Libertarian National Committee to Vote on New Vice Chair

Members of the Libertarian National Committee will soon vote on a new Vice Chair, filling a vacancy brought on earlier in the year. The choice is currently between three candidates; Andrew Watkins of Virginia, Jonathan McGee of Alabama, and NOTA. An opportunity for public comment and questions is underway on the LNC’s internal list and will close tomorrow afternoon.

Joshua Smith, elected Vice Chair at the 2022 Libertarian National Convention in Reno, stepped down in February. In his original announcement, Smith praised the supporters and activists who made the leadership transition possible but cited frustration with the same backroom politics that continued within the party.

Jonathan McGee, Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Alabama and delegate to the 2022 Libertarian National Convention, made the following introductory statement:

I have been the Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Alabama for the past year. In that time the LPA obtained statewide ballot access for the first time in over twenty years, and then recruited over sixty candidates to take full advantage of the opportunity. I am proud of the supporting roles I had in making these accomplishments possible.

I am currently an Electrical Engineer by profession, but I am also a licensed electrician. I believe that my past experience with both blue collar and white collar work has given me an uncommon perspective on a number of issues and the ability to get along with a wide spectrum of people.

If elected LNC Vice Chair, I have two major goals for the next year. My first goal is to facilitate harmony among the various factions that exist inside the Libertarian Party today. Given the events of the past year I do understand that is quite a tall order, but it is critical to the success of the party moving forward. Politics is politics and there will always be some sort of drama, but carefully fostering reconciliation and understanding can greatly mitigate the impact of such drama.

During my tenure as LPA Vice Chair there has been minimal caucus drama in Alabama. There are many reasons for this, but I attribute it in large part to the stance that the LPA Chair Goodman and I took to facilitate cross-factional cooperation. We made it clear to all factions that we care more about getting the work done and putting party before faction. With more than sixty candidates of all caucus affiliations on the ballot it became clear that we were all going to have to work together, and to the credit of all factions involved, they rose to the occasion.

My second major goal is to increase the amount of outreach our activists do across party lines. To that end I would like to congratulate LNC Chair McArdle for the recent Rage Against the War Machine event as I believe it is a great example of what our outreach needs to look like. Oftentimes as Libertarians we underestimate the impact of showing up and talking to activists in other parties about the issues that they care about the most. If these activists interact with Libertarians that share their concerns and can articulate the Libertarian answer to those issues, you might be surprised just how persuadable some of these activists are.

As an example, in mid-October of 2022 I attended a prison reform rally on the steps of the capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama. The organization responsible for the rally was overwhelmingly Democrat and the rally was planned in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Alabama Democratic Caucus, but the presence of Libertarian candidates and activists at the rally was so significant that the Democrats took notice. Some of the activists were quite friendly, and others less so, but everyone there that genuinely cared about prison reform was happy that we had taken the time to support their event. After the event some of the activists even decided to join the Libertarian Party. I will be seeing some of them again at the LPA state convention this year. I have found that often just showing up and having some of the answers is more important than not showing up and having all the answers.

In closing, one of the most important aspects of being the Vice Chair of any organization is being familiar with the duties and responsibilities of the Chair. At any point the Vice Chair can be called upon to act as the Chair, so it is imperative that a Vice Chair have the proper knowledge, experience and temperament to do so. As LPA Vice Chair I have demonstrated on multiple occasions that I have the knowledge, experience and temperament to act as the LPA Chair as I have had to run many contentious meetings in LPA Chair Goodman’s stead. I believe the vision I have laid out for the LNC Vice Chair position is in alignment with LNC Chair McArdle’s vision for the role, and if elected I look forward to assisting her in the same way that I have supported LPA Chair Goodman in Alabama. As such, I humbly ask that you vote for me for LNC Vice Chair. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Andrew Watkins, Region 5 Representative on the Libertarian National Committee and Virginia State organizer for the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus, also shared a statement:

Thank you to those that have already expressed your support. I am glad to have your confidence, and, if chosen, I hope I can live up to expectations. Also, I appreciate the praise regarding my involvement with the rally; however, there are several others that deserve much more recognition than myself. It would not have been possible without Tim Miller, Irene Mavrakakis, and Sara Isenhour to name just a few! It was amazing to see so many volunteers step up and produce such a successful event that sparked international cooperation! I will try to keep this brief as I generally do not talk much about myself.

I think it is accurate to say that this board overall has a very healthy culture, and I hope to see that continue regardless of who is selected as Vice Chair. A functional and successful work environment must have good, clear communication, encouragement, and constructive criticism. I am glad to see we do not air our, or others’, personal grievances all over social media as previous LNCs have been known to, and I am glad that we do not bring our personal matters into the “workspace.” Social media is not the Libertarian Party.

I have served as a member of the LPVA board and I helped found a local affiliate in my area to replace a previous affiliate that had become a hive of neocons. Outside of the LP I have been on volunteer staff for various music related events/clinics that involved countless last minute schedule and logistical changes that required the ability of the team to adapt and execute quickly. I have also worked in fast-paced restaurant environments, and anyone who has done the same knows how important communication and teamwork is to a successful service.

I try to be self-aware and acknowledge what I do not know, and I do my best to seek out answers or ask questions. I also try to learn from mistakes and do my best not to repeat them. As some may know I have already been assisting our Chair with various tasks here and there when able, and if I am selected as Vice Chair I hope to do the same, of course, in a more active capacity as well as assist the rest of my fellow LNC members. I am not one who seeks higher roles or status, but I am always happy to help where needed within my abilities.

Members of the Libertarian National Committee also have the opportunity to speak on behalf of NOTA, or None of the Above. At this time, no such statement or speech has been made. Independent Political Report will update this article with more information as it becomes available.