Thank you for re-electing me as your Chairman. I look forward to working together over the next two years. The best is yet to come!

Friday night in the 5th District was a time for celebration of the HARD WORKING PCOs, PCs and Volunteers of the last election cycle. The meeting started out with a delicious potluck. It was good to visit. After the meal District Chairman Bob Brunjes recognized the Republicans who made a huge difference in the 5th District for Candidates and the Party. The sincere outpour of appreciation by everyone at the meeting was a good feeling.

Glenn Anderson spoke about his campaign and expressed his appreciation for the work by the 5th District to support his campaign. Frank Chopp would have loved to pick up Representative Anderson’s Legislative seat, but not in this County! It is good to know that Glenn will be going back to Olympia next January.

It is too bad that my neither one of my opponents attended the meeting – they could have witnessed the positive energy of our Grassroots and Leadership in the 5th District.

The 36th District covers Fremont, Ballard, Queen Anne, Magnolia and Belltown neighborhoods of Seattle. In this last election they worked hard to get the word out in Seattle for Dino Rossi. Like many Seattle Districts they look for prospects that will bring more numbers into the Republican Party on their side of Lake Washington. Many of their questions concerned strengthening our Party – How do we build the party and how do we get our word out to like minded people?

I believe that to strengthen our party we need to start at our base – PCOs, PCs, and Volunteers – referred to as the Grassroots. Although it is an often overused (and misunderstood) term, Grassroots is appropriate to demonstrate the critical nature of the base to the Republican Party. In nature, grassroots need more that just a few seeds and a place to grow, they also need water, sunlight, nutrients and attention. The same is true with the Grasssroots of the Republican Party in King County, we have all the ingredients, now is the time to bring the pieces together to show what we can be.

The first year of a four year cycle is the time when we should be gearing up for the next three years. We must have well trained PCOs who have the knowledge and tools to do their jobs. At the KCGOP we are working on PCO training for all Republican PCOs in King County to kick off mid-January. We are also working on a training program for District Chairmen that will focus on integral functions of Legislative Districts. Strong Districts make a strong KCGOP – from the base up!

Finally, the second part of the question . . . how do we get our word out to like minded people? Part of that question is answered in training our Grassroots, confident PCOs and District Leadership can’t help but reach out to others. More than that, in the next term we will bring together talented Republicans to help tool our message and approach for our overall Political Plan.

There is much to do in the next term . . .

Wednesday night the Leadership Candidates spoke with the PCOs of the 30th and 33rd Districts. Things were changed up a little by having the Chairman candidates speak first. The room was full and questions were good.

The main theme of interest was candidate support. Choosing to run for office should be a process, not a snap decision. Successful candidates for office generally take a period of time to learn about their communities and form networks needed to support a run for office. In the Republican Party that also means getting to know the PCOs and understanding the political process in the district. That was certainly the case for some of our strongest candidates. Unfortunately, there were candidates who did not have a strong base of support or fundraising experience. They were disappointed in their vote totals and the challenges of fundraising to run a successful campaign. Their expectations did not match the realities of running for office.

We can do a better job by using the resources of the KCRCC to better prepare Republicans in King County to run for office. In my next term as Chairman, the KCRCC will provide training and tools to help candiates develop their campaign plan. The idea is to launch the pilot “Campaign in a Box” with local candidates, work out the kinks, and then full roll out for 2010 Legislative races. It is something that our party needs to do – something I am committed to in my next term.

The 48th District held their celebration meeting on the 18th at the Bellevue Community Center. There were more than 140 people in attendence for a meal provided by Twelve Baskets Catering. Everyone loved the food in the company of Republican friends. The 48th was the heart of the effort to re-elect Dave Reichert. Their efforts made a huge difference in the election and brought forward some super star leadership in our GOTV. One person in particular – Cecilia Jordan was one such outstanding volunteer. Throughout the election cycle, Cecilia’s enthusiasm influenced her fellow Republicans to come out to phone call at Victory Headquarters.

We dashed from the 48th District Meeting to the 1st/32nd/45th District. The 45th District worked their hearts out for an outstanding candidate – Toby Nixon, a true statesman. It was clear that supporting the candidate of the party was very important to those in attendance. Chairman candidates were asked various forms of the question of how we supported candidates in the last election and did we support and vote for our party’s nominee for President. That was easy for me – I was a McCain delegate to the Republican National Convention – I supported him and voted for him. If Republicans don’t stand by our nominated candidates for office WHO WILL? I was very disappointed to hear that the other candidates for Chairman did not support or vote for our nominee. I wonder why they are running for Chairman of the King County REPUBLICAN Party . . . .

Last evening the 43rd and 46th Districts met in Seattle. There are now three candidates running for the Chairman’s position (including me) of the KCRCC. There were quite a few new Precinct Committee Officers at the meeting. It was good to see the ethusiasm for the Republican Party in the heart of Seattle.

Again there were very thoughtful questions. Again there was another question about how we have strayed from the Constitution. We have a great opportunity to discuss the founding documents of our country over the coming months. In our party, we have great Republican thinkers who have a vast knowledge of our American history. It is time to have a conversation about our Constitution.

Tonight we visit the 45th and 48th Districts.

Thursday night the 11th District hosted a potluck meeting for their PCOs and the PCOs of the South 37th and South 41st Districts. It was a good opportunity to talk casually with the PCOs and volunteers who made this past election cycle so successful. The food was good and so was the company.

After supper, the meeting was held in the chapel in the next room. Being the experienced District Chairman that she is, Ruth Gibbs explained the positions and ground rules for the meeting. The candidates for Chairman were up first, but my opponent had not shown up for the meeting, so I gave the other candidates for the other offices the opportunity to go ahead of me. There were good speeches and good questions. The candidates and format of the meeting was respectful to the candidates.

When it was again my turn, I was able to give the good news of the outstanding GOTV efforts of the last election cycle and report that a team effort of all of the districts in the 8th Congressional District helped Dave Reichert hold his seat. I also talked about our need to build on the successes of PCO recruitment and volunteer involvement with a focus on working smarter with technology.

Question and Answer was great! There were very good questions about Republicans focus on upholding the Constitution, PCO polling, communications from elected officials to constituants, and many more. My opponent did not make the meeting. Good for me because it meant we had more time for discussion.

Next meeting – Monday, November 17th with the 43rd and 46th Districts.

Friday night was the first of eight District Meetings for the candidates for KCGOP Leadership to introduce themselves to PCOs and give their vision for the next two years. And of course – ask for their vote. I am running for re-election to the Chairman’s position of the King County Republican Central Committee, a position I have been honored to serve since this past March.

We met in the Auburn City Hall Chambers. It was a good meeting. Auburn mayor Pete Lewis welcomed the PCOs. Auburn is split by the 47th on the north and the 31st to the south. Mayor Lewis mentioned that is was good to have both districts together.

So soon after the election, I was not sure what would be of interest to the PCOs. When it was my turn to address the meeting, I spoke of the accomplishments of the last cycle. Although the loss of the Governor’s race was painful, I was pleased to report that in King County we held our own – our GOTV efforts were ranked among the top counties in the nation and BEST OF ALL our in King County incumbents held their seats. This has not happened in many years. I was also pleased to report that we elected nearly 1200 PCOs in August. It has been more than a decade since we’ve seen that many PCOs elected.

When the floor was opened for questions, there were thoughtful points and questions. The discussion was good. The questions are way more fun than the stump speeches!

The next meeting will be November 13th in Renton for the PCOs in the 11th and the south part of the 41st Legislative Districts.

Lori