Memo from Wes Benedict to LNC and LP Headquarters staff:
This letter is my notice of resignation from the position of Executive Director of the Libertarian National Committee, Inc. My last day will be December 31, 2011. That is when my current contract ends. I started on July 17, 2009.
Our contract requires a 30 day notice of resignation. Back when I was Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Texas, I gave a full year’s notice. In this case I feel it is feasible to give the party 90 days to ease the transition. If the party finds a replacement and prefers for me to leave before 90 days, that’s fine but I ask for 30 days notice per our contract.
Once again, it has been an honor to serve the Libertarian Party and the cause of freedom. Since I was hired, the
Libertarian Party has accomplished the following:
1. The Libertarian Party has presented a libertarian message, differentiating us from conservatives and liberals.
2. Monthly pledge recurring revenue increased from $20,854 to $33,092.
3. The cash reserve or “money in the bank” has been at record levels.
4. Over 800 LP candidates ran in the November 2010 elections, up from around 600 in 2006 and 2008.
5. Total votes cast for Libertarians increased from 12,573,194 in 2008 to 14,754,525 in 2010.
6. We posted, what some say, was the first accurate nationwide list of elected Libertarians on LP.org.
7. Facebook fans grew from 11,770 to 184,705.
8. A negative is that the number of “active donors” dropped from 14,977 to 13,981.
I do hope to increase the membership or “active donors” between now and the end of the year.
I thank all who have served on my staff, in particular Operations Director Robert Kraus, who has been very helpful to me, and Arthur DiBianca, who has done more of my work than anyone realizes, and had served with me for a few years while I was Executive Director in Texas.
I especially want to thank former Chair William Redpath for hiring me, and current Chair Mark Hinkle for his continued support. Both Libertarian stalwarts have contributed enormously for decades as volunteers, candidates, and donors. I do not have another job lined up yet. My plan is to move back to the Louisiana-Texas area to be closer to my fiancée and to put my engineering and M.B.A. degrees back to work, perhaps in the petrochemical industry.
With best regards,
Wes Benedict, Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
P.S. It’s possible a Libertarian effort could turn this country around if the right people, the right plan, and the right financing intersect. The LP has an enormous impact relative to its tiny $1.4 million budgets (less than one McDonald’s)!
P.P.S. After resigning, I will proudly remain an LP member and monthly donor to the national LP and at least one state. Please visit http://www.lp.org/contribute and make a generous contribution to the LP today to support a smooth transition to new staff. Thank you.
Bummer!
Wes has done a spectacular job at LPHQ, both for the national party and for the affiliates.
He will be missed.
You will be missed Wes! You are a great guy and well respected by so many!
Perhaps.
Am I the only person wondering whether Wes and his bride-to-be will be getting permission from a government to get “married”?
DAMNIT JANET! thats really sad news for the LP:(
IT will be next to impossible to find someone as great and successful as Wes has been.
wes , i hadda great time chatting with you at FreedomFest , good luck in your new endeavors and with your marriage. you deserve all the best!:)
debra dedmon
LibertarianGirl
Well, phooey.
It was a stroke of luck that the LP got Wes. Wes turned LPHQ around after years of mismanagement. The LP will be much poorer without him. One fact has made Wes stand out among the ranks of LP ED’s: he has completely eschewed using his position as a partisan bludgeon — unlike some predecessors.
I agree with Tom B about the need to hire someone who is actually a libertarian to be ED.
There is a wealth of talent within the LP — but guiding LPHQ can be like carrying a red-hot piece of coal across a desert; so the pool of talent gets rapidly winnowed down to only a very few willing to be masochists for the duration.
Good luck to Wes and best wishes for his new future. Use those talents to get rich, my friend; and live well!
Wes,
Congrats! Look me up when you get back to the Texas / Louisiana area!!
Guy
Cell 832-372-8131
Congratulations to Wes on his engagement! His decision to move on is definitely LPHQ’s loss.
Tu Ne Cede Malis . . . gratz Wes
Congratulations and good luck to Wes Benedict! Thanks for all of the good work you’ve done for the Libertarian Party.
Libertarians should hire someone as a combination executive director/presidential candidate for the next year, thus simultaneously solving the problem of lack of quality candidates that they have right now.
Thanks for posting this news, which is both good news and bad news for all concerned. Good news for Wes and his new life, bad news for the LP.
Hiring a libertarian to be the LP Executive Director turned out to be a stroke of genius. I’d suggest the LNC try hiring another libertarian to replace Mr. Benedict.
Although I have issues with the LP NatCom, I have the highest regard for Wes Benedict’s abilities. Thank you, Wes.
I hope Wes makes his impressive managerial talents available to the Libertarian cause again in the future. Wes deserves this ‘personal’ time and our best wishes and fond regards.
Congratulation Wes and thank you for the time and effort you put in. A great effort under trying circumstances.
Brian, plan B may not be mutually exclusive with plan A. Let’s get that tissue sample to save the LP some headaches in 2030.
My wife works at Genentech (where the daycare is called Second Generation). If you just give me a tissue sample from Wes, we can grow a new ED in about 18 years.
That’s my plan A. Does anybody have a plan B?
Congrats to Wes on the engagement!
I’m sorry to see Wes go. He has done an excellent job as ED.
This notice of resignation demonstrates true class and professionalism. I just hope the LNC can find someone on his level willing to replace him (which won’t be easy). Congratulations on the engagement, Wes!
I am VERY sad to see Wes step down. IMHO, his hiring was one of the best things that’s happened with the National LP in recent years.
Good luck with your new endeavors, Wes! I’m glad to hear you will remain active, hopefully west of the Sabine River!
Congratulation to Wes on the engagement and good luck with job search.
Hope LPHQ can find someone good to step up, it won’t be easy.
Wes, sorry to see you are stepping down. You have done a heck of a great job at LPHQ. Wish you the best of luck!