Author: QueensLP

November 2023 Meeting of the The Libertarian Party of Queens County (LPQC)

November 2023 Meeting of the The Libertarian Party of Queens County (LPQC)

The Libertarian Party of Queens County (LPQC) will be meeting at Donovan’s Pub in Woodside on Saturday 11/11/2023 at noon.

Donovan’s Pub
57-24 Roosevelt Ave
Woodside, Queens County, NY 11377
https://donovansny.com/

https://maps.app.goo.gl/mhcQEWk9EqE8cJzo7

For this event, we would like to hear from you. If any Libertarian has a topic to discuss, let us know. Maybe you would be the one leading the monthly talk.

Libertarian Party Of Queens County And Queens Libertarians Unite

Libertarian Party Of Queens County And Queens Libertarians Unite

After years of having two parties identifying themselves as the Libertarian Party of Queens, NY, both entities decided to become one.

“We formed LPQC after the LP got ballot access in NYS and we had an organizational meeting at [Former LPQC Chair] Mike Arcati’s house in early 2019,” said Mark Weinblatt.” It has been a challenge since then to gain strength by reaching out to those in Queens who had registered as Libertarians. Without reaching out, we struggle to raise money, and without money, we can’t afford to reach out. It’s a Catch-22. The pandemic restrictions made things even more difficult. Now that we have a regular meeting time and place and will take on more ‘official’ party business, my hope is that we can find ways of both reaching out to like-minded Queens residents and also raising money to help extend that outreach to the ‘libertarian-curious’ who would be open to our ideas and values. We welcome any help that we can get from anywhere else in the state or National.”

At the same time, John Clifton’s QL has been very active getting

people together whether voters, party partisans or simply persons who

share libertarian ideas or a good story from a guest speaker.

As with most good stories, everything happened by chance. John

Clifton, who had been running QL for several years, approached Mark Weinblatt (LPQC) with the idea of merging the Queens entities after Mark attended a meeting of the QL and let him know that LPQC did not have a chair at the moment. A short time later, after years of having two parties that broke resources in almost half and getting nowhere, the two groups finally merged in early March 2023 with John Clifton from QL as Chair, Francisco Olvera from LPQC as Vice Chair and Mark Weinblatt from LPQC as Treasurer.

Now it is time for LPQC to focus on promoting the party, its philosophy and its brand. As with other county affiliates, educating voters and anyone who can influence other voters is the biggest challenge.

Clifton has brought many ideas on how to teach young adults at a college level, but we still need to promote the party at high school

level. Needless to say, this is an up-hill battle given the GOP/DNC duopoly in the United States.

We would merge the data sources into a common database that can be used by LPQC and possibly the LPNY if we can get all the proper datasets.

originally posted at https://lpny.org/2023/04/13/libertarian-party-of-queens-county-and-queens-libertarians-unite/

Libertarian Party and Green Party File Petition to Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court in Ballot Access Case

Libertarian Party and Green Party File Petition to Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court in Ballot Access Case

Libertarian Party of New York

https://lpny.org/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LPNYOfficial

Twitter: @LPNYOfficial

Instagram: @LPNYOfficial

News Release

Contact: Andrew Kolstee, Chair

Libertarian Party of New York

(716) 640-2089

akolstee@lpny.org

Libertarian Party and Green Party File Petition
to Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court in Ballot Access Case

The Libertarian Party of New York and the Green Party of New York have filed a petition for an appeal in their ballot access lawsuit to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The petition challenges the increase of New York State’s ballot access thresholds instituted in 2020 as part of then Governor Andrew Cuomo’s emergency COVID budget. The threshold for a party to maintain recognized party status and ballot access was increased from 50,000 votes to 130,000 votes or 2% of the vote in the previous gubernatorial or presidential election, whichever is higher. In addition, the signature threshold for getting an independent candidate on the ballot was increased from 15,000 signatures to 45,000 signatures.

In 2020, four parties lost ballot access: the Libertarian Party, whose candidate Jo Jorgensen received over 60,000 votes; the Green Party, whose candidate Howie Hawkins received over 32,000 votes; the Independence Party, whose candidate Brock Pierce received over 22,000 votes; and the SAM Party, which did not run a candidate for President. In this election, only the Libertarian Party received over 50,000 votes, which was enough to maintain ballot access under the old thresholds.

However, as a result of the new thresholds, these four parties lost ballot access and only four political parties remained recognized: The Democrat and Republican Parties, along with their respective fusion parties which endorse the major party candidates, the Working Families Party and the Conservative Party. Due to the nature of fusion, essentially New York State became a 2-party state for the first time in decades.

