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News & Updates

LPD Q1 January 2021 Meeting Minutes

 

2021 Q1 LPD State Board Meeting Minutes

01/24/21

Attendance: Sean, Brad, Dayl, Mary Pat, Nadine (Zoom), John, Will, Vern (Zoom), Jimmy.

Absent: Aaron

Non LPD Board Members Present: Irene Mavrakakis, Amy LePore, Wayne Norczyk, Ryan Bunting, Mark Parks, and Carter Hill.

  1. Meeting called to order at 12:30 EST. Recess called as members joined in person and on Zoom and helped themselves to pizza and soda if in person. Recess ended and meeting called back to order at 12:35 EST.

  2. Approval of agenda

    1. Will 1st, Mary Pat 2nd to add HB49 to the agenda under line item 10b. Passed 6-0-3-1

    2. Mary Pat 1st, John 2nd to approve the agenda as amended. Passed 8-0-1-1.

  3. Reading and approval of minutes from previous meeting

    1. Mary Pat 1st, Will 2nd to waive the reading of the minutes and approve the minutes. Passed 8-0-1-1

  4. Treasurer’s Report

    1. PayPal: $3700.52

    2. Bank: $1893.11

    3. Total: $5593.63

    4. Mary Pat stated that none of the candidates that ran in 2020 asked for funding from the LPD.

  5. NCC Report

    1. Despite Gov. Carney’s orders, we are still able to meet in person at Crabby Dick’s while following the letter of the law.

    2. NCCLP is switching how their meetings are run from information oriented to goal oriented. This will have the NCCLP creating committees with set goals, getting more activities going, change how our committees are formed to give them more autonomy, all with the goal of building our outreach and build the party itself.

    3. NCCLP Adopt-a-Hwy sign defaced as noticed by Dayl when he drove by it. Nadine to go look at it. Discussion had on how to clean it ourselves.

  6. Kent Report

    1. Passed a resolution supporting HB49.

    2. New members coming out to meetings.

      1. New people to the meeting last week were not libertarian, but were welcomed.

    3. Aaron Mobley and his family will be moving back to Ohio, which will leave a hole in both the LPD for the second Kent County Rep to the Board position and for KCLP Vice-Chair. Aaron will not be running for re-election at the convention.

      1. Will joked that it is unfortunate as Aaron was the chosen one and was meant to bring balance to the force and not leave it in darkness.

  7. Sussex Report

    1. Like Kent County, not much going on.

    2. One new member came out and Jimmy will reach out to him again.

    3. No Adopt-a-Hwy in 2020 due to COVID-19. Jimmy sent a letter to DelDOT.

  8. SMM Committee Report

    1. There have been complaints from members of the NCCLP on the lack of social media posts.

    2. The SMM Committee is encouraging people to post things to various sites themselves by signing their names so that anything they post is not mistaken as something posted by the LPD. There have been complaints about doing this too. Overall, members would like to see the LPD leadership post more to generate activity and be more visible.

      1. Will expressed his concerns and frustration with newer members’ demands, feeling that they aren’t taking everything into account that the LPD state board needs to when asking the state board to post things.

      2. All of that said, Will agrees with newer members that more content needs to be generated, hence his writing of the HB 49 resolution.

    3. It is agreed that the LPD needs to post more comment and the LPD is making an effort to post more. The LPD website has a new image up, courtesy of Dave Casey’s artwork and Will posting it.

    4. More discussion had, including state boards from other states doing more on their web-pages and social media sites. It was suggested that the LPD have a spokes person, like the White House Press Secretary, to speak and share content on behalf of the party. If this person speaks or steps out of line concerning the will of the LPD, the LPD needs to have the responsiveness to reprimand and/or stop this person from causing more harm.

    5. Irene asked if things could be approved by the three county chairs and Will explained that the SMM Committee has the three county chairs as members, along with the LPD secretary and one other person picked by the party. Discussion had concerning picking this person, the fact that we are volunteers and burnout is a real thing, possibly paying this person, etc. We could possible alienate a spokesperson if we disagree with their content. Sean shared that there has been a general misunderstanding between how the LPD uses the website versus using the group.

