Some history on the Arizona Libertarian feuds |
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I wasn't a member of the Arizona Libertarian Party
when these events happened so everything I am saying
here is a second hand story that I heard from other people.
The main source of that information was Ernie Hancock who frequently spoke at Maricopa County Libertarian meetings which were first in Tempe and finally in Phoenix. |
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Peter Schmerl attempts to take over the Arizona Libertarian Party |
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From what I was told there was a long history of
Peter Schmerl attempting to take over the Arizona Libertarian
Party.
I wasn't around for any of this.
So I only know stuff I have heard about it at Libertarian Party meetings.
From what I have been told at past Arizona Libertarian conventions Peter Schmerl had made attempts to take over the Arizona Libertarian Party. This stuff is ancient history and what I was told Peter Schmerl attempted to stack the conventions so that he could take over the party. From what I understand all his takeover attempts failed. |
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ALP refuses to obey Arizona election laws |
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I think one major problem between Peter Scherml's supporters and
the people who controlled the ALP was that the ALP refused to
obey Arizona's election laws.
While some people make out the ALP leaders as evil criminals who refused to obey Arizona election law that is not true. The ALP leaders refused to obey Arizona election laws because the election laws violate the Libertarian principles for which the Libertarian Party stands. I think the biggest issue was the requirement that the ALP hold elections which were paid for with tax dollars to elect Libertarian party precinct committee members. Libertarians regard taxes as theft and requiring the party to use stolen tax dollars for party elections is simply against the principles of the Libertarian party. These are the main elections laws that I remember the ALP refusing to obey:
Instead of having taxpayer financed elections to elect precinct committee members the ALP would allow anybody who showed up at it's state convention to take part in the convention and elect the Libertarian Party officers. Arizona election laws require ALL political parties to hold their conventions in Phoenix. The ALP would have their conventions in any city except Phoenix. I attended Arizona Libertarian Party conventions in Tempe, Prescott and Tucson. Arizona election laws require ALL political parties to hold their conventions in the month of January. The ALP would have their conventions in any month except January. Usually this would be in April or May when the hotel rates drop after the winter tourist season, but before summer when it gets too hot. |
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Peter Schmerl creates ALP Inc to take over ALP |
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Back in 1998 Peter Schmerl created
the Arizona Libertarian Incorporated or ALP Inc. in
his attempt to take over the Arizona Libertarian Party
or ALP.
Peter Schmerl then held an Arizona Libertarian Party, Inc convention in Phoenix (as required by law) a nd in the month of January (as required by law), and attended by precinct committee members as required by law. From what I was told Peter Schmerl then went to the Arizona Secretary of State and told her he because his ALP Inc obeyed the law that his ALP Inc. was now the official Arizona Libertarian Party because his ALP Inc complied with Arizona elections law while the evil ALP continued to refuse to obey Arizona elections law. I was told that the Arizona Secretary of State more or less told Peter Schmerl to buzz off. I was told that Peter Schmerl then filed a lawsuit against folks in the Arizona Libertarian in his attempt to take over the ALP. The data on the copy of the lawsuit which I have conflicts with what I was told. That lawsuit seems to be filed not by Peter Schmerls ALP Inc, but by Helen Purcel who is the Maricopa County Recorder. |
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ALP Inc loses round one, but wins in the appeals court |
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In first court decision Peter Schmerl and his ALP Inc lost the lawsuit.
Peter Schmerl appealed the lawsuit his ALP Inc. won the lawsuit in an appeals court. ALP would have loved to appeal the lawsuit to the Arizona Supreme Court or perhaps the U.S. Supreme court. I don't remember the details. But John Buttrick who was one of the ALP lawyers became a judge in the Maricopa County Superior Court and could no longer represent ALP for that reason. I believe John Buttrick worked on the case for free. Our other lawyer Tom Rawles had since flipped back to being a Republican Party member and he did not want to continue to represent us in the case. I think he said he didn't have the time to represent us in another appeals. The Arizona Libertarian Party then voted to drop the case and dissolve the Arizona Libertarian Party and that was my last association with the Arizona Libertarian Party. As a result of that the ALP Inc became the official Libertarian Party of Arizona |
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Arizona Corporation Commission records on ALP Inc. |
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From the records at the Arizona Corporation Commission
these are the people that were involved with creating,
starting and running the
Arizona Libertarian Party Incorporated.
CV 1999-003904This is the link to the Arizona Libertarian Party Inc on the Arizona Corporation's web page Arizona Libertarian Party Inc.Here is the current information about the ALP Inc at the time I created this web page in Feburary 2011: File Number: -0832899-1 |
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