Three Upshur County delegates attended the Texas state Libertarian Party convention in Temple April 11 to 13.

Among the 218 voting delegates at the Temple Convention Center were Upshur County Libertarian Chairman Vance Lowry, Allen Weatherford and Sherri Little. Lowry said about 300 persons--counting alternate delegates, delegates spouses, vendors, the press and observersattended overall.

Lowry said Wednesday that while the state party declined Weatherfords resolution to eliminate the issue of immigration from the state platform altogetheron grounds it is a national rather than state issuethe convention did change the plank on immigration and border control to keep citizens from thinking Libertarians comprise an open borders party.

That was the only part of the past platform which was altered, Lowry said. He added that the biggest thing Im excited about is that two East Texans, Smith County party Chairman Rudy Wright and Gregg County party Chairman Brandee Brown, were named to the partys state Executive Committee from state Senate District One.

Wright and Mrs. Brownformer Republicans who supported Ron Paul for that partys Presidential nominationwill be talented organizers, and their presence will give the Tyler and Longview areas representation on the state committee for the first time, Lowry noted.

Noting that the pair were former Republicans who had supported Ron Paul for that partys Presidential nomination, Lowry said the 218 voting delegates included a boatload of disaffected RepublicansPaul supporters who were mistreated by the GOP.

The Upshur delegation split on its vote for the partys gubernatorial nomination, which went to Kathie Glass by one vote on the second ballot, Lowry said. He and Ms. Little supported Ms. Glass (who was the partys gubernatorial nominee in 2010), while Weatherford did not. (Libertarians nominate their candidates at conventions rather than by primary elections.)

While the party has an entire slate of candidates for statewide office in the November election, its two main candidates are Mrs. Glass and Robert Butler, who won the conventions nomination for Lieutenant Governor, said Lowry. (In addition, Upshur County Libertarians have nominated Peggy LaGrone, who is seeking her old job as County Clerk, to oppose Republican Terri Ross in November.)

In an email to The Mirror Thursday, Ms. Little said her main reason for attending the convention was to vote in the governors race.

I continue to support Kathie Glass for a number of reasons, primary being that no one else has done so much to promote the party, such as traveling and speaking all over Texas.

Original post:

Local Libertarians attend state convention