Michigan – A case study in parallel universes: Two groups of people believe they are the officers of the Libertarian Party of Michigan (LPM), and both will be holding conventions on April 1st 2023 (not joking). To be clear, these are not two organizations with the same name; they are two instantiations of the same LPM. In fact, some of the same people are in each instance of the LPM Libertarian Executive Committee (LEC), but hold different offices.
If you feel confused, don’t feel bad. It is so confusing that this author (who is a newsletter editor for both instances, and an officer in one), feels compelled to simplify things by using terminology borrowed from quantum mechanics (QM). Quantum physics is rooted in probability. It holds that anything that can happen will happen, if there is enough time and space available. This isn’t just conjecture, these premises have been used to accurately predict physical events. The device you are using to read this exists, because QM works so well.
Parallel Universes for All Possibilities
One model of QM is called the many-worlds interpretation (MWI). This model holds that whenever an event can have multiple outcomes, all outcomes occur in different universes. We don’t normally notice this because we only experience the one universe we are in. There is another you reading this article. There is another you who decided not to read it. But you only experience one possibility.
No analogy is perfect, and this one collapses in that people in one LPM universe are aware of the other, but neither thinks the other is real. There are countless branches, or timelines, to go along with countless events. The branching in the Libertarian Party of Michigan occurred on January 31st. To get a full understanding of the condition of the single LPM, before the branching, please read, “LP Michigan Judicial Committee Resets LPM Executive Committee, Special Convention Imminent”
So now for a glimpse at both universes, as viewed by the people in them.
The First of Two Parallel Universes: Special A
First a description of one, that occurred before the branching. This instance of the LPM continues to exist at the time of the writing of this article. The article yours truly wrote before the January 31st event reads…
On January 25th 2023 the Libertarian Executive Committee (LEC) issued a Call to Special Convention. The Libertarian Party of Michigan (LPM) will hold the convention on April 1st at 9:00 AM. The venue will be VFW Post 2269 at 2652 Loon Lake Road. Wixom, MI 48393.
The LEC called the Special Convention in response to two petitions filed on January 3rd, and will tentatively include the agenda of a third petition.
Issues to be Addressed at the Special Convention
A group of Libertarian Party of Michigan (LPM) members filed the first two on January 3rd. The membership committee confirmed the signatures on those petitions, and the 2023 LEC acknowledged them at their first meeting held on January 6th.
One petition called for a special convention to fill vacancies. The petitioners enumerated vacancies in both Vice Chair positions and Treasurer. They also called for filling vacancies in the 2nd, 6th, 8th, 13th, and 14th District Representative positions. They also called for filling any other vacancies that may occur prior to or at the convention. The 2023 LEC filled four of those vacancies by appointment at the January 25th meeting, leaving three unfilled.
The other one, which they also filed on January 3rd, called for a vote of “no confidence.” Such a vote would serve to remove Andrew Chadderdon from Chairmanship.
A Triune Call to Special Convention
On January 25th the LEC also moved to include a third petition in the Call to Special Convention, pending verification of sufficient signatures. That petition calls for a special convention to address a “motion to appoint an investigatory committee to consider possible misconduct by Dave Canny, Greg Stempfle and Joe Brungardt in the creation of the petition which was ultimately submitted on January 3rd, 2023.”
According to Article VI Conventions Section 3:
The Party shall hold a special convention within 45 days upon the call of the Executive Committee or when petitions are submitted by 10% of the current membership, specifying the purpose for the special convention.
LEC Fills Four District Representative Vacancies
After issuing the Call to Special Convention the LEC appointed four people to fill vacancies in the 6th, 8th, 13th and 14th District Representative positions.
The new officers are:
- District 6 Rep: Larry Henneman.
- District 8 Rep: Trevor Step
- District 13 Rep: Dave Franklin.
- District 14 Rep: Jeff Pittel.
Each district representative voted immediately upon assuming office.
The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) resonates with universe Special A.
One LPM LEC Branches Into Two Parallel Universes
Before the December 13th Judicial Committee (JC) ruling another form of the LPM LEC existed. Rather than being instantiated by a three person committee, this LEC was partially populated by officers elected at the 2022 LPM convention. Delegates elected those officers to fill vacancies. Other officers were elected to two year terms in 2021. Some of those officers remain, in those offices, in both parallel universes.
On January 31st the LPM LEC branched into two parallel universes, and universe Regular B sprouted from their common limb. On that day the Vice Chair Mike Saliba of the pre-December 13th LEC configuration announced an emergency meeting of the LPM LEC:
It has come to our attention that the LEC may have not been operating correctly. In order to cover us from every angle moving forward and to assure the correct actions are taken, in the role of First Vice Chair acting as Chair in Joe’s absence, I am calling an emergency meeting of the LEC in this configuration for Tuesday, Jan 31st, at 7:00pm.
