The United States Pirate Party elected a new national leadership team during its annual conference in Boston, returning Mitch Davilo as party Captain but reorganizing much of the rest of the Pirate National Committee.
The party held its 2026 Pirate National Conference on June 6 and 7 at the Residence Inn by Marriott Boston Harbor on Tudor Wharf. The conference was conducted as a hybrid event like in past years to accommodate members unable to physically attend.
In a post-conference statement, Davilo thanked the Massachusetts Pirate Party, which hosted the event, as well as members who attended in person and online for helping organize the conference. He also provided the officer election results, which were not immediately available following voting. The results show that 21 voting delegates participated in officer elections.
The newly elected Pirate National Committee board consists of Davilo as Captain, Blase Henry as Vice Captain, Eli McGee as Quartermaster, Lily Boyt as Scribe, Joseph Onoroski as Lookout, Joel Lightfoot as Beancounter, Wanda Ward as Swarmcare Manager, Mars Bale as Webadmin, and Rowan Tipping as Director of Public Relations. Davilo and Bale were the only incumbents returned to the same seats.
Independent Political Report previously discussed the party’s use of terminology and how it compares to more traditional organizations in its coverage of the 2025 conference.
Under its bylaws, the Pirate Party conducts officer elections using the Schulze Method, a ranked voting system that determines winners through pairwise comparisons between candidates. Davilo also wrote that winners who accepted one office were removed from consideration for any additional offices, meaning some candidates prevailed in multiple races but could only accept a single position.
Davilo, who was reelected in a race that also included McGee as an option, said he was “honored” to receive a vote of confidence from the party. This will be his second term as Captain, having first been elected to the role at the 2025 conference in San Francisco.
Henry, who previously served as Scribe and chairs the Arizona Pirate Party, was elected Vice Captain in a race that included Vermin Supreme, the party’s 2024 presidential nominee. He succeeds Ty Clifford, who resigned from the office just weeks before the conference. McGee, the party’s former Beancounter, was elected Quartermaster in a race with two-term incumbent Darren McKeeman.
Several younger figures also moved into national roles. Boyt, a current co-captain of Young Pirates USA, was elected Scribe in a race with Henry and Ward. Ward, previously the party’s Lookout, was elected Swarmcare Manager in a race featuring McGee. Tipping, an Illinois Pirate and former Young Pirates USA captain, was elected Director of Public Relations in a race that also included Henry and Boyt.
Onoroski, who ran for the Massachusetts House of Representatives under the Pirate designation in 2024, was elected Lookout in a race with AJ Porter and Joel Lightfoot. Lightfoot, captain of the Maryland Pirate Party, was elected Beancounter in a race that included McGee and Mars Bale, with McGee removed from consideration after winning Quartermaster. Bale, the incumbent Webadmin, continued in the role after McGee was likewise removed from consideration because of his earlier win.
Each position carries a one-year term running through the party’s 2027 conference.
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