Please come and help us plan for the advance of liberty here in Durham and Orange counties in this critical election year!

The only growing political party in Durham-Orange—both the number of registered Democrats and Republicans declined in 2015 while the number of registered Libertarians was up—will be setting our course for 2016-17. In addition to discussion of our plans to supporr Gary Johnson for President 2016, Cecil for Governor, Sean Haugh, Libertarian for US Senate, and Summerell 2016, consideration of amendments to the bylaws and elections of officers, you can meet several of the Libertarian candidates on the ballot in 2016!

Come break bread with us, and help select leaders who will work to increase freedom, peace, and prosperity in North Carolina over the next year.

AGENDA

Call to order
Acting Chair’s opening remarks and report—Matthew Clements
Treasurer’s report—Gabe Farkas
2016 Candidates
Consideration of Amendments to the Durham-OrangeLP Bylaws
Election of officers for 2016-17
Any other business
Adjournment

Anyone is welcome to attend. Any member of the LPNC with a domicile in Durham or Orange County is eligible to vote in our officer elections. Are you a member? You might be, even if you are not registered as a Libertarian: check out the qualifications. (Note: to be eligible to hold office, there is one additional requirement: you must not be registered to vote as a Democrat or Republican.)

The officers we will be electing include:

Chair. One each for Durham and Orange…the Chair is responsible for presiding over all operations of the LP party county affiliate. This includes (unless delegated) conducting business meetings (generally once a month; this is the formal forum for policy and strategy discussions), arranging for topical speakers/presenters at social meetings (held weekly), organizing and running the annual convention, and relations with the LPNC. The Chair should also ensure that other key tasks such as social media channel management and PR, event management (e.g., street fairs, gun shows), SBOE filings, candidate and volunteer recruiting and nurturing, special projects, etcetera are appropriately assigned and effectively performed.

Vicechair. The Vicechair is a versatile role that involves supporting the other activities of the other officers. A large part is to offer support and help the Chair get new projects started and helping keep current projects running smoothly; this can vary from year-to-year. The Vicechair is generally expected to be available to serve as Chair the following year, if needed.

Secretary. The Secretary is responsible for scheduling and recording minutes at Durham-OrangeLP business meetings and the archiving of officer reports, minutes, and official correspondence. The Secretary is also responsible for managing the e-mail distribution account (NationBuilder) and publishing information to Durham-OrangeLP social media accounts (currently Facebook and Meetup) and website (also NationBuilder). The Secretary should also help to define the communications strategy (content and channel), help to define and deliver effective messaging to advance the communications strategy, and act as the “voice of the constituent” in developing new programs and initiatives.

Treasurer. The Durham-OrangeLP Treasurer is responsible for maintaining all financial accounts in good order, recording transactions, and filing disclosure reports and other paperwork as pertinent with the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Financial accounts include the Durham-OrangeLP checking account and any donation accounts such as PayPal, Piryx/Rally, etcetera. The Treasurer also manages all transactions between the LPNC and Durham-OrangeLP. The Treasurer must be certified as having been trained by the SBOE within three months of appointment (and retrained every four years).

These officers—and potentially any designates they might name—may divide up the following functions any way they find appropriate depending on their individual skills and preferences, so long as everything is covered. They should:

• Define strategic goals for the term and develop ways to quantify, track and report progress those goals
• Thought leadership and positioning
• Tracking local political developments
• Enhancing Outreach to Current Libertarians
• Define outreach programs that engage the broader Durham-Orange community
• Growing Membership
• Develop relationships with outside organizations that complement Durham-OrangeLP
• Ensure that records are well kept and effectively transitioned to the next set of officers at the end of their term.

Please consider taking on one of these roles for 2016-17 and help us make progress locally! And even if you can’t serve yourself, please plan to attend to help us make the best selections.