At the meeting, these LEC members learned about a Michigan corporate law that nullified any legal effect of the JC ruling. The LPM is incorporated as “The Libertarian Party of Michigan Executive Committee, Inc.”
Special Convention Rendered Moot in Parallel Universe Regular B
Two of the three reasons these same people, and many others, called a special convention were immediately rendered moot: The vacancies to be filled were already full (except for a District Rep. position that could be filled by a caucus, and the LEC and the appointment of an acting treasurer until the Regular Convention), and there would be no reason to have a vote of “no confidence” to remove Andrew Chadderdon from being Chair, because he wasn’t Chair.
Furthermore, the reason the petitioners were so eager to fill vacancies was that the post-December-13th-LEC (universe Special A) had indefinitely delayed the scheduling of a regular convention that had previously been set for April. LPM bylaws state:
The Party shall hold a special convention within 45 days upon the call of the Executive Committee or when petitions are submitted by 10% of the current membership, specifying the purpose for the special convention.
Since the post-December-13th-LEC violated this bylaw by scheduling the convention much later than February 17th, the LEC agreed that they could wait until the Regular Convention.
The third reason, for a special convention. was to initiate an investigation of three officers for allegedly violating an NDA regarding LPM membership information. The LEC voted to initiate this process at the meeting, with the enthusiastic support of those targeted for investigation.
Parallel Universes with one Convention Date Regular Convention in Universe Regular B
Having dispensed with the need for a special convention, the LEC scheduled the Regular 2023 LPM Convention to take place on April 1st at the Hilton Garden Inn at 633 North Canal Road in Lansing, Michigan 48917.
Immediately following the meeting Chair Joe Brungardt issued a call to convention to affiliate officers (as required by LPM Bylaws) and emailed the following message to the membership:
Dear Members,
I am sure many of you have become aware of the LPM Executive Committee meeting that took place the evening of January 31, 2023. The reason this meeting took place is because many of the officers elected on July 9, 2022 learned that our party has recently been operating in a manner that is inappropriate given our status as a Michigan Nonprofit Corporation. The resultant actions that took place after the Judicial Committee released its report regarding Mr. Chadderdon’s appeal of the July 9 Convention, have been found to be unauthorized, and void.
This obviously lends itself to confusion and difficulty as we navigate through the decisions that must be made to rectify the actions that followed the Judicial Committee’s decision.
There are several questions at hand. This letter hopes to address each of those questions.
Why were the actions taken by certain members of the Libertarian Party of Michigan following the Judicial Committee decision?
Certainly, many asked the question, “What does the Judicial Committee report mean?” While some took it to mean that the board of the Libertarian Party of Michigan was reverted to its form before the July 9th Convention, there are two main issues with that.
First, the Libertarian Party of Michigan is a membership organization, and it is not possible for a committee to remove a member of its board that was elected by vote of the members. There is not authorization in our bylaws for that. There is no authorization within Robert’s Rules of Order to accomplish that. And perhaps most importantly, the Nonprofit Corporation Act 162 of 1982 specifically authorizes only the members to have the authority to remove a member of the board that was elected by the members. The Act does allow bylaws to specify other methods, but our bylaws do not provide authority to any Committee to remove member-elected board members.
Second, the Libertarian Party of Michigan has never authorized the Judicial Committee or any other committee to overrule the actions of its members as represented by its delegates at convention. The members of this party have the ultimate authority, and that authority is vested in its delegates to all Conventions of the Libertarian Party of Michigan.
Therefore, we are now taking actions to rectify the inappropriate, and unauthorized actions of certain members that took place following the Judicial Committee report.
What was the appropriate action following the Judicial Committee report?
What should have occurred, following the Judicial Committee report, would have been for the Executive Committee to call a Special Convention, for the purpose of allowing the members to act on the Judicial Committee report. Given the confusion surrounding the Judicial Committee’s report, we did not call an Executive Committee meeting to take this action because unfortunately, we didn’t properly understand our responsibilities. After seeking legal counsel, and the advice of many long-standing members in the party to understand further the precedence, we now understand what the appropriate action would have been.
What is the impact of the Judicial Committee report?
The impact of the Judicial Committee report is to the offer guidance to the Executive Committee and members on how to proceed to better align with the bylaws of the Libertarian Party of Michigan per their interpretation and reporting on specific cases.
Since the Judicial Committee report ruled that the bylaws were violated at the convention in July, it would be incumbent upon the Executive Committee to seek the rectify such violations in a manner that preserves the integrity of the party, allows the members to assert their rights, and maintains the appropriate functioning of the party until any bylaw violations can be appropriately rectified.
However, the Judicial Committee has no authority to overrule the delegates of a convention body. Therefore, should the Executive Committee believe that the Judicial Committee is overstepping its authority, it is incumbent upon the Executive Committee to assert the rights of its members in opposition to the Judicial Committee if necessary.
