I sent this to CRP Members and to FR E-mail Subscribers this morning, but since there are so many FR readers who do not get the free daily e-mail update, I thought I would throw this up here, too…
Last Saturday, I was humbled to be elected to the important position of Vice Chairman, South, of the California Republican Party. In this capacity, I will serve on the Board of Directors of the CRP, and act as a liaison between the State GOP and the County Republican Parties in Orange, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial Counties. Of course, each of us on the CRP Board has a duty to well-represent all 1500 Central Committee Members from all around California.
To those of you who supported my candidacy, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you so much for your support. Clearly my victory by nearly a two-to-one vote margin was because of the tremendous and widespread support that I had since announcing my candidacy last Summer. I could not have been elected without you, and for that I am eternally grateful.
To all CRP members, whether you supported me or not, I make the following pledge to you: I promise to always be accessible to you, to hear your concerns, to provide you with assistance and to discuss the future of our Grand Old Party. My contact information is below. My commitment is that I will work tirelessly over the next two years to see our Party ready to make gains in the 2008 elections.
Immediately following the convention, I was able to participate in my first meeting of the CRP Board of Directors. I can tell you that it was very productive one — where our new Chairman Ron Nehring presented us with a strategic plan for the Party which we approved, and also a performance review audit which we authorized to take place. It was clear that Chairman Nehring, Vice Chairman Tom Del Becarro, and the rest of us on the Board of Directors are excited to roll up our sleeves and get to work — and there is a lot of work to be done!
The following is an excerpt from a speech that State Senator Tom McClintock gave last Saturday morning at a speech in support of my campaign:
And when we leave this convention tomorrow, having restored and reinvigorated the leadership of our party, we can look to the future with a renewed sense of purpose and optimism and certainty.
I’ve heard it said, “Don’t you Republicans realize you’re in the minority and you just have to accept the policies of the majority party? Why should we – those policies have led us to this tragic moment in our history when despite record levels of spending – we can’t seem to scrape together enough money to build a decent road system or educate our kids or protect our families from predators.
To these defeatists and naysayers, I say: I don’t accept the status quo and I sure as hell don’t accept the proposition that for Republicans to succeed we just have to adopt the positions of the Democrats.
The only purpose of a minority is to become a majority, and the only way a minority becomes a majority is to take a better vision of governance to the people and earn their charter to govern.
We have that vision – its called “freedom,” but we can only succeed if we stand by it and proudly proclaim it in every community and neighborhood of this great state.
Thank you for your leadership in the California Republican Party, and I look forward to working with you towards many GOP victories!
Sincerely, 
Jon Fleischman
Vice Chairman, South – California Republican Party