The Libertarian Party National Convention rejected a bylaw proposal from Jim Lark that would have said: “Delegates shall not be required to pay a registration fee to be credentialed or to access the floor business session.” The vote was 166-112. Delegates first rejected an amendment to cap the fee at the level of sustaining dues and to waive the fee for sustaining members.
The convention subsequently passed a resolution proposed by Pat Dixon: “The LNC is directed to establish a National Convention Delegate Fund to reduce the minimum registration cost for convention delegates. Donors may contribute directly to this fund for this specific purpose.”
At 9:34 a.m., there were 517 delegates and 12 alternates credentialed at the convention.
If you know of anybody with a better published track record of predicting what happens at LP NatCons, I’d love to see it. My specialty is delegate reactions to Platform proposals, but I do OK in predicting elections too.
Brian,
I looked at your blog, don’t go into the prediction business. 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses
BH @ 30. Works for me!
@30: And that sage wisdom is why you got reelected to the Judicial Committee.
My ruling is: when in doubt, drink.
I wrote the proposal.
I served on the 2010 bylaws committee and got it reported out there (p. 44 of the bylaws committee report).
In the 2010 bylaws committee survey, 85.8% of respondents who were members (i.e., of 592 people) supported the proposal and 86.7% of all respondents (i.e., of 686 people) supported the proposal.
We had Dr. Lark introduce it because he is very popular and held in high regard.
Since I wrote the proposal but had someone else introduce it, we may need a ruling from Brian Holtz on whether everyone has to take a shot under his LP convention drinking game.
Floor fee is much higher this year due to expensive hotel (in an inconvenient location for huge percentage of the delegates). Base cost is unfortunately reflective of expense of convention room and many concomitant expenses from AV equipment to cleaning. In fact, from what I’ve heard, it doesn’t even cover the true expense of the locale.
2014 will be in Columbus, Ohio and should be less expensive.
I registered and paid the $94, then decided I could not afford the time off work and donated my registration to a less financially strong member of my state’s delegation.
And yes, kudos to Dr. Lark for making the motion and for so much more that he does.
Exactly!
Not at the convention, but if they are paying anything for the space, they are doing it wrong. I’m with a not-for-profit organization that has a yearly convention at a different hotel each year attended by approx. 600 people. Most hotels will give you the space free if you promise to book 130-150 rooms at a reduced rate for two nights [on a three-day convention], with reduced rates if you don’t meet the quota [and with a rebate if you exceed it]. We do charge a $7 fee to cover nametags, paper, etc. I do agree that people should know where their $94 is going. If we want the government to be more open about how OUR money is spent, shouldn’t the LP show how it is done?
Again, those who want free business meeting options are encouraged to press their point and *invest their labor* towards such an end.
I have and will continue to do so, did you thinbk otherwise?
I assume all those who voted for the fee will be collecting all the voluntary ballot access signatures AND footing the bill for all the TANSTAAFL libertarians who now REF– USE to collect signatures for free??
I collect signatures for a living, but I also collect lots of volunteer signatures.
I am against the floor fee and I voluntary purchased a non-tanstaafl package (gold in fact). So did many other people and others would have too if they hadn’t sold out while there was still demand.
There are lots of ways to pay for conventions. Let’s stop pretending that is the issue here.
@4
Exactly. Those who desire a business meeting with no cost assessed to delegates should get on the ball in pitching future conventions.
@5
Drink long of your glass of sour grape juice. The issue is now behind us. If you don’t want to help Libertarian Party candidates nobody is forcing you to help them.
@6
Very true. As for a National Convention Delegate Fund it sounds like a scholarship fund which if folks want one that is great but I rather think that individuals should chase down their own scholarships rather than add one more bureaucracy. The Arizona LP discussed such a thing but due to time and lack of support it was not implemented.
@21
Again, those who want free business meeting options are encouraged to press their point and *invest their labor* towards such an end.
@3 “Having a floor fee of any kind shows that the planners are not only arrogantly disregarding the rights of the members and delegates, desperate and out of ideas, but incompetent in business and financial matters.”
Yowza. I have run a national convention at a profit and many state ones with no fee.
