LNC Chair Report For LNC Spring Meeting

paulie March 21, 2013

My comments to LNC list:

Geoff, thanks for the report. A few comments:

“I have directed staff to proceed with establishing an account with a merchant provider that will allow us
to accept BitCoin donations.”

Awesome. Thank you!

Electronic Distribution of LP News: I agree with you, and disagree with Carla, regarding immediate distribution in pdf form.

“I asked staff to assemble a list of all the processes that are performed by LPHQ. This list included the business area, and what the state of existing documentation is.”

Thank you. Badly needed and long overdue!

“The SLA will be produced as a statement of how the LNC and LPHQ will act, and what
services they will and will not deliver.”

I hope we find a way to get on the same page with as many states as possible on this.

“Some have questioned the need, but virtually no one has said that we do enough to explain to affiliates
what our role is – IN WRITING.”

Thank you again! I have been making that point for some time.

“Diana Visek has made good progress on her committee, and I think we should punt this
entire effort to her team. I will let her report in Chicago.”

I’m disappointed that I have not been included in these deliberations. As I told you in Austin, I’m not particularly concerned with whether I get a vote on the committee or not, but I believe I have a lot to offer the committee in terms of planning, and have offered my help. My status as a past and potential future vendor is not unique among LNC members who are members of committees which deal with matters of their professional expertise, but again – I don’t care whether I get a vote, I just want to make this committee as effective as possible, and I hope the other committee members will agree that my help would be valuable.

My offer has nothing to do with trying to steer contracts my way or improve their terms. Quite the opposite, my intent is to help the LP get the most bang for its buck and reduce ballot access costs over time – while also finding ways to derive additional benefits from petitioning that we don’t get now.

As mentioned elsewhere on this list, whether I want to be a ballot access vendor to LNC/LPHQ again is in doubt, as I hope to transition my skills to other somewhat related professions, hopefully soon, as well as explore unrelated career options.

I should also note that I have done several thousand volunteer signatures for the LP in several states, although I have been paid for many more than I have done as a volunteer. Also, am I correct in my somewhat fuzzy recollection that Ms. Visek was paid for some of her signature gathering as well? My apologies if I am remembering that wrong. I do, of course, realize that her volunteer-to-paid signature gathering ratio is much better than mine, but if some of other plans work out, I may be getting a lot more volunteer signatures in the future, so long as I find other ways to cover my expenses. .

“Crowdfunding

Brett Pojunis has located a provider and negotiated a preferable rate. The next step is to define the
scope and constraints of this project. I have not had the time to move this forward, and would like some
help. However, I am not interested in help as defined by the volunteer. I am interested in help from
people who understand how to work within a collaborative team structure. Any volunteers?”

Yes, I’d love to help if my help would be accepted. And yes, I realize that this does not mean that my ideas will be adopted.

As with the many other projects that I am offering to help with, my sole concern is that they be done as well as possible, and rolled out in a timeframe that is neither too stretched out nor unwisely hasty.

“In the same light, I would like to create a new discussion group hosted by us for international LP Party
leadership. Perhaps I will call it [email protected]. Robert has said that the cost of doing so is minimal. My
only question is whether this is something the LNC would endorse or oppose. You guys tell me.”

You have my endorsement for whatever, if anything, it is worth.

One Comment

paulie March 21, 2013
My comments to LNC list:
Geoff, thanks for the report. A few comments:
“I have directed staff to proceed with establishing an account with a merchant provider that will allow us
to accept BitCoin donations.”
Awesome. Thank you!
Electronic Distribution of LP News: I agree with you, and disagree with Carla, regarding immediate distribution in pdf form.
“I asked staff to assemble a list of all the processes that are performed by LPHQ. This list included the business area, and what the state of existing documentation is.”
Thank you. Badly needed and long overdue!
“The SLA will be produced as a statement of how the LNC and LPHQ will act, and what
services they will and will not deliver.”
I hope we find a way to get on the same page with as many states as possible on this.
“Some have questioned the need, but virtually no one has said that we do enough to explain to affiliates
what our role is – IN WRITING.”
Thank you again! I have been making that point for some time.
“Diana Visek has made good progress on her committee, and I think we should punt this
entire effort to her team. I will let her report in Chicago.”
I’m disappointed that I have not been included in these deliberations. As I told you in Austin, I’m not particularly concerned with whether I get a vote on the committee or not, but I believe I have a lot to offer the committee in terms of planning, and have offered my help. My status as a past and potential future vendor is not unique among LNC members who are members of committees which deal with matters of their professional expertise, but again – I don’t care whether I get a vote, I just want to make this committee as effective as possible, and I hope the other committee members will agree that my help would be valuable.
My offer has nothing to do with trying to steer contracts my way or improve their terms. Quite the opposite, my intent is to help the LP get the most bang for its buck and reduce ballot access costs over time – while also finding ways to derive additional benefits from petitioning that we don’t get now.
As mentioned elsewhere on this list, whether I want to be a ballot access vendor to LNC/LPHQ again is in doubt, as I hope to transition my skills to other somewhat related professions, hopefully soon, as well as explore unrelated career options.
I should also note that I have done several thousand volunteer signatures for the LP in several states, although I have been paid for many more than I have done as a volunteer. Also, am I correct in my somewhat fuzzy recollection that Ms. Visek was paid for some of her signature gathering as well? My apologies if I am remembering that wrong. I do, of course, realize that her volunteer-to-paid signature gathering ratio is much better than mine, but if some of other plans work out, I may be getting a lot more volunteer signatures in the future, so long as I find other ways to cover my expenses. .
“Crowdfunding
Brett Pojunis has located a provider and negotiated a preferable rate. The next step is to define the
scope and constraints of this project. I have not had the time to move this forward, and would like some
help. However, I am not interested in help as defined by the volunteer. I am interested in help from
people who understand how to work within a collaborative team structure. Any volunteers?”
Yes, I’d love to help if my help would be accepted. And yes, I realize that this does not mean that my ideas will be adopted.
As with the many other projects that I am offering to help with, my sole concern is that they be done as well as possible, and rolled out in a timeframe that is neither too stretched out nor unwisely hasty.
“In the same light, I would like to create a new discussion group hosted by us for international LP Party
leadership. Perhaps I will call it [email protected]. Robert has said that the cost of doing so is minimal. My
only question is whether this is something the LNC would endorse or oppose. You guys tell me.”
You have my endorsement for whatever, if anything, it is worth.

Comments are closed.