In a recent NY 1 profile , Cheryl Wills had this to say about Dr. Muhammad: “A former professor of history at Indiana University, Muhammad recently authored “The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime and The Making of Modern Urban America.” He says he is ready to take the Center into the digital age and is eager to enlist the next generation to help him achieve his goal to keep history relevant.”
Please join Dr. Fulani for a lively conversation with Dr. Muhammad on Friday, February 24th at 6pm.
It has been a pleasure serving as your Executive Director for the past 2 1/2 years. I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot over this time, and I thank you all for your support of the LP.
However, in September I gave 90 days notice that I was leaving the job of Executive Director at the national headquarters in Washington, D.C. at the end of the year because I’m getting married and moving back home to Louisiana.
And now, I am delighted to announce, LNC Chair Mark Hinkle hired long-time Libertarian activist Carla Howell to serve as your new Executive Director.
Ms. Howell has an impressive resume of political and business experience.
Political:
308,860 votes – 12% of the vote – as Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate against Ted Kennedy and a Republican candidate in 2000. The highest % in party’s history for a Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate in a 3-way race (against both a Republican and Democrat). Her campaign raised over 1,000 for that race-an amount unheard of for most Libertarian campaigns.
Two-term Massachusetts Libertarian Party State Chair (1997-1999)
Organized and ran the most successful regional Libertarian Presidential campaign fund-raiser in party history (Harry Browne, 1996); filled Faneuil Hall and Parker House to capacity in Boston (where John Kennedy announced his 1960 presidential campaign).
Successfully fund-raised for and ran 5 Libertarian candidate statewide petition drives in 1998, 2000, and 2002 with 100% success rate in making ballot.
Organized and managed two statewide libertarian ballot initiatives to End the Income Tax in Massachusetts in 2002 and 2008. Endorsements from Wall Street Journal, Steve Forbes and National Taxpayers Union. Almost one million votes each time.
Featured stand-alone guest on O’Reilly Factor, Neil Cavuto, Glenn Beck, and Fox Business News Happy Hour as well as hundreds of TV interviews and debates during the last 12 years.
Covered by Wall Street Journal, New York Times, LA Times, The Economist, and USA Today.
Spearheaded 2010 statewide ballot initiative to roll back the sales tax garnering 966,973 votes – in liberal Massachusetts!
Ran against Presidential candidate Mitt Romney for governor in 2002.
Business:
MBA 1985, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts
Twenty years experience in product/project management, marketing, and software development
I am especially pleased that we have found someone with such an impressive background to continue working to build the Libertarian Party and reduce the size of government.
I am most impressed by the fact that Carla Howell ran the most successful campaign for U.S. Senate in the history of the LP, and that she got an initiative to end the income tax on the ballot in Massachusetts which almost won with 45% of the vote! Wow!
Join me in welcoming Carla Howell to the Libertarian Party national headquarters. Carla can be reached at carla.howell@lp.org.
Finally, I want to send out one last LP Monday Message thank you to all of the Libertarian Party activists, donors, candidates and supporters like you. You make the LP what it is.
Sincerely,
Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Democratic Party announced today Brandon Puttbrese has joined the staff as the organization’s communications director.
Puttbrese, who worked most recently as the director of communications for Roy Herron’s congressional campaign in 2010, will work out of the party’s 1900 Church Street office. Puttbrese will be responsible for the day-to-day press operations.
“We’re glad to welcome Brandon Puttbrese aboard,” said Chip Forrester, chairman of the state party. “Brandon has a well-rounded understanding of the issues facing the state and will be an important asset as we work to support Democratic leaders who are focused on creating jobs and defending the rights of hard-working Tennesseans.”
In the end, after some false starts and rhetorical meandering, the question was simple: Do you believe that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and contributes to climate change and therefore poses a serious health threat to humans? Al Gore and an overwhelming majority of climate scientists the world over answer a straightforward yes to that question. Most of the Republicans in Congress, however, answer no. Oil and gas climate “researchers” also answer no. Dr. Chris Urbina, the new Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment didn’t seem sure how to answer the question, or at least didn’t know how to answer state Republican senators asking him the question at his confirmation hearing Thursday.
Urbina
“Lots of things contribute to air pollution,” Urbina told Republican Sen. Shawn Mitchell. “Things that we produce naturally are contributing to air and water pollution. Human waste. Lots of things … all of those things contribute to that pollution … natural products [like carbon dioxide] do contribute to pollution … whether one of those products contribute more than any others, I would be happy to come back to talk about this very issue….”
Mitchell wasn’t satisfied.
“Will it be your direction in the office that carbon dioxide is a harmful agent that needs to be restricted in output?”
Urbina wasn’t confident to speak on the matter at the moment.
“I need to look more at the detail of the science. I would like to get back to you on this question.”
The carbon dioxide interrogation started with questioning from Republican Sen. Kent Lambert and ended with questions from Mitchell.
Urbina is not a climate scientist. He is a trained medical doctor and has earned impressive degrees and has even more impressive experience in the field of public health.
Mark Salley, spokesman at the Department of Public Health and Environment, told The Colorado Independent that in the short time he has been working with the new director, the two have not had the time to discuss climate change science. Four hours later, neither Salley nor Urbina has called to answer Mitchell’s yes or no question, this time asked by The Colorado Independent.
Americans are used to seeing politicians back each other down on this issue. They’re not used to seeing professionals back down on this issue or cast about for answers when their work lives are based not on public posturing and rhetorical flourishes but on science.
Urbina earlier worked in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico, holding positions of Associate Chair and Associate Professor. He also worked for the New Mexico Health and Environment Department as a district health officer.
Urbina continues to teach in introductory public health courses at the Colorado School of Public Health and at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is the current president of the Colorado Public Health Association and serves as a board member for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Denver Metro, the Denver Foundation and at Clinica Tepeyac, in addition to being involved in numerous other local health organizations.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Stanford University and a medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He completed a family practice residency at the University of New Mexico and earned a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Urbina is board certified in Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine.
