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News The Official Newsletter of the Libertarian Party of Queens County
Metro Area Ballot Access Kickoff
State Convention Holds Plenty for Local Chapters
10-Point Checklist for LP Success
Getting a line for the Libertarian Party on the ballot doesn't happen by itself. In New York State, it requires a tremendous amount of work. The state election law requires us to submit petitions containing 15,000 signatures of registered voters in at least half of the state's 31 congressional districts. In order to withstand possible challenges from ill-wishers, we need to have 30,000 to 50,000 signatures. If the petitions average 15 signatures each, that's a total of about 3,000 pages. And all of the signatures must be collected in a six-week period beginning July 9.
To get this process off to a strong start, the newly forming New York City Libertarian Organization (NYCLO; see Current Accomplishments) will hold as its inaugural event a ballot access kickoff and fundraiser on June 27, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., at the Ukrainian East Village Restaurant, 140 Second Avenue in Manhattan. Chris Garvey and Gary Popkin, who both have experience working on ballot access for the LPNY, will speak about the petition drive and what all of us can do to help. Author Jeffrey Roger Hummel will present a lecture on the political impact of the Civil War.
The event will also celebrate the recent formation of Brooklyn's LP chapter, the Kings County Libertarian Committee (KCLC). KCLC Chair André Soleil plans to run for the State Senate as a Libertarian; the political conditions in his district suggest that he may have a good chance of winning. Think of it-a Libertarian could be elected to the New York State legislature this November. Now that's a reason to help with ballot access.
By Jim Strawhorn
The words "political convention" may not be an instant turn-on. But how often do you get a chance to meet with many people who are interested in public policy, where you don't have to "work on" anyone to persuade them about freedom? Libertarian Party conventions can be inspiring, fun, even moving.
The LPNY convention, held April 27-28 in White Plains, elected new officers, delegates to the national LP convention, and nominees to the Electoral College. The business side of the convention will be covered in the next Free New York, expected out in early June.
Beyond that, there was a feast of mind food for local LP chapters. Speakers included Bill Winter, the national LP's Director of Communications; Gene Cisewski, candidate for national chair of the LP; and Irwin Schiff, candidate for the LP's presidential nomination.
Winter, whose work was a key factor in the success of the New Hampshire LP, first described some of the LP's accomplishments over the past few years- tremendous growth in membership and fundraising, as well as in the number of media contacts, candidates running for office, and Libertarians elected to public office. Most of his speech concerned the fundamentals of organizing, sustaining, and growing successful LP organizations. He expanded on the points in his 10-Point Checklist of Success for State Libertarian Parties, which are so critically important for local chapters as well that we've reprinted the checklist in this issue. (The LPQC has been working on all of these items to some extent, but the more people we have involved, the more we could be doing. Is there anything there that you would like to work on? Please let us know.)
Cisewski (pronounced sha-zef-ski) began by stating that the emphasis of the LP should be on its local chapters. County organizations, the fundamental unit of the LP, need to be well organized and growth oriented. New members have talents they'd like to use in furthering liberty. Not everyone will want to become involved in ongoing projects, but for those who do, we should make it easy to pitch in and help. "We should become effective managers and users of volunteers," he said.
Cisewski also spoke about the importance of how we discuss libertarianism with others. We need to think about the difference between IQ and EQ, or Emotional Quotient. We need to tune in to the emotions of people we're trying to persuade, and use the power of personal stories to illustrate libertarian principles. "Given a choice between emotion and reason, people will always choose emotion," he said. Libertarians tend to be intelligent but often run into difficulties when trying to explain libertarianism. Also, it's important to sell the benefits, not the features, of libertarianism. People want to know, What's in it for me? We can easily tell them-your taxes will go way down and your expendable income will go up; schools will be vastly improved; and we'll all be safer.
At brunch on Sunday, we heard from two candidates for the LP's presidential nomination, one on videotape and one in person.
Rick Tompkins, whom we saw on tape, spoke about his dream of living in liberty, of "making the truth politically viable." He said we must promote the principle of non-aggression: "Our goal is nothing less than to emasculate the power of government for all time."
A speaker more energetic and dynamic than Irwin Schiff is hard to imagine. Schiff, a well-known tax protester, contends that, the 16th Amendment notwithstanding, the Internal Revenue Code is deviously crafted: because an income tax is unconstitutional, the Tax Code is worded to give a strong implication that Americans are required to pay income taxes while not explicitly stating that they must do so. That may stretch credulity, but Schiff made a strong case for it. He had a marked-up copy of the Tax Code with him and quoted from it often. His bid for the presidency is based on the belief that when Americans understand that they do not have to pay income taxes (those of us who have been paying them all along have been duped into it), we can stop paying them, thereby cutting off the funds of an oppressive government. "A nation of sheep begets a government of wolves," he said, "and what we have is a government of wolves."
