Compatriots:

I just got a phone call from Bill Van Allen. He told me, WE WON!

According to Bill, what this victory means is that we can now(?) change our voter registration status to Libertarian from whatever it has been simply by obtaining a copy of the new voter-registration form, and filling it out as before except that, instead of declaring ourselves as affiliated with an official (and therefore listed) party, as we were hitherto obliged, we can now write by legible hand the word Libertarian in a blank space provided for such a purpose.

According to Bill, the NYState BOE will keep track of our registered Libertarian voters, and will provide to the LPNY State Committee a list of such people including contact information so that we can mount more effective campaigns by going directly to the citizens who have publicly declared themselves sympathetic to libertarian views, and soliciting whatever copious or meager help they will be willing and able to offer to our candidates. E.g., GOTV (Get Out The Vote) efforts will thenceforth become feasible for the LPNY.

We now have some serious business for the coming Hudson Valley Libertarians' meeting on Tuesday, 07 October, at the New Paltz College Diner, starting about 19:30 hours.

Special thanks are due to (at least):
Bill Van Allen, who brought the possibility to our attention in the first place, and who goaded us until a few grabbed the ball and ran with it;
Gary Triestman, who carried the matter forward into the design of a voter registration form which could serve us to replace the old one, and who further pressed the StateComm into action;
Chris Garvey, Esq., who pro bono gave of his time and legal expertise to carry forward our efforts to profit from the Green Party lawsuit;
Bonnie Scott, as always intelligent and indefatigable, who argued on our behalf tellingly in a recent court affair, of which I hope Bill or Gary will bring us the digested relevant details during October's LHV meeting in New Paltz.

I have not intentionally failed to remark other heroes of the hour. I hope that any whose names I have inadvertently omitted in my plaudits above will call themselves to my attention so that I can remedy my failure.

Bill has not informed me, and possibly does not know, when the wonderful new voter-registration forms will become available. As soon as they do become available, our duties as loyal participants in our movement are clear: Reregister ourselves as Libertarians, and carry the new forms to as many people as possible who might do likewise.

The more registered Libertarians we can get, the more influence our little non-party, and our own personal policy wishes as adherents of libertarian philosophy, can exercise on the political process in NYState.

There is, by the way, in my opinion no danger that our party will be ``taken over" by philosophical authoritarians who for nefarious reasons will have registered Libertarian. We will continue to control who will become a member of our LPNY club, and consequently who will have a hand in deciding LPNY actions and position statements.

Any danger of such a hostile take-over can arise only if and when we become official as a party in NYState by dint of a future gubernatorial candidate's amassing 50,000+ votes for the LPNY -- at which time we may be obliged to stage primary elections to determine our candidate lists.

It is my guess that the LPNY will not get 50,000+ gubernatorial votes until our party organization is sound enough to defend itself against the dangers some of us fear. In this regard, we have an advantage over the Independence Party: We do have, and for a long time have maintained, a coherent and consistent political philosophy. The Independence Party never had that. Up to the present our philosophy may have helped to keep us small and ineffectual politically. However, if we ever do become official, our philosophy will serve as a keel to help maintain our course.

I will now suggest that our maintenance of ideological direction need not interfere with our collaboration with other political parties, some of whose adherents differ from us philosophically in important ways.

In New Paltz, in particular, I believe it will be profitable for the LP to find areas in which mutual aid and collaboration can occur with the much-better-organized, better-funded, and vastly larger, Green Party. The Green Party law suit which ultimately served the LPNY's interests, is a possible start in the direction of general collaboration among the so-called third parties.

I personally know a number of Greens who are philosophically akin to libertarianism. A few of them are very talented and attractive people. If we could woo them into the LP, this would serve our purposes well.

Best wishes.
-- Donald Silberger, Chair
Hudson Valley Libertarians