Libertarian Party of Colorado Elects New Leadership at State Convention

The Libertarian Party of Colorado elected new leadership at its annual convention in Denver this month, naming Keith Laube as state chair and significantly reshaping the organization’s executive team and board of directors.

The party met on October 18 at the Highlands Event Center in Denver after rescheduling the convention several times, including from an earlier June 6 date in Holyoke. The event featured speeches by Republican gubernatorial candidate William McBride, former Libertarian presidential candidate Austin Peterson and former Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle. Members also selected delegates and alternates to the 2026 Libertarian National Convention, considered bylaw proposals, and elected state leaders.

In a statement shared with Independent Political Report, the party said Keith Laube, a former chair of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, was elected Colorado state chair, defeating Executive Director James Wiley. The statement described Laube as “a longtime moderate Libertarian” with local government experience who campaigned on improving professionalism in communication and increasing the number of registered Libertarians in the state.

“During the past year, the Libertarian Party of Colorado has not kept its tradition of being a strong supporter of individual rights, in particular the LGBTQ community,” Laube said. “The party needs to get back to focusing on individual rights and liberties for all adults.”

Laube also said the party would continue to defend Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights and promote greater efficiency in local and state government as a way to reduce the overall tax burden.

The statement also said Doug Jones, a former chair of the Libertarian Party of Utah and a onetime congressional candidate in Utah’s 3rd District, was elected vice chair. He was elected without opposition, aside from the option of selecting “None of the Above.”

Although the statement focused only on Laube and Jones, members also made additional leadership changes at the convention. Former state chair Jeffory Orrok was elected secretary, and Allison Spink, first elected treasurer in 2024 before resigning earlier this year, was elected again to the post. Under party bylaws, the secretary and treasurer are typically elected in even-numbered years, but vacancies required delegates to fill the seats this year.

Several director positions were also addressed, though the statement did not reference them or their results. In contrast to other roles, the fundraising, campaigns, communications, and affiliates directors are elected at odd-year conventions alongside the chair and vice chair. Bette Rose Ryan, Joe Johnson, Sean Vadney and Janet Turner were elected fundraising, campaigns, communications and affiliates directors, respectively. Mark Nelson, who previously served as affiliates director, was elected membership director.

A livestream recording of the convention shows Laube received 54 votes to Wiley’s 39, with one vote for NOTA. Jones defeated NOTA 51–41. Orrok won 56–31 over NOTA, and Spink defeated Bennett Rutledge 60–29, with one vote cast for NOTA.

In the director races, Turner defeated NOTA 50–36. Johnson beat NOTA 55–18, and Ryan defeated NOTA 53–22. Mark Nielson narrowly defeated Robin Early 40–39, and Vadney defeated Brian Flanigan 45–34.

The remaining directors will stay in their current roles and are not up for election until the 2026 convention. They include legislative director Michael Vance, outreach director Kirsten Lauren, and technology director Justin Savoy. Several positions also remain unfilled since the convention, including the executive director post previously held by Wiley and the parliamentarian seat, which was also vacant before the convention.

Editorial note: an earlier version of the article stated that Vance, Lauren, and Savoy returned to their positions. Their seats are not up until the 2026 convention and this has been amended to reflect that. It also relied on secondary accounts which have since been replaced with details directly produced in a video by the Libertarian Party of Colorado.