Category: New York City LP

Posts for NYC LP

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/

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.

Libertarian Party and Green Party Sue NYS Board of Elections to Fight Unfair Ballot Access Restrictions

Libertarian Party and Green Party Sue NYS Board of Elections to Fight Unfair Ballot Access Restrictions

Libertarian Party of New York
https://lpny.org/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LPNYOfficial
Twitter: @LPNYOfficial
Instagram: @LPNYOfficial

News Release
Contact: W. Cody Anderson
LPNY Public Engagement Chair
canderson@lpny.org
Date: July 28, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Green Party and Libertarian Party File Joint Lawsuit Fighting Ballot Access Restrictions

Albany, New York, July 28, 2020 – The Green Party of New York (GPNY) and the Libertarian Party of New York (LPNY) filed a Federal lawsuit today in the Southern District of New York to invalidate restrictive ballot access provisions passed as a rider to the FY2021 State Budget.

Since 1936, minor political parties in New York have been required to obtain 50,000 votes for their gubernatorial candidate every four years in order to achieve and maintain ballot status. The GPNY achieved ballot status in 2010, and has since maintained it, while the LPNY achieved ballot status in 2018.

In an act of blatant political retribution against the Working Families Party (WFP), Governor Cuomo’s hand-picked “Public Campaign Finance Commission,” led by state Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs, recommended in December 2019 that not only should the requirement to achieve and maintain ballot access be increased from 50,000 votes to the greater of 130,000 votes or two percent of votes cast, but also that the qualifications should occur every two years, at the gubernatorial and presidential elections. At the same time, signature requirements for independent nominating petitions were recommended to be increased threefold. After the legislature declined to modify the recommendations, they automatically became law twenty days later.

Ultimately, the legislature’s abdication of its law-making powers to this executive commission caused a NYS Supreme Court judge in Western New York to declare the commission and all its actions unconstitutional. Bent on settling political scores, and under the cover of the COVID-19 crisis, Governor Cuomo and the legislature subsequently re-enacted the ballot access provisions in Part ZZZ of the FY2021 State Budget, leaving minor political parties in NYS facing an uncertain future.

The lawsuit filed today by attorneys James Ostrowski and Michael Kuzma on behalf of the GPNY and LPNY names NYS Board of Elections Co-Chairs Peter Kosinski and Douglas Kellner, Commissioner Andrew Spano, and Co-Executive Directors Todd Valentine and Robert Brehm as Defendants. The complaint alleges infringement upon First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to organize, identify, and vote for minor parties under the United States Constitution, and that the new voter and petitioning requirements are therefore unconstitutional.

“Whatever justification they may use for it, the choice by Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature to create new and onerous ballot-access thresholds this year is clearly designed to eliminate any threat of competition, preserve the state’s anemic and uncompetitive electoral system, and satisfy their corporate paymasters. The Green Party stands with all other affected political parties, as well as the voters of New York State, who deserve a robust and expansive democracy,” said Peter LaVenia, Co-Chair of the GPNY.

Anthony D’Orazio, Chair of the LPNY added, “Under cover of the COVID-19 pandemic and the already byzantine New York State budget process, the Governor and his advisors decided to destroy political competition in New York and preserve power for the two major parties. The Libertarian Party stands with all minor political parties of New York in fighting against such tyranny.”

For more information about the Green Party of New York, visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/GreenPartyNY, Twitter @GPNY, or their website, www.gpny.org.

For more information about the Libertarian Party of New York, visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/LPNYOfficial, Twitter @LPNYOfficial, Instagram @LPNYOfficial, or their website, www.lpny.org.

Contacts:
Gloria Mattera
Co-Chair
Green Party of New York
canderson@lpny.org
917-886-4538

W. Cody Anderson
Public Engagement Chair
Libertarian Party of New York
canderson@lpny.org
866-336-3120

How Much Did That Stimulus Check REALLY Cost You?

How Much Did That Stimulus Check REALLY Cost You?

sent by the LNC on 04/28/2020

Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen our government attempt to yet again solve a problem apparently the only way they know how — by kicking the can down the road. In this case, the “can” is a national debt approaching $30 trillion dollars! At this rate, our children and grandchildren will continue to be suffocated by that debt long after every member of this congress is defeated or retired.

Government leaders who believe you and I could not survive without them think the only way to solve a problem is to throw tax dollars at it. We do have very real, deep problems in this country that need to be addressed — health insurance costs, ever-increasing student debt, the opioid crisis, veteran homelessness and suicide — and these problems vary from community to community. Not every American is living with the same issues, and what works in one state may not have the same effect on a different population.

