Where Do We Go From Here?

by Marco den Ouden
October 1984

We've just been through a very successful election campaign. We've run more candidates in British Columbia than ever before and we achieved an average vote total in BC of almost 300 per candidate. We've added many more names to our mailing list and increased membership in the party. But where do we go from here?

Now that we've had some experience at intensive activity and organization, we must decide how to build up the Libertarian movement in BC so that we can create an even greater impact at the next election. Should we organize a permanent and thriving party presence? How can we do that?

The key is involvement. We need dozens of libertarians to become active within the movement. How can we get the organization already in place to grow?

Right now there are three active Libertarian Associations in BC, one in Prince George, one in Victoria, and one in Vancouver. Here is what I see as essential for Vancouver.

Up to now, the Greater Vancouver Libertarian Association has been very loosely structured. I have served as ad hoc Treasurer and Secretary for some time now. Paul Geddes and I have been sharing the responsibility of presenting the Party and coordinating activities. Over the last year, and particularly within the last six months, we have seen additional people become active. Bill Tomlinson organized actively on the North Shore. Dan Ladd, Mary Anne Nylen and Harry Pokrandt worked hard on our campaign committee. Wayne Marsden had been busy in the Fraser Valley developing interest in the party with his election campaign. Many fine people served as candidates, official agents and campaign workers. Still others supported the party financially. All these energies should now be organized to tighten up the structure of the GVLA by delegating the workload and decentralizing the organization.

At our upcoming Supper Club meeting we will elect a new executive. We want you to consider running for some of the positions. The positions are:

President - represents the GVLA officially and is the chief executive officer. He serves as chairman for meetings and coordinates GVLA activities.

Vice President - assists the President in organizing and coordinating activities and serves as President in his absence.

Treasurer - handles all receipts and disbursements and keeps financial records. The Treasurer is a signatory on the bank account and will be a Registered Agent of the party.

Secretary - handles all records and correspondence of the association and maintains a liaison with party headquarters in Montreal and Toronto.

In addition to the elected positions, we may need the following also:

Membership Chairman - keeps track of membership and updates mailing lists. The Membership Chairman would send out membership cards to new members, renewal notices when memberships lapse and would advise party headquarters of changes in membership.

Supper Club Coordinator - arranges speakers, secures locations and arranges publicity for Supper Club Meetings.

Newsletter Editor - edits the West Coast Libertarian and organizes its production.

All of these activities require support workers. The newsletter, for example, could have people in charge of typesetting, layout and mailing.

There may be sufficient interest to establish new Libertarian Associations. Wayne Marsden had expressed interest in setting up a Fraser Valley Libertarian Association. And there may be sufficient interest to establish a North Shore Libertarian Association.

We need you to step forward and take on a challenge. There will be nominations from the floor for the elected positions and you may offer yourself to run for any position that interests you.

There is much work to be done. We need you to do it. Get involved get active and help promote liberty in our time.

If you want a position on the executive and if you wish to participate in the election please make sure you are a paid up voting member of the GVLA. Phone 465-4683 to check your voting status. Membership forms will be available at the upcoming supper club.