Convention view
On April 12th, Wisconsin Libertarians met at their 2014 state convention in Neenah. According to Andy Craig, a Wisconsin LP activist, close to 100 people attended , which is the highest turnout the state party has ever seen. The Wisconsin LP also nominated a record number of candidates.
The convention was held in honor of the recently deceased Tonie Nathan, the Libertarian Party’s 1972 vice-presidential candidate and first woman in U.S. history to receive an electoral vote. Speakers including Gov. Gary Johnson and nationally syndicated radio personality Josh Tolley, along with bloggers and popular YouTube vloggers Amanda Billyrock and Karen Straughn.
Gary Johnson with candidates
The following candidates were nominated by the party:
Robert Burke – Governor
Joseph Brost – Lt. Governor
Andy Craig – Secretary of State
Tom Nelson – Attorney General
Jerry Shidell – State Treasurer
Joseph Kexel – Congress (1st)
Gus Fahrendorf – Congress (6th)
Rob Taylor – Congress (7th)
Terry Virgil – State Senate (13th)
George Meyers – State Assembly (66th)
Jerry Seifert – State Assembly (84th)
Chuck Schilling – State Assembly (97th)
Gubernatorial candidate Robert Burke’s speech was posted on YouTube:
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Very nice.
Amanda Billyrock at the 2014 Libertarian Party of Wisconsin Convention:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNjUhATFuuI
Yep, California has been the one glaring exception.
” paulie April 19, 2014 at 5:39 pm
‘I’m hearing/seeing the same thing in many different states this year.’
In addition to the states I already knew about, Kentucky also told me they had a near record attendance at theirs this year as well.”
It sounds like several state LP’s have seen an increase in the number of people attending their conventions, except for California which had one of their least attended state conventions. I hope that this trend in the states that have had increases continues and spreads to other states.
In addition to the states I already knew about, Kentucky also told me they had a near record attendance at theirs this year as well.
Kudos to LPWI.
I’m hearing/seeing the same thing in many different states this year.
Also, the turnout may or may not have been higher than the 2002 convention, when Ed Thompson ran for Governor, according to our party chair Paul Ehlers. But I’m going with “highest ever” as probably accurate. I wasn’t around for the 2002 one, but those who were and for our other past conventions have all been unanimous that this was the most successful LPWI convention any of them had ever been to.
Libertarian Party of Wisconsin
http://www.lpwi.org
For Immediate Release
Robert Burke, Wisconsin Liberty Coalition 715-441-0287
Libertarian Party of Wisconsin Convention Hosts Gov. Gary Johnson
The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin hosted its 2014 convention Saturday, April 12th, at the Best Western in Neenah with featured speaker former New Mexico Governor and 2012 Presidential Candidate Governor Gary Johnson. The event also featured popular bloggers Amanda “Billyrock” Johnson and Karen Straughan with author and radio show host Josh Tolley. The event was attended by over 70 libertarians from around the state.
Governor Johnson delivered his main comments at the convention dinner to more than 50 delegates who attended to hear their former presidential candidate lay out a case that both the Red and Blue team will vote for a person who is fiscally conservative, socially liberal. “I ran as a Republican and won not once but twice in a state that runs two to one Democrat.” said Johnson in his evening speech. “And the ACLU gave me 23 out of 24 Liberty Torches in their rating, higher than any other Libertarian including Ron Paul.”
The convention featured speeches from their candidates and included a resolution endorsing the Wisconsin Liberty Coalition and their joint effort to run as a coalition of liberty minded individuals.
“The Wisconsin Liberty Coalition is important and I’m proud to be at the head of the ticket with these candidates,” said Robert Burke, Libertarian candidate for Governor. “We represent each other as Libertarians united under the exact same principles and we believe that force multiplier will make a difference to the voter this November. It’s not one Libertarian on the ballot, it’s 10 and still growing.”
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Jim Maas
Secretary, Libertarian Party of Wisconsin
Thanks for posting this! I’m not sure why some of the links got eaten, but my page is http://www.facebook.com/AndyCraigWISoS. We’re still working on getting our “real” websites up and going, but that should be done here shortly.
The official number on attendance was “around 70”, but I think that was an underestimate when you include all the people who were only there for part of the day, like to hear the speakers of for the business meeting. Maybe I’m just being starry-eyed though, lol. Being endorsed (technically not “nominated” due to the vagaries of WI election law) by my favorite political party as a candidate, and getting to meet my favorite Presidential candidate, was an experience I’ll never forget! This was my first LP convention, and I’ll be attending more in the future.
-Andy Craig, Libertarian for WI Secretary of State