LSOCK NEWS March 14, 2011
Libertarians Of South Central Kansas (LSOCK) meet every Tuesday at Mike's Steakhouse located at 2131 S. Broadway in Wichita, Kansas from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. All who support personal responsibility and individual liberty are invited to attend.
On the Web please go to http://www.lpks.org/
LPKS / LSOCK
P.O. Box 2456
Wichita, Kansas 67201
Ph. (800) 335-1776
LSOCK NEWS
IN THIS ISSUE:
- From The Editor
- LSOCK Elects New Officers
- Kansas State LP Convention April 16
- Andrew Grey Running For Topeka City Council
- LSOCK Blogger Is Up and Running
- KELA Hearing Set for March 15
1. From The Editor
Hello everyone,
This is the first issue of the LSOCK News since the November elections. I have sent out several LSOCK NEWS Alerts during these past months but not a full issue. As there has been much to report on I am sorry for my failure to keep you up to date and informed on what the state and local parties are doing. I promise to get more LSOCK NEWS to you all this year.
I want to thank State Chair Andrew Gray for running for Governor in 2010 and attempting to achieve major party status for the LPKS by winning 5% of the vote.
Andrew fell short of that goal, only getting about 3 ½ percent of the vote but ran a hard campaign garnering roughly three times as many votes as we have ever received for Governor. 2014 may be our year to achieve major party status.
LSOCK has elected officers for the coming year. See item 2 below for the names of our 2011 officers.
The LPKS Annual Meeting/Convention is coming up April 16 in Topeka. See item 3 below for details. State Chair Andrew Gray is following up his run for Governor by running for Topeka City Council, District 8 this year. You can learn more about his campaign (and where to send contributions) in item 4. Good luck Andrew!
Shawn Smith has set up a Blogger site for LSOCK. Please see details in item 5 and visit the site. It has LSOCK Chair Gordon Bakken’s Reader’s Views letter that was it today’s (Monday, March 14) Wichita Eagle as well as many other features. Thank you Shawn.
The Kansas Education Liberty Act (KELA) has been introduced as a bill in the Kansas House Of Representatives and will have a hearing before the House Education Committee Tuesday, March 15. See item 6 below for more information.
The LPKS and LSOCK have been doing good work in bringing the message of liberty to the public and building increased name recognition and respect for the Libertarian Party of Kansas. Thank you all who have contributed so much of your time and resources. These efforts will benefit all Kansans.
Steven A. Rosile
Editor, LSOCK News
2. LSOCK Elects New Officers
At the February 22 LSOCK Supper Meeting elections were held for LSOCK’s Officers for the next year. Those elected are:
Chair, Gordon Bakken
Vice Chair, Randall Batson
Secretary, Alex Simmons
Treasurer, Shawn Smith
First At-Large, Mike Brincefield
Second At-Large, Dave Thomas
Thank you all.
3. Kansas State LP Convention April 16 The time has arrived for the annual convention for the Libertarian Party of Kansas. It will be held Sunday April 17th 2011 from 8:30-3:30 at the Big Gage Shelter House. It is the building located in the same parking lot of the Topeka Zoo and where the 2010 state convention was held.
We welcome all to attend the convention of the fastest growing political party in Kansas. We are the Party that believes and practices that every voice is just as equal as any other. You can have a voice and it will be listened to. Below are items that will be dealt with at this years convention with more if the needs arise.
1) Opening Remarks - I will be discussing the growth and activity of our Party within the last year including the races of last November. We will also be discussing our future plans as well. It will be followed by a question and answer period.
2) The incredible progress made by the creation and implementation of the Kansas Education Liberty Act (KELA). It will be moderated by Vice Chair Al Terwelp and Policy Researcher Stacey Davis.
3) It has been a number of years since our state platform has been updated. As with all political thoughts and actions ours is need to be evolving. The Platform Committee will be discussing the recommended changes to adjust to the current times and to maintain our integrity. The recommended changes will be voted upon by those in attendance and other suggestions will be taken from those in attendance. The suggestions can be made by anyone in attendance but can only be voted upon by those who are registered Libertarians.