The difficulty of getting on the ballot was proven in 2022, when there were only two candidates on the ballot for the office of Governor, the first time since 1946 and only the second time since 1872. Seven independent petitions were filed for the office of Governor in this election. Larry Sharpe, the Libertarian Party’s candidate, filed over 42,000 signatures and was less than 3,000 votes shy of the threshold. Republican nominee Lee Zeldin—a sitting Congressman—petitioned for the Independence Party line and did not have enough signatures, after subtracting 11,000 fraudulent signatures, and Harry Wilson, who lost the Republican primary, failed to reach even 30,000 petition signatures in his quest to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate, despite a personal fortune in the millions. As a result, Larry Sharpe’s gubernatorial candidate petition actually got more signatures than any other candidate, and yet he was denied a ballot spot due to the increased thresholds for ballot access.

“The lower courts have denied our case and our appeals while ignoring and disregarding several of our arguments,” said Andrew Kolstee, Chair of the Libertarian Party of New York. “This includes the fact that the signature-per-day count is the highest in the nation, making New York the most difficult state for a third party to get on the ballot. The court also failed to address why using taxpayer money to fund campaigns required killing off third parties is a legitimate state interest and they also failed to understand that the Conservative and Working Families Party, while they retained ballot access, are not true third parties because they endorse major party candidates. The court basically told us we need to nominate the Democrat or Republican in order to get ballot access, which defeats the purpose of third parties altogether.”

“The right to choice of parties and candidates is as important to voting rights as being able to cast a ballot,” said Green Party of New York Co-Chair Gloria Mattera.“It is our hope that the Supreme Court will restore the ability of smaller parties to run candidates, so that New York voters will have true freedom to choose candidates that best represent their political ideals.”

“Competitive elections are a cornerstone of democracy,” said Green Co-Chair Peter LaVenia, “and ballot access laws are a crucial component in electoral competitiveness. New York State went from having moderately restrictive laws to one of the strictest ballot access requirements in the nation. We want the Supreme Court to reverse that.”

LP of Queens and Queens Libertarians in Process of Unifying as the NEW LPQC—Breaking

LP of Queens and Queens Libertarians in Process of Unifying as the NEW LPQC—Breaking

originally posted at https://www.queenslibertarians.org/lp-of-queens-and-queens-libertarians-in-process-of-unifying-as-the-new-lpqc-breaking/

LP of Queens and Queens Libertarians in Process of Unifying as the NEW LPQC—Breaking

Based on a dialogue that began at QL’s February 11 meeting with Larry Sharpe, which members of QL and the LP of Queens attended, both groups have at last decided to explore becoming one official entity, the Libertarian Party of Queens County (LPQC), as early as March of this year. The unification planned would basically be a “true merge” of both their practices, by means of the existing members of QL being absorbed into LP Queens, and LP Queens adopting QL’s current format of holding monthly physical meetings (at OBA). Members of the two groups will make up the officer positions, under one administration.

The deliberations would, once completed, restore the presence of LPQC as one official entity in a combined county committee of the LPNY, while moving past the division existing between some state committee members of the 2010’s and the original LPQC, that led to the de-chartering of the latter in late 2016. Then-LPQC objected to the circumstances of that action in a lengthy article documenting the history of the dispute. While the LP chartered the LP of Queens (or Queens LP) as the official county committee for the area, both groups have claimed the title “LPQC” since then—the original due to its long history and continuous activity, and the current group due to its recognized status.

QL President John Clifton is expected to be the new Chair of LPQC after the adoption of the merge agreement. Additional details about the unified LPQC will be announced in the coming days, and discussed at the March 11 QL meeting.  “Queens Libertarians” (the brand, and the site) is also expected to continue as a promotional arm of the county committee. It appears a new day is starting for libertarian activism and advocacy in Queens, under one umbrella!

Spike Cohen Rally in Manhattan

Spike Cohen Rally in Manhattan

Rally for Spike Cohen

Jeremy “Spike” Cohen, your next Vice President, is coming to meet supporters like you!

Come to One Liberty Plaza to hear your next Vice President, Jeremy “Spike” Cohen, speak with you about the things that are important in your life. From education to healthcare, from perpetual wars to overburdensome taxation, Spike and Jo Jorgensen have the answers that benefit you the most.

Spike looks forward to the opportunity to meet with you and discuss your concerns about life in New York going forward. If you want to hear a message about real change that is brought about by smaller government and more personal freedom, join us on September 26th and bring a friend!

Zuccotti Park
One Liberty Plaza
New York, NY 10006

Masks Required.

If you are not feeling well, please stay at home. In consideration of all participants’ safety and in following local guidelines, social distancing of six feet shall be maintained, and face masks and hand sanitizer will be available for attendees. Please join us in respecting the safety of fellow participants by voluntarily following best safety practices.

