RALEIGH (April 2) – The state Libertarian Party has appointed several new people to its executive committee. The new officials are: Jon Byers, membership secretary; Alex Matthews, director of university relations; Christopher Dooley, social media coordinator, and; Brian Irving, press secretary.
Byers, 43 of Asheville, is self-employed, working in the healthcare implementation and client management field. As membership secretary, he’ll be responsible maintaining accurate lists of party membership. Byers will be a voting member of the state executive committee.
The party recently set a historic record in North Carolina, reaching the highest share of registered voters than any other third party in the state’s modern history.
“Although our numbers are still small, the fact that more and more people are registering either as unaffiliated voters or Libertarians makes these numbers significant,” said state party chair J.J. Summerell. “It’s evidence that more and more people think the Republicans and Democrats have failed to effectively manage our government.”
Mathews, 19, is a freshman at Davidson College, Davidson and a founder of the college Libertarians. She’s a graduate of H. B. Plant High School, Tampa, Fla. and plans to major in political science and French.
Dooley, 36, of China Grove, is a parks and recreation public relations specialist in Charlotte. Dooley calls himself a “communications artist” specializing in web development and graphic design emphasizing liberty.
Irving, 65, of Cary, has previously served as LPNC press secretary A retired Air Force public affairs officer, he is a freelance journalist and lives in Cary.
The Libertarian Party, formed in 1971, is the third largest political party in the U.S. and North Carolina, as well as the only ballot-recognized alternative party in the state.
Libertarians believe their philosophy is a logically consistent approach to politics based on the moral principle of self-ownership. They believe that each individual has the right to control their own body, action, speech, and property.
For Libertarians, the only role of government is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud, and to protect life, liberty and property.
