LNC Chair Candidate Profiles - McCardle, Nekhaila, & Rutherford
AustinLiberator
Angela McCardle
As your Chair, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support and dedication to our Party during my tenure. I am seeking one more term as your national Chair because I am passionate about the Libertarian Party and the work I’ve put into it. I’m mindful of the challenges we’ve faced and I’m proud of our many accomplishments. Looking back on the last two years, I wish I had been more vocal about the great resources we’ve cultivated for our candidates and affiliates. I’ve made candidate support one of my top priorities as Chair, and I hope you take full advantage of the resources the national party has cultivated. For the first time, the Libertarian Party is providing campaign software at a steeply discounted price to its candidates. Voter Gravity is a game changing tool that manages voter data, segments voters for targeted outreach, optimizes canvassing with maps and walk lists, facilitates phone banking with scripts and call lists, enables bulk text messaging, integrates with fundraising platforms, and provides data analysis and reporting on campaign progress. This tool essentially levels the playing field and allows us to compete with Republicans and Democrats. I’m also excited about the amazing work our political director, Nathan Fatal, is doing for our candidates. Nathan holds twice monthly meetings for our candidates where he teaches them how to gain and leverage campaign volunteers. Our lack of a large volunteer pool has been a serious challenge for our candidates in past elections. Our own hard-working volunteers have suffered from burnout and exhaustion as they attempt to run campaigns, their local affiliates, and engage in libertarian activism all at once. I’m proud to say that with the help of Nathan, this will no longer be the case, and that growing our volunteer base will also grow our Party. We are also offering professional quality campaign websites to our candidates for approximately $100 each. This move will professionalize our candidates, save them money, and increase their ability to fundraise and gain exposure. In addition to a robust candidate support system, we’re also on the cusp of introducing a new, effective CRM (Zoho CRM) and a new website for the national party. These new tools will allow us to fundraise more effectively, do a better job of connecting with our members and the public, and allow us to better serve our affiliates. Providing these resources has been rewarding, but hard work. While I’ve been proud of our accomplishments, I‘ve also been deeply troubled by the challenges we‘ve faced over the last two years. Unfortunately, our Party has been grappling with internal divisions, and some have chosen to use tactics that harm our organization's financial health as a means of expressing their dissent. I do not support attempts by any faction that seek to “starve” the Party of monetary resources, and I would never do anything to undermine the financial stability of our beloved Libertarian Party. I’ve taken steps to expand our membership and marketing funnels by increasing our online marketing presence, and advertising with organizations that share our values. Presidential campaign season is also upon us and it offers an incredible opportunity for growth. Our presidential candidates will receive an unprecedented amount of attention at this year’s national convention. I’m grateful to have been able to provide them with this opportunity, and I’m hopeful for the impact we’ll be able to have for liberty. We’ve come a long way in two years. When I began my term, the Party had serious operational deficiencies that had to be corrected in order to eliminate financial and regulatory risk. Our new staff and contractors have done an excellent job of implementing sound accounting practices, systems of checks and balances, and making sure we are compliant with employment and tax laws. While none of these government agencies are libertarian in means or spirit, it is critically important that we eliminate obvious risks and vulnerabilities in these areas. I’m proud of the hard work our staff and contractors have put in to get our operations running smoothly and efficiently. This better positions us to support our candidates and focus on ballot access in 2024. In spite of the financial attacks and operational challenges, we are better equipped to win elections at the local level, and we are better equipped to grow our movement. I know you are all as serious about winning elections and advancing liberty as I am. Thank you for the commitment you’ve made to our Party as members and activists. I have tremendous appreciation for my fellow LNC members, like Andrew Watkins, Caryn Ann Harlos, and Kathy Yeniscavich, for their hard work and support. This has been a challenging but rewarding term. I feel confident that all of our hard work has laid a solid foundation for a serious organization, and that we will thrive in the second half of 2024. Our Party has always been a lighthouse of hope, a place where Libertarians can come together and find common ground in our shared commitment to individual rights. It is this spirit of liberty that has made us strong, and it is this lighthouse message that we must project in order to grow and thrive.
