Please make plans to attend the Midland County Republican Party’s annual fundraising dinner. The money raised from this dinner goes a long toward helping get Republicans elected in November. The dinner this year features Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick. You can conveniently book your tickets online here.
I hope to see you there.
Yearly fundraising events are important for two reasons.
1). fundraising events raise money. When funding the local headquarters competes against other worthy causes, sometimes the county headquarters takes the back burner. Therefore, having a regular event with top rated speakers becomes important. When there is a regular event, the local people will come to expect the event at roughly the same time of year. Regular local events are necessary because for many people who cannot afford to attend those real expensive fundraisers, a regular, local event may be their only chance to shake hands with someone like Governor Perry or Senator Cruz. Many people have a strong desire to meet and shake hands with a particular leader. However, many people cannot afford to give big bucks to attend a private fundraiser, but they can afford $35 per person for an event that includes Governor Perry and Ted Cruz.
In addition, once a significant amount of people are gathered in one place to talk about Republican issues, other Republican officeholders, and especially the candidates, will come. Based upon my experience, they will come in droves. The advantage of this is that these people can be spread out among the event ensuring that most of the locals present can have the opportunity to meet at least a few of the officeholders and candidates. Thus, the regular, local event meets the needs of two groups.
2). Less obvious, and yet just as important, they build community.
As I write this, I am constantly reminded of the example of the annual pig roast over in Lea County, New Mexico. For well over 20 years, Ann and Ken Batson have organized their local event. The event has evolved in the largest regional event for the Republican Party of New Mexico. Any candidate in New Mexico even thinking about running for state-wide office would not dare not show up to this event. The event, at about $35 a head, attracts not only the mainstay Republicans, but also the less active Republicans. Many Democrats come to this event. Who could ask for more, Democrats giving directly to the local Republican Party? The Pig Roast also holds the attention of the people for at least two hours. During the event, the speakers have the ability to remind the people why they are Republicans.
Being accessible not only means being available to talk, but it also means listening to those that don’t agree with you on everything that you believe in. I will make it a priority to meet with anyone and any group that has a concern about the future of the Republican Party. Being accessible also means returning phone calls in a timely manner and keeping their county headquarters open for more than a few hours per week.
Being accessible also means transparency. The Republicans in any county should know how their County Chair stands on mainstream Republican issues such as: abortion, national defense, the national debt, immigration and the death penalty. The Republican Party of Texas has provided a way for all candidates who seek the Republican nomination for any particular office to express their views about the Platform of the Republican Party of Texas. Specifically, the Republican Party of Texas has provided a form that each candidate can fill out if they so choose. My form is here.
One final thought, no matter where the county chair stands on hot button issues, the Republicans in that county have to feel secure that they will have a place at the table of discussion even if they may disagree with the County Chair on one or more issues.
I have proposed 7 Principles of an Effective County Chair, and over the next several weeks, I will be blogging about each of the 7 principles and expanding upon each of them with a few more details to make each principle a little more clear and informative. I am interested in your feedback throughout this process. Please comment here on the blog, or tweet me @NelsonSpear.
1. Making sure the trains run on time.
The first purpose of the county chair is to make sure that the elections run smoothly. This is a very tough job and the chair cannot do this alone. From poll watchers, to election judges and interactions with county officials and other Election Day activities, a county chair has to be on hand to deal with the complete running of the elections.
In addition to the duties noted above, it is the job of a county chair to provide as much information to the voter about all of the candidates seeking their party’s nomination. In future elections, I envision a column that would link to a particular candidate’s voting record.
© 2013
I have always been a “the glass is half full” kind of guy.
And as I reflect on the past year, there are several things that I can see in the natural that would be discouraging. From the recognition of same sex marriage, to the terrorist attacks at the Boston Marathon, to the expansion of drug legalization, to the continued unanswered questions of what in the heck happened in Benghazi, to just about everyone realizing that you could keep your doctor and your policy if you liked them despite the prior multiple promises of the President, one could say that for conservatives like myself, 2013 was not a good year.
However, for all of these disappointing moments, I can always find something positive. Notably, when the terror attacks happened in Boston, Americans everywhere responded with a unity that we have become accustomed to. The outpouring of support and prayers from Americans and non-Americans everywhere was inspirational. It was the type of response that allows me to remain a “the glass is half full” kind of guy.
My message to any conservative who might be feeling a little blue, is to remember, we are Republicans, we do not give up. 2014 is going to be banner year for our people running for office.
From the Spear Family to all of you, please have a Blessed and Prosperous New Year.
