Bylaws/Mission

Queens Libertarians Bylaws

As amended at the LPQC Special Convention held on December 10, 2016; reaffirmed by the Executive Committee on August 8, 2020 & February 11, 2023

 
Article 1
Name & Territory

 

Section 1. Name: The name of this organization shall be “Queens Libertarians.”

 

Section 2. Territory: Queens Libertarians will primarily hold events and meetings in Queens County but may also operate and recruit members from outside Queens County.

 

Article 2
Purposes

 

Section 1: Purposes: The purposes of Queens Libertarians shall be as follows:

 

  • To spread the message of liberty to all who will listen;

 

  • To influence the cultural norms of society to create a more receptive atmosphere for libertarian ideas;

 

  • To educate the public regarding the benefits of personal freedom and libertarianism; and

 

  • To promote smaller government, lower taxes and more individual freedom.

 

Article 3
Membership

Section 1. Membership: Queens Libertarians shall have the following two classes of membership:

 

  • Regular Membership – Open to those residing in or outside Queens County who pay $20.00 annual dues. (Those who pay $20.00 and whose memberships are approved from January 1st  through April 30th shall be considered paid voting members of Queens Libertarians through the remainder of that calendar year; those who pay $10.00 and whose memberships are approved from May 1st through August 31st shall be considered paid voting members of Queens Libertarians through the remainder of that calendar year; and those who pay $20.00 and whose memberships are approved from September 1st through December 31st shall be considered paid voting members of Queens Libertarians through the remainder of the next calendar year). Regular Members shall be full voting members of Queens Libertarians.

 

 

 

  • Life Membership – Open to those Regular Members residing in or outside Queens County who pay $400.00 to Queens Libertarians and whose Life Memberships are approved by a 2/3 vote of the Executive Committee. Life Members shall be full voting members of Queens Libertarians.

 

Section 2. Membership Applications & Renewal Applications: All prospective members and members seeking the renewal of their memberships must fill out a Membership Application and/or a Renewal Application that shall be submitted to the Membership Committee. Approval of all applications for membership or for the renewal of membership shall occur in accordance with the procedures set forth by the Executive Committee, said authority that may be delegated to the Membership Committee. A Membership Application or Renewal Application may be denied on any grounds determined to be “in the best interests of Queens Libertarians”. 

 

Section 3. Failure To Maintain Good Standing: Any member who is disruptive at meetings, insults members or guests of Queens Libertarians, spams our Yahoo Groups, or takes any action deemed not to be “in the best interests of Queens Libertarians” may be designated by the Executive Committee as having lost their “good standing” in the organization for a period of time to be determined by the Executive Committee. Loss of “good standing” shall cause the loss of that member’s right to attend or vote at meetings and conventions of Queens Libertarians, in addition to other sanctions that may be imposed.

 

Article 4
Executive Committee

Section 1. Officers: Queens Libertarians shall have the following officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Director and State Representative to Empire State Libertarians.

 

Section 2. Authority: The Executive Committee shall govern Queens Libertarians and shall make all decisions regarding Queens Libertarians when the Annual Convention is not in session.

 

Section 3. Quorum: Quorum for meetings of the Executive Committee shall be a majority of the number of individuals actually serving on the Executive Committee, who are in good standing, at the time the meeting is called to order.

 

Section 4. Meetings: Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held at least quarterly during the calendar year and may be held by teleconference if circumstances necessitate it.

 

Section 5. Parliamentary Procedure: The rules contained in the latest edition of Robert Rules of Order may be referred to for guidance but the parliamentary procedure to be followed at meetings shall be established informally by custom or formally through adoption by the Executive Committee.

 

Section 6. Term Of Office: The term of office of all officers shall run from January 1st to December 31st of each calendar year.

 

Section 7. Election of Officers: The Election of Officers shall be conducted by e-mail vote to all members of Queens Libertarians in good standing sometime during the month of December. Members shall be given at least five (5) days to return their e-mail ballot.

 

Section 8. Vacancies: In the case of a vacancy in any officer position, the Executive Committee, by majority vote, shall select a member in good standing to fill the position for the remainder of the term of office. If an officer position remains unfilled after the Election of Officers is conducted by e-mail vote to all members in good standing, the Executive Committee may select a member in good standing to fill the position for the remainder of the term of office.

 

Section 8. Endorsements: The Executive Committee has the power to endorse all candidates of any party seeking the endorsement of Queens Libertarians.

