Manhattan Libertarian Party holds convention; Raises four cents for Sheldon Silver legal defense

NEW YORK - Jan. 31, 2015 - PRLog -- The Manhattan Libertarian Party held its annual convention last Saturday, amending its bylaws to update two committee positions, and electing officers. Outside of this routine business, and before the two guest speakers, James Agresti and Andrew Bernstein, began their talks, there was a fundraiser for the legal defense of New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

"I think it's great we're helping him out like this," said newly re-elected Chair Brian Waddell. "How is it possible that what he did is illegal when everyone else in Albany is doing the same thing, and they make the laws?"

The effort raised only four cents.

"The first three cents were from me, to prime the pump, and nobody would confess to putting in the fourth penny," said Secretary/Treasurer Mark Axinn, who also serves as Chair of the Libertarian Party of New York.

"It seems that most of our members believed that Silver, in his two decades as Speaker, had already extracted more than enough tax money out of them," said Waddell.  "If anything, they wanted to contribute to a legal offense fund to go after Silver's partners in crime, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill DeBlasio, who, along with dozens of Democrats in the Assembly, continue to defend Silver publicly."

Sheldon Silver was arrested by the FBI on corruption charges.