- Building a strong, active coalition within the county. A county chair needs to build a coalition of all Republicans. A county chair should not try to exclude others based upon the variance of two or three issues. The county chair cannot do this job alone. Delegating key responsibilities not only gets others involved, it trains up future leaders. Additionally, the county chair needs to be fair and unbiased.
A seat at the table. Republicans constantly speculate why they lose certain elections. I believe that there are many answers to that riddle. But one answer for sure is that many Republicans feel like that they have been excluded from the electoral process both locally and nationally. Locally, some Republicans feel that the local party has no use for them or their ideas. Also, all of the “party jobs” are filled and there is no opportunity to get involved and serve. Nationally, some Republicans feel like that the “establishment Republicans” predetermines (or at least strongly influence) who the national nominees will be.
A County Chair’s job is to bring these disaffected Republicans back into the fold. A County Chairman achieves this by striving to make sure that everyone who considers themselves a Republican feel like that they have a voice in local party maters. Specifically, the County Chair needs to remind these Republicans of their value to the Republican Party. The County Chair also should find a place for everyone to serve who wants to serve.
As I write this, I am reminded of Ronald Reagan’s quote that “The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and an ally, not a 20% traitor.” Whether they affiliate with the Pro-Choice Republicans, Pro-Life Republicans, Log Cabin Republicans or even the John Birch Republicans, no Republican should feel or be made to feel like that they have been shutout of the political process. A County Chair who ignores these different groups is not only missing a lot of talent and networking ability, they also risk losing a lot more elections.
Finally, while building this coalition, the County Chair needs to remain committed to his or her core values. Additionally, whatever those values are, everyone in the coalition should know what those values are.
– Read the 7 Principles of an Effective County Chairman
Building a Strong, Active Coalition Within the County
A seat at the table. Republicans constantly speculate why they lose certain elections. I believe that there are many answers to that riddle. But one answer for sure is that many Republicans feel like that they have been excluded from the electoral process both locally and nationally. Locally, some Republicans feel that the local party has no use for them or their ideas. Also, all of the “party jobs” are filled and there is no opportunity to get involved and serve. Nationally, some Republicans feel like that the “establishment Republicans” predetermines (or at least strongly influence) who the national nominees will be.
A County Chair’s job is to bring these disaffected Republicans back into the fold. A County Chairman achieves this by striving to make sure that everyone who considers themselves a Republican feel like that they have a voice in local party maters. Specifically, the County Chair needs to remind these Republicans of their value to the Republican Party. The County Chair also should find a place for everyone to serve who wants to serve.
As I write this, I am reminded of Ronald Reagan’s quote that “The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and an ally, not a 20% traitor.” Whether they affiliate with the Pro-Choice Republicans, Pro-Life Republicans, Log Cabin Republicans or even the John Birch Republicans, no Republican should feel or be made to feel like that they have been shutout of the political process. A County Chair who ignores these different groups is not only missing a lot of talent and networking ability, they also risk losing a lot more elections.
Finally, while building this coalition, the County Chair needs to remain committed to his or her core values. Additionally, whatever those values are, everyone in the coalition should know what those values are.
– Read the 7 Principles of an Effective County Chairman