The 2024 State Convention of the Free New Mexico (FNM) Party convened at 12:40 PM on March 2, 2024. Dereck Scott chaired the meeting, and approximately 11 party caucus members attended, some arriving during the convention. As the first order of business, the agenda was approved:
1. Approval of Agenda
2. Treasurer’s Report
3. Speech by Current Chair
4. Elections: Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Outreach Director, Legislative Director, Fundraising Director, Affiliate Director.
5. Amendment to Bylaws
6. Report/discussion on Petition to Qualify as New Political Party for NM
7. Election of National Delegates/Alternates
8. Adjourn
No amendments to the agenda were proposed, and the Chair moved to approve the agenda as written. The motion passed with no objections.
The Treasurer reported income in the last year of $1,510.41 in the last year and expenses of $2,057.62.
The Chair then gave a speech, announcing that LP National had allocated $20,000 for signatures and a candidacy drive here in New Mexico. He also discussed the handing of packets to volunteers to collect signatures for the petition to become a new political party.
The Chair went on to discuss his and the Legislative Director’s advocacy work at the State Capitol this year, as well as some impressions he got from the State Congress members and some strategies that may give a third party an opening. He mentioned efforts for outreach on podcasts and other media.
The party then moved on to elections. The Secretary read the descriptions of each position up for election from the bylaws.
The election for Chair was held first. Richard Gurry nominated Dereck Scott, and Nathan Shocklee nominated Rudolph Kohn. Both candidates gave statements about their candidacies. A vote was conducted by raising of hands, and the results were:
Dereck Scott: 4
Rudolph Kohn: 2
NOTA: 0
Dereck Scott was re-elected as Chair.
Next, Dereck Scott nominated Rudolph Kohn for Vice Chair. After a short statement by the candidate, an election was held by raising hands. The results were:
Kohn: 8
NOTA: 0
Rudolph Kohn was elected Vice Chair.
Next, Rudolph Kohn nominated himself for Secretary. A vote was held by raising of hands. The result was:
Kohn: 8
NOTA: 0
Rudolph Kohn was re-elected Secretary.
The election of Treasurer was next. Tyler Askin declined a nomination. He then discussed the duties and tasks of the Treasurer. There were no further nominations, and the seat was left unfilled.
Next was the election of the Outreach Director. Dereck Scott nominated Alan Scott. A vote was held by raising of hands, and the result was:
Alan Scott: 8
NOTA: 0
Alan Scott was elected Outreach Director.
The body then took a short break, for about 5 minutes.
After returning from the break, the body began its election of Legislative Director. Rudolph Kohn nominated Aaron Perls. The vote was held by raising of hands, with the result:
Perls: 8
NOTA: 0
Aaron Perls was re-elected Legislative Director.
Next was the election for Fundraising Director. Dereck Scott nominated Cynthia Canner. A vote by raising hands was held, with the result:
Canner: 8
NOTA: 0
Cynthia Canner was re-elected Fundraising Director.
Finally, the election for Affiliate Director was held. Richard Gurry nominated Nathan Shocklee. After some discussion, a vote by raised hands returned the result:
Shocklee: 8
NOTA: 0
Nathan Shocklee was elected as Affiliate Director.
Next, the body discussed the proposed amendment to the Bylaws posted to the website at:
After some discussion, the amendment to the Bylaws was voted on by raising of hands. The result was:
Yes: 10
No: 0
The amendment to the Bylaws passed.
There was then another short discussion of the signature drive and requirements, including the fact that signatures did not need to be separated by county.
The body then moved on to the election of National Delegates. Rudolph Kohn nominated himself and Dereck Scott nominated Carlos Rossi. The vote was held by paper ballot, with the result:
Kohn: 11
Rossi: 9
Based on a necessary majority of 6, both Kohn and Rossi were elected as delegates to the National Convention. Based on these results, there are five (5) slots to be filled per the Bylaws amendment that passed earlier.
Rudolph Kohn then moved to adjourn the meeting sine die. The motion passed without objection. The 2024 State Convention of the Free New Mexico Party adjourned sine die at 3:16 PM.