The last one had a voluntary charge and made the largest profit ever, but part of that was the ruthless negotiating skill of MG. When we signed the contract with the hotel, they technically owed US money…
Too bad the oldtimers are dead or ill, and we have these guys. Make membership free again. Period.
Oops. See #1
TLK I believe it was 166-112 in our favor, not 2/3, lots of people were still asleep or not at Red Rox
No kidding! This place is horrible in so many ways…
There are many ways to pay for conventions, that is not the real reason for floor fees, just an excuse.
Floor fee will rise a great deal in the near future….my prediction.
I have no problem with the floor fee.
I’m at home; not because of $94 floor fee. I’m home because of the $500 flight and $500 in hotel costs. $100 is a fair price, IMO.
I attended 2006, 2008, and 2010. I paid for the “base package” each time, which is really just the floor fee.
To put that cost into context, there was a big hoopla when FreedomFest extended it’s special pricing for Libertarians……. at ONLY $395 per person.
And I had heard that both Oregon delegations had been seated; some as Oregon, and others as other states. (I really wish they’d get that straightened out. How hard is it for the LNC to decide who the official state affiliate is, anyway?)
I’m thinking about asking for an expense report so I can see where my $90+ went to. If it’s to cover Red Rock cost I would advise holding the convention in cheaper venues in the future.
@14 – no, I thought I read something this morning that there were over 500 delegates. Don’t remember where I read that, thought.
Darryl,
Have you heard the number of delegates actually seated as of the most recent credentials committee report?
Chances are that a lot — maybe even the majority — of delegates appointed by states won’t be arriving, checking into the hotel, and getting their credentials until today.
@Carol “if you have a floor fee, you get a much higher quality of people.”
Conversely, if you give out cannabis as delegates arrive, you get quality people high(er)!
@10 – good question!
Also, with 500+ delegates, why did only 278 vote on this issue?
Out of principle, even one cent would be too much principal.
Anybody have a count by state on that vote? I’m interested in whether seating the Reeves Gang “delegation” instead of the legitimate one made the difference, or whether just stacking the deck by imposing the illegitimate floor fee before the vote was enough.
$94 bucks this year. $150 next time? $200 time after. Like Wayne Root says, if you have a floor fee, you get a much higher quality of people.
How much is this fee that’s causing so much angst? My opinion varies between a de minimis charge and a substantive block to voting.
Hats off to Dr. Lark for bylaw proposal.
So, the LNC will have a National Convention Delegate Fund – then, if the same incompetent, desperate individuals have the reins they will hike the floor fees to vacuum the fund dry plus a bit more and still leave the delegates to pay for access.
Not only do we have the fox guarding the hen house, but we’ve set up a program to add more hens for the foxes.
I assume all those who voted for the fee will be collecting all the voluntary ballot access signatures AND footing the bill for all the TANSTAAFL libertarians who now REF– USE to collect signatures for free??
There’s always 2014… 🙂
It seems so obvious that delegates must be allowed on the convention floor to transact the Party’s business without paying any sort of fee that could exclude them from accomplishing their duties that it is mysterious to me how anyone could honestly conceive otherwise.
The convention floor itself, the space for transacting business is a cost the should be borne by the Party. However, since this is a convention where hundreds of people attend, it is quite easy to set up speakers, luncheons, dinners and events that can charge fees that will not only cover the direct costs of the extra events, but will generate enough additional revenue to cover all associated convention costs. In fact, the convention should generate enough revenues to return a surplus to the Party to be used for other Party activities such as ballot drives.
I have accomplished this when organizing numerous local meetings, county conventions and state Party conventions. Having a larger attendance only makes it easier to plan events that will run a surplus while allowing free attendance at business meetings.
Having a floor fee of any kind shows that the planners are not only arrogantly disregarding the rights of the members and delegates, desperate and out of ideas, but incompetent in business and financial matters.
The Party Bi-laws should be altered to disallow access fees to the floor for delegates to transact the Party’s business.
The current LNC members and Judicial Committee members who directed and allowed this fiasco should be removed.
C
For clarification, the vote on the bylaw proposal was 166 in favor to 112 against, but 2/3 is required to amend the bylaws.