    6. Will suggested writing a platform at the annual convention so that the LPD have a guideline when posting items.

    7. The SMM Committee has been open, inviting discussion, but taking a stand against spamming (posting things repeatedly without inviting discussion). One recent poster posted five times about leaving Facebook to our page with two different accounts. Will warned her and she left the page and stopped posting.

    8. The current amount of money the SMM Committee has is $305.00.

    9. Sean asked Will if he has aggregated reports to see what total reach is so far. Will then gave a brief report on what the SMM Committee has been boosting and what the reach has been with said boosting of particular items. The SMM Committee does admit people into the public Facebook group with little discretion. We are seeing an increase in interest. We have between 1200-1300 followers with about 11-12 likes per post.

      1. Looking to write a tangible goal to increase social media followings/numbers

  9. Data and Tech Committee

    1. Five minute recess called at 13:22 EST. Meeting resumed at 13:27 EST.

      1. Amy LePore had to leave early and left the meeting at 13:26 EST.

    2. Update from Amy LePore regarding Adoption of Trello for State Board task management

      1. Dayl spoke on behalf of Amy since she had to leave early. Dayl shared Amy’s findings on the task management platforms Trello, ClickUp, and Monday.

      2. Sean suggested that the LPD executive committee (Sean, Brad, Dayl, and Mary Pat) try both Trello and ClickUp (Monday doesn’t seem attractive). Will asked in his capacity of webmaster that he be allowed to look at them as well. Discussion had on having Amy look in on things from an outside perspective as an auditor as the LPD board tries Trello and ClickUp.

      3. ACTION ITEM #1: By this Wednesday, January 27th, we need to schedule a time so Amy can give the ClickUp tutorial and start testing both Trello and ClickUp. Mary Pat asked if Amy can give a tutorial on Trello too. Dayl to follow up.

    3. Transition from Messenger to Signal following Facebook Lock-down

      1. Look into Trello and ClickUp for messaging capability.

      2. Sean shared why we should switch to Signal for ad hoc business. Discussion had on Amy being banned from Facebook and trying to figure out why, given her sweet nature. Irene shared caution in discussing this in Amy’s absence. Will clarified that the fact that someone like Amy could get banned should have us concerned about using Facebook.

      3. ACTION ITEM #2: By Wednesday, January 27th, Will and Sean to look into using Signal for our ad hoc business.

  10. Old Business

    1. Voter Outreach: September 1977/2046 (+69) +312 20-21

      1. NCCo: 1170/1207 (+37) +169 20-21

      2. KCCo: 373/399 (+26) +74 20-21

      3. SusCo: 434/440 (+6) +69 20-21

    2. Beer Settlement

      1. Ryan Bunting left at 14:00 EST.

      2. Sean followed up with this quarter’s payment to NCCLP by giving the money to Dayl in Nadine’s physical absence (She was on the Zoom call). Discussion had. Sean jokingly asked that the following be added into the minutes: That the Kent County LP chair, Will McVay, waited until the second-to-last quarterly meeting before the convention to raise concerns on how the beer settlement is decided on (number of newest members in a county vs. proportion of people). Will shared that he was just bringing forward something stated by one of our members of our Facebook group, Carter Hill. Sean explained that the beer settelment is just a private thing, that he was trying to set a precedent and whoever is the next state chair can decide how to go about it themselves.

