ICYMI: Updates from the 8/9 Meeting

ICYMI

Arizona – The AZPP IT Committee didn’t meet this week but continues working on PayloadCMS, and the team recruited more members to become pirates. On outreach, Devon’s contacts in Phoenix and with Navajo Nation presidential candidate Andrew Curly have both gone unanswered; Devon has paused further Navajo Nation outreach for now, citing distrust, and plans to explore other tribal nations instead.

In a special election, Magnolia Carswell was promoted from PR/Media Director to First Officer (the AZPP’s vice-chair). On the Game Night front, Twitch is processing our approval and it’s just a matter of time. The Write-In Campaign is now official, and the group discussed yard signs and video ads. The sign designs got chaotic with meme concepts, so the decision was pushed to next meeting, and DIY cost-saving ideas and potential ad video sources (like No Kings Day speech footage or new original content) were also discussed.

Finally, the Cash Bail Reform plank was tabled for a future meeting, and the group discussed potential Phoenix events to participate in, with a shortlist identified and a final decision expected next meeting.

Endorsements – The decision was unanimously made to rescind and retract the endorsement of Jacob Anders for TN-04. The decision was made upon questions of background and campaign comportment. A decision to form a vetting committee was established. More information pertaining to the reversal can be found here.

Florida – The FLPP will have a meeting Saturday August 15th. All interested Floridians are invited to attend. Join the Florida Pirate Party Discord server for more info!

Illinois – The next ILPP meeting will take place August 16th at 7pmCT. The candidacy for Midlothian’s village board of trustees is still planned, with candidate announcements on the Facebook page and Illinois Pirate Party websites planned in the coming weeks.

Pennsylvania – As reported last week, the Drew Bingaman campaign did not meet the signature requirements before the deadline and thus will not appear on the ballot during the 2026 election cycle. We are incredibly proud of Drew for his campaign, and note that we do not achieve electoral success without moments of heartbreak along the way. We will continue to support Drew in all his future endeavors.

Pirate National Conference – Locations for the 2027 (and beyond) Pirate National Conference were discussed, with momentum seemingly on the side of Baltimore, Mobile and Tucson. Nothing is yet set in stone, and a form that would answer logistical questions about each potential host city is in the works.

Platform – The platform committee presented a proposal for discussion and consideration on an update to our Foreign Policy platform. The proposal featured more concrete plans of action, and expanded upon our currently existing positions of Pan-Americanism and Self-Determination.

That’s everything from August 9th. A nearly two hour meeting, you can catch up on all the happenings here.