What we are aiming to do is fight the corruption of the two-party system, Wendy Adams said Thursday.

The Libertarian Party, a minority political party that advocates shrinking the size of government, will form its first executive committees in Orleans and Jefferson parishes in the coming weeks.

Wendy Adams, who the party hired in September as its executive director, said membership in Louisiana grew by more than 50 percent in the last year, a trend sparked by what she described as growing disenchantment with both Republicans and Democrats across the country.

"What we are aiming to do is fight the corruption of the two-party system," she said Thursday.

The Orleans Parish caucus will be held March 28 at 7 p.m. in the banquet room of the Lakeview Harbor Restaurant on Harrison Avenue. The Jefferson Parish caucus is scheduled for April 4 at the Italian Pie Restaurant on Jefferson Highway in Harahan. St. Tammany Parish Libertarians will gather tonight at Vianne's Tea House on Girod Street in Old Mandeville.

Out of those meetings will come newly elected executive committee members - seven each in Jefferson and Orleans, Adams said. Only registered party members can participate.

The Libertarian Party, founded in 1971, gained considerable traction after U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, ran for president, Adams said. Piggybacking on his popularity among conservatives, the party has grown to roughly 7,450 members throughout Louisiana, she added.

Shreveport, Lafayette and Baton Rouge already have Libertarian executive committees, and the party is working to form new ones in St. Mary, Terrebonne and LaFourche parishes, Adams said.

The goals for 2013 are to reach 15,000 members statewide and establish organizations on college and university campuses, she said.

"What we've worked on is growing the party, and the way we're going to go about doing that is establishing local roots," Adams said.

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Libertarian Party looking for foothold in New Orleans, Jefferson