From Ken at KenK.org Thu Jan 25 19:54:29 2007 From: Ken at KenK.org (Ken V. Krawchuk) Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 20:54:29 -0500 Subject: [PBAC sup] Ballot Access Coalition retreat, Saturday 1/27 Message-ID: Folks: The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition will be holding an all-day retreat in southeastern Pennsylvania on Saturday, January 27th, starting at 10 AM and running at least until well into the afternoon, perhaps longer. The retreat will be held at the Peace Center of Delaware County, 1001 Old Sproul Road in Springfield, Penna. 19064, just off I-476 (a.k.a. The Blue Route). While RSVP's are not required, it would be nice if you could let me know if you plan to attend so that we can at least have enough chairs set up. We'll be taking a break for a pizza or some such thing around lunchtime, or you can brown bag it if you like. The overall goal of the retreat is for the PBAC to re-trench and strategize what our long-term plans will be for the Voters' Choice Act and how we'll sell it. We've been working on changing the laws for two years now with some success, albeit limited, so we felt it was time to revisit our approach, especially in light of the historic Legislative turnover in Harrisburg last year and the million-dollar fine levied against the 2006 US Senate candidate Carl Romanelli. Possible topics for discussion include changing the provisions of the Act, expanding, contracting, or shifting our focus, strategizing over the marketing of the Act, and discussing any other aspect of our collective effort to make it easier for us challenger parties to get on the ballot. Anyone with an interest is invited to attend. If you want to help change the ballot access laws, then this one day is probably THE single most important event that you can possibly attend this year. We're hoping that most, if not all of the leadership of Pennsylvania's third parties can attend, including the various state chairs and other dignitaries. If you do attend, one strong word of caution: When you put together such a disparate group of people such as the Libertarians, Greens, Socialists, Prohibitionists, Constitutions, etc., etc., etc., the sheer diversity of the group is almost certain to blow it completely apart, if one is not careful. So the goal of the gathering is NOT to discuss the evils or benefits of the War on Drugs, taxation, abortion, gun rights, constitutional conventions, gambling, health care, schools, welfare, Iraq, pay raises, or whatever other pet issues each party may hold near and dear. The goal is to talk about ballot access and ONLY ballot access, and those things directly related to ballot access. By following this basic tenet, the PBAC has not only held together these last two years, we've also garnered much positive press and legislative interest. Let's not mess with success. These are dark times for third parties in Pennsylvania, but in that adversity there also lies much opportunity. Drop by the Peace Center on the 27th and share your ideas for how we can bring about badly-needed ballot access reform in Pennsylvania. If you can't make it but have an opinion or suggestion you want heard, please send it to me and I'll make sure it gets some consideration. Any questions, feel free to get in touch. I hope to see you there. - Ken -------------------------------------------- Ken Krawchuk Libertarian for Pennsylvania Governor (1998, 2002) Past Chair, Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (2002-04) Krawchuk '02 c/o PO Box 260 Cheltenham, Penna. USPO 19012 (215) 881-9696 (voice) (215) Krawchuk (fax) Inquiries at KenK.Org www.KenK.Org