Precinct positions and Presidential Caucus information

(Note:  this is a copy of an e-mail that I sent out to my e-mail list.  If you didn’t receive it, let me know.)

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Greetings, and Happy New Year!

I want to provide some information to everyone about the upcoming meeting of the full Central Committee and about the Presidential Caucus coming up. Please bear with me in this long e-mail.

First, I want to let all of you know that there will be  KULR 8 spot on the Montana GOP Caucuses — I was interviewed this afternoon, and haven’t seen the spot.  It should show at 6 and 10 tonight.  If it is a good spot and I can get a link or video, I’ll post it to the website.  If I botched it, we can all try to forget it happened.

In all seriousness, one of the good things about this caucus is that it will bring some press attention to the Republican Party.  KULR 8 sounded interested in having press at the caucus Feb. 5th.

Moving on:

1.  All current and prospective Central Committee members should come to the January 8th  meeting at 7 PM at the Crowne Plaza. 

We will be going over the Precinct Captain Action Plan, so prospective Central Committee members can be brought up to speed on the Montana Republican Party’s plan for the coming election and the role that precinct committee members will play in that plan. 

This will also be the last scheduled meeting where precinct committeemen and women will be elected to be members of the Central Committee.  While I would hope to have everyone briefly introduce themselves as time allows, I will particularly be wanting those who are in “contested” precinct positions to introduce themselves and tell a little something about their background in the Republican Party and their interest in getting involved. 

The state party has charged the county party central committees with choosing new members based not on which presidential candidate they will support, but rather on who they believe will be most actively involved in all Republican Party activities and work.  I would also note that the ballots will list prospective members in the order in which they have contacted me — that way current committee members can know who volunteered earliest to help out as precinct workers.

Since this is a regular meeting of the Central Committee, we will regular agenda items such as a treasurer’s report so members can know what our financial status is, etc.  If we have special guests, we will invite them to speak briefly about various upcoming events and about ongoing campaigns and issues.

2.  The list of prospective precinct committee members has been submitted to the county election office for verification of voter registration in precincts.  We will continue to accept nomination forms up until the time of the meeting, but if there are errors, we will not have a chance to rectify them anymore beyond a certain point, and this could mean invalidating an election if incorrect information is given. 

So the later that people volunteer for vacant precinct positions, the more important it is to have all information correct and current.  Those who want still to volunteer for precinct positions should send me an e-mail with precinct number, name, address, phone(s), and e-mail.  A nomination form should be printed out here and mailed to me at 224 Clark Ave.  Billings, MT  59101  — ASAP.

3.  I would urge current and prospective precinct committee members in particular to make an effort to attend the upcoming Pachyderm Club series at which representatives of various Presidential campaigns will make presentations on behalf of the candidate each is supporting.  Only a small number of Republicans statewide will be voting in the caucus — one of the presumptions of a caucus is that caucuses are attended by party activists who are the best informed people in their party.

Turnout today at Pachyderm was very high for the first Presidential campaign presentation — congratulations to new President Dave Rye.

While many new precinct people will have been recruited by one campaign or another, the responsibility of voting on behalf of an entire precinct should be taken very seriously, and I would urge everyone to keep an open mind about who they will vote for.  Also, by the time the caucus happens, a candidate of choice may not even be in the race anymore.

When we agree to take up positions of responsibility within the Republican Party, our first responsibilities are to our communities, our party, and ultimately our informed consciences — not to a particular presidential campaign.  So please attend the Pachyderm meetings when you can, inform yourselves about all of the candidates, choose wisely, and be prepared to come together as a united Republican Party after it is all over, working to elect Republicans up and down the ticket next fall.

4.  Those who have votes in the caucus should be prepared to field phone calls and be contacted  — not just by the campaigns, but by fellow Republicans who don’t have votes in the caucus and who want their voices to be heard, especially from their own precincts.  Since precinct positions are defined by Montana law, these are public positions that are listed on the Yellowstone County governmental website.  These will be great opportunities to find out who the interested Republicans in your precincts are.

5.  The Presidential Caucus itself will be held on the evening of February 5th, location TBA.  We have been recently told by the state party that they encourage us to make this a fun election evening — part informational, with short presentations from representatives of the Presidential campaigns;  part local party rally, with legislative candidates and representatives of statewide candidates there to present literature, sign up supporters, raise money, and generally build support for our local and state candidates;  part election, with those eligible to vote being provided with ballots, which will then be collected and counted on the spot, with results called in to the state party;  and part campaign watch party. 

This is going to be a big night for Montana, since this is our first caucus, and we will want to watch the returns come in from around the state.  It will also be a huge night nationwide, with nearly half of the nations’ Republican delegates chosen that day in caucuses, conventions, and primary elections across the country.  We will be following those returns on TV and by internet as they come in, and it will be exciting to see the results.  Come prepared to have a good time!  We hope to have refreshments, a cash bar, etc.  There will probably be local media present. 

6.  There will be some costs associated with putting on the Caucus — I would encourage some faithful Republicans to contribute toward the cost of putting on the evening, allowing us to make sure that the money we have on hand in our account goes directly to our candidates and their campaigns.  Please contact me if you are willing to make a special contribution toward the evening’s event.

7.  All Republicans are invited to attend the caucus, regardless of whether you have a vote or not.  Anyone who supports the Republican Party is welcome and indeed encouraged to attend the Caucus — invite Republican friends and family to join us that evening. 

There will be no absentee or proxy voting at the caucus — if you are eligible to vote in the caucus and want to vote, then you have to be there that night.  This is one of the ways in which caucuses differ from primaries. 

8.  Please look at the Calendar of Events on the website — I am making an effort to include all Republican events such as Pachyderm and Republican Women events, as well as events put on by the county party itself.  If I am made aware of other events such as campaign appearances, meet-and-greets for candidates, fundraisers, or other events that would be of interest to Republicans, I will try to post that information.

Thanks to all of you for your interest in supporting the Republican Party.  We have an exciting and critical election year ahead of us, and we need all of the help that we can get.  Please contact me with questions, suggestions, and information of interest.
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Brad Anderson, Chairman, Yellowstone County GOP
406-671-1336