About The Campaign
Mike ter Maat
Austrian-School Economist & Pro-Reform Police Officer
Mike campaigned in 2021-22 as the Libertarian Party candidate in the January special Congressional election in Florida’s District 20. He served as a police officer in Broward County from 2010 through 2021 as a registered libertarian.
Mike’s prior career in finance and economics included work with banks as a commercial loan officer, the White House Office of Management and Budget as a financial economist, and as a consulting economist to three other federal and international agencies in the field of economic development.
From 1992 through 2002, Mike was an advocate in Washington for free markets in the financial services industry. In 2002, he started a professional education business for bank executives which he successfully ran until 2009, including conferences, webcasting, and strategic consulting.
Mike has traveled through thirty-five countries, taught economics at three universities and substituted at dozens of Broward public schools. He has one wife, two kids and two stepdaughters, two dogs and one truck, a BS in Aeronautical Engineering and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and MS and PhD degrees in Economics from The George Washington University.
To the Land of Oz and back
Meet The Team
Jim Turney
Campaign Manager
Jim is serving his fourth term as elected city commissioner of Altamonte Springs, Florida. He was twice elected chairman of the LP National Committee, twice elected as LNC representative, regional and at-large, and twice elected to the LP Judicial Committee. In 2022, Jim was honored with the LP’s Thomas Jefferson Leadership Award. He has served on the board and as interim director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and he is a cofounder of the International Society for Individual Liberty. Jim is veteran of the US Army to which he volunteered and served as an air traffic controller.
Gabrielle Cordova
Outreach Director
Gabrielle Cordova is former Public Relations Manager for Larry Sharpe for Governor in 2022 and former Development Director for the Libertarian National Committee where she oversaw all aspects of fundraising initiatives for the national party. She has built her career in fundraising in the non-profit sector, serving both behind-the-scenes and in donor-facing roles.
Evan Murphy
Social Media Manager
Former social media manager for Mike ter Maat for Congress (FLCD20). Former campaign team member for Dean Heller for Senate from Nevada.
Michael Smith
Advisory Chairman
Former chair of the LP of Broward, Florida. Former campaign manager for Mike ter Maat for Congress (FLCD20) and campaign team member for Merceydes Morassi for Broward School Board. Local coordinator for Jorgensen-Cohen campaign.
Catrina Rocco
Event Liaison
Chair and former acting secretary of the Dutchess County Libertarian Party in New York. Former committee woman and calendar administrator for the Dutchess County Republican Party. Former volunteer for state senator Sue Serino and county comptroller candidate Ola Neshewat Hawatmeh.
Landon Cahow
Web Manager
IT Manager for LP-Broward and LP-Palm Beach. Broward County precinct captain for the Ron Paul 2006 presidential campaign. Former IT project manager for non-profits Downsize DC and the Zero Aggression Project. Landon is a commercial and political web development specialist and marketing consultant.
Lemichael Wilson
Media Project Manager
The Libertarian Party’s gubernatorial candidate in Tennessee in 2022. Former LPTN vice chairman, LP-Shelby County chairman and LPTN-Memphis Region chairman as well as president of his local Rotary Club, vice president of his local parent association and member of his local teacher union. Lemichael is an ordained pastor who has founded many outreach ministries and directed several ministerial music programs.
Joel Extine
Volunteer Coordinator
Chairman, Libertarian Party of Warren County, Kentucky. Joel is a retired Marine and a former volunteer for the Jorgensen/Cohen campaign. Joel and his wife, who is the LP-Kentucky vice-chair, enjoy working with organizations that support a higher level of consciousness in politics
Wendi Szabo
Affiliate Liaison
Libertarian Party candidate for town council in Royalton, NY. Wendi is an activist for Second Amendment rights and criminal justice reform who has represented this campaign at local events and is currently homeschooling her daughters.
Irene Mavrakakis, M.D.
Project Manager
Co-founder of Liberty Speaks, the Delaware Initiative for Science and Ethics, and the LP Christian Caucus and vice-chair of LP-Delaware, chair of LP-Kent County, and an organizer of the Rage Against the War Machine rally. In her medical practice, Irene is an interventional spine and musculoskeletal specialist, and a staunch advocate for medical freedom, bodily autonomy, and informed consent.
Lee Korotzer
Volunteer Coordinator
Director at large and former regional representative for LP-Florida. Former LP-Broward executive committee member and volunteer for Mike ter Maat for Congress. Lee is a recently retired project manager in the financial services industry and health services software developer.
Theo “TJ” Kosin
Gear Manager & Local Candidate Liaison
Founder of Porcupingear.com, providing high-quality merchandise for libertarians. Web developer, assisting libertarian candidates through the “Run as a Libertarian” platform. TJ serves as the secretary of the LP National Candidate Support Committee. He and his wife Brittany organize the annual Kidsfest event in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and TJ is a former firefighter and EMT.
