Last Saturday, December 1st, the Snohomish County Republican Party Central Committee convened for its legally required biennial reorganization.  The Central Committee voted on new leadership including a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, State Committeeman and State Committeewoman.

It was my great honor to be nominated for the position of State Committeeman by Mr. Sam Wilson, who gave a great speech about the need for the Republican Party to stand on traditional, conservative Republican values.  I then had the privilege to address the Central Committee.  Below is the short speech that I delivered.

The mission of the Republican Party is to stand for the values, principles and ideas that party members and activists corporately agree are important.  These values, principles and ideas are embodied in the Party Platform.  These values and principles talk about limited government, sanctity of life and individual liberty.  Being a Republican means so much more than simply not being a Democrat.  It mean that you love this country as founded.  It means that you’re willing to stand, even in the face of ridicule, for the principles and values that have made the United States of America the greatest beacon of hope and liberty to the entire world for centuries.

Some of our candidates have abandoned these principles and have received full endorsement and funding from our party.  This happens because the power of our party, which rightly rests with grassroots Republicans, has been usurped by a few individuals.  I say to you that the power to nominate, endorse and fund candidates should be returned to you, the heart of the Republican Party.  Before a candidate for public office can be endorsed be the party, they should have their values, principles and policies measured against our platform.  If a candidate does, in fact, meet the standard that we have set, only then should an endorsement and the full power of our party be thrown behind them.

We deserve leadership in the body that will ensure that all Republicans are given a voice.  We deserve leadership that when told by the press, those in our own party who do not share our principles and the whole world, to move understand that their job is to plant themselves like a tree beside the river of truth and tell the entire world, “No.  You move !”

If elected to the position of Snohomish County State Committeeman, I pledge to do everything possible to ensure that Republicans in our county, be they Christian Conservatives, part of the Liberty Wing or Reagan Republicans have a voice in the Snohomish County Republican Party.  Only by including and giving a voice to all Republicans can we hope to restore life to our party and the shared principles that have made the Republican Party a positive force for limited, Constitutional government and individual liberty.

Ultimately, I was defeated by the incumbent, Mr. Jim Donner, by 27 votes, but I feel that any opportunity that I get to talk about liberty and conservative principles, a victory is won.  Almost half of the SCRP Central Committee voted to elect principled, traditional Republican leadership, including Larry Stickney, Michelle McIntyre and myself, and I think that this fact demonstrates that a growing number of Republicans desire a return to traditional Republican values.

I did have an opportunity to speak to Mr. Donner on the telephone to congratulate him on his reelection and to extend a hand of friendship.  Although we may have different approaches to the problems facing our party, and we do disagree on what some of those problems are, I’m certain that with some work, we can find some common ground.  Traditional, liberty minded Republicans cannot and should not be expected to compromise on matters of principle, however, when common ground is found, we should not be afraid to partner with others on those issues.

I leave this experience emboldened and encouraged.  Traditional, conservative Republicanism is popular.  The number of people in the GOP who expect party leadership to stand on principle and support candidates who do the same is growing, and that’s truly something to celebrate.