SJCRP Mailing List Recieves Update

Yes, I really am posting about this.

A mailing list is one of those boring, mundane tasks that is easy to ignore until it’s too late. Last year, we sent out a mailing and had close to 700 addresses returned. This several hundred dollar expense cannot be repeated. So I spent my day removing the yellow “undeliverable” sticker and then scanning each address that was undeliverable. It was a huge pain. But when people give us money, it is not to blow on postage fees. We can and we will do better.

For that reason our mailing list is recieving a complete overhaul by Cindy Carter, with help from Dave Vandeveer and Rich Swenson. Cindy is chair of our membership committee, and is doing great work. They are taking mailing lists from the county and the state, our previous master mailing list, primary voting records, and other assorted lists to compile a new and better master list. This very large task is being ably handled.

In a few weeks we will use that list to send out the announcement for our Lincoln Day event, a membership drive, and a short newsletter. This is basic outreach that can’t be accomplished any other way. We can email people, but our email database is much, much smaller (about 1/3 the size) than our physical address list. And while email reaches only one person, a mailing reaches a household.

This is one of those annoying administrative tasks without which we cannot accomplish anything strategic. We could have the most brilliant plan ever to make our county more conservative, but without outreach it accomplishes nothing. It takes many hours of dedicated service to update our records. It only takes five minutes to outline my goals and strategy to accomplish our conservative vision.

But it is the labor of many people, and many hours, that makes any strategy work. 

SJCRP is formally issuing the call for its first

central committee meeting

February 4, 2017 at 11:45 am.

at Heritage Bank, Friday Harbor (next to Marketplace).

You will need to enter at the back, as the bank is closed. Doors open at 11:30 am. PCOs and members of the executive board have the right to vote, but all are invited to attend. If you are interested in being appointed a PCO, there are some empty slots. Please come introduce yourself to me.

There are also a number of events that we would love to see Republicans attend to provide our own perspective and contribute to our community. Click on the link for a fuller description:

Wed Jan 25th — SJC Public Hospital District No. 1 meets at 5 pm in F.H.

Wed Jan 25th — F.H. Historic Preservation Review Board, 5:30 pm

Thu Jan 26th — Annual Homeless Count

Mon January 30th — SJI National Monument Advisory Committee is holding a public meeting from 8 am to 3pm on Lopez

To read the inaugural speech, click here (whitehouse.gov)

To watch a recording of the speech and the oath of office, click here (cspan; speech begins at about 3 mins)

President Trump shows class in victory, click here (USA Today)

To learn more about President Trump, click here (Wikipedia) or here (nat’l GOP)

SJCRP Chairman Nathan Butler writes:

Do you remember when Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States? Celebrities competed to attend the inauguration, and shortly after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Simply for being Barack Obama. He hadn’t even done anything yet.

Fast forward to Donald Trump. The hysterical paranoia in the national press. The sulking celebrities. I am not a fan of these people, and far from being a snub it makes me appreciate our new president more. I’m fairly certain far-left academia is in a feverish fury too.

It remains to be seen what lesson we should learn from this last election. Did democrats flub it with their fixation on far-left candidates like Bernie Sanders? Did Donald Trump win it with his widely noted willingness to say exactly what he thinks? Does this herald a new era of conservative leadership?

I honestly don’t know. The election was very close. I guess as party leaders we’re supposed to say that the democrats are over. I believe such hubris just makes people distrust us as yes-men. After Barack Obama won there were countless editorials about how the Republican party was over. Let’s not make the same silly mistake.

We need to start preparing now. Democrats believe they simply didn’t run a candidate extreme enough to mobilize the base. And with such narrow tolerances between winning and losing we cannot afford laxity.

We understand that there is a certain level of ambivalence among some, including in our party. Instead of leaving, stay, and help shape the party. We invite everyone to give our new president a chance. May God bless America!

PCO and Orcas resident Rick Boucher later wrote (1/25): 

“What a relief.” There I said it. I was a NeverTrump voter.  I did not vote for the man. And, “No, I did not vote for Hillary.” Now, who is President?  Donald Trump. Well then let us work with that. Time to move forward. I have entered into a state of “Trust, but Verify”. I am very pleased with what I have seen thus far. Policies and Nominations appear to be very good. Some of the nuances of the Trump persona are to be expected. I expect the NeverTrump attributes will glare at me at times. Actions, though, speak loads. The actions have been very good, by and large. I am a bit eager to see if Congress, if our new President crosses the Constitutional line, to see if Congress stands up for themselves or just lets him bulldoze them like they let the previous President. And if they do, how will he react? I do not think President Trump should over extend his power to truncate President Obama’s over extensions. What is the right approach/solution for fixing those issues? It will be interesting the next two years. The first week is more than interesting.  Feels like a win. A lot of work to do going forward.

It is wonderful to see how WA State Republicans have managed to pry power from the democrats in our state. It speaks to the remarkably capable Republicans in this state.

Take a moment to read Rep. John Koster’s legislative update:

http://houserepublicans.wa.gov/email-updates/koster-email-update-011817/

GREETINGS REPUBLICANS!!

At our biennial meeting on January 7, 2017, the San Juan County Republican Party held its elections to the new two-year term of its Executive Board of the San Juan County Republican Party. Those who were elected precinct committee officers were eligible to vote.

As your new chairman I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to our new team:

Chairman: Nathanael Butler, San Juan. I have been involved with the GOP for about four years. I hold a degree in Modern Middle East Studies/Arabic, speak fluent Thai, and have lived in Cairo and Bangkok.

Vice Chair: Lynda Lee Gerpheide, Lopez. She has been active in the GOP for 30 years, in California and more recently in Washington’s 41st LD.

Treasurer: Alex Gavora, San Juan. An activist and attorney, we are lucky she has been lending her talents to the Executive Board and the Republican Party for many years.

Secretary: Heather Christensen, San Juan. She is a Medical Provider, a wife and mother of two children, and has two dogs. As a member also of Mainstream Republicans of Washington, she believes in Reagan’s “Big Tent” concept—there is room for everyone in this tent.

State Committee Woman: Cindy Carter, Orcas. A long-time activist, she is also a former Chair and State Committee Woman of SJ County. Her work and ideas are well-respected throughout the County and the State GOP.

State Committee Man: John Christensen, San Juan. He is a retired probation and parole officer and on the Board of the Mainstream Republicans of Washington.

I look forward to working with you all! Our next big event is the Lincoln Day event in February or March. More information forthcoming. We would love your help and participation!

For more information please contact sjcrpchair@gmail.com or fill out a form under “contact us” at www.sjcrp.org for more information. Please be patient as make our transition from the previous board to the new one. More information can also be found under the “contact us” tab on this website.

To get involved, shoot me an email: sjcrpchair@gmail.com

Sincerely,
Nathan Butler
Chairman, SJCRP

“No matter how conservative your views may be, unless you do something about it you really aren’t that conservative.”