On June 28-29, the American Independent Party held its state convention in Los Angeles. The convention chose Ed King for state chair, and nominated a slate of presidential electors pledged to Chuck Baldwin for president. Approximately 35 delegates attended. Outgoing state chair Ed Noonan did not attend. Outgoing vice-chair Mark Seidenberg did appear at the convention hotel, but he did not enter the convention hall. Noonan and Seidenberg are opposed to Baldwin’s nomination, and support Alan Keyes.
The convention had been called by 9 state officers of the party, more than a month before the convention itself. The officers had acted when it appeared that Noonan would not be calling a state convention this year. The party hired a professional parliamentarian to help with the meeting.
Noonan has called an alternate state convention for July 5-6 in Sacramento.
Richard- is this likely to hold up or is there a chance that the pro-Keyes faction will prevail?
Yes, I believe it is solid.
Wow, Mr. Noonan looks like he has gone to the Frank MacKay School, perhaps Messer MacKay can Chair this Party too and bring settlemnt to this dispute.
Is this the party of George Wallace (in California, of all places)?
Ben,
It is theparty George Wallace founded in 1968. It’d be a stretch to say its “the party of George Wallace”–seeing as he tried to destroy it in 1969 and after.
So, was the vote for Baldwin delegates pretty much 100%?
Why doesn’t The CP simply come out and DENOUNCE traitors like Ed Noonan? Where is the fire in the belly? A lot of Indy cons are watching this situation with amazement and incredulity. Will the REAL Constitution Party please stand up?
Another question that might be asked is, “Why use the name of racist George Wallace’s former party (AIP) when there are tons of other possible names including The CP?” If I were The CP, I’d want to distance myself from anything Wallace was part of.
That is a question that occassionally is still asked
out here in California. The American Independent Party
held its first organizational meeting in July, 1967 in
Bakersfield, California. Later on that year, when Gov.
Wallace decided to run for President in the 1968
campaign Bill Shearer & the other founders of the AIP
agreed to put Wallace’s name on the ballot if he would
help the party become ballot qualified. At that time
it was very difficult getting signatures. In addition,
a new party needed around 75,000 members to become
ballot qualified by January 1, 1968. In the Fall of
1967, George Wallace travelled to California where a
number of large rallies were held. By year’s end the
American Independent Party had over 100,000 members.
In the mid to late 70’s party registration did drop
off substantially. Some of thos would probably have
been the racists that originally joined the party. We
have never personally subscribed to that philosophy
& in 1970 when Wallace tried to gain control over the
party he failed. For 41 years now, the American Inde-
pendent Party has been under the control of people who
are dedicated to improve the situation in California.
Sometimes people do make mistakes in judgement, and
unfortunately choosing Mr. Noonan as Party Chairman
has been a doozy. Incidentally, in the Election Code
for the AIP, the State Chairman CANNOT succeed him or
her self, so Mr. Noonan is in violation of that Section
if he attempts to stay on as Chairman at his meeting
in Sacramento this weekend. The AIP at the most recent
update from the California Sec. of State Office has
us at 331,619 or 2.06% of the voters in California.
That figure is more than twice the Green registration
in California & the fifth highest of all alternate
(3rd) Parties in these United States. The American
Independent Party is California’s Third party.
Governor Wallace was not a racist. He was a political segregationist, and he left those views behind many years before he died in 1998.
On veterans:
Both Northern Californian AIP/ CP types Edward Noonan and IRS fighter Donald J. Grunnman, “get it”!
“What’s in a name?” – Shakespeare
Well, apparantly a lot of HARD WORK. Ballot access laws in some states are tougher than others. The Michigan CP affiliate, the “U.S. Taxpayer’s Party”, tried to change it’s name to “Constitution Party of Michigan” but was told that they’d have to petition and requalify for ballot access all over again if they did.
I am guessing that the same is the case for the AIP in California. What a pain !! Clearly the big-box parties DO NOT want any competition and continue to make ballot access laws more and more difficult.
The Michigan US Taxpayers Party has twice been provided with funds to pay for a lawsuit over the issue of whether they may change their name. The election law says a Michigan ballot-qualified party is free to change its logo, but the law is silent about the name. Michigan does not have registration by party. But the Michigan US Taxpayers Party has turned down the legal help both times. They like their name the way it is. It is unfortunate, because there has never been a lawsuit on whether the First Amendment protects a party’s right to change its name. Most states permit it, so no lawsuits have been needed. It would be a good test case if the Michigan US Taxpayers Party would sue.
In CT we have been told we need to start a new party in order to change the name also.
But in Connecticut, the Concerned Citizens Party isn’t ballot-qualified anymore anyway, for any statewide offices nor for any US House races. So if the Connecticut Concerned Citizens Party wants to switch its name to the Constitution Party, no harm done, except for the loss of qualified status in just 5 state house districts.
I noticed that aipca.org has been redirected to aip-ca.com (which was registered on 1 July 08 according to Internic). This “new American Independent Party” website claims that they are no longer affilated with the Constitution Party. Any news on that front?
It appears that the Noonan gang has registered a new domain, http://www.aip-ca.com
When you enter the “old” URL you are immediately redirected to the Noonan web site.
Apparently Jim King got control of the website, but the Ed Noonan gang knew how to hack into it.
Chairman Jim King and One Response to “Statement from the new AIP Chairman, Jim Kingâ€
1. Open Letter From Don Lake Says:
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Citizens For A Better Veterans Home:
‘Hmmmm. The same James King of San Bernardino County whom has been ignoring the lethal plight of disabled veterans in your own neighborhood for over a decade? The same guy whom never visited the worst veterans care campus on the planet, the Veterans Home of California at Barstow, after request after request?
You had a state officer in Yountville whom you claimed that he [in 1999] saw nothing wrong going on. Hmmmm. Some vision? Barstow [to the tune of $11M] costs the state taxpayers as for only the second time in federal history, monies ear marked for a care campus were suspended for negligent operations.
Dozens of patients have suffers and even died. The San Bernardino County coroners and the state Department of Health Services have declared one ‘negligent homicide’ after an other!
Dozens of DHS and other fines up to $100K. The only veterans home [2 national, 164 state] in the nation with out a SNF [‘sniff’ or Skilled Nursing Facility! The only one. [It was closed down by CALVETS/ CDVA!]
Mister King, you owe us an apology and you and the ole AIP corps need to buy some glasses!
Happy Fourth of July, you self congratulating son of a bitch and veterans hater!
And these are the people that make fun of Libertarians?