Libertarian Party of San Francisco Agenda: Saturday, May 14, 2016
Meeting Location: San Francisco Main Library – 4th Floor Conference Room
1. Welcome – Introductions 3:05-3:10
2. Activist Reports – Past & Future 3:11-3:30
3. Announcements 3:31-3:50
4. Transportation Panel Discussion Report 3:51-4:00
5. Membership/Newsletter Report 4:01-4:10
6. Treasurer’s Report (Bank & PayPal) 4:11-4:15
7. June Election Ballot Measures 4:16-4:30
8. Pride June 2016 4:31-4:45
9. WALL Event in August 4:46-5:00
Meeting Location: San Francisco Main Library – 4th Floor Conference Room
1. Welcome – Introductions 3:05-3:10
2. Activist Reports – Past & Future 3:11-3:30
3. Announcements 3:31-3:50
4. Transportation Panel Discussion Report 3:51-4:00
5. Membership/Newsletter Report 4:01-4:10
6. Treasurer’s Report (Bank & PayPal) 4:11-4:15
7. June Election Ballot Measures 4:16-4:30
8. Pride June 2016 4:31-4:45
9. WALL Event in August 4:46-5:00
Libertarian Party of San Francisco
Minutes for Monthly Meeting at the San Francisco Public Library on Saturday, May 14, 2016
Written by Aubrey Freedman
Attendees: Phil Berg, Marco Delaroche (guest), Aubrey Freedman (Chair), Les Mangus (Treasurer), Jim Napier (guest), and Bill Shireman (guest).
Activist Reports:
Les has still been writing letters to the editor of the Chronicle but has not had any success lately in getting them published. Most recently he wrote letters regarding the teachers unions and extending taxes. Bill helped organize a successful conference in Dallas, Texas for 120 executives regarding a market-based environmental agenda. Jim posts on Facebook when he is moved on political issues. Aubrey went to the Examiner office with Marcy, and they did an interview with two staff members on all the ballot measures. He is also working on the campaign of Joel Engardio, a moderate Democrat looking to replace Norman Yee as District 7 Supervisor.
Announcements:
Monday, May 16, 7:00-9:00 PM - Golden Gate Liberty Revolution Monthly Meeting, Moksha Life Center, 405 Sansome Street, San Francisco.
Tuesday, May 17, anytime between 10AM and 11PM - Mixer/Fundraiser for John McAfee (LP Presidential candidate), downtown SF (no exact location yet).
Friday, May 27 9AM-Monday, May 30 noon - LP National Convention, Rosen Centre Hotel & Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Saturday, June 4, 7:00-11:00 PM - Free Exchange, Jim Elwood’s in Parkmerced.
Transportation Panel Discussion Report:
Aubrey reported that our “Tax Day” event was moderately successful this year on Sunday, April 10. Transportation experts Tom Rubin and Gerald Cauthen have been in the field for years and were convincing critics of the current government-run transportation system, especially projects like the Central Subway and light rail. Both felt that government has a role in facilitating the movement of people, but both agreed that the current emphasis on removing people’s transportation choices was not a good thing. Attendance was lighter than last year’s event, probably due to neither panelist being as good a draw as Randal O’Toole last year, but the meeting room at the Noe Valley Library was smaller than the room at the Main Library last year, so the turnout looked respectable. Starchild was the moderator. The event got off to a late start due to technical difficulties with the overhead projector, and we gave up trying to get it going after a while, and the discussion proceeded without the audio visual successfully because the panelists really knew their stuff. The audience was well engaged and the panel discussion could easily have gone on longer.
Membership/Newsletter Report:
Aubrey reported that membership is up by 2 to 41 (20 lifetime members and 21 current paid up annual members). There were no expired memberships since last month, and 2 new members popped up on the state membership listing. He will send letters of welcome to the new members and include them on the newsletter mailing list. He is behind on the newsletter this month and still has not sent it out but is working on it.
Treasurer’s Report:
Les reported that our coffers are in good shape: in our Bank of America account we have $6,106, and in our PayPal account we have $265, for a total of $6,371. He reported that through the period January 1-May 13 our net income was $1,881 due to generous donations received and no checks written.
