Report from the Battlefront
What to expect from California College Republicans in the coming year
By Ryan Clumpner, Chairman, California College Republicans
A week and a half ago, the California College Republicans (CCR) convened to hold the first competitive leadership elections since 2004. Uncontested elections are a sign of organizational unity and CCR has flourished for the past few years. However, like any healthy organization, competition was inevitable and this year the process brought fresh vitality and a renewed interest in the direction of the organization. CCR emerged from the decisive election united and committed to 
an aggressive agenda for the coming year. [Their new Executive Board is pictured.]
College Republicans face some unique challenges in the coming year. California has been seized by statewide elections every fall since 2002. As a result, the organizational strength of College Republicans for over four years has largely been derived from the electoral process.
The next year will serve as a time for CCR to focus on fighting the left on campus and building a strong membership base that can be mobilized in the 2008 presidential election cycle. With those two goals in our sight, here are three things the Republican Party can expect from CCR in the coming year:
On the Warpath: a focus on campus activism
With the first off-year since 2002, College Republicans will be getting back to our roots.
Most of our current leaders have never experienced a fall semester without an election. Many of our new members join during the fall rush, right in the middle of the campaign season, and campus activism tends to take a back seat for the first half of the academic year.
But battling leftists is what we do best. This fall, new members will be drawn into the organization because of conservative speakers, rallies, protests, counter-protests and “special projects.” College Republicans will hit the warpath and our activism will be felt across the state as we stand up for Republican values.
Two student leaders who will be playing important roles in leading the charge against the Left are Leigh Wolf of San Francisco State University and Jerad Ferguson of UC Santa Barbara. Both were elected to CCR statewide leadership for the first time last weekend.
Leigh Wolf has earned his marks this year, leading an exploding College Republican movement right in the belly of the beast— San Francisco. Leigh is a creative, outside-the-box thinker who brings a fresh approach to campus activism. He has a knack for drawing national media coverage to the College Republican movement by provoking radical liberals into showing their true colors. His latest stunt involved desecrating the flags of Hamas, Hezbolah and Al Queada. You can see one of his television appearances here
Jerad Ferguson’s passion is brining conservative speakers to campus. He works at Young America’s Foundation and most recently brought ex-terrorist Walid Shoebat to the UCSB campus. He is committed to establishing a CCR Guest Speakers fund and working with outside organizations to bring more conservative speakers to California campuses.
Aggressive recruitment and expansion
CCR will utilize the coming year to expand our membership base. Over the past two years, CCR has pioneered a Field Program to bring the College Republican movement to targeted campuses without a club or with a struggling club. The San Diego State College Republicans and the CSU Fullerton College Republicans are perhaps the greatest successes of this program. Both clubs chartered several hundred members this year, where their had previously been little to no College Republican presence.
The Field Program will be restructured and expanded this year. Each of the newly elected Regional Vice Chairs has committed to assembling a team of volunteers to start a new club on a targeted campus or boost a struggling club. The most effective way to grow the organization is to walk onto campuses with fliers and membership forms and begin recruiting new members. It’s simple, it works and the more we do it the more the organization will grow. Our goal is to start at least five new clubs this fall. We believe this goal is attainable and add powerful new numbers to our membership base.
Leading this expansion will be our new Executive Director, Caroline Beason, and the newly elected Regional Vice Chairs: Jocelyn Hsaoi (Southern), Cheyanne Steel (LA), Dan Duran (Central Coast), Michael Antonopoulos (Bay Area), and Andrea Feaster (Capital). All of them have proven their ability to recruit members and lead an organization at the club level. Anyone wishing to help with the CCR Field Progam on one of their local campuses can contact the Regional Vice Chair through the CCR website, www.collegeGOP.org.
Establish the infrastructure for a record-breaking 2008 GOTV effort
One of CCR’s most valuable assets is the dedication of our members to getting Republicans elected at all levels of government. This dedication has been demonstrated in the CCR GOTV efforts that took place over the last few years, beginning with Michael Davidson. Since that time, CCR has played an important role in the elections of Senator Abel Maldonado, San Diego Councilman Kevin Falconer, Assemblywoman Shirley Horton and Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia. Most recently, CCR brought over 50 volunteers to turn out the vote for San Jose council candidate Hon Lien. We are currently planning a second effort for the runoff election for that race.
In order to accomplish these efforts, CCR must constantly maintain a strong organizational infrastructure. The CCR leadership must know and have relationships with every club leader in the state. Heading the effort to improve this infrastructure is Kelly Hayes of UC Santa Cruz, our new Administrative Vice Chair. Kelly’s role over the next year will be essential to the 2008 GOTV capabilities of CCR.
Our goal is to provide over 220 GOTV volunteers to a targeted race in the 2008 general election. This is approximately 60 more people than CCR produced for the 2006 GOTV program. It is an ambitious goal that I believe we will reach.
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You can reach Ryan Clumpner and get more information about the CCR’s here.
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