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Executive Board Member Reports
Juliana McMahan, Chair
It is important that every Republican in Washington participate in the 2024 Precinct Caucus. Please put a hold for Saturday, January 13, 2024, on your calendar! In Kitsap County we will be caucusing by school district. This is your opportunity to give input on the county party's platform and select county convention delegates--who will vote on endorsing candidates and send delegates to the state convention. Right now we are looking at February 10 or 17, 2024, as possible dates for our County Convention and the State Convention has already been scheduled for April 18-20, 2024 at the Spokane Convention Center.
The Washington State Republican Party Chair has been given the authority by state law to determine which candidates will be included on the Washington State Presidential Ballot. He has deferred that power to the State Committee using a three-step qualification process.
https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_requirements_for_political_parties_in_Washington
This year's I-2117 is trying to stop the tax on carbon gas emissions. We need to oppose and stay informed about the Left's Green Agenda including the push for battery-driven cars. Ironically, self-proclaimed environmentalists continue to ignore the inherent environmental dangers of battery-driven cars. Read more about I-2117 at https://letsgowashington.com/i-2117.
KCRP has endorsed the following initiatives for the upcoming election: I-2117, I-2113, I-2124, I-2109, I-2111, and I-2081. All of these initiatives may be researched online. You can read more about them at this link: https://letsgowashington.com
Please urge your friends, family, and community to sign these initiatives and vote in every election! Every election is important. This year it is especially important to vote in the face of the concerns many have about the state of our schools. You can learn about our school board candidate recommendations at https://www.kitsaprepublicans.com/post/2023-general-election-candidate-endorsements-recommendations.
John M. Cameron, Vice-Chair
Never before in American history have the good guys jailed and persecuted and prosecuted its political opponents! And censored and attacked. Never before has the Republican party been under attack since maybe the Civil War. But also what a great time to be alive and be part of an amazing time to affect change. Let's not give up, and keep on keeping the faith!!!
Well, first off I have taken a new job that has keeping me very busy. We ALL need to be stepping up to the plate, taking part in the process, and we ALL need to be part of "keeping the ball rolling." For example, an email was sent out with a straw poll for governor and I put an "error candidate" Raul Garcia to increase responses to correct, but only got 20 back. The non-engagement of our PCOs is "catching" and leading to a general feeling of apathy. We need to reverse this trend!
While on that subject, PCO of the Month is Gena Cole for her tireless work supporting the party and candidates.
We simply need more people to participate!!! As important as it is for initiatives to be signed by me, you can be a force multiplier by getting 10 others to help. Recruit, recruit, recruit… We are so grateful for those who ARE present, who go the extra mile, and keep the ball rolling. My heart is warmed by Chuck for election integrity committee, recruit-man Braden for initiatives, and Sean for events committee.
We put together the PCO meet-and-greet where we had a good attendance of about 14 and we talked about Central Committee Meetings to get PCO's a voice every month. We played Jarrod Sessler's REALLY good video by how important PCO's are. We had a couple candidates there. School board from South Kitsap, Rhonda Edwards and Jamie Cross. We had a couple new PCO's in volunteers and attendance. We got a couple other PCOs set up with more canvasser and training.
We have a Social Media Manager who will be stepping in and working on our Facebook page, and hopefully other forms of social media such as X and Instagram as "the group" might see fit. We need to work on and smooth out our events submission process; for now be sure to check the "calendar" section of kitsaprepublicans.com. Our new KCRP newsletter, The Kitsap Republican, is being sent out beginning this month.
Keith Houk, State Committeeman
As State Committeeman, I represent KCRP at the state level. I am, however, still active in getting school board candidates elected here in South Kitsap (SK).
I've worked with many of the other volunteers in both getting petitions signed and candidates in SK elected. We put together videos of three super candidates for school board and got them through their primaries. We went door knocking and sign waving throughout Port Orchard. I collected signatures for the endorsed initiatives.
On August 12th, I attended the Washington State Republican Party State Committee Meeting in Olympia. We met in our congressional districts after meeting in our respective specialized committee breakout meetings. Since I was new, I needed to select one of ten committees that suited my interests. I picked "Faith Engagement", because I know the chair. We met for about 45 minutes discussing the importance of working with pastors and churches in our respective counties, and then assisting voters in both registering and filling out ballots. The chair shared lots of resources and data. I hope to continue working with her in the South Kitsap area churches. We then re-convened in the main auditorium to vote to elect a new state party chair plus the regular business. Jim Walsh was elected by a wide margin over Matt Hawkins. We also voted to give Joe Kent an early endorsement. Joe Kent is running for the US House in the 3rd Congressional District.
