeJong.

Social Media Director Connor Nepomunceno uploaded video of all convention business to the LPM YouTube channel here.