Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be looking at the various upcoming races for California Republican Party office, in advance of the State GOP’s organizational convention taking place in late February in Sacramento. At this coming convention, approximately 1500 delegates will vote for the offices of Chairman, Vice Chairman, and for Regional Vice Chairmen up and down the state. I am the current Vice Chairman for the Southern Region, and so I am pretty engaged in this process.
We have asked all of the known candidates for party office to submit a column, that we are going to publish here on the FlashReport. If it is a race where I have weighed in with an endorsement, we’ll share that, too. Which is certainly the case with our first profiled race for Vice Chairman, Central Valley Region.
Well, actually, I am not sure I would call it a race. I am pleased to endorse and recommend the re-election of Laura Gadke, who is seeking re-election to a second term (due to term limits, you can only serve two terms). Laura is a strong conservative, and is the kind of leader who is part of the solution, not part of the problem. I have heard from some that Sacramento County GOP activist Carl Burton, whom Laura defeated two years ago, is again challenging her for the post. But I have been unable to confirm this. Below is a column from Laura, and a list of many of her endorsements!
If you want to give your support for Laura, and are a CRP member, you can e-mail her via the FR here.
A COLUMN FROM LAURA GADKE
CENTRAL VALLEY VICE CHAIRMAN
According to author Oliver Wendell Holmes, “The great thing in this world in not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it – but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.”
Our party needs to take its direction from traditional Republican principles and chart a course that will again win the confidence of our fellow citizens. Some of our leaders have drifted with political winds, others claim we should drop anchor and wait until the new administration makes mistakes and citizens are disillusioned. Clearly, there were promises made that cannot be kept, and many people who voted for ‘change’ will be left with dashed hopes. However, Republicans can’t wait around for Democrat mistakes to save us. We in the California Republican Party (CRP) need to chart our own course and move forward with business.
The primary job of our party is to register Republican voters and turn out our vote. To do this successfully, we are going to have to make some changes in how we run our state committee and local county committees.
All the paid bounty hunters and volunteer registration tables in the world won’t increase the number of people who vote Republican until we seriously begin to outreach to Latino and Asian American citizens. This does not mean we change our principles, rather we illustrate the many ways Republican values echo the values of these communities. Most people in our counties hold strong family values, want to pay as few taxes as possible, worry they may need to have a fire arm in the house in case of a midnight break-in, and resent government interference in their lives. The CRP and local county parties must begin to actively court people of diverse ancestry who are currently registered Republicans, and work with those individuals to develop successful outreach programs.
We must have a similar strategy with voters under forty. So how do we reach young people and other ethnic groups? Last February I recruited a young man who started a Young Republican Club to replace me as Tulare County Chairman – I found the simultaneous responsibilities of Regional Vice Chair and County Chair a challenge. We were able to turn over a very healthy treasury to the new county committee, and I am very confident that together the new and old guard will be successful. Our new Chairman is already setting up meetings with Latino Republicans to get them on board. County parties need to mentor to young Republicans, and hold events targeted to younger people. We need to do the same thing with our Latino and Asian American outreach.
This will require radio interviews, registering new citizen, setting tables at flea markets and holding events above and beyond our traditional Lincoln Day Dinners. The CRP needs to begin providing help to all counties, enabling them to raise the money necessary to expand voter registration and outreach programs, and I am committed to helping.
There must also be a commitment to using technology effectively at the county committee level. We cannot afford to buy the exposure offered to us free through social media networks and other Internet technologies. The Democrats have developed these techniques down to a science and it’s time we did the same, especially at the local level. We live in a world where television, radio and newspapers are almost considered too slow to keep up with current events. Using new technology we can transmit our message instantly and without a media filter.
At the state level, the CRP Board must continue the financial prudence of the past two years. TEAM CAL raised millions of dollars and we were able to fully fund the 2008 campaign plus the beginning of 2009’s budget. We must continue the financial safeguards put in place this year with the voucher program plus strict outside auditing. Republicans must practice the prudence we preach.
Our ship has not run aground. We are not sinking. Rather we are in the process of charting a course that will lead to a re-emergence of our principles. I am committed to helping our counties and state parties sail to a victorious 2010 election.
Congressman Devin Nunes
Congressman George Radanovich
Assembly Leader Mike Villines
Assemblywoman Connie Conway
Assemblyman Danny Gilmore
CRP Vice Chairman Central Coast Paul Bruno
CRP Vice Chairman South Jon Fleischman
CRP CCA President Mark Pruner
Sacramento County Chairman Sue Blake
Tuolumne County Chairman Joseph Day
Republican Party of Tuolumne County
Madera County Chairman, Charlene Petitt
San Joaquin County Chairman, Dale Fritchen
Mariposa County Chairman, Richard Westfall
Kings County Chairman, Prudence Eiland
Tulare County Chairman, James Henderson
2007-2008 Stanislaus County Chairman Joan Clendenin
2007-2008 Merced County Chairman, Deborah Lewis
2007-2008 Fresno County Chairman, Fred Vanderhoof
Stephen Frank
Joy Stewart
Ken May
Jim Lopez
Frank Aquila
Sara Blicharz
Patricia Ryan
Frank Aquila
Susan Abbott