Scott Jewett
Public Relations Manager
Founder and CEO of the R&D firm Wisp Energy, Scott is a seasoned entrepreneur with 17 patents across a diverse range of industries including oil/gas/renewable energy and defense. Scott’s prior start-up achieved top-60 rank in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur 500 and the title of “Best New Franchise” for five consecutive years. Scott worked for the Ralph Groves for Congress (Florida-11) campaign. He has spoken to US Congressional military subcommittees, served as an expert on government advisory panels, and volunteered with Big Brothers of America.
Jennifer Leatherbury
Outreach Manager
Chairwoman of the Libertarian Party of Virginia, Jen has served as chair of the Virginia Peninsula Libertarian Party and local organizer for the Jorgensen/Cohen campaign and Johnson/Weld campaign. She has volunteered with numerous local Libertarian campaigns since 2003. Jen has been a Lifetime Member of the LP since 2021.
Jeff Miller
Outreach Manager
A 2024 Libertarian Party candidate for the Texas State House, Jeff earned a whopping 32% of the vote in 2022. He serves as an LP-Texas Executive Committee representative and the LP-Texas Social Media Coordinator. Jeff also chairs the Libertarian Party of Brazos County.
Valentin Potra
Communications strategist
An instructional multimedia designer and social science consultant, Valentin is a former professor of cultural-linguistic anthropology. He has experience in survey design and presidential polling with the Iowa Social Science Institute and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Valentin has also worked as a refugee and asylee service coordinator.
Tim Krenz
Campaign staff writer/editor
The vice chair of LP-Wisconsin, Tim is a writer of non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. He is the founder and director of CEPIA Club, a community-oriented media company producing broadcast video and audio programs, management and training tools, and publications including online magazines, specialty books, articles, and pamphlets for a global clientele interested in local solutions to global challenges.
Kate Fantinel
Volunteer Press Secretary
Kate Fantinel, also known as Lady Liberty Australia, is a political commentator fighting for liberty inAustralia. She ran for the Australian Senate on a pro-gun, pro-liberty platform at the 2022 FederalElection and has been involved in the Libertarian Party in Australia for the last decade. Kate has worked as the Press Secretary & Advisor to Australia’s first elected libertarian, SenatorDavid Leyonhjelm. She has also worked for every elected libertarian politician in Australia across fourstates. Along with trolling politicians online using spicy memes and quick-wit, Kate is an outspoken advocatefor Australian shooters, having spent five years lobbying on behalf of the Sporting Shooters’Association. A journalist by trade, she has her own podcast ‘Shooting The Breeze with Lady Liberty’.
Our Campaign Advisory Team
Tim Lewis
John Paff
LP-Florida, Region 12 Representative
John has been recognized as a leading advocate for government transparency in published articles titled “The Man Who Makes Sure Government Works – Right Out in the Open,” “The Transparency Guru of New Jersey” and “How John Paff Relentlessly Pursues the Public’s Right to Know.” John is an inductee to the NJ State Open Government Freedom of Information Hall of Fame. He blogs on “NJ Open Government Notes,” is the Region 12 Representative for LP-Florida and is a past president of the Middlebush Volunteer Fire Department.
Russ Paige
Intellectual Property Attorney
Past activist for non-governmental solutions in baseball stadium construction projects in California and campaigner for Ken Cuccinelli for governor of Virginia. Russ led this campaign’s investigatory visit to the Arizona-Mexico border to meet with law enforcement, CBP, border ranchers and libertarian leaders.
John Thompson
Vice Chair, Public Advisory Committee, Port of Fort Pierce
John is a former member of the LP National Platform Committee. Within the Libertarian Party of Florida, John has served as Director At-Large, Regional Representative, Audit Committee Chairman, Platform Committee Chairman and Candidates Committee Chairman. He has served Palm Beach & St Lucie Counties Chairman, Palm Beach Director At-Large and St Lucie County Treasurer. John volunteered for a winning Republican Congressional campaign in 2002 and for the College Republicans in 2001.
Adolfo Jimenez
Serial Entrepreneur
Former Vice Chairman of the Broward County, Florida, LP and volunteer for Mike ter Maat for Congress. Founder of the libertarian blog Liberty Drip. Adolfo is a former Republican Party operative, having worked for several campaigns from county commission to George W. Bush. Founder of the Broward Hispanic Republican Party and chairman of several local Republican clubs.
Eric Waterman
Head & Neck Surgeon
Repeatedly voted “Top Doctor,” by Seattle Met and Seattle Magazines, past president of the Northwest Academy of Otolaryngology and formerly chief of staff at Valley Medical Center in Seattle. Eric is an active libertarian fundraiser and frequent attendee of LP state affiliate conventions on behalf of this campaign.