    3. 2021 Municipal Elections – All municipalities except Ellendale/Greenwood

      1. Ellendale – Filing date was 23rd of December

      2. Greenwood – Filing date was 28th of December

      3. Carter Hill left the meeting at 14:06 EST.

      4. Sean shared a plan on how to get more people running for office, via social media and posting filing dates for races. Discussion had on running for school board races, particularly in fighting COVID lock-downs. Sean expressed concern about compulsory attendance, but stated that the LPD wants parents to have the most freedom concerning their children’s education. Will then shared what to post on social media concerning races. It was agreed that the counties would be taking care of getting candidates for races and that the state board would help if it was wanted and the counties could help each other. Will shared that getting away from the industrial school factory model is good and we should capitalize on this. Sean shared that it has been seen that localization for schooling is becoming more evident and our school board candidates should fight for this against the Dept. of Education in Dover. Irene then shared that we should make sure that as many choices as possible are available and fight for such. Will followed this up with saying that candidates for school board races have a good middle ground when running for the LPD: opening schools while encouraging alternative forms of education.

    4. 2021 Convention

      1. Liberty Speaks pre-convention event

        1. Will asked that we recognize Irene Mavrakakis to speak on this.

        2. She shared that we would want to have an event on the Friday before the convention to drum up support. It would be on the Green in Dover. Irene shared a list of speakers that could come (including those from the group Medical Freedom) and already has a musician lined up. We need to get a permit and one-day insurance.

        3. Mary Pat asked when on Friday and Irene shared that we would start at 4pm and have the main speaker at 6pm.

        4. Sean asked for clarification on “medical freedom” and Irene explained that there are three to five basic tenants, some of which are: 1) Nuremberg Code of Medical Freedom (no forced vaccination or medical procedures and informed consent); 2) Nutrition based information from doctors.

        5. Will suggested that this event be more Libertarian Party focused then medical freedom. Will’s concern was giving someone a platform that may contradict what the LP stands for. Will also asked what the actual logistical challenges and costs of pulling this event off (permit costs, insurance costs, what money can be raised, what amount of money is wanted from the LPD, etc.). Will encouraged Irene to start looking into this. When Irene asked if she should form a committee, Will said that she should feel free to do so. Sean brought up that the LPD had been discussing expanding into more than a one day convention at the 2020 Q4 meeting, looking at having something the night before the convention. Mary Pat said that this event sounds ideal for what Sean had brought up. Will shared that he is good with the idea in general, but his suggestion was to focus on generic libertarian messaging for focus and program of the event. Issue speakers are fine, just need to worry about costs. Will then shared that the LPD board could set up a committee for Irene, but since she has the drive for it to go ahead and do the work herself. When Irene is ready to come back to the board with a more concrete plan, the board could then pass a motion on it, which would be appropriate and necessary. We could then recognize the event as part of our “convention thing” so that when we start promoting the convention, we can then say this is happening the night before and acknowledge the work Irene put into it. Irene then said that she would like Liberty Speaks to be a Libertarian Party of Delaware event.

        6. For context of the above, Sean then brought up that the LPD’s relationship with Delaware for Liberty (D4L), which Irene is a member of and which came out of the JoCo campaign, is only three months old and that D4L is made of members of the LPD and can do things unencumbered with election law, unlike the LPD. Moving forward together side-by-side, Liberty Speaks would be an opportunity to do that. We can workout the logistics in the meantime.

        7. Wayne Norczyk left at 14:26 EST. ACTION ITEM #3: Dayl to contact Wayne at his request.

        8. Irene stressed that she wasn’t stuck on the speakers but on having the event

          1. Mary Pat asked that we have a backup/rain date.

          2. Vern Proctor left at 14:32 EST

          3. Mary Pat mentioned that Wendy Jones of Sussex County LP has contacts that would be willing to do workshops.

          4. Will suggested having the event on Sunday to take advantage of time for workshops and setting up tables to whoever wants to pay.

        9. Sean suggested getting a Convention Committee together consisting of the LPD state board, Amy LePore, Irene Mavrakakis, and Will McVay. Will made a point to say that we need to have something shared to make sure that we are all on the same page. Sean said let’s use Trello for the Convention Committee, due to his, Dayl’s, and Amy’s familiarity with it, while running it concurrent with ClickUp.

      2. 15 May for convention proper

        1. Mary Pat to double check this week, but things look good for May 15th. ACTION ITEM #4: Mary Pat to follow up by this Wednesday, January 27th, on if we have the theater guild for our convention on May 15th.

