by Thomas R. Eddlem
The Libertarian Party of Massachusetts adopted a new set of by-laws and elected a new state committee at convention Saturday, March 11 in Worcester. In addition, member Louis Marino kicked off his US Senate campaign in 2024 against incumbent Democrat Elizabeth Warren with an address to the convention.
The new by-laws adopted at the convention by a 2/3 vote ratified the decision by the former state committee last summer to change the formal name of the Libertarian Party from the Libertarian Association of Massachusetts (LAMA) to the Unified Libertarians of Massachusetts (ULMA). The new by-laws consolidated the old LAMA constitution and by-laws into a single document, and makes several structural changes to the old by-laws by banning any membership expulsions by the state committee. It also makes explicit fall-back provisions for a rogue state committee that refuses to hold a special state convention properly petitioned for by the membership, as happened with the old state committee in January 2022, among a few other changes.
The convention elected the four constitutional officers by acclamation:
Chairman | David Burnham | chair@lpofma.org |
Vice Chairman | Jason Brand | vicechair@lpofma.org |
Treasurer (also Comms Dir.) | Thomas R. Eddlem | treasurer@lpofma.org |
Recording Secretary | Charles Larkin | secretary@lpofma.org |
The convention also filled the remaining six at-large state committee slots among 10 candidates who accepted nominations for at-large positions. At a state committee meeting immediately following the convention, the state committee appointed several members roles as follows:
Political Director | Janel Holmes | political@lpofma.org |
Operations Director | Brandi Bishop | operations@lpofma.org |
Technology Director | Brodi Elwood | tech@lpofma.org |
Membership Director | Stephanie Pazniokas | membership@lpofma.org |
At-Large | Justin Costa | justin@lpofma.org |
At-Large | Brian Zakrajsek | brian@lpofma.org |
Athol resident Louis “Lou” Marino formally announced his US Senate candidacy at the conclusion of the convention.