Libertarian party hosts annual convention

MORGAN COUNTY — The Libertarian Party of Morgan County met at the Mooresville Public Library Thursday evening for the party’s 2020 convention.

At the meeting, they discussed the current state of the party, performed some housekeeping of their bylaws and heard from Libertarians running for state and national positions.

After the meeting was opened by party chair Danny Lundy, treasurer Anna Elliot provided the group with the year-end financial report.

“I feel like we are on the precipice of something really great here in Morgan County and really growing the Libertarian Party,” she said as she opened her report. “And I’m just really grateful for all of you who are here tonight, and it’s just essential to have your enthusiasm, your support and most importantly your participation.”

In her report, she noted that the party’s starting balance for 2019 was $144.64. During the year, they made $2,760.60 and spent $2,373.62, leaving them with an ending balance of $386.98.

“And guess what,” she said as she concluded the report, “we don’t owe anybody anything.”

The party discussed the various county positions with elections occurring this year and sorted out their delegates being sent to Indianapolis in March for the state convention.

The party also made changes to 10 of their bylaws at the end of the meeting. These amendments ranged from simple wording and grammatical changes to changes in title names and the frequency in which the party holds monthly business meetings and the quorum requirement for said meetings.

When the official meeting adjourned, the party also discussed various fundraising opportunities, including their annual poker tournament and even the possibility of hosting a murder-mystery dinner party game to raise money.

Following these bylaw changes, the party invited two guests to speak up front. The first of these speakers was Tonya Millis — the Libertarian congressional candidate who is running in District 9, which is currently held by Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth.

She congratulated the party for a well-run convention and encouraged them to visit her website. She said she’s running on the “roll-it-back” campaign against rules, regulations and runaway debt.

She said the current members of U.S. Congress are like pirates with rules and regulations.

“If we can, as Libertarians, get enough Libertarians elected into the U.S. House of Representatives, then we can work together and get these things rolled back,” she said.

Following her speech, Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Bill Levin took the floor. With pink sunglasses, pins bearing marijuana leaves and a cigar in hand, he spoke to the room.

“I’m running for governor, obviously,” he said. “And it scares the (expletive) out of them.”

The charismatic figure, who gained regional prominence when he ran for city council in Indianapolis in 2011 and subsequently founded the First Church of Cannabis, said it’s about time people in Indiana had a voice in politics. He also said he wants to find all the gambling money that was supposed to go to teachers and schools, especially given the recent go-ahead on sports betting.

“This is not the direction to take our state,” he said. “This is corrupting the foundation of our good morals. Hey, how screwed up is the situation if I’ve got to come up and talk about morals?”

~ By Cody Thompson | Reporter | Published January 10, 2020 in The Mooresville Times