Blanketing problems with money is like applying a band-aid to a gaping wound, and inevitably creates a society that will become reliant on subsidies to survive and never allows for genuine solutions to be tried. Whether a government response has single party or bipartisan support, those actions almost always create unintended consequences that lead to crippling citizens to be donor dependent. Instead of getting to the heart of these wounds at the community levels, our representatives are satisfied to cover them up with billion-dollar band-aids and call themselves champions. They accomplish nothing more than adding their name to another bill they have never read.

In the middle of a global pandemic and a nearly complete economic halt, our elected officials could not comprehend the obvious idea of giving taxpayers their money back to help them keep their bills paid without adding in more than a trillion dollars of corporate bailouts and pork-barrel spending. When we actually break down the numbers, that $1,200 check costs each and every living man, woman and child in America $6,656.91 dedicated to the national debt.

Scarier than the government’s lack of problem-solving skills is what they expect us to accept for this $1,200 payoff. Mandating business closures, stay-at-home orders, massive expansion of executive power, and declaring “total authority” — it is as if someone told the president and Congress that civil liberties could be bought from each citizen for $1,200.

You and I know this is not right, and we deserve better. Better is being demonstrated by The Party of Principle. Better can be achieved by electing and supporting Libertarians across the country. Better is possible when Libertarians (like you and I) contribute to our fight.

Shortly after the government payouts started to hit bank accounts, we received this amazing message, among others:

Gift Date: April 15, 2020
Gift Amount: $1,500 (Lifetime Membership)
Comments: “$1200 of this payment furnished by Democrat and Republican taxpayers who yearn for liberty via coronavirus stimulus payment

Can you think of a better way to tell government what you think of this destructive power grab in the middle of a crisis than to strengthen the efforts that fight that corruption?

We are here for that battle — are you here with us?

The recent events in our country have galvanized many who were unaware of how strongly they felt the libertarian call to push back against aggressive government overreach. It’s important that we come equipped to contend against those who would willingly cripple our future with debt. To that end, each and every one of our contributors plays a critical role in restoring free people and free markets.

Judge Declares Republican’s Petition Invalid Due to Lack of Libertarian Authorization

Judge Declares Republican’s Petition Invalid Due to Lack of Libertarian Authorization

Libertarian Party of New York
https://lpny.org/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LPNYOfficial
Twitter: @LPNYOfficial
Instagram: @LPNYOfficial

News Release
Contact: W. Cody Anderson
LPNY Public Engagement Chair
canderson@lpny.org
Date: April 20, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Judge Declares Republican’s Petition Invalid Due to Lack of Libertarian Authorization

Oswego, New York, April 20, 2020 – The Libertarian Party of New York (LPNY) announced today that Oswego County Supreme Court Judge Scott J. Deleconte flatly invalidated Claudia Tenney’s attempt to appear on the Libertarian ballot line in the June primary for New York Congressional District 22. In his ruling, Judge Deleconte determined that Tenney, a Republican, “did not file the proper certificate of authorization…under the rules of the Libertarian Party”, and declared her designating petition invalid.

After the LPNY Interim State Committee declined to issue Tenney a certificate of authorization, known as a Wilson-Pakula authorization, a purported “22nd Congressional District Nominating Committee of the Libertarian Party” signed and submitted an improper certificate of authorization to the New York State Board of Elections (NYSBOE). Two general and specific objections from enrolled Libertarians were subsequently submitted to the NYSBOE, both arguing that the authorization was invalid because it violated the LPNY’s rules.

Jim Ostrowski, an Erie County attorney, represented the LPNY and the objectors named in this case. “We are pleased with the judge’s decision because it recognizes the importance of election law and party rules in protecting minor parties from being invaded by the two major parties. Of course, the Libertarian Party welcomes non-Libertarian candidates who wish to appear on our line and are willing to adhere to party rules and procedures to obtain a valid and proper Wilson-Pakula authorization.”

At the same time Tenney filed her lawsuit, Ostrowski filed a lawsuit in Oneida County Supreme Court seeking an order to declare Tenney’s certificate of authorization invalid. The hearing of the Oneida case was stayed pending the outcome of the Oswego case and is awaiting adjudication.

For more information about the Libertarian Party of New York, visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/LPNYOfficial, Twitter @LPNYOfficial, Instagram @LPNYOfficial, or their website, lpny.org.

Queens Libertarian Party