In liberty,
Angela McArdle,
Libertarian National Committee Chair
Steven Nekhaila
This serves as my formal announcement of my intention to seek the nomination for Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. It is with deep passion and a great sense of service to the Party and its members that I seek your support for this role. As the only over-qualified candidate with extensive experience within the Party and necessary administrative, management, and non-profit expertise, I am uniquely positioned to lead. My vision for the LNC is to instill the same levels of professionalism, discipline, planning, and results as my tenure as Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida and in my own businesses. I have been an active member of the Libertarian Party my entire adult life, beginning as a founding member of the LP Florida Keys in 2014, and advancing to become the Region 14 Representative to the LP Florida in 2015. In 2016, I started my tenure on the LNC as the Region 2 Alternate, later becoming the Region 2 Representative and have remained on the Board since. During my tenure with the LPF, I stepped up as Treasurer of the Party during an emergency, successfully navigating several legal challenges, founding the Audit Committee, and establishing robust financial oversight. From 2019 to 2023, I proudly served as LPF Chair, during which we broke records in fundraising, held successive profitable conventions and events, and fostered an executive committee that worked cohesively, stamped out disorderly conduct, and set strategic goals across the board and subcommittees. In my business life, I am an owner/operator of a 10-unit Wendy’s franchise spanning from Florida to Virginia, a Dairy Queen, the Island Grill in Islamorada, and a cinema. Managing hundreds of employees and dozens of managers, I have a deep understanding of people and business. The restaurant world is intensely competitive and constantly changing; only the best and well-run establishments survive. My non-profit and community service includes my role as a Board of Directors member of the Greater Key West Chamber of Commerce, where I also serve on the Government and Legislative Affairs Committee. I serve as Vice Chair on the board of Keys CARES, a non-profit organization specializing in emergency communications and disaster relief. I liaise with multiple organizations across South Florida, including emergency management, for multi-organizational cooperation. It is no secret that the Libertarian National Committee is at a crossroads; at the end of the day, results are the only thing that matters. We are a small political entity with zero room for failure. With spartan resources and a large board to oversee limited assets, our main priority is to return to the basics of what it takes to grow an organization of our size. Fundraising is often cited as the number one goal of the board, but without a concrete plan and KPIs, these are merely desires. We must return to fundamentals and work with staff to craft specific, measurable goals and communicate results. Building trust and nurturing the seeds of a mutually beneficial long-term relationship with donors is essential for the survival of the party. Navigating our current financial headwinds is a matter of existence; with lofty convention goals and poor income over expenditures, we need to tighten our belts and adopt the Milei approach to party governance until we can sustain ourselves without debt or deficit. Cutting all unnecessary spending and focusing on fundraising, CRM management, funding ballot access commitments, and essential operations until we are confident with our cash reserve and income will keep us afloat. My experience in money management and a track record in fundraising will be key to navigating us through this storm. Our organization is designed to be run by staff and managed by the board. We must return to an employee Executive Director model; I prefer to hire from within. A full-time Executive Director is essential for the consistency of the organization and management of operations. I understand that during the transition to this, I will be needed to take on the ED role until a replacement is found. I am more than willing to serve in this function for as long as necessary, however, a permanent ED must be placed in this position soon. The LNC must foster a culture of overcommunication and err on the side of transparency to make the best decisions and perform our jobs effectively. All members of the board were elected to make critical decisions based on the information at hand; it would be my responsibility to ensure that all members of the board understand our key metrics, current challenges, and staff recommendations to make informed decisions. It is a culture that sparks creativity and cohesion, bonded by a common goal that transforms decent groups into great ones and prevents the fracturing we have seen in many past boards. The Libertarian Party, being a philosophical “ism” combined with being a political party whose main goal is to gain power, must blend the need to explain the ideology with the goal of growing the party. Our messaging must be blatantly and unapologetically libertarian; the spread of the ideology over the past 50 years is likely the party’s greatest achievement, as it exists in the minds of millions of Americans. The party must also grow to be powerful, respected, and understood. Effective messaging means not only responding to current events through a libertarian lens but launching information campaigns that educate and elicit a call to action to join, donate, and become active. My plan is to see a Libertarian Party that we can all be proud of; through our collective efforts, we can be a threat to the power elite that threaten our liberty and plot to thwart our influence. It is through my experience as a business owner, Libertarian party leader, community member, and student of libertarian philosophy that I will implement a plan to grow the party to new heights. We all share a common sense of urgency to do whatever it takes to make a difference in the world today, with war at our doorstep, economic destruction looming, and the slow and steady deterioration of our rights and freedoms. Our time is now. I invite you to consider me as your servant for the role of Chair of the Libertarian National Committee this Memorial Day weekend. Together, we can build a party worth fighting for.
Impotentes defendere libertatum non possunt: Those without power cannot defend freedom.
Mark Rutherford
Mark Rutherford is a candidate for Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. Mark Rutherford has been a member of the Libertarian Party since 1996 and is a lifetime member of the party, and formerly served as Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, and as a Libertarian Candidate for Secretary of State. Rutherford currently serves as an appointee on Indiana’s Public Defender’s Commission, to ensure that everyone who cannot afford an attorney in the county’s participating in the Commission’s program has access to a sound legal defense and a fair trial. He is an Attorney and a shareholder of a prominent Indiana Law Firm. As Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, Mark envisions a future where our party thrives as a beacon of liberty, unity, and effective governance. Over the next term, Mark will lead the board with integrity, transparency, and a relentless dedication to the principles that define us as libertarians.
The foremost objective must be to repair the mistakes of the past by restoring trust, accountability, and respect within the Libertarian National Committee, prioritizing open communication, constructive dialogue and collaboration, ensuring that every member's voice is heard and valued. Rather than centralizing control within the hands of one caucus or another, Mark will work toward implementing policies and procedures to prevent overreach and micromanagement, allowing our talented staff and state affiliates the autonomy they need to excel in their respective roles with our enthusiastic support. By focusing on strategic priorities such as ballot access, affiliate support, and effective messaging, Mark will strive to empower our local affiliates to make meaningful strides in electoral success and policy advocacy. Central to our vision is the recognition that the strength of our party lies in its grassroots activists and candidates. Mark will work to invest in comprehensive training programs, cutting-edge technology, and innovative campaign strategies to equip our members with the tools they need to win elections and effectively communicate libertarian principles to voters in a way that we can all be proud of, again not catering exclusively to one caucus or another. Together, we will build a Libertarian National Committee that serves as a model of effective leadership, stewardship, and advocacy for liberty. By embracing our shared vision and working tirelessly to advance our common goals, we will pave the way for a brighter future for our party and our nation.