A QUICK REMINDER THAT TOMORROW WILL BE THE LAST DAY THAT THE NEWS (HOME) PAGE OF THIS SITE OR THIS COMMENTARY PAGE WILL BE UPDATED UNTIL TUESDAY, JANUARY 3RD. I WILL BE TAKING A VACATION BETWEEN THE CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS HOLIDAYS! THE WEBLOG ON CALIFORNIA POLITICS WILL REMAIN ACTIVE DURING THIS TIME, SO BE SURE TO CHECK IN DAILY TO KEEP UP WITH OUR FR BLOG TEAM!
STATE GOP VICE CHAIRMAN CALLS FOR MCCLINTOCK ENDORSEMENT AT FEBRUARY CONVENTION
This week, California Republican Party Vice Chairman and San Diego County GOP Chairman Ron Nehring sent a memo to his 57 colleagues, the Chairmen of the various County Central Committees around the state. The subject of the memo – encouraging them to all join in an effort to change the bylaws of the State GOP and grant a rare pre-primary endorsement to State Senator Tom McClintock in his bid for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor. McClintock, who is immensely popular with grassroots Republicans, especially those on the state central committee, is running unopposed for the GOP nomination. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and appointed Secretary of State Bruce McPherson (if I recall correctly) have already received a pre-primary endorsement from the party last year.
What follows is the text of Ron’s e-mail to the County Chairmen – following by a few questions and answers with Ron:
FROM RON NEHRING:
Fellow Chairmen,
I’ve submitted to the CRP a proposed bylaw amendment for review by the Board and consideration at the February convention.
The amendment, if adopted, would allow the CRP to endorse a candidate for Lt. Governor in 2006, just as we did last year for Governor.
I’m proposing this bylaw amendment for the following reasons:
1. Endorsing a candidate for Lt. Governor can unite our party and get the critical 2006 election year off to a strong start.
2. A statewide ticket of Governor Schwarzenegger for Governor and Senator McClintock for Lt. Governor, as a practical matter, is a fait accompli. An endorsement by the party is a recognition of consensus for the team that will lead our 2006 statewide ticket.
3. An endorsement would free up CRP and other resources for Sen. McClintock four months sooner than would otherwise be the case.
Please share with me your thoughts on this proposal.
In my judgment, we have a monumental challenge ahead of us to build the campaign infrastructure necessary to ensure victory for our statewide candidates in 2006. We must focus in the coming weeks on building party infrastructure, especially Republican voter registration and turnout capacity through our county committees.
Victory in 2006 demands we go far beyond anything the Republican Party in California has ever done to construct and deploy a voter turnout organization of unprecedented scale and impact. A campaign machine of this size cannot be hastily slapped together during the closing days of the campaign when resources traditionally become available. Organizational capacity-building must begin aggressively now, not in June, not as late as September.
To do this, we must be united in spirit and focused in action.
Please share with me your thoughts, either by e-mail or by phone.
Warmest personal regards,
Ron Nehring
VICE CHAIRMAN, CRP
CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY
I took the opportunity ask Ron a few questions:
Ron, you’ve reached out to County Chairs – how has the response been?
"Many of the county chairs I’ve spoken with have been very positive. We have a huge job ahead of us in the counties, and a party united behind Schwarzenegger and McClintock will boost the volunteers and get the year going with a bang!"
Have you spoken to Senator McClintock about this idea?
"Actually, Senator McClintock’s dad passed away this week, so I have not yet spoken to him directly. However I did speak with folks from his campaign and it’s ‘all systems go.’"
Why do you feel this is an important move for the California Republican Party?
"For years many people in our party were told to stay away from conventions, that were rife with controversy and fighting. I remember when I lived in Virginia, and literally 8,000 people would be at the Republican state convention, and it would have to be held in a stadium. I’d like to see each CRP convention serve as an energizing launching pad for the next phase of building a majority party in California. Swinging the CRP behind a Governor/Lt. Governor ticket will give everyone a boost, and make this a great convention!"
We’ll be reporting more on this project, being spearheaded by Nehring, which is sure to pick up a lot of steam after the start of the New Year!
You can e-mail Nehring (via the FR) here.
MORE ON THE 34TH STATE SENATE RACE – MY CHAT WITH LYNN DAUCHER
Today I had an opportunity to chat for a few minutes with Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher about the GOP primary for the 34th State Senate District where she may be duking it out with fellow Orange County Assemblyman Van Tran. I talked about this race in yesterday’s commentary, and it has been discussed on the weblog here and here. First and foremost, the Assemblywoman did confirm to me that she is actively campaigning for this Central Orange County seat. Rather than drive this initial conversation about her candidacy, I chose to really let Lynn make the points that she wanted to get across. Lynn basically made her case for why she feels that she is the strongest candidate to win the district, emphasizing that her focus on education and senior issues were especially beneficial in the 34th District. Assemblywoman Daucher also said that her number one priority is ensuring that all of the work that has been done by Scott Baugh and the Republican Party to close the registration gap in the district results in a GOP pickup. She suggests that there should be some sort of process where party stakeholders come together and really look at which candidate stands the best chance at defeating the Democrat nomineee in November. To be more specific, she said: "The only thing I really want to convey is that I want the Republican candidate who is most likely to win in November to face the Democrat. Winning in November, taking back the seat is what is important. If Van Tran is more likely to win, I back out. If I am more likely to win, he should back out."
Of course, Daucher said that Orange County’s State Senators should be included in this process, as, "they will be raising a lot of the funds that will be necessary to win this seat," said Daucher. Needless to say, given Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman’s enthusiasm for her candidacy, one can understand her wanting him involved in any decision-making process.
This race will clearly heat up as we go into the new year!
ENVIRONMENTALIST, BERKELEY PROFESSOR, DEMOCRAT NAMED TO HEAD AIR BOARD
Governor Schwarzenegger received ‘praise’ from the environmental community for his appointment of Dr. Robert Sawyer, a Democrat, to head the state’s Air Resources Board. Of course he is expected to have no trouble getting confirmed by his fellow Democrats in the State Senate. The real question is whether this Cal professor, with academic credentials a mile long, will be juxtaposing his quest for environmental purity against the need to keep California business-friendly. Read the official appointment release here, and read all about the appointment in the news.
TWO OTHER (GOP) APPOINTMENTS OF NOTE:
Outgoing Chief of Staff to Governor Schwarzenegger Pat Clarey has been appointed to the State Personnel Board, and long-time Deputy Appointments Secretary Tod Burnett has been appointed Vice Chancellor for the State Community Colleges. Both are Republicans. We all know who Replaced Clarey, so it should be of note to see who has or is replacing Burnett, a solid GOPer. Read these and more here.