From the Chair
Chris Maden
Well, the beard's gone since the last "From the Chair." What else is new?
Meet the New Boss
First, I'd like to thank the party for re-electing me as Chair this year. I feel a bit like Saddam Hussein, re-elected unanimously by a small group in an unopposed election that I didn't even attend.
I'd like to see our activist population grow to a point where all of our elections are contested; as Libertarians, we know that competition breeds stronger ideas and better service. That said, I appreciate the compliment that at least I didn't do so badly last year that anyone felt compelled to challenge me.
Same as the Old Boss
I'd also like to thank my fellow Executive Committee members for being brave enough to do it again. Marcy Berry continues as Secretary and Bart Berry as Treasurer. Rob Power continues in his role as Vice Chair, having stepped into the position when Ira Victor Spivack fled the city and its oppressive regulations with his wife Sam Spivack last fall.
Money
Our biggest challenge this year is going to be a tight budget. As some of you may know, the national party is having financial difficulty; under the Unified Membership Plan, our operating budget comes from a share of the membership dues paid by our local members to the national party. Problems at the top trickle down, and we're now three months behind on receiving our dues allocation.
Our ever-frugal Treasurer has kept us in line, however, and we have a few dollars more than we did last year. Our two biggest expenses were the monthly pizza social and this newsletter. We now solicit contributions at each meeting for the pizza social, though the event is still open and free to all, and so we've entirely eliminated that expense.
We've also moved the newsletter to a quarterly basis, and with this issue we've gone electronic. A postcard reminder has been sent to the membership, with printed copies of the complete newsletter sent only by request. This saves on reproduction and postage, further conserving our funds for our real work (see below).
If you can make a donation to the local party, please do so. You can donate electronically on our home page, lpsf.org, or send us a check (2215-R Market St., PMB 170, San Francisco, CA 94114).
Denny for Mayor
One of our two big projects this year is Michael Denny's campaign for mayor. Mike has been an activist with the LPSF for years, and is now taking his second shot at elected office. Building on the contacts he made during last year's run for State Assembly, Mike is taking the city by storm. With no incumbent and instant run-off voting, anything is possible in this election; see the other articles in this newsletter for more information.
Membership Building
Along with Mike's campaign, we're also trying to build the local party's numbers. Our funding under the Unified Membership Plan depends on the number of members we have, and we also want to build our activist base for the 2004 campaigns. Running a full slate of candidates in 2002 was exciting, and we'd like to do it again if possible. However, burn-out is a real problem, and having a larger pool of volunteers and candidates will greatly increase our chance of success.
We've reorganized the former Membership and Contributions Committees into one Development Committee under the able leadership of Rob Power. They've refined their processes, and are once again actively following up on leads and lapsed members.
We're also going to be running Operation Politically Homeless at a number of fairs and events, including the NORML conference in April, the Pride celebration at the end of June, and probably the Haight Street Fair. This is a great opportunity to get out and meet people, have a nice day in the sun (or fog) with fellow Libertarians, and help build the party.
I'm also hosting the first of what will hopefully be regular social events on March 23. This is a no-pressure opportunity to get to know your fellow Libertarians without meetings, procedures, donations, or other hijinks. Bring friends who are curious about the party as well as your own libations of choice. I hope to meet you then!