Speakers:
Spike Cohen
Larry Sharpe, former candidate for governor
Michael Madrid, candidate for US House NY-10
Jon Gunther, candidate for NY State Senate District 6

VICTORY: Libertarians Secure 50-State Ballot Access in 2020!

VICTORY: Libertarians Secure 50-State Ballot Access in 2020!

VICTORY!
Dr. Jo Jorgensen will be on every ballot in 2020!

Thank you to all of the supporters of our ballot access efforts! More than 60,000 signatures were safely gathered across the country during a pandemic and mass shutdowns. Libertarians, Democrats, Republicans, Greens, and Independents signed petitions to support more options on their ballots. Many states were very narrowly secured, with one state confirming Libertarian ballot access by only 7 signatures!

Celebrate with us! Jo Jorgensen is officially the first woman to be on every presidential ballot in the country TWICE! (1996 & 2020)

Every American will have the chance to vote for Jo in November, but they need to get to know her first.

Real change for real people.

Neither Party Wants to Solve Immigration by Jay Sanchez

Neither Party Wants to Solve Immigration by Jay Sanchez

originally published in http://www.leaderobserver.com/view/full_story/27772033/article-Neither-Party-Wants-to-Solve-Immigration

I come from a family of Latinos, Puerto Ricans who came to New York in the 1940’s. Thanks to the sacrifices of my grandparents and my parents, I was able to graduate [from] Harvard College and Harvard Law School and become part of the local legal community.

Although my family may not be considered under certain definitions to be an immigrant family, since Puerto Rico is part of the United States, their experience is similar to the experience of many immigrants in our country today.

Moreover, I can personally identify with the experience of immigrants, as I have lived as a foreigner in Japan for two years and Bolivia for seven years.

I find it disconcerting that after decades of transfer of power between the Democrats and Republicans, it has become apparent that neither side truly wishes to resolve the immigration issue. Immigration has become a useful political football to play to each party’s base.

The Republicans seek to placate their base by “building the wall” or limiting immigration from certain countries. That is how they get votes so that the people and companies who pay for those votes (the Republican Donor Class) can get a return on their investment at the expense of all of rest of us.

The Democrats, despite claims to be pro-immigration, have done nothing to change these laws despite 16 years in power under presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

The reason is that the Democrats would rather use immigrants as political pawns to electrify their base than resolve the issue and lose that leverage.

That is how they get votes so that the people and companies who pay for those votes (the Democrat Donor Class) can get a return on their investment at the expense of all of rest of us.

The parties want this system to continue because that is how they get these donations, which allow them to pay for the “good life” for them and their families and friends.

There is a political party that has always sought to remove the regulations and allow immigrants to enter the United States freely: the Libertarians.

One of my favorite shows is the “Walking Dead” and the charismatic character Negan. Although his character is generally a blood-thirsty and power-hungry leader, he [does] hesitate to kill even his enemies during the zombie apocalypse.

His famous quote is “people are a resource,” which sums up the policy of the Libertarians. All people have the right to work anywhere they choose as they are a necessary resource for a vital economy.

Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are honest about the immigration issue, and the fact that it has to be separated from national security.

Security of our country’s borders is of course essential. Any person entering the country must identify themselves and their intentions. With modern technology, that is simple to implement, especially if people are welcome to come and go to work or travel.

Immigrants are more likely to come check in at the border if they know they will not be harassed or incarcerated just for being a foreigner.

Republicans especially seem to be hung up on the issue of foreigners inside the country that have entered illegally. They claim these “illegal aliens” are criminals for crossing an artificial line.

Every American citizen has broken the law during their lifetime, whether it be jay walking or drinking underage. Crossing the border without a visa is not a severe crime, and it should never have been a crime in the first place.

It is a violation; have the person pay their fine and move on. The cost of arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating for such a violation far exceeds the actual harm of the crime.

The Democrats are no friends to the immigrants, as immigrants are natural entrepreneurs and small business owners. For anyone, including a first-generation immigrant who wishes to open a restaurant, hair salon, or other personal service, there are a multitude of unnecessary regulations.

Immigrants do not stop to think of what laws there are before opening a business, they just naturally get to work. But then are fined or arrested later for doing honest work.

Remember the immigrant lady who was arrested for selling churros on the subway? The Democratic City Council members howled foul for over-policing, but which party passed those laws in New York City?

And these laws don’t only hurt the immigrants, they hurt all of us.

If you are tired of the overreach by the Republicans and the false promises by the Democrats to modernize immigration laws, then now is the time to seek a party that has always been pro-immigrant and pro-entrepreneur.

Then real change will finally come.

Jay Sanchez is a practicing attorney and resident of Howard Beach, and running for Congress in the 5th District on the Libertarian Party Line.

Queens Libertarian Party