June Election Ballot Measures:
Aubrey suggested that we increase our budget for the upcoming June election from $750 to $1,000 since our coffers are healthy and what else is the money for. Starchild’s postcard of ballot measure recommendations is completed and is set to run as an ad in the SF State University newspaper Golden Gate Xpress on May 18 for a cost of $220.50 (same rate as last year). Aubrey tried to get our ad in the Guardsman, the school newspaper for CCSF, but he missed the deadline so that one is out this time. Marcy has requested funding for running a Facebook ad luring folks to our website for our recommendations and to increase our visibility. Aubrey researched running an ad in the Westside Observer (a more fiscally conservative paper in the West Portal district), and he showed the dimensions and costs of running different size ads, and the consensus was that the 6x5 ad for $300 would be the best use of our money. The postcard mailing of Starchild’s postcard is in process (estimated at 1,142 names @ .43 = $491), and Aubrey said he can adjust the size of the mailing to squeeze it into the budget, depending if we can get our ad into the Westside Observer or not (not sure about the deadlines). There was consensus that any combination of these advertising efforts is fine as long as we don’t exceed the $1,000 budget.
Pride June 25-26, 2016:
Aubrey stressed that we need helpers to help out at the booth again this year. In previous years the registration and insurance ran about $350-$400, but they changed their pricing structure, and our cost was only $205 this year. Starchild had come up with the suggestion several months back of having a spinning prize wheel of the unlikelihood of landing on a slot where you didn’t break a law, so Aubrey priced them out from two websites that Marcy found. The one website had various models available priced from $59-$303 and the other one had them from $85-$345. Looking at the various models, Aubrey felt that for around $100 he could find a suitable one for our needs for this Pride, which could also be used at other outreach events in the future. The group agreed $100 would be allocated for a new spinning prize wheel, and Aubrey will order one.
WALL Event in August:
Aubrey reported that WALL (War & Law League) is having Dr. Helen Caldicott speak at the Main Library on Saturday, August 13 on “Nuclear Weapons: Can They Be Abolished?” and inquired if there was any interest in the LPSF helping to sponsor the event. There were several objections raised to participating in this event, mainly that the US government would get rid of its nuclear armaments but how could you really ensure that other countries’ governments would do the same. One person thought it was a good idea to get our name out there hosting worthwhile and interesting events but did not feel particularly passionate about this topic. The LPSF will not be participating in this event.
Upset Visitor:
A late guest (with the last name of Parker) to our meeting wanted to address the group. Since all the essential business had basically been covered, Aubrey let her have the floor. She was the mother of a student at SF State University and was extremely upset about an incident that happened at the university recently where the Mayor of Jerusalem was disrupted by Palestinian protesters during a speech and the campus police did nothing. She was also furious at the college President Les Wong for not doing anything and insisted that he’s on the side of the protesters. She sought help from the LPSF in helping to educate the administration on this obvious infringement of free speech and civil behavior. We suggested that she try the local YAL group on campus and also the organization FIRE for assistance.
Minutes for Monthly Meeting at the San Francisco Public Library on Saturday, May 14, 2016
Written by Aubrey Freedman
Attendees: Phil Berg, Marco Delaroche (guest), Aubrey Freedman (Chair), Les Mangus (Treasurer), Jim Napier (guest), and Bill Shireman (guest).
Activist Reports:
Les has still been writing letters to the editor of the Chronicle but has not had any success lately in getting them published. Most recently he wrote letters regarding the teachers unions and extending taxes. Bill helped organize a successful conference in Dallas, Texas for 120 executives regarding a market-based environmental agenda. Jim posts on Facebook when he is moved on political issues. Aubrey went to the Examiner office with Marcy, and they did an interview with two staff members on all the ballot measures. He is also working on the campaign of Joel Engardio, a moderate Democrat looking to replace Norman Yee as District 7 Supervisor.
Announcements:
Monday, May 16, 7:00-9:00 PM - Golden Gate Liberty Revolution Monthly Meeting, Moksha Life Center, 405 Sansome Street, San Francisco.
Tuesday, May 17, anytime between 10AM and 11PM - Mixer/Fundraiser for John McAfee (LP Presidential candidate), downtown SF (no exact location yet).
Friday, May 27 9AM-Monday, May 30 noon - LP National Convention, Rosen Centre Hotel & Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Saturday, June 4, 7:00-11:00 PM - Free Exchange, Jim Elwood’s in Parkmerced.