Shelly McKinley-Olson, Treasurer
During the past month I have continued to maintain KCRP PDC compliance by filing our county party reports. Additionally, I have completed the monthly budget summary and balanced the bank accounts. Along with several other patriots, I had the pleasure of waving signs for South Kitsap school board candidates leading into the primary election. It was also a pleasure to participate in the state party Zoom training regarding the upcoming caucus and convention procedures. The coming election cycle will be exciting, with new procedures in place. We all must do what we can, big or small, to elect conservatives to state/local office. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to serve.
Linda Popp, Secretary
As you know, the initiatives are kind of the BIG event for this summer. I’ve been to the Kingston Ferry, Bremerton Bridge Blast, Crosby Days, Kitsap Fair, and door knocked to get signatures on the initiatives. There have been wonderful people volunteering with me at each of those events. We have so many dedicated people with a vision of a better life here in Washington. It’s so GREAT to get to talk to folks about these issues. So many people are disgusted by what the Washington State Democrats are doing to our state.
We’re not alone--truly!! If you haven’t had the experience to talk to folks individually, right now is ideal--the initiatives are pretty non-partisan, so it’s easy to talk to people about them. If you need a walking partner to go door knocking, I’m always willing to go with someone their first time so they can get their feet wet. If you’re a PCO and just need another person to go along with you (because you shouldn’t go by yourself – you know) take a look at the PCO map and see who’s a PCO in some adjoining precinct to yours and ask them to go with you. You can take turns working each other’s precinct. As a PCO did you know that you can request the KCRP PCO contact list? You can! That way you can contact other PCOs and work together. Just let me know if you’d like a copy of it, I’ll be happy to send it to you.
I’ve been helping one of our KCRP recommended North Kitsap School Board candidates, Beverly Godfrey. Providing her with stats, and sharing info from other candidates--as to what they’re doing and encouraging Bev along the way. In the primary Bev led all candidates and is in a good position. She was a teacher in NKSD for many years, so she has great name recognition. Just because she was ahead, she’s not standing on the sidelines now, she’s out meeting key groups, and strategizing. So, I’m hopeful that we’ll get at least one conservative on the NK school board.
I attended four Republican meetings in one week, and then led the charge at the Crosby Days booth. That was one busy week! I’m on the Election Integrity Committee, the Lincoln Day Dinner Committee, and I helped with the 23rd Legislative District’s Old Fashioned Family Picnic. I work hard because I chose to stay and fight, rather than move to another state. I refuse to think it’s a lost cause. It definitely is if we don’t get out there and do our part. I don’t want to look back and say, why didn’t I pitch in to help change things in our state? There’s lots to do--and if you’re reading this and aren’t on at least one committee, or out collecting signatures--WE NEED YOUR HELP. Just let any board member know, and we’ll hook you up with wherever your passion is.
A verse that’s sustained me through all the Covid craziness, and when I think about the situation in our state and country--Proverbs 29:25: The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.
Elizabeth Doll, Bainbridge Island School District Rep.
Curriculum transparency in the schools seems to be a hot-button topic for many. A letter and petition to the Bainbridge Island School Board is being circulated which supports the right of parents to view curriculum and supports total transparency in their students' records.
Adrian Wright, Bremerton School District Rep.
The Democrats' approach to Kitsap politics can be characterized as "top down" in that the Democrat-controlled legislature seem to be driving the PCOs and county party. Whereas, the GOP has a more grassroots approach to their organization, or a "bottom-up" management approach.
Minutes and information about the Bremerton School District may be found at: https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/wabrsd/Board.nsf/Public and https://www.bremertonschools.org/SchoolBoard
Editor's Note: With regards to "sex education" concerns, Bremerton School District has a mandatory online course for staff and teachers which very effectively outlines "sexual misconduct" and boundaries in the classroom. For more information, parents may email the course coordinator at stephenie.nagle@bremertonschools.org.
Ken Erickson, Central Kitsap School District Rep.
My parent contacts in Central Kitsap School District claim that the their schools have assured them there is complete transparency of curriculum whenever they wish to see it, but parents must be proactive about it.
Francis Doyle, South Kitsap School District Rep.
After watching what happened during the November 2020 Presidential Election and the results from it, I decided that I needed to take a deeper interest in our local politics in our county. A friend of mine invited me to a "Puget Sound Patriots" meeting in June 2022 and the presentation given during that meeting convinced me to get involved in local politics and the collateral issues in our community.
