Re: petition proposal

[KCUF Media [Mike Blessing]]

Ron Bjornstad wrote:
> I think we need to discuss this at the cencom meeting. I got this from
> Andy today.
> Ron
>
> Hi, I spoke with you on the phone around 3 weeks ago about getting the
> Libertarian Party back on the ballot in New Mexico. If you'll recall,
> I am one of the petitioners who worked on the petition drive to get
> the New Mexico LP back on the ballot in the fall of 2005.
>
> As I said on the phone, due to the unethical actions of Scott Kohlhaas
> (see the Nebraska LP scandal where Kohlhaas embezzled funds into his
> own pocket, reneged on his contract, and left petitioners unpaid and
> then the LNC covered for him as they paid his debt 10-11 months after
> the work was done - all of this is documented and and be backed up),
> which include financial malfeasance, lying, and charging over-inflated
> commissions, our group of real Libertarian petitioners would like to
> conduct ballot access drives without Scott Kohlhaas, and we are
> willing to do all of the work ourselves, including the fundraising,
> and we will do this at a LOWER price than the outrageous fees that
> Scott Kohlhaas charges.
>
> As you are probably aware, the Libertarian Party FAILED to get on the
> ballot in 5 states and in Washington DC for the 2008 election. This
> was the least ballots that the Libertarian Party has been on for a
> Presidential election since David Bergland was the Presidential
> candidate way back in 1984. Does this represent progress for the
> Libertarian Party? I am willing to give them a "pass" for failing to
> make the ballot in Oklahoma since the signature requirement is high
> there in comparison to population, and since the LNC decided in the
> fall of 2007 to back a ballot initiative to reduce the signature
> requirement for minor party and independent candidates instead of
> going for ballot access in Oklahoma (note that the ballot initiative
> FAILED to make the ballot as they were unable to gather enough
> petition signatures during the allotted time period to qualify).
> However, I am NOT willing to give them a pass for FAILING to make the
> ballot in West Virginia, Maine, Connecticut, Washington DC, and
> Louisiana. The real reason that they failed to qualify for the ballot
> in these states is due to gross mismanagement by Sean Haugh, Scott
> Kohlhaas, and Shane Cory.

http://tinyurl.com/6hrla6
http://tinyurl.com/59cual
http://tinyurl.com/5klvy9
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http://tinyurl.com/6a9gr2

> We would like to make sure that ballot access is started earlier and
> done more efficiently for the 2010 and 2012 elections. If we start
> early we can avoid last minutes screw ups and do the job cheaper and
> more efficiently. New Mexico just happens to be one of the states
> where we can start right now (some states are prohibited from starting
> until 2010 or 2012).
>
> I believe that the signature requirement for party status in New
> Mexico has increased since the last ballot access petition drive was
> done in 2005. Do you know what the new requirement is? If so, you or
> I or somebody should contact the New Mexico Secretary of State's
> office to find out.
>
> You said that the petition form that is needed to regain ballot status
> is the same form that we used in 2005, with the exception of the year
> 2006 being replaced with the year 2010. You also indicated that the
> election office could potentially take its sweet time about getting us
> the new form if they want to or if they are lazy. Would it be possible
> for you or somebody else to put in a request to get the new ballot
> access form right now? If the process to get the form is done now that
> is one less thing that will have to be done once the funding for the
> petition drive is available.
>
> I told you that we have around $1,200 at Freedom Ballot Access that we
> could use for New Mexico LP ballot access. How much money do you think
> (ballpark) that the New Mexico LP could contribute to the drive?

After the motorcycle buyout? I'm not optimistic on this.

> We have lists for Libertarians around the country who could be
> potential contributors. If you want, we could also fund raise from
> the New Mexico LP. A few Libertarians from New Mexico are on our
> lists, but we do not have a comprehensive list of every LP member in
> New Mexico.
>
> I looked at the New Mexico LP website and I did not see any link where
> people could donate money, nor did I even see an address where people
> could mail a donation. We are going to have to have a link where
> people can donate or at least an address to tell them where to send a
> donation before we can start. Can you all get a link for donations up
> soon? If not can you at tell us where to have people mail their
> donations?
>
> I think that it makes good sense to get the ball rolling right now. If
> we can start the process right now then perhaps we could be on the
> ground gathering signatures in January. This will give us the chance
> to knock out New Mexico - a relatively warm weather state compared to
> other parts of the country - and then give us more time to focus on
> knocking out a cold weather state in the spring or summer. So get back
> to me as soon as you can.
>
> Thanks,
> Andy
> 702-785-4738

Just talked with Andy via phone for about an hour -- sounds like
someone we want to bring into the loop for our ballot access
situation.
______________________________________________________________________
-- Mike Blessing / http://xanga.com/mikewb1971