        2. Will served notice that he will make an amendment to the LPD Articles of Association (AoA) for early nominations for office. Sean shared that any LPD member can make a suggestion to change the AoA at anytime according to our current AoA.

          1. Discussion had on whether we want to wait until the convention to change the AoA to let the registered libertarians in Delaware a chance to hear it and vote on it then leaving it up to the LPD state board ad hoc decision.

      3. Extended hours?

        1. The LPD to push this to the Convention Committee. See above.

      4. Speakers – Spike?

        1. Dayl had written to Spike and shared their conversation with the LPD about Spike coming out to Delaware. Dayl had suggested for Spike and Tasha to drive to Delaware in order to save money, but Spike was concerned about the shape his body condition would be in if he drove up. Spike also asked that Dayl contact Spike’s director Brian, who Spike put in charge of his event scheduling, in order to work out the dates of Spike coming to the LPD convention.

        2. Sean is in favor of paying for both Spike and his wife Tasha to come up and get a hotel for two nights. Mary Pat suggested three nights and that we ask the county parties for financial help. Will suggested getting sponsors (like Crabby Dick’s).

        3. ACTION ITEM #5: The Convention Committee will look into getting Spike and Tasha to the convention and Liberty Speaks events and all the costs associated with what we want to do for Liberty Speaks and the LPD state convention.

        4. Will made a motion to make an earmark for convention expenses to help raise funds and recognize those who have donated. Mary Pat 2nd. Passed 7-0-1-2.

          1. First donation towards the convention of $100 was given by Will McVay to LPD Treasurer Mary Pat McVay.

        5. ACTION ITEM #6: Dayl to contact Spike Cohen’s scheduler Brian to see if Spike is available the weekend of the 15th and if not the weekend of the 22nd.

          1. Will 1st, John 2nd that the LPD can guarantee $1000 for travel expenses for Spike and Tasha Cohen to come to our 2021 LPD Convention and the Liberty Speaks events. Passed 7-0-1-2.

      5. Invitees:

        1. Joe Bishop-Henchman – LNC Chair

        2. Susan Hogarth – LNC District 5 Representative

        3. David Valente – LNC District 5 Alternate

        4. Possible other attendees would be Dr. Jim Lark, Nick Sarwark, and the LNC. Discussion had on this. We will invite the LNC Executive Committee and the state chairs of NJ, PA, and MD.

      6. Succession Planning.

        1. Nadine brought up on Zoom chat and Will brought forward to the meeting that we need to discuss succession planning. Discussion had on Sean stepping down as chair and that he would make sure there was a successful transfer of power from the old LPD board to the new LPD board.

        2. Nadine then shared that her concern was about how once a new board member is voted in, they automatically take that position according to the LPD AoA, which Mary Pat confirmed, then how would the old LPD board hand off the various social media accounts that the LPD has built up in the last two years. Will then said that the LPD doesn’t have to because he is the administrator and web master, giving him transition authority.

        3. Sean then shared that he didn’t know who was running for chair, but when elected, he would give the new chair a chance to speak about their vision and goals at the convention. Sean would continue his duties as chair at the pleasure of the LPD until the gavel swings at the end of the convention. Will then reiterated that he is under contract as web master to hand off the account information, etc. to the new LPD state board, as he serves at the pleasure of the LPD state board, not the state chair’s pleasure. Nadine was satisfied with this answer.

    5. Rank the Vote DE Update

      1. Dayl gave the following history: Kent County LP and Sussex County LP passed resolutions to support Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). NCCLP voted to table a resolution to support RCV at their December 2020 monthly meeting because the NCCLP membership didn’t feel that they had had enough time to read it. At the January 2020 NCCLP monthly meeting, the RCV resolution was again tabled, this time to a special, separate meeting. The NCCLP Board decided to meet on Wednesday, January 20th for this meeting, which took place on this date. The RCV resolution was discussed. Though NCCLP members were in favor of it, there was concern on if RCV would help Libertarians as much as other types of alternative voting. Dayl shared that these alternative voting methods would not be as helpful to Libertarians in Delaware because RCV currently has the moment to get passed in Delaware. Brad had also brought up concerning with the RCV draft bill, which Dayl brought up with RTVDE executive board.