What proof do you have that this is the legally correct action of the party?
In addition to being the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party in Michigan, the LPM is also incorporated as a Nonprofit Corporation in the State of Michigan and is bound by the laws governing such organizations. The members of the LPM Executive Committee are legally the directors of the corporation. Only the directors of the corporation can act on behalf of the corporation. Members of the Judicial Committee are not directors of the corporation.
According to the Michigan NONPROFIT CORPORATION ACT 162 of 1982, the Judicial Committee does not have the authority to remove an officer elected by the members of the organization.
450.2535 Removal of officer; suspension of authority to act; contract rights; resignation of officer; notice. Sec. 535. (1) An officer elected or appointed by the board may be removed by the board with or without cause. An officer elected by the shareholders or members may be removed, with or without cause, only by vote of the shareholders or members. The authority of the officer to act as an officer may be suspended by the board for cause.
How do we move forward as a party to a unite and fight for liberty in our lifetime?
The Executive Committee has, as prescribed in our bylaws, authorized and issued a Call to our Regular Convention for April 1, 2023 at the Hilton Garden Inn at 633 North Canal Road in Lansing, MI for party members to elect all officers and choose the party’s direction. A call was sent for volunteers for a bylaws committee that will address issues in our bylaws that have left the LPM open to the conflicts that we have seen over the past several months. The LPM is committed to fully supporting the efforts underway by several dedicated volunteers targeting opportunities and recruiting Libertarian candidates to win local elections in 2023.
We request that all parties respect the right and authority of the members of the LPM to proceed with the convention on April 1 in Lansing to decide on the leadership and the business of the party.
Who are the members of the Libertarian Party of Michigan Executive Committee?
Chair – Joe Brungardt
First Vice Chair – Mike Saliba
Second Vice Chair – Mary Buzuma
Secretary – Daniel Ziemba
Treasurer – Vacant
District 1 – Ryan Roberts
District 2 – Vacant
District 3 – Jordan Martin
District 4 – Rick Thelen
District 5 – Dave Canny
District 6 – Rafael Wolf
District 7 – Brian Ellison
District 8 – Jon Elgas
District 9 – Greg Stempfle
District 10 – Kyle McCauley
District 11 – Bruce Jaquays
District 12 – Daniel Muehl-Mille
District 13 – Jami Van Alstine
District 14 – Scotty Boman
If I have concerns, who should I speak with?
If you have concerns, I encourage you to speak with your District Representative. You are certainly welcome to reach out to any member of the board, but your District Representative is responsible for taking up your concerns and speaking on your behalf to the board at any of its meetings.
Thank you for being a member of the Libertarian Party of Michigan. And look to upcoming announcements and information as it relates to the discoveries outlined here, and the appropriate actions to be taken looking forward.
Sincerely,
Joe Brungardt
Chair
Libertarian Party of Michigan
Meanwhile the LEC instance of universe Special A continued to control the official LPM website, MichiganLP.org. So until the LEC, recognized under Michigan law (the instance in Universe Regular B), gets control of that resource, it will need have another website that will enable members to register for the Regular Convention, and contact the legally recognized officers. Thus MichiganLP.info is the official LPM website in universe Regular B.
As an added twist, the LNC directed the Party Chair to send a cease and desist letter to Mr. Brungardt as the identified Chair of the group falsely claiming to be the legitimate leadership of the Michigan affiliate of the national Libertarian Party regarding all related activities regarding that claim and the unauthorized use of our trademarks.
While this shows the LNC has it’s feet firmly planted in universe Special A, it also shows that they are either neglecting the by law of fives:
Article V. Sction 5. The autonomy of the affiliate and sub-affiliate parties shall not be abridged by the National Committee or any other committee of the Party, except as provided by these bylaws.
… or there is yet another branching to a universe where that bylaw doesn’t exist. Then there is also the issue of whether or not the LPM logos are trademarks of the LNC.
Parallel Futures in Parallel Universes
So now there are different paths Libertarians will take at the state and national level:
Path Special A
Michigan Libertarians will attend a Special Convention on April 1st that almost none of the people, who petitioned for said convention, will attend. They will vote to fill vacancies in two Vice Chair positions, Treasurer, and some District Representatives.
Since this group is not legally recognized by the state of Michigan, and they don’t control the bank account of the Libertarian Party Executive Committee, Inc. This treasurer will have no authority and they will be unable to nominate candidates.
They will vote on no confidence in Chair Andrew Chadderdon, and that vote will fail since those who wanted him removed are in universe Regular B where he is not LPM Chair.
They will initiate an investigation into people who are already being investigated in universe Regular B.
The LNC will only recognize this instance as the legitimate State LPM LEC. So when they nominate a Presidential candidate in 2024, they will be seating delegates chosen by an affiliate with no ballot line (unless the they wish to petition for ballot access as a different political party).