A notable LPNY member at the convention was Anna Zhadanov, wife of plastics manufacturer Sam Zhadanov, who had most of his assets confiscated and was railroaded into federal prison for making small plastic vials. As far as he knew, they were used for perfume samples, but his "crime" was making vials that could be used to contain crack cocaine. (A detailed account of this story appeared in the May 1995 issue of Reason magazine.) The saddest part is that the Zhadanovs emigrated from Russia to the United States thinking they were going to the Land of the Free. Anna spoke briefly at the convention; her story was a tragic reminder that what we're doing goes way beyond lowering taxes and improving schools. Ideas have consequences. Freedom is not a trivial matter. It's the foundation of any society worth living in. It's something we must work for continuously.
By Jim Strawhorn
Note: Anyone who would like to write to the Zhadanovs -Sam deeply appreciates supportive letters he receives in prison-may get their address from the LPQC.
From the Chair
Current Accomplishments
The LPQC has become a media magnet in recent months, among other developments. A quick run-down:
FM Radio: The LPQC made its media debut with a February 29 appearance by yours truly on WKCR's African Music Show, hosted by Dr. Lawrence Nii Nartey, where I was interviewed by Mr. Romulus Sylvah (our apologies for omitting this last issue). This college station also aired our first public service announcements for several weeks leading up to our 1996 convention.
Television: The LPQC has made national TV! NewsTalk Television, hosted by Lisa Evers, aired a segment on the minimum wage on April 24, featuring both myself (on camera) and Vice Chair John Procida (call-in) as speakers. Procida has gone on to appear twice more on NewsTalk, both by phone and on camera. I have proceeded to also appear on the May 1 Damn Right! program, in a discussion of media bias. This program was broadcast on May 2 by WLIG (Channel 55) in Long Island.
In addition, the LPQC arranged for the QPTV public-access show Democracy in Crisis to interview Robert Schulz and Jo Jorgensen. This program (finally) aired on May 8. If you missed it, the LPQC can provide a tape if you send us a donation. I am also pleased to announce that we have found a videomaker who has the skill, the will, and the complete equipment setup to help us produce a city-wide libertarian public-access show. Details to follow in coming weeks.
LP Local Impact: The LPQC has played an active part in regional LP organizational activities. LPQC State Rep Bradford Arter and I attended a founding meeting of the Kings County Libertarian Committee (KCLC), chaired by State Senate candidate André Soliel. The LPQC and then-LPNY Vice Chair Dottie-Lou Brokaw provided consultation for the new affiliate in framing its bylaws and in establishing LP network connections for the KCLC.
Finally, the LPQC is currently the contact point for inquiries regarding the formation of the new city-wide group called the New York City Libertarian Organization (NYCLO). NYCLO is needed because the LP in New York City now consists of county chapters rather than a single city-wide organization. It will coordinate Libertarian projects of common concern to the five boroughs, such as mayoral races and other issues of comparable significance.
Who knows-at the rate we're going, by next issue, the LPQC may have rewritten the U.S. Constitution! 'Til then, Peace & Freedom.
By John Clifton
A Libertarian state or local party that does not do the following things will fail. It might stay alive-in a state of pleasant stagnation-but it will not thrive and grow.
A successful Libertarian Party . . .
1) Maintains an accurate, up-to-date database of members and prospects.
2) Sends out a prompt, professional information package to interested prospects, and sends out timely membership renewal notices to current members.
3) Engages in ongoing, constant prospecting to increase the size of the organization.
4) Publishes a regular, decent-quality newsletter to keep members and prospects informed. Uses newsletter to publicize activities and successes.
5) Has a bank account, and an ongoing, implemented plan to raise money.
6) Runs candidates for political office. Monitors elections (or registration numbers) which affect ballot status.
7) Is active in the political system-whether through elections, referendums, lobbying, or whatever.
8) Has regular, publicized, productive, and interesting public meetings. And has regular meetings of party leadership to plan strategy and projects.
9) Has an organized media outreach plan-which can include press releases, press conferences, and personal contacts-to promote the party and earn publicity.