      2. Sean asked if there was standardized language between the three LP counties’ resolutions or was it something that the LPD state board would have to act as a joint committee to pass a final resolution. Dayl said it would be the later. He also shared that at the next NCCLP monthly meeting on Feb. 1st that they would try to decide on RCV.

      3. Dayl asked Will to read the concerning language of the draft RCV bill. Irene shared that both she and Dayl were involved in RTVDE and would be able to affect the RCV bill. Will tried to confirm that the LPD is being asked for a yes/no support of RTVDE. Dayl then shared through his messaging with RTVDE’s executive committee as RTVDE secretary that the RCV bill is not being proposed yet and it’s just a rough draft which shouldn’t have been shared yet. More discussion had. It was agreed that the bill is a very rough draft and that not too much should be read into it. Dayl corrected his previous mistake that the LPD would be supporting RTVDE because RTVDE itself isn’t asking for support of RTVDE, but RCV. Will and Jimmy confirmed that the resolutions passed by KCLP and SCLP support RCV.

      4. ACTION ITEM #7: Dayl to get a statement of principles from RTVDE so that the LPD could draft a resolution that the LPD does not support top-two primaries and elections (or something to that effect) and get the LPD Executive Committees and RTVDE Committees together to discuss this further.

  11. New Business:

    1. Ad Hoc Review:

      1. Set Convention Date for 15 May (Third weekend) 10-0-0-0

      2. Dayl reached out to Spike about his convention visit

      3. Vern filed for Bethel Town council

      4. Steve “Stunt” Stutzman nominated for Milford SB Area D

      5. Steve dropped out as not a resident of Area D

      6. Prep for removal and detention legislation over COVID/pandemic risks

      7. Vern “reelected” (was appointed last time and ran unopposed this time) to Bethel Town Council

      8. Discussion regarding Social Media posting outreach. Need to stay on top of scheduled events (specifically the municipal elections).

      9. Discussion regarding deplatforming and alternatives.

      10. Aaron, Kent County LP Vice-Chair and one of the KCLP reps to the state board, is leaving Delaware

      11. Random messenger video call from Mary Pat. Confusion ensues

    2. House Bill 49 (HB49):

      1. A number of Republicans have submitted this bill to constrain the Delaware governor's power to declare states of emergency that are not related to weather for longer than 30 days without acceptance from the Delaware General Assembly.

      2. Will wrote a resolution talking about the lack of accountability on Gov. Carney concerning his power to declare states of emergency and this resolution calls for the LPD and others to support HB49 to have checks and balances against the governor’s mandates.

        1. Will made a motion to accept the resolution supporting HB49. Before Sean took a second, he asked if anyone needed to read it. Dayl and Nadine asked for that time. John 2nd. We will leave the vote open 48 hours, or until all 10 members of the LPD vote, per our AoA, to give everyone a chance to vote on this. For those present to vote the roll call was as followed:

          1. Dayl Thomas: aye

          2. John Machurek: aye

          3. Jimmy Brittingham: aye

          4. Sean Goward: aye

          5. Brad Thomas: aye

          6. Will McVay: aye

          7. Mary Pat McVay: aye

          8. Nadine Frost: aye on January 24th at 7:33pm via Facebook Messenger

          9. Absent members:

            1. Vern Proctor: aye on January 24th at 5:11pm via Facebook Messenger

            2. Aaron Mobley: ye on January 24th at 5:11pm via Facebook Messenger

          10. The motion passed 10-0-0 on January 24th at 7:33pm via Facebook Messenger. Was to be finished by Tuesday, January 26th at 16:00, which it was.