Path Regular B
Michigan Libertarians will attend a Regular Convention on April 1st. They will vote on badly needed bylaw amendments and elect an all new LEC and Judicial Committee (in keeping with their current bylaws).
Since they control the ballot line, it will be up to them to decide if they will provide ballot access to the LNC’s Presidential ticket. Since the LNC will deny their delegates a roll in making that choice, many of these Libertarians may chose to do something different.
We shall live in interesting times. #fnord
Re: Bill Gelineau
They’re closer to PaleoConservatives than NeoConservatives.
In Pennsylvania’s partisan races, the pre-takeover leadership elected more partisan Libertarians than the rest of the nation combined. Since the take over? The party lost 40% of its membership in the first 6 months, it is $14,000 in the hole having been left $47,000 in the bank.
Of course the amazing success continues with the corrupt political PAC having screwed up:
NH
DE
MA
NM
PA (who stopped fighting them and started a whole new party in order to continue working on actual political solutions.)
VA
ID
MI
This weekend, LP National as well as the corrupt political PAC are both major sponsors of the Pro invasion, Pro former Soviet Fascist group whose speakers, all but 4 thought it was just horrible that Pro WAR 2 time convicted child sex offender Scott Ritter was removed from the speakers list. According to Angela McArdle, during her “emergency meeting” this past weekend: “If Scott Ritter is good enough for Ron Paul, he should be good enough for us.”
It will be interesting to see what the finance reports have to say about where the money is coming from to finance events like this and the lawsuits forcing state affiliates to capitulate to the will of the LNC in a bottom up organization.
A message from Bill Gelineau, former chair of the Libertarian Party of Michigan and former LPM gubernatorial candidate
To all the followers of the Libertarian Party of Michigan.
Many know that for some time, a group of infiltrators came into the Libertarian Party in Michigan and other states across the country. The so-called MISES Caucus – really a conspiratorial cult – seek to remove the Libertarian movement from it’s unique role in opposition to both the Democrats and Republicans. Certainly, not all members of the MISES Caucus are aware of the evil intent of its leaders. I encourage you to read all your can and make up your own mind.
While many in the Party support the principles of Austrian-Economics, we oppose the conservative social agenda advocated by many in this group.
During the Pandemic, some do’ers were given responsibilities within the Party. They used these opportunities to seize some assets of the Party, including its website. Don’t believe or act upon any actions requested by MichiganLP(dot)org… That site is temporarily in the control of the usurpers.
The true Board of Directors, or LEC, has opened an alternative site at https://michiganlp.net/ . This legally elected Board has scheduled a Convention on April 1.
Soon, you’ll see opportunities to sign up.
On the good side, most of the Affiliates in Michigan support the duly elected group. Virtually every Past Chair and Vice-Chair are supporting the team elected at Convention on July 9 in Holland.
It is a strange and sad time. Most Libertarians are peaceful people who have little time or inclination toward unnecessary conflict.
I hope you’ll join me and a dozen other Past Chairman and many, many other leaders in rejecting these people who would remove a critical voice in Michigan politics. Republicans are cheering. This sect is very right-wing, male, white, straight, and neocon.
I’m proud of the diversity of the Libertarian Party. While staunch advocates of the free market economics, we welcome and have long worked to protect everyone’s right to access the American Dream. We’ve stood side-by-side with marginalized people within the LBGTQ community, those fighting police over-reach, and the right of citizens to be left alone. Freedom doesn’t stop with economics.
Over the coming weeks, you’ll hear more about the Convention in Lansing on April 1. And we’ll tell you how to help the long list of new and old members working to regain our stolen assets.
We know that members across the nation will help us regain our assets. You can help here: https://michiganlp.net/donatelpmld/
@ Richard Winger: Fortunately this is an off year. Hopefully this is settled by next year when it really matters for ballot access.
Sad to see this confusing situation unfold.
Michigan Secretaries of State have a long tradition of refusing to place any nominees of a qualified minor party on the general election ballot, if there is any dispute about who the officers are. This kept the American Independent Party presidential nominee off the Michigan ballot in 1976 (some officers said the presidential nominee was Lester Maddox and other said it was Thomas Anderson). It kept the Reform Party presidential nominee off the ballot in 2000 (some officers said it was Pat Buchanan, others that it was John Hagelin). Secretaries of State and Election Boards in other states tended to adjudicate these types of dispute, but Michigan Secretaries of State refuse to adjudicate and won’t place anyone on the ballot.
Having nearly universally demonstrated that its attempts to elect people to government don’t work, particularly above the local nonpartisan level which most voters and media barely if ever notice, the LP has settled on a new strategy: demonstrating by example that its own internal government doesn’t work. Early results are very promising, as the LP appears to have much more success at showing proven results in this regard.