Palm Beach Libertarians Support Rights Restoration for Those Who Served Their Time, Also Vote in New Chair and At-Large Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2017
CONTACT: Chairman, Karl Dickey
Phone: 202-683-8056 | Email: [email protected]

​Lake Worth, Fla – Last night, January 10, 2016, the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County, an official affiliate of the Libertarian Party of Florida, conducted their annual business meeting and convention in Lake Worth, Florida. During the meeting, it was voted that the local organization support the 2018 Florida Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative. The measure would restore the right to vote for most people with past felony convictions upon completion of their sentences. It would not restore voting rights for those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense.

Additionally, members at the meeting voted Karl Dickey to be their next Chairman and Artie Lurie as their At-Large Director. Dickey was the local party's previous Chairman from 2005 through 2007 and is a former Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida. Lurie ran for Florida House in 2016 against incumbent Lori Berman.
Speaking about the restoration of voting rights to felons, Dickey said last night, “Once a citizen has served their time for their offence, they should automatically restored all of their Constitutional rights.”

Speaking about what he plans to accomplish as the incoming Chair for the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County, Dickey said, “I look forward to the challenge of growing our local affiliate to become a stronger political force in the county. You can expect to see us increase our registered voter count from the current 1,466 dramatically over the next two years while we increase the number and quality of those running for public office. We will also be more visible at county and municipal commission meetings, weighing in on proposed ordinances. I encourage all freedom-loving Palm Beachers to give us a look if you're dissatisfied with the two older political parties or if you are currently registered without a political party. I am also very thankful for Shane George, our former Chair, for doing such a great job during his tenure.”

Also during the local party's meeting, members decided to honor fallen 2016 Libertarian Party presidential candidate Dr. Allan Feldman. Feldman passed away shortly after the nominating convention and becoming a favorite among many after seeing his rousing speech at the Libertarian Party's presidential debate. The Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County resolved, “We posthumously give our sincerest thanks and appreciation to Dr. Marc Allan Feldman for all of the work he did for the Libertarian Party. Running for Ohio Attorney General and running for President of the United States were incredibly difficult and thankless feats. And his passion for liberty and self-empowerment, as demonstrated by his closing remarks at several state party convention debates calling out the powers that be, and of course his closing remarks at the national party convention talking about being 'That Libertarian,' was exciting and helped the party come together in spite of a hard fought and divisive primary. Not only was he passionate about liberty, but he truly cared about people. One of many examples of this was at the LP national convention, someone was hit by a car in the hotel parking lot and attendees ran inside and asked for a doctor; Marc was there and he rushed out to provide assistance. Shortly after the convention, when we found out he passed, several of us cried. He will be sorely missed."
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Lastly, at their annual convention, the Libertarian Party of Palm Beach County resolved to honor Mises Institute senior fellow Dr. Tom Woods. The party made the following statement, "We give kudos to Thomas E. Woods for all of the incredible work he has done for the liberty movement. Between his five-day-a-week podcast, his writing, his creation of Liberty Classroom, his work for the Ron Paul Homeschool Curriculum, and his public speaking, he is truly a gem of the liberty movement. His overall positive, friendly, and receptive demeanor and his intellectual curiosity has brought us enjoyment and has driven many converts into the liberty movement for which we owe him a great deal of gratitude. We welcome his move from Kansas to Florida within the past year."