David Ulmer was re-elected chair of the Wake Libertarian Party at the annual county convention April 24. Travis Groo was elected vice chair. Patrick Bowersox was re-elected secretary and Brad Hessel will serve another term as treasurer. Bruce Basson, former vice chair, will fill the at-large member position.

"It has been very personally rewarding to be a part of this group for the last few years," Ulmer said in his state of the party address. "We have made so much progress and are attracting some really quality people.”

Wake Libertarians ran a record number of candidates in 2016 and received a record number of votes.

“People now coming to the party are people who are already leaders in their community, great family members, just really good people."

He cited as an example Tim Jowers, who ran for county commissioner. Sadly, Jowers and his family were killed in a car accident shortly before the election.

“We’re going to do really well in 2020, I really believe that. We will have people sharing a message about being positive .... spreading that message, people who are kind, compassionate people, talking to voters about issues that matter.”

The convention selected delegates to the state convention set for May 31 to June 2 at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. If you are a WakeLP member and want to go, contact David Ulmer.

The convention also revised the plan of organization.

Our annual county convention is set for April 24, beginning at 7 p.m. in our unofficial HQ, Tobacco Road Brewing Co. on Jones St. As the largest and most active Libertarian affiliate, Wake LP is leading the way in showing the state how we can Wake Up Liberty across North Carolina. Come join us, meet old friends, make new ones, join in the lively discussion, and enjoy great beer and free food.

Here’s the agenda:

1. State of the Party Address by David Ulmer, WakeLP Chair

2. Financial Report by Brad Hessel, WakeLP Treasurer

3. Keynote: Liberty at Wilmington. Matt Clements, Co-chair of the LPNC convention committee, will give us the exciting news about the 2019 Libertarian Party of North Carolina State Convention to be held May 31 to June 6 at the University of North Carolina - Wilmington. Book your Early Bird Package now before prices change in April.

4. Consideration of proposed changes to the Plan of Organization. Following a brief discussion will move to an up or down vote.

5. Election of officers for 2019-21: chair, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, and one at-large member. If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact someone on the executive committee.

6. Election of Delegates to the State Convention. We have 52 delegates, the largest county delegation in the state.

7. Consideration of a resolution to close Libertarian primaries, by Brian Irving. 

The annual report produced by Wake Libertarian Party treasurer Brad Hessel shows that the party had more in 2018. We had more registered Libertarians than ever before, raised more money than ever before, fielded more candidates than ever before, and spent more money on events and campaigns than ever before. 

Here are some key excerpts from his report:

In 2016, WakeLP raised $2,500, more money than in the previous three years combined. In 2017, we nearly tripled that, raising $7,200. Then we doubled that in 2018, taking in $14,600.

This was not only a new all-time high for any LPNC county affiliate, but it was also more money than several state Libertarian parties raised. Of course, the dollar figures are still significantly smaller than those of the establishment parties. Wake Democrats and Republicans both outraised us 10:1. In other words, they raised $10 for every dollar we did. But that’s an improvement. In 2016, the ratio was 74:1.