the IDC to set up a caucus campaign committee. The state senate's Republican conference is a major contributor to the Independence Party's coffers, and numerous Independence Party operatives have official jobs on Republican state senators' payrolls. Leadership The chairman of the Independence Party of New York was Frank MacKay, also the leader of the party in Suffolk County and National Chairman of the newly formed Independence Party of America; he resigned as of 2022. Surviving state parties of the Independence Party of America include: the Minnesota Independence Party, Independence Party of Florida, and Independence Party of New York State. Power struggles The party has seen several major internal struggles. In 1996, the founding Chair, Laureen Oliver, declined to run again as State Chair and went on to be the party's State Secretary. She was succeeded by Suffolk County Chair Jack Essenberg. He took the Richmond County chair, Thomas William Hamilton, to court to block his forming a recognized county committee, as this would have allowed the local people the sole voice in who could run locally on the party line. When Essenberg lost this case, Richmond, Jefferson, and Suffolk Counties formed county committees. Suffolk County Chair James FX Doyle was ousted by Frank MacKay, who was elected as Suffolk County Chair and who then became State Chair later in the year. Frank MacKay, before succeeding James Doyle, was Suffolk County Vice-Chair. In 2003, members of the Republican Party successfully hijacked the Cattaraugus County branch of the Independence Party. Since the summer of 2005, the party has had an internal factional struggle between libertarians in much of New York and Long Island, and followers of Marxist psychotherapist Fred Newman based in New York City. Jefferson County dissolved its party committee in 2010. The nine committee members split their allegiances between the Anti-Prohibition Party and Taxpayers Party for the 2010 elections; neither achieved automatic ballot access. The Nassau County committee was forcibly dissolved in February 2011 after MacKay seized control over the party's operations from Bobby Kalotee. Voter registration New York: See also Independence Party of America United States Independence Party (also known as the Independence League; active in New York politics in the early 20th century) References External links Independence Party of New York State website The Independence Party of America website The Independence Party of New York City website Unofficial website Unofficial website of the Bronx, Candidate for 77th AD