What an honor to receive the endorsement of the man himself. Santa was quoted as saying, “Nelson has always been on my good list. Voters of Midland county should be glad to have Nelson as their next Republican county chair.”
This is the public statement I submitted to The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Thursday, December 5, 2013 in Reno, Nevada. The BLM held a Public Meeting to hear about the environmental impact on the Nevada and Northeast California Greater Sage-Grouse.
My name is Nelson Spear and I am from Midland, Texas. Over 100 years ago, my family began dirt farming and ranching in the Permian Basin in the area of west Texas. For over 70 years, my family has been in the oil and gas business. Today, although I have practiced as a lawyer, I am primarily an oil and gas investor. Many oil and gas executives, including myself, have significant mineral holdings located on state and federal lands in the west.
Those present know of the hard fight regarding the listing of the dune sage brush lizard. Investors knew from the outset that such a listing would not only threaten their income as investors but also for the thousands of families whose livelihood is dependent upon the energy industry. While I made a small contribution to this fight, others fought fiercely and the lizard was not listed. However, we are now facing the listing of the lesser prairie chicken. While the price of oil has recently been very favorable to the energy sector, it seems that we in the oil and gas business are fighting the government tooth and nail to make a living for ourselves and our employees.
About 5 years ago, some partners and I got involved in the exploration side of mining here in Nevada. In the short time that I have been in the mining business, I have discovered that the mining industry is suffering from the same governmental obstacles that the oil and gas industry is. The overall policies behind the proposal of the listing of the sage grouse may very well be the most fatal blow that the miners have ever faced. What compounds the problems of miners, however, is the drop in prices of precious minerals. Thus, the mining industry is currently harder hit than the oil and gas industry.
Many of us feel that government bureaucrats don’t understand how high risk the oil and gas and mining industries are. And that for the notable highly successful projects, hundreds if not thousands of projects lose money.
Many of us feel that the goal of the government is to drive the oil and gas people out of business. Many of us feel that the goal of government is to drive miners out of business. And, many of us feel that Washington bureaucrats are out of touch with the ordinary citizen and the real consequences of their altruistic goals, whatever they may be are .
Still, many of us know that even if we are successful in convincing you to not list the grouse or the chicken as threatened or endangered, there is a long list of additional species awaiting their turn.
What is confusing to me as a taxpayer is that the government seems to be doing anything and everything it can to discourage two very important sectors of the American economy. With the true numbers of unemployed and underemployed at record levels and exploding deficits, I would like to think that the government would encourage economic success of businesses.
What is so confusing to me is that at a time when America is starting to flex its energy independence that the government seems to be stepping into the path of businesses to prevent that independence. Without this independence, our government loses the opportunity to completely shut out rogue nations that have significant oil reserves.
Policies of good intention are nice in story books, but story books don’t have to deal with the natural consequences of those decisions. This is reality. People won’t be just inconvenienced by this policy, they will be harmed. Their families will be harmed.
To the government:
I urge you change our perception of a government that stalls, penalizes and interferes with legitimate business interests.
I urge you to reconsider the overall interpretation of policies relating to the Endangered Species Act.
To my fellow miners:
I urge you to remain strong and steadfast. I can tell you that I will do my best to encourage the oil and gas industry to stand with you and the ranchers and the timber people regarding these types of policies.
Thank You.
This Thanksgiving is the 18th Thanksgiving that we have celebrated as a family.
I asked my son to help me decide which of the 18 Thanksgiving holidays which was his favorite. His conclusion was that his two favorite holidays were the ones that we, as a family, went somewhere. On those two particular holidays, we broke our routine. We got away from media, away from our normal hideaways in our own home, and away from the normal cares of the world. It seems to me that when we separate ourselves from the normal routine, we can better reflect on our blessings.
Today, even though we are celebrating Thanksgiving at home, I reflect on the Creator’s blessings. I am most thankful for the saving grace that He has extended to me and my family. I am also thankful for the blessings of family that the Lord has blessed me with.
How I Want To Remember Dr. King
I was not even four years old when Dr. King was assassinated. So, I cannot honestly say how I perceived him. But, I can say I saw how others around me viewed him and talked about him. Undoubtedly, that influenced me. Dr. King’s tireless, relentless pursuit of justice was inspirational to many, including myself. From a secular point of view, I choose to remember and emulate Dr. King from my years with Rotary where the motto is “Service above self.” From a non-secular point of view, I choose to remember and emulate Dr. King with the words from the Epistle of James:
Thanks Dr. King for being a role model to many people in many walks of life.