At that meeting I met Vinton and he told me he was looking for volunteers to become election observers for the Kitsap County Republican Party. I told him to sign me up and I attended the Observer Training that he and Chuck provided. Later that month I also attended the Kitsap County Auditor Elections Division "Political Party Observer Training". When I completed the training I volunteered to observe the Primary Election and the General Election of 2022.
These opportunities allowed me to learn and follow the entire ballot counting process through both election cycles and also allowed me to participate in the Kitsap County Sheriff Race Recount. I was thankful for the chance to do this, and my gratitude goes to Vinton and Chuck. From this I learned that there are steps in the ballot counting process that I believe need to be improved e.g., voter Signature Verification and the maintenance and updating of the eligible voter register.
One of my others tasks is to follow the state legislature and the changes they propose to the Revised Code of Washington Election Laws, and in parallel I have volunteered to help out in the Election Integrity Committee and to take on looking into the way The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) maintains voter registration rolls, if that's what they really do...
In the South Kitsap School District, I started attending the Board of Directors bi-monthly meeting's for the past nine months. My main interest is in the education that student's are receiving as well as the curriculum being used.
By following the progress being made in the English Language Arts and Mathematics scores in grades 3-8 per the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Annual Report Card for the past year it's quite apparent that our school system's efforts are not good enough. Test scores and subject proficiency should be higher.
I am trying to understand the components of Social Emotional Learning (SEL is another name for CRT) requirements and its effects on a students ability to learn in the classroom. I believe that there are enough problems in the community without compounding distractions in the classroom with the influence that SEL has on young people.
The school board should recognize that the parents must have the final vote on their children's education and that the school district needs to accept this verbatim. Also I truly believe that the school board has to be forthright and transparent on what is being taught in the classroom, with no exceptions. I will closely follow this. With roughly $19K per student that is being spent on education, we as a community are failing in providing all children with a sound education.
In closing I have also committed to following the South Kitsap School District's new bond proposal, their current budget and expenditures, and the board's plan of action and milestones for this upcoming school year.
Editor's Note: A summary of the doings of South Kitsap's school board may be found at https://www.smore.com/gp6t2. Many parents in the South Kitsap School District have found the "Parent Square" app/link to be very helpful in "being connected" with their schools.
KCRP Executive Board Contact Info: https://www.kitsaprepublicans.com/board
Thoughts and stray input
Environment
This email came back from a PCO: City of Bremerton is in the process of passing laws to outlaw natural gas hook-ups for new construction. Now that is just plain crazy. If several of our team showed up the city council meeting and griped, it would be dumped. -- Marcus Hoffman
"Vox populi, vobiscum Deus"--State voting laws
The editor ran across a rousing interview (Fall 2020) with former Attorney General of the United States, Bill Barr. While our former president refers to Barr as a RINO, this editor took the time to read Barr's book and found him to be intelligent, well-informed, and the sort of person to adhere to the law, no matter how much it pained him to do so. He did a lot to stop organized crime in this country, and things have gone from bad to worse with him gone from office.
Many have had a real problem with the mail-in voting in this state for a long time. With that in mind, herein shared is the interview with Bill Barr regarding mail-in voting. IMHO we need to start an initiative to reverse this. Possibly the same motivation is at work with the mail-in ballots that is at work with our "apathy" report by John Cameron. If we are too apathetic to be involved, we deserve the cold frozen rigged deck we are constantly being handed by The Unscrupulous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC6PxLJ3dDU
Abortion/Right to Life is going to be a big issue in the upcoming presidential elections, mark my words. We need to get a handle on this issue before it is used against us as it has been in the past. Two national politicians stand out for their logic and compassion in this matter: Senator Marco Rubio and Candidate Nikki Haley. Yes abortion IS a squeamish subject and rouses emotions, but if you've ever encountered a seventh grade girl weeping in the ladies' loo who is "in trouble" you understand fully the need as member of the Human Race, to address the issue. Rubio is sponsoring a bill which will make the FATHER in these situations accountable financially. With modern DNA testing, paternity is unmistakable, no matter how the issue resolves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh6ucbJG7uQ
https://www.rubio.senate.gov/rubio-graham-colleagues-reintroduce-pain-capable-unborn-child-protection-act
Contact other conservative groups in our area: https://www.kitsaprepublicans.com/local-groups
Contact Newsletter Editor: josiec5150@gmail.com
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