 

Article 5
Standing Committees

 

Section 1. Standing Committees: The three standing committees of Queens Libertarians shall be the following:

 

  • Membership Committee
  • Social Committee
  • Campaign Committee

 

The Membership and Social Committees shall be chaired by the Membership Director. The Campaign Committee shall be chaired by a person selected for that position by the Executive Committee.

 

Section 2. Appointments: The Membership, Social and Campaign Committee Chairs may appoint members of Queens Libertarians in good standing to serve on their committees and may dismiss said individuals without cause.

 

Article 6
Annual Convention

 

Section 1. Annual Convention: Queens Libertarians shall hold an Annual Convention between January 1st and June 30th of each calendar year on a date and at such time as shall be determined by the Executive Committee.

 

Section 2. Notice: The Executive Committee must give the membership at least seven (7) days advance notice of the date and time of each Annual Convention. The notice must be by written communication sent directly to each member or by posting to a previously designated Yahoo Group or website.

 

Section 3. Qualification To Vote: To be eligible to vote at the Annual Convention, Regular Members must have had their membership applications or renewal applications approved at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of the Annual Convention. Life Members shall always be permitted to vote at Annual Conventions.

 

Section 4. Quorum: Quorum at the Annual Convention shall be 10% of the Regular and Life Members eligible to vote at any Annual Convention.

 

Article 7
Bylaw Amendments

Resolution added February 11, 2023:

In regard to determining the status of a member of the Queens Libertarians, that he or she is in good standing, should be suspended by membership, or expelled, a quorum consisting of two members of the board of directors (currently the president and vice president) plus any members in attendance (at least one person) by two thirds votes of all those members present can make a determination. The expelled person may petition for reinstatement after one year following expulsion.

Two members of the board were present along with four general members.  The resolution was passed unanimously by all those present on February 11, 2023.  Thanks is given to Larry Sharpe mediating the resolution.

Present:  John Clifton, president, and Dr. Philip Ernest Schoenberg vice president

General Membership:  Mark Axinn, Michelle Yaskel, Larry Sharpe, Alton Yee.

 

Section 1. Adoption: Amendments to these bylaws may be adopted if ratified by a 2/3 vote of members in attendance at an Annual Convention or by a majority vote of members in attendance at an Annual Convention or Special Convention, if said proposed bylaw amendments were previously endorsed by the Executive Committee.

Mission/Activism

Original note from Past President

1/1/2017 Comments by Tom Stevens, President, Queens Libertarians:

Queens Libertarians 2017 – A New Direction

Queens Libertarians,

By the deliberate choice of the members, the Queens Libertarians is now an independent libertarian organization no longer associated with the failed Libertarian Party, that has been unable (update: except in 2018) to obtain 50,000 votes in a gubernatorial election since 1971 (45 years!).

What this means is that the Queens Libertarians will be able to cross-endorse candidates of other political parties with libertarian agendas without limitation. As a chartered chapter of Empire State Libertarians, we will be able to endorse candidates statewide in the same manner. If any other chapters associated with the Libertarian Party wish to follow our lead, they are welcome to do so.

New York State currently allows you to register Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Green, Working Familes, Independence, Women’s Equality, Reform or Other. If you tried registering Libertarian, your choice was probably not recorded. I registered Libertarian and by this past election, I was still listed in the books as Republican.

We need to build ties with other political parties in order to identify candidates who are good on our issues. I recommend you register in one of them and attend their meetings as our representative. I have already re-registered Republican. You can download and mail in this form to choose the party of your choice.

http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/voting/voteform.pdf

For the past three years, I have been Queens LP Chair. There has been peace during that time until Mark Glogowski, the new Libertartian Party Chair decided to stir the pot to promote peace and reconciliation. John Clifton and I cooperated with him fully but being a political novice, he was not only unable to maintain his upstate support for his program but faced a backlash where three of the chartered chapters were de-chartered by the State Committee. I offered to resign as Chair if that would make any difference. However, like in the past, I was unanimously encouraged to run again, and reluctantly, I agreed. John Clifton relayed that fact to the powers that be. Mark Glogowski will now try to form new entites in the counties where chapters were de-chartered but we will have nothing to do with that.

Where liberty is at stake, I have no time for infighting or bullshit. We will proceed onward and upward with more freedom and flexibility. All will remain as it has been. We will continue to meet on the second Saturday of every month from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and go to lunch afterward.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

In Liberty,

Dr. Tom Stevens
Queens Libertarians