          11. Irene will then pass on the resolution to Rep. Yerrick and Sean will co-ordinate with Will and Dayl to send it out to Governor Carney and other elected officials in Delaware via sean.goward@lpdelware.org.

    3. Next Meeting:

      1. Tentatively May 2nd at 12:30 EDT at the McVay

      2. Mary Pat confirmed that Dayl won the Bill Morris Award this year as she needs to order the trophy before May 2nd.

      3. Thanks were giving to those in attendance, both in person and on Zoom and to the McVay family for hosting. Irene thanked everyone for letting her present at the board meeting.

    4. Adjournment Will 1st, Mary Pat 2nd. Passed 6-1-1-2. Meeting adjourned at 16:10 EST.


Chat box:


From iPhone to Everyone: 01:22 PM

Hello Dayl. I had a hard stop at 1:30, I’m going to hop off.

From Me to Everyone: 01:23 PM

Okay.

Is there anything you would like me to share?

Like the spreadsheet you sent to us last night?

From iPhone to Everyone: 01:23 PM

I’ve got plenty of thoughts, I think I’ll collect them first. But yes, the spreadsheet is good.

From Me to Everyone: 01:24 PM

Okay, will do. If you want to text me your thoughts, feel free to do so.

From Carter Hill to Everyone: 01:45 PM

They've been going after a lot of page admins

From Me to Everyone: 01:45 PM

I'll share this Carter. Thank you.

From Carter Hill to Everyone: 01:46 PM

D4L was warned about a shared Spike post, which was a joke, because it wasn't factual. FB is getting extremely tedious.

From Wayne Norczyk to Me: (Privately) 01:47 PM

https://project-management.com/top-3-software-alternatives-to-trello/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlaqr-Zm17gIVC67ICh2EmwkMEAAYAiAAEgIcIfD_BwE

From Me to Wayne Norczyk: (Privately) 01:47 PM

Thank you Wayne.

From Nadine Frost to Everyone: 01:49 PM

my parent company uses an app called “GroupMe)

From Carter Hill to Everyone: 01:52 PM

Keep in mind that people getting banned from FB are also unable to use Messenger.

From Me to Wayne Norczyk: (Privately) 01:53 PM

Will share Nadine and Carter, thank you.

From Me to Everyone: 01:53 PM

Will share Nadine and Carter, thank you.

From Wayne Norczyk to Me: (Privately) 01:55 PM

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.telegram.messenger&hl=en_US&gl=US

From Me to Wayne Norczyk: (Privately) 01:55 PM

Thank you Wayne.

From Ryan B to Everyone: 01:59 PM

I had a hard stop at 2pm, so I'll have to head out, but thank you for having me here, I'll see several of you at the next county meeting.

From Me to Everyone: 02:00 PM

Thank you Ryan!

From Nadine Frost to Everyone: 02:03 PM

which brings up something which should be addressed: succession planning...

From Carter Hill to Everyone: 02:06 PM

I need to jump off. Thanks, everyone (yes, even Will). I'm looking forward to working with everyone to grow the party and its influence.

From Me to Everyone: 02:06 PM

You got it Carter!

Thank you!

From Wayne Norczyk to Me: (Privately) 02:26 PM

I need to go now. Dayl - I would like to talk to you during the week.

From Me to Wayne Norczyk: (Privately) 02:26 PM

Thanks Wayne!

From VernonEsq to Everyone: 02:31 PM

I need to hop off at this point. Let me know if there's anything I can do before the next meeting. Cheers, and stay healthy (voluntarily)!

From Me to Everyone: 02:31 PM

Okay!

Thanks Vern!

From Nadine Frost to Everyone: 02:55 PM

have we looked into the cost of a flight?

From Me to Everyone: 03:07 PM

We are going to look into them.

From Nadine Frost to Everyone: 03:55 PM

my dog needs to go out NOW. brb

From Mark Parks to Everyone: 04:10 PM

thanks good bye

From Nadine Frost to Everyone: 04:11 PM

gotta go. I have work to do. bye, all!