LIFE, LIBERTARIAN AND THE PURSUIT OF GROWTH

County’s Libertarian Party, chair recognized at state convention
Shared from the 4/3/2021 The Mooresville-Decatur Times eEdition

The Libertarian Party of Indiana met last weekend in Fishers for the party’s annual convention that saw the county affiliate come away with some notable accolades.

The convention was held for the first time as a hybrid online and in-person meeting due to the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and, according to a news release, saw a total of 160 party members in attendance as well as the delegates who selected the new chair and vice-chair of the party, Even McMahon and Lucy Brenton respectively.

This event may have been statewide, but Morgan County was frequently part of the day’s conversation.

The county won — for the second year in a row — the Bill Bean County Affiliate of the Year award. In addition, the chair of the Libertarian Party of Morgan County, Mooresville resident Danny Lundy, took home the Dr. Barbara Bourland Light of Liberty award. Lundy also spearheaded the planning of this convention, a process that took the entire year, he said.

When it comes to the local party winning the Bill Bean award twice in a row, Lundy said they are simply “just doing the work.”

“It’s been an increase in membership,” he said. “It’s been an increase in activity … taking a stand in the local community, taking a stand on people’s rights and liberty and just doing the work.”

In addition, he noted that they outraised the Democratic Party in the county last year. They also did a lot of work, he said, related to Donald Rainwater’s gubernatorial run in 2020 that earned 11.4 percent of the state vote — the second-best ever in the nation for a Libertarian governor candidate.

The news release notes that Rainwater came in second place in 32 Indiana counties. Lundy said they also saw a number of counties decide to become more affiliated with the Libertarian party following this.

“This kind of excitement is great,” Lundy said.

All in all, he said the Morgan County party wasn’t exactly surprised that they won this award because they know how hard they’ve worked for it, but that the recognition was nice and that they’re looking forward to some “fierce competition” for it again next year.

For the Dr. Bourland award, which Lundy personally received, he said he was a bit more surprised about it. This award goes to an individual “most responsible for the growth of the party and dedication to the Libertarian cause,” according to an email from Lundy.

There were multiple nominees up for this award at the convention, including Lundy. The affiliate award, he said, is nice but it’s really down to the numbers, whereas this is more about colleagues affirming the work done by individuals, so he said it was nice to get that personal recognition.

“When your peers recognize you for good work that you’ve been doing, that always hits you right in the heart,” he said. “You know what I mean? and so I didn’t expect it. I think the speech I gave was everybody nominated here doesn’t wear a cape, they’re not superman, they didn’t do something super amazing. All the people on that list just saw work that needed to be done and did it, and that’s all I feel like I’m doing.”

The local party will be having its next monthly meeting on April 8 at Black Dog Brewing Co. in Mooresville where they will have two candidates representing the Libertarian Party present.

These candidates will be Pastor Mark Powell who intends to run for Senate in 2022 and Kristin Alexander who has filed exploratory committee paperwork for the Morgan County Clerk, with plans to run for office in 2022, according to an email from Lundy.

He also encouraged anyone wishing to run for office in 2022 to contact either him at Danny.lundy@morganLPIN.org or Chris Gault at Political@MorganLPIN.org.

By Cody Thompson | Reporter | Published April 3, 2021 in The Mooresville-Decatur Times