The Libertarian Party elected Evan McMahon as national chair and seated a new Libertarian National Committee during its convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan, closing a long weekend that saw considerable leadership turnover and several tense moments on the floor.
The party met from May 21 through May 25 at DeVos Place and the Amway Grand Plaza, where more than 600 delegates participated in leadership elections, bylaws debates, and other items of standard convention business. Independent Political Report covered the convention throughout the weekend in a real-time open thread.
McMahon, chair of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, won the national chair’s race after three rounds of voting. He defeated New York attorney James Ostrowski in the final round, 320 to 265. Earlier rounds also included Wes Benedict of Texas, Rob Yates of North Carolina, Stephen Phillips of Georgia, and Jeremy Kauffman of New Hampshire.
Delegates also elected Amanda Griffiths, secretary of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, as vice chair; former Region 2 Representative Jonathan McGee of Alabama as secretary; and former at-large Representative Douglas Knebel of South Carolina as treasurer.
Griffiths defeated Charles Essner in the third round, 297 to 259, while McGee defeated Bryce Thon in the third round, 319 to 199. Knebel won the treasurer’s race on the first ballot, receiving 311 votes to Aaron Toman’s 159.
The new officer slate succeeds a lineup that included Steven Nekhaila of Florida as chair, Paul Darr of Texas as vice chair, Bill Redpath of Ohio as treasurer, and McMahon as secretary. However, the new committee still includes some continuity, as several former officers are returning to the LNC in other roles.
In addition to McMahon’s transition to chair, Redpath and Nekhaila will both remain on the committee as at-large representatives. Delegates elected Redpath, Kelly Nguyen, and former Region 3 South Representative Keith Thompson to at-large seats during the convention, but a second round of voting failed to fill the remaining two seats before adjournment. The newly seated LNC later appointed Richard Longstreth of Colorado and Nekhaila to those vacancies during its first post-convention meeting.
State affiliates also caucused to select regional representatives and alternates for the new term in the days leading up to the convention, as well as during the event, with several agreements shared to the LNC’s public Business List. According to a list compiled by Third Party Watch, additional members of the previous LNC are returning in regional roles, similarly in different capacities.
The new pairings of regional representatives and alternates include Alex Flores and Jesse Phillips, Mimi Robson and Barbara Engelhardt, Dustin Coffell and Greg Hertzsch, Joe Hannoush and Omar Recuero, Olivia Hayse and Michelle Wiggington, Austin Martin and Sonja Feintech, Susan Hogarth and Travis Bost, Tyler Danke and Rose Leatherman, and Alfa Shaw and Pat Ford.
While Third Party Watch presents the list numerically, region numbers traditionally shift after each national convention as state affiliates enter or leave regional agreements. As of this article, the Libertarian Party had not yet updated its national website with the new regional structure, making it unclear which numbered region each pairing represents.
Delegates also filled a portion of the party’s Judicial Committee, electing Avens O’Brien of California and Ken Moellman of Kentucky out of a field of 17 nominated candidates. The seven-member committee, which is elected during non-presidential convention years, hears party appeals, including challenges involving affiliate revocations, delegate suspensions, and claims that LNC actions violate the party’s bylaws.
During the first day of business, O’Brien and Moellman received 387 and 373 delegate votes, respectively. However, because they were the only candidates to receive majority support on the first ballot, under party rules, the remaining five seats are treated as vacancies to be filled by the new Judicial Committee for the new term.
The multiple leadership changes came during a convention that was at times highly contentious. While heated debate is par for the course of a Libertarian Party convention, this year’s event resulted in several moments that went beyond the usual level of convention conflict.
Kauffman was nearly ejected Saturday over his decorum and remarks made about McMahon in his concession speech, though the motion fell short of the required two-thirds threshold after a count. He was ultimately removed Sunday after failing to come to order, with Nekhaila calling for security to escort him from the premises and all LNC-rented properties during the event.
A separate incident involving the New Hampshire delegation also reportedly ended in an arrest after one delegate was said to have slapped another delegate across the face after the second was accused of stealing tabling merchandise. The delegate who was arrested was later identified by a now-former member of the Libertarian National Committee as Andrew Allgood, who had previously been floated as a candidate for treasurer. Allgood was later decredentialed by a vote on the floor.
The convention also produced several bylaws changes, though delegates failed to finish the Bylaws Committee Report before adjournment. Over the weekend, delegates were able to work through the first 12 bylaws proposals, approving five of them, including one in amended form.
The adopted changes include allowing electronic balloting at future conventions, requiring 20 delegates to second certain floor motions, expanding the working windows for the Platform and Credentials Committees, and clarifying the effect of None of the Above winning a majority in presidential or vice-presidential balloting. An amended version of a proposal that initially sought to place restrictions on personal financial gain and the use of party resources by National Committee members was also approved.
Delegates were also presented with a Platform Committee report containing several hotly contested items, but they were unable to take up the proposed amendments before the end of the long weekend.
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