Reform Party Votes to Move Convention From Long Beach
In a disputed vote released Monday, leaders of the Reform Party decided to move their 2000 national convention from Long Beach to an undesignated city in Minnesota.
The question is whether the vote is valid.
Chairman Russ Verney, a loyalist of party founder Ross Perot, called the mail-in vote a “farce.” Incoming Chairman Jack Gargan of Cedar Key, Fla., an ally of the Reform Party’s ranking politician--Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura--believes it is valid and called it “the will of the members.”
The vote was organized by Minnesota Chairman Rick McCluhan and California Chairman Paul Hale, and it was passed by the 143-member national committee. The panel voted to allow the vote and to move the convention to Minnesota.
The Reform Party will choose its presidential nominee at the next national convention, which is scheduled to take place Aug. 10 to 13. Former Republican candidate Patrick J. Buchanan is running for the Reform Party nomination and others, such as New York developer Donald Trump, are considering a campaign.
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