4:30 p.m. – The convention has ended and pictures of candidates is in progress. The LPIA looks forward to an energetic campaign season. Be sure to stay in touch with the party through this website, its Facebook page, its county affiliates – and remember to volunteer for our candidates.
4:00 p.m. – Back from a break. A committee for the 2017 state convention has been identified. Marco Battaglia has volunteered to work on the state’s newsletter, Libertarians In Action. Chair Laube is giving tips on how to gather signatures to place the Libertarian presidential candidate on the ballot, as well as state candidates. There are challenges going on between the Libertarians for getting the most of the 1500 signatures needed for the presidential filings in Iowa. There was an unofficial proposal to have recognition at the 2017 convention social event for those who gather at least 100 signatures.
3:01 p.m. – Yuri Maltsev is taking questions. A picture he showed of indoor plumbing replaced with outdoor plumbing raised a question of how we can address the need for repairing roads, bridges, and water pipes. Yuri said there is “no demand and supply for infrastructure; there is political demand.” He then rattled over many examples of excessive infrastructure construction, after first saying there will be no change because of the political demand.
“Where do you think we’re going in the next couple of years?” Yuri rattled off several jokes about the size of government and funding sources.
2:45 p.m. – Keynote speaker, Yuri Maltsev, has been providing a humorous, yet serious, look at government control over people’s lives. Yuri is a professor of economics at Carthage College in Wisconsin. He was a labor economist on Mikhail Gorbachev’s economic reform team before defecting to the United States. He also is the author of “The Tea Party Explained: From Crisis to Crusade.”
1:42 p.m. – The ACLU will be doing Know Your Rights training on voting rights and if stopped by the police. There were several questions from the audience on voting rights, as well as questions on specific issues.
1:20 p.m. – The afternoon session of the Libertarian Party of Iowa 2016 state convention started with certificates of recognition for party members who won election to municipal offices in 2015, volunteers to the party, and lifetime members.
Cristina Kinsella, Advocacy Coordinator, of the American Civil Liberties Union in Iowa spoke about current work of the ACLU. On March 30th the ACLU has a case before the Iowa Supreme Court on restoration of felon voting rights. If a victory, there will be need for a massive voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts. At the Iowa Capitol, the ACLU is working on several bills, including one on civil forfeiture through which the government can seize property or cash without charging a person with a crime.