4) The last item will be the election of Party officers. All the positions of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Coordinators for Congressional Districts of 1, 2, 3, 4 will be up for election. The only position not for election is Policy Researcher which is an appointed position. Anyone who is a registered Libertarian can run for the positions of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary or Treasurer. A person must reside in the Congressional District to be considered for election. Please send all considerations for elections to Mike Kerner at Secretary@lpks.org. You may also made your intentions known at the convention itself.
If you have any other questions feel free to email me at Chair@lpks.org or call me at 785.231.4367.
Andrew P. Gray
Chair - Libertarian Party of Kansas
4. Andrew Grey Running For Topeka City Council As Chair for the Libertarian Party of Kansas I, and all the other officers, have promoted that real and viable change always begins on the local level. Consequently, by example I am running as a candidate in a non-partisan race for the Topeka City Council (8th District). It is a very winnable race considering the current climate and my reputation for fiscal conservatism/social freedom. However the incumbent has raised a vast amount of money with those wanting to maintain the status quo. I am currently being outspent and this is where I could use the assistance.
Our great team has put together a great strategy utilizing palm cards, yard signs and limited media. We have developed walking paths to meet the voters and events to listen to what is important to them. We begin right after the primaries next Tuesday. Any donation from $5.00 to the maximum of $500.00 per individual will be used in the campaign. We understand that it is an investment that you too believe real and viable change begins on the local level.
You can make a donation by visiting the campaign website of www.TopekaProud.com or mailing it to Gray for City Council 2814 SW Lincolnshire Ct Topeka Ks 66614. Feel free to call me at 785.231.4367 with any questions, comments or suggestions. Once again, I do thank you for your time and donation.
With warm regards,
Andrew P. Gray
Candidate for Topeka City Council - District 8.
5. LSOCK Blogger Is Up and Running
Libertarians,, In order to propel us further into the information age I have created a Blogger account for LSOCK. I am still waiting on it to show up in Google Search but the address is:
Please e-mail anything that you have written and would like to have posted. Randall Batson also has some great ideas on how to get us out in cyberspace. Peace, Shawn
6. KELA Hearing Set for March 15
Everyone,
KELA is now HB2367 and the next step in the journey is here. The
hearing is in the House Education Committee next week Tuesday, March
15th at 9 a.m. on the 7th floor of the Docking Building in room 784.
Send written testimony to the Education Committee Chairman's
secretary. That would be Chairman, Rep. Clay Aurand's secretary and
her name is Jane Johnston 785.296.7672 office 174W in the Capital
building. The bill as of 5 p.m. today is still not on the state
website. The reviser finished on Friday and told me it might take a
couple days. Clay is sending me the bill soon. I can tell you this. It
was introduced into the taxation committee by Rep. Willie Prescott as
Stacey wrote it but now it has been altered. The most significant part
is that KELA will now apply to accredited schools only. That means
homeschoolers are out of luck at the moment. I am working to change
that. It can be expanded to include it once again. Unfortunate, I have
many homeschoolers interested in giving testimony that I need to break
the news to.
We have a job to do still. Here is what we got. We have several more
members of the Education Committee on board, that also includes the
chair and vice chair. We have the Foundation for Educational Choice
coming to testify along with a legal expert for the Institute for
Justice and a tax analyst. I am expecting AFP, KPI and the Kansas
Catholic Conference as well. We also have a representative of the
Republican Conservative Black Caucus, administrators from about five
private schools, tea parties groups and parents and students. I am
working to get one of the members of the Kansas Board of Education
too.
Here is what we still need more of. Bodies and lots of them. More
specifically we need Hispanic and African American parents and
students. I have some leads for testimony that I'm working on but I
can't count on it yet. We need minorities in the crowd and with
submitted testimony. This will be the greatest impact.
Please spread the message far and wide and get as many LPs there as possible.
Thanks for your help everyone. Let me know about any individuals and
groups you get to give testimony so I can inventory the support we've
got.
KELA has got us a seat at the table!
Al Terwelp Vice Chair, LPKS
