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DANIEL H. FYLSTRA
Candidate for Vice Chair www.fylstra.com/vicechair ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS |
I'm running for Vice-Chair because I believe I've made a difference on the LNC in the last two years, and I'm ready to do more. I really believe that we can seize new opportunities, such as rapid growth of the Internet and widespread dissatisfaction with the Republicans and Democrats, to become much, much more than a 'minor party' held back at the margins of American politics. I want to help make this happen in 2000 and 2001.
I registered to vote Libertarian in January 1992, supported the Harry Browne campaign in 1996, started contributing to the LP in earnest (thanks to Project Archimedes) in 1997, and helped 'reboot' the largely-inactive Nevada Libertarian Party in 1998, when I was elected State Party Treasurer. I also worked as State Party Webmaster and database manager, and I'm currently serving on our state Judicial Committee.
I ran for the office of Nevada State Treasurer in 1998 and received 10% of the statewide vote -- our best vote total. I'm currently supporting the race of James Dan for Assembly in Nevada, where we believe we have an excellent chance of winning a legislative seat in 2000! I also worked to turn AB520, a state ballot access bill, from a potential 'disaster' into a boon for the LP.
I chaired our delegation to the LP National Convention in 1998, and shortly afterwards I was elected to the LNC as alternate delegate from Region 2 (California - Nevada). I represented the LNC as a neutral observer at the very controversial Arizona Libertarian Party convention in 1999, and I'm currently serving as Chair of the LNC Compensation Committee.
At the state level, I'm proud of our success in transforming the Nevada Libertarian Party from almost moribund to the fastest growing state party in the nation (membership up over 50% in 1999). We ran a record number of candidates in 1998, got excellent TV and newspaper publicity, hired a full-time state director, and brought well-known Nevada political figures into the Libertarian Party as new members.
I'm also proud of my role in the national Website (www.LP.org) redesign project. I personally raised the funds needed to kick off the project, and I devoted hundreds of hours to our Request for Proposal, evaluating bids, selecting a vendor, and working with that vendor to ensure that our goals for the Website were met.
I've done a lot of outreach for the Libertarian Party to the high-tech community, including my Pandora's Box piece on the Web, my speech at the Cato conference on Technology and Society, and many informal efforts to convey to high tech executives the message that the LP is their natural ally, and is growing and professionalizing rapidly today.
I'm very pleased that seven of my colleagues on the LNC, including the current Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, have already endorsed me for Vice Chair in this election.
The LNC has become more professional and far more effective in recent years -- and I've been proud to be a part of it. There's been almost no infighting -- instead we've had honest and open debates concentrating on the big issues such as membership and fundraising strategy, ballot access, activist training and candidate support.
One of the LNC's best recent actions is the adoption of specific goals for 2000, including four core goals, that can be objectively measured. This will help us evaluate the staff and prioritize among the many competing demands for resources. I do support the goals of 218 House candidates and 2000 total candidates, most of whom will be at the state and local level.
Another big improvement, though less visible or glamorous, is our new budgeting and financial reporting system. This helps us see where money is being spent and how we're doing versus the budget during the year. It should help us avoid the financial crises of the past, hopefully even in a Presidential election year when the stresses on the staff reach a peak.
First, I believe we can make much more effective use of the Internet in recruiting new members, supporting activists, and spreading the Libertarian message. I support Project Archimedes, because it has yielded more measurable results than any other recruiting effort we've tried -- but I believe that, possibly in 2000 and surely in 2001, effective use of the Internet can and will surpass Project Archimedes in effectiveness.
Second, I think we can and should do more to grow the LP from the bottom up by supporting state and local candidates and parties. If we succeed in raising $1 million for TV advertising this year, I'd like to see if we can spend that money more effectively on key state and local races rather than generic image advertising.
Third, I believe we should do more to measure our actual impact on American voters, and study the voters' response to alternative ways of presenting our message, through professional polling, 'brand awareness' studies and the like. We're reaching the point where we can and should use the best professionals available to 'market the benefits of Liberty' with maximum impact.
First, by continuing my active participation in both LNC and Executive Committee meetings, and continuing to study the budget and staff reports before the meetings, I'll be well equipped to perform the duties as "chief assistant to the Chair" as prescribed in Article 9 Section 5 of the LP Bylaws.
Second, I'd like to continue the practice started by Hugh Butler, our well-regarded current Vice-Chair, of staying in touch with as many State Party Chairs as possible -- learning what's working in certain states and passing on the ideas to other states. As a voting member of the LNC, I will press for greater emphasis on electing state and local candidates and growing the LP from the bottom up.
Third, I want to press for a much stronger and up-to-date LP presence on the Internet. Redesigning the national LP Website is a great first step, but our next challenge is to effectively promote the Libertarian Party name, our national and state party Websites, and candidate Websites to non-Libertarians, using the Internet itself as a promotional vehicle. I hope to apply my business experience in Internet marketing to this task.
I'm 48 years old. I live in Incline Village, Nevada which is on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. I have an MBA from Harvard Business School in marketing, and a BSEE in Computer Science from M.I.T. I've started several software companies including VisiCorp, which brought the first electronic spreadsheet, VisiCalc, to market. I'm presently a startup "angel" investor and president of two small high-tech companies.
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