10) Has leadership dedicated to growth, success, and professionalism-and determined to avoid factionalism, arguments, and obstructionism. Party leadership has a solid, realistic vision for success.
from Bill Winter's convention speech handout
Reprinted with permission
A few weeks ago, I found myself rather suddenly out of work. I was one of 245 case managers and other personnel let go in April by HANAC, Inc., a private social-service agency located in Astoria, Queens. This mass dismissal was the messy fallout of a favoritism and cronyism scandal involving Mayor Giuliani, HANAC, and the $43 million contract it received to implement the mayor's Welfare Reform Initiative (WRI) to privatize parts of the city's Human Resources Administration (HRA). The political enemies of privatization have their fingerprints all over this debacle, and some of those prints might even be Giuliani's.
HANAC (short for Hellenic American Neighborhood Action Committee, a Greek-American organization) was contracted to monitor, among other things, the progress of Public Assistance (PA) clients enrolled in substance abuse rehabilitation programs, to determine if they were in compliance with treatment and progressing towards employability. Previous attempts by HRA to perform this function had failed due to chronic understaffing, inadequate data-tracking systems, and the usual government inefficiencies.
A series of New York Times articles in late March alleged (citing an investigation by City Comptroller Alan Hevesi) that HANAC had been unfairly favored in the awarding of the WRI contracts and that certain senior staff hired for the project were connected to the Giuliani administration. The flap escalated to the point where the mayor, apparently out of panic or embarrassment, abruptly canceled the contracts with the agency -leading in turn to my job termination. HANAC, now out of cash and near bankruptcy, is suing the city for damages and breach of contract.
What is most suspicious about all this is that the program itself was working fantastically. Despite being only two-thirds operational by April, the project had already saved the city roughly $11 million, largely by discovering huge auditing discrepancies at drug treatment programs, or at HRA itself. For example, some 46% of the enrolled clients were found to have already graduated or dropped out of treatment, yet the facilities were still receiving HRA funds for them. At one center, 242 clients were found to be working full time at full pay (some were earning more than $600 per week!) while still receiving welfare. An additional $31 million in potential savings was identified by the project's finding that 61% of these PA clients were out of compliance with basic HRA reporting requirements (such as failing to appear for appointments), yet had not had their cases closed.
In all, well over $48 million in taxpayer savings (from closing cases) was expected over the next year from these findings, thus allowing the program to fully pay for itself. Even this figure is a low estimate, based on a projected annual savings of $14,624 per PA recipient in treatment. Last fall, the Cato Institute estimated the annual value of welfare packages in New York State at $22,124 per case. Adjusted for the Cato numbers, this year alone HANAC would have saved the city more than $72 million!
Success like this had to be stopped. Statist opponents of WRI, including officials in the city bureaucracy itself, tried to delay or halt the program from virtually the day HANAC won the grants. It took over six months and an override of a community board just to get a permanent office site approved for the project. The Bronx borough president seems to have twisted the arm of the chairman of HANAC (a political ally), causing him to engage in attacking his own agency's program. Enabling guidelines, systems, documentation, and coordinating meetings with the overseeing city agencies mysteriously kept getting postponed or canceled. The favoritism charges were apparently a last-ditch attempt to kill the project, resorted to when the other tactics had failed. That is, all information relating to improprieties or conflicts of interest was known or was available to the Comptroller's office over six months before Hevesi began his "investigation." If there was a real problem, why did he take so long to act?
This WRI project is now in receivership, with HRA directly running it (into the ground?) until another organization is selected (if ever). When Giuliani announced his decision to cancel the contracts, stating that "this is an example that sometimes privatization doesn't work," it was the equivalent of someone fire-bombing a thriving business, then declaring the wreckage to be proof that the business was a failure.
Ultimately, it is the mayor who must be held accountable for the black eye privatization has received because of this episode. It was Giuliani who capitulated to his enemies, who cut and ran on his own initiative, and who may very well have knowingly stacked the HANAC deck with his political flunkies. There is also speculation that, due to the magnitude of savings coming from the project, some federal matching funds to the city were in jeopardy unless funding for HANAC was pulled. If so, it demonstrates what a mangled shambles the concept of privatization becomes when handled by statist career politicians. It makes me mad enough to want to run for Giuliani's job myself-at least then I'd have a new job.
By John Clifton
LPQC News
Jim Strawhorn, Editor
Bradford R. Arter, Associate Editor
John Clifton, Contributing Editor
Elliott Werner, Web Site Editor
LPQC News is published bimonthly by the Libertarian Party of Queens County (LPQC). Subscriptions: included free with LPQC membership; $6/year to non-members. Opinions expressed in LPQC News are not necessarily official positions of the membership or the officers of the LPQC. Please direct all correspondence to: LPQC News.
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