Transportation Panel Discussion Report:
Aubrey reported that our “Tax Day” event was moderately successful this year on Sunday, April 10. Transportation experts Tom Rubin and Gerald Cauthen have been in the field for years and were convincing critics of the current government-run transportation system, especially projects like the Central Subway and light rail. Both felt that government has a role in facilitating the movement of people, but both agreed that the current emphasis on removing people’s transportation choices was not a good thing. Attendance was lighter than last year’s event, probably due to neither panelist being as good a draw as Randal O’Toole last year, but the meeting room at the Noe Valley Library was smaller than the room at the Main Library last year, so the turnout looked respectable. Starchild was the moderator. The event got off to a late start due to technical difficulties with the overhead projector, and we gave up trying to get it going after a while, and the discussion proceeded without the audio visual successfully because the panelists really knew their stuff. The audience was well engaged and the panel discussion could easily have gone on longer.
Membership/Newsletter Report:
Aubrey reported that membership is up by 2 to 41 (20 lifetime members and 21 current paid up annual members). There were no expired memberships since last month, and 2 new members popped up on the state membership listing. He will send letters of welcome to the new members and include them on the newsletter mailing list. He is behind on the newsletter this month and still has not sent it out but is working on it.
Treasurer’s Report:
Les reported that our coffers are in good shape: in our Bank of America account we have $6,106, and in our PayPal account we have $265, for a total of $6,371. He reported that through the period January 1-May 13 our net income was $1,881 due to generous donations received and no checks written.
June Election Ballot Measures:
Aubrey suggested that we increase our budget for the upcoming June election from $750 to $1,000 since our coffers are healthy and what else is the money for. Starchild’s postcard of ballot measure recommendations is completed and is set to run as an ad in the SF State University newspaper Golden Gate Xpress on May 18 for a cost of $220.50 (same rate as last year). Aubrey tried to get our ad in the Guardsman, the school newspaper for CCSF, but he missed the deadline so that one is out this time. Marcy has requested funding for running a Facebook ad luring folks to our website for our recommendations and to increase our visibility. Aubrey researched running an ad in the Westside Observer (a more fiscally conservative paper in the West Portal district), and he showed the dimensions and costs of running different size ads, and the consensus was that the 6x5 ad for $300 would be the best use of our money. The postcard mailing of Starchild’s postcard is in process (estimated at 1,142 names @ .43 = $491), and Aubrey said he can adjust the size of the mailing to squeeze it into the budget, depending if we can get our ad into the Westside Observer or not (not sure about the deadlines). There was consensus that any combination of these advertising efforts is fine as long as we don’t exceed the $1,000 budget.
Pride June 25-26, 2016:
Aubrey stressed that we need helpers to help out at the booth again this year. In previous years the registration and insurance ran about $350-$400, but they changed their pricing structure, and our cost was only $205 this year. Starchild had come up with the suggestion several months back of having a spinning prize wheel of the unlikelihood of landing on a slot where you didn’t break a law, so Aubrey priced them out from two websites that Marcy found. The one website had various models available priced from $59-$303 and the other one had them from $85-$345. Looking at the various models, Aubrey felt that for around $100 he could find a suitable one for our needs for this Pride, which could also be used at other outreach events in the future. The group agreed $100 would be allocated for a new spinning prize wheel, and Aubrey will order one.
WALL Event in August:
Aubrey reported that WALL (War & Law League) is having Dr. Helen Caldicott speak at the Main Library on Saturday, August 13 on “Nuclear Weapons: Can They Be Abolished?” and inquired if there was any interest in the LPSF helping to sponsor the event. There were several objections raised to participating in this event, mainly that the US government would get rid of its nuclear armaments but how could you really ensure that other countries’ governments would do the same. One person thought it was a good idea to get our name out there hosting worthwhile and interesting events but did not feel particularly passionate about this topic. The LPSF will not be participating in this event.
Upset Visitor:
A late guest (with the last name of Parker) to our meeting wanted to address the group. Since all the essential business had basically been covered, Aubrey let her have the floor. She was the mother of a student at SF State University and was extremely upset about an incident that happened at the university recently where the Mayor of Jerusalem was disrupted by Palestinian protesters during a speech and the campus police did nothing. She was also furious at the college President Les Wong for not doing anything and insisted that he’s on the side of the protesters. She sought help from the LPSF in helping to educate the administration on this obvious infringement of free speech and civil behavior. We suggested that she try the local YAL group on campus and also the organization FIRE for assistance.