From The PR Newswire

STEVE KUBBY WINS PRESTIGIOUS SONS OF LIBERTY AWARD AT LIBERTARIAN STATE CONVENTION
See
California Libertarians Form Prop. 215 Blue Ribbon Committee In Wake of Kubby Arrests

SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Steve Kubby, the 1998 Libertarian candidate for governor who was arrested last month on marijuana charges - despite being a medical marijuana patient protected under Proposition 215 - was awarded the Libertarian Party of California’s 10^th biennial "Sons of Liberty Award" at the party’s state convention today.

The award - the state party’s highest honor - is given to the candidate who was most effective in communicating Libertarian principles to voters during his or her campaign. The award was announced at the 18^th annual Samuel Adams Society Luncheon, which capped off the party’s 1999 convention held this weekend in San Jose at the Doubletree Hotel.

The award comes nearly one month after Steve and his wife Michele were arrested following a six-month surveillance of their home in Olympic Valley. The Kubbys’ medical marijuana case is scheduled to go before a criminal grand jury on Wednesday, February 17, in Placer County.

See
Prosecutor To Give Kubbys’ Case To Grand Jury
Where They Will Have Fewer Rights Than In Preliminary Hearing In Open Court.

"Steve Kubby ran a principled Libertarian campaign and fully deserves this award," announced Samuel Adams Society founder and president Jack Dean, a former Libertarian state chair. "Even now, despite facing criminal charges that are unwarranted and outrageous, he continues to embody the principles of libertarianism."

Previous Sons of Liberty Award winners include Calaveras County Supervisor Thomas Tryon (1997) and current Libertarian National Chairman David Bergland (1981).

Also presented at the luncheon was the Karl J. Bray Memorial Award for Activism, given to Allan L. Swain of Whitmore. The Bray award is designed "to reward conspicuous and meritorious activism furthering the goals of the Libertarian Party of California," according to the award criteria.

Swain, former party chairman of Shasta County, has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining Libertarian Party county organizations in and around Shasta, including Siskiyou and Trinity Counties. Swain becomes the award’s 19^th recipient. Previous winners include former Libertarian state chair Ted Brown (1988) and San Diego activist Richard Rider (1993).

Cypress Semiconductors President & CEO T.J. Rodgers was the guest speaker at the luncheon.
(Marijuananews note: Recently, Rodgers wrote an article in which he explained that he would not join a Political Action Committee organized by the High Tech industry, including some of his own directors, because he did not want to be asking the government for favors.)

The Samuel Adams Society was founded in 1981 to provide recognition to Libertarian candidates and activists.