Earlier this week, I was emailed from a County Delegate. She had the following questions:
“Many of us would like to see the Utah Republican Party become more united and the dissension in the State Central Committee cease. The people we elect will have the ability to make that happen.
Whether we like it or not SB54 is now law and we must work with it. Are you able to move forward and do that or do you support continuing with the lawsuit on SG54?
The Republican National Committee has a initiated a program the GROW Program to build up the party. Would you be in favor of supporting this program?”
I answered with the following:
I completely agree with the need to solidify our party within our state. Currently, at the national level, the Democratic party is dealing with it’s own internal battle. The new Democrats are openly pushing for a socialist change, while the old guard is still trying to hide that narrative from the populace.
If we can solidify the Republican Party locally, and nationally, it will be much easier to overcome the losses of the last election. While it has become obvious that there are dissenters within the current SCC, I can’t put all the blame there. I am currently a State Delegate, and the behavior I witnessed at the Nominating Convention was abysmal.
The current leadership spoke in an extremely derogatory tone to the delegates, when they were questioned on propositions that were brought to the floor, that should have been brought to the floor of the organizing convention, not the nominating convention. Had those propositions succeeded, it would have solidified power for the Utah Republican Party in the current leadership, and made the SCC merely bystanders.
The Utah Republican Party was designed to be directed by the SCC. Yes, there needs to be solidarity between the party and the leadership. Yes, there are current SCC members that I question the motives of (and choices made due to those motives). At the same time, I have grave concerns with the current leadership. It’s due to these concerns that I have opted to run.
I originally ran two years ago for the SCC because of SB54. In early March, the Utah State Supreme Court refused to hear the case, which closed the lawsuit. The emphasis is now to correct this bill through the Legislative process. Given the falsehoods that have been used to push bill into law (I personally witnessed canvassers here in St. George for Count My Vote intentionally use false statements to get my neighbors to sign their petition), I feel continuing discussions with Legislators to correct this law is still the correct path. Even with that belief, you are correct, currently SB54 is the law of the land, and we must work within its confines.
I was unaware of the GROW program. What little I could find on it is intriguing (I could not find anything on it on the RNC website). Without knowing specifically what would be required of Utah, it’s hard for me to give a valid opinion on the subject. As any valid program should, it includes “certain performance metrics”, but again, without knowing the extent of the program, it’s hard for me to say ya or nay.
From what I am reading, the program is intended to grow and strengthen the Republican Party in weak (or weakening) areas of the country. While I see us potentially being able to tap into the program for Salt Lake County, I don’t know how much the program will be available to the rest of the state.
I do apologize for being so long winded. I’m not a politician, and tend to voice my opinions openly. If I am elected, I am planning on recording any session I am purvey to, and transcribing it onto the web, so that there is complete transparency on what is happening with the SCC. That’s why I included my email address and phone number. This is an elected position, and as such, all members are accountable to those who elect them.”
