November's list of open appointments to various commissions, boards, advisory councils and other panels that constitute your state government in action is now available at the Secretary of State's website. There are over 40 pages in this listing because of the sheer number that expire on 31 December.
Somebody once asked why I post these lists since it seems like I'm encouraging the unwieldy bureaucracy that we're all united against. I post these lists for the simple reason that until we have enough people in Saint Paul to pull the plug on these agencies, we should be serving on them and bringing our principles to the table. Many of these boards and panels (think: Met Council) oversee the spending of YOUR money - imagine if they had fiscally conservative majorities? Additionally, they require less time than running for public office, so they may fit better into people's lives who want to affect matters in the public sphere but can't be a legislative candidate due to family and professional commitments. Finally, serving on these boards helps our campaign for liberty because the members learn about the workings of state government, can help educate the rest of us on what they learn, and gain experience and credentials to perhaps run for office in the future.
The appointing agencies take many factors into consideration when choosing the members, including race, age, gender, education and home town. So please check the list and consider applying in an area of personal or professional interest. I did - so can you.
A Local Coordinator is a volunteer who is willing to go door to door in their precinct or neighborhood regarding an issue that affects their neighborhood. The times that people will go door to door are generally prior to an election to hand out information on candidates or issue that will be on the ballot, when there is a community or neighborhool issue that you want to raise awareness about, or just a neighborhood bar-b-que. Local Coordinators are the most valuable people to make a change in elections. There are 180,000 precincts in the country and if we can get 180,000 people who are willing to be Local Coordinators it will be very easy to make a difference in elections.
For instance, if your county has 30 precincts and you have 25-50 people who agree on something that have stepped up to be Local Coordinators it is very easy to get information to people. We all are aware of the problems with the talking box (aka television) and newspapers. Many times they give an opinions and not facts but the people who watch or read them seem to think that they are seeing or hearing facts.
Let's use the example of a new road. If a county wants to put in a new road for the benefit of a company in a neighboring county the currently elected county officials discuss it and how much it will cost. There are usually a few articles in the local paper about it and maybe a talking head will mention it once or twice. The request for the funding is put on the municipal ballot and people are asked to vote for or against it. Just how much information do the voters really have about the issue? Because this is not really a partisan issue the republican and democratic precinct leaders are probably not going to do any canvassing of their precincts to provide information to the people. Republican and Democratic precinct leaders mainly canvass to keep or get back their party's power or dominance.
If there were liberty minded Local Coordinators who would go door to door with information regarding the project the voters would be better informed. Maybe provide a copy of the budget for the highway that shows where the county intends to get the funds from, information that shows the layout of the proposed road, information about who benefits the most from the road, and information about what property the county will intend to take through emininent domain for the project. This information is needed by voters to make informed decisions and they are not going to get it from partisan parties so it us up to us, We The People. The Local Coordinator would also remind people when the election day was and maybe even offer to provide a ride for their neighbors who don't drive.
The Campaign For Liberty Local Coordinator program has great tools and teaching programs to help people learn about their precinct. While not necessary they are EXTEMELY helpful as you learn how many voters you have, how many people vote in the general election verses the municipal elections, which way your neighborhood generally votes, etc. As an active Local Coordinator your neighbors will start to look to you as a source of information after you have canvassed your area a few times. They will recognize you and most are happy that someone has stepped up and is willing to provide them with information that they don't get from the talking box or dying newspapers.
How many of you walked your neighborhood to hand out information regarding Ron Paul? If you could walk your neighborhood to give out information regarding the presidential elections why can't you walk your neighborhood to give out information regarding local issues that directly affect you and your neighbors? To restore constitutional principles to our country we must to restore order to our local governing bodies. To make our voices heard we must stand together. As we work on our local areas as a Local Coordinator we can and will re-awaken the spirit of our country and remind people that what made our country great was less government, not more. Local elections are extremely important to fix the foundation of our government.
Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. You can message me here if your are logged into the Campaign For Liberty site or here if you are not a member yet. The R3volution continues with people taking action.
Robyn Hamlin MO CD 1 Interim MO State Co-Coordinator
"Rep. Ron Paul expected to join the show tonight to talk about politics and his new book "End the Fed"."
Jason's show begins at 5 p.m. CT (4 pm ET) and may be heard via the internets at KTLK MSP. (Or call your local station to request that Jason Lewis' show be added. He's a pretty decent liberty guy almost up to the point of siding with us on the war.)
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
—Thomas Jefferson
Campaign for Liberty is a 501(c)4 lobbying organization which neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office and claims no responsibility for the actions of individuals or groups of individuals who use the Campaign for Liberty logo or name or who may claim to act as representatives of the Campaign for Liberty without prior written consent of the Campaign for Liberty. [?]
