Dear Bernalillo County Republicans,

With the encouragement of my family and friends and many long-standing grassroots activists, I’ve decided to run for Chairman of the Bernalillo County Republican Party, and I need your support.

In 2008, New Mexico will once again be a battleground state, and if we learned anything from this past election cycle, it is that we need to do more. Bernalillo County is the most important political county in the state and must do a better job of delivering the vote for our Republican candidates.

During this past last election cycle, Congresswoman Heather Wilson had her closest race ever. And, for the first time since taking office, she lost Bernalillo County. This must never happen again.

According to the final audited count, Congresswoman Wilson lost Bernalillo County by 1,250 votes. That means that with just four more votes per precinct, she would have easily won the county.

What concerns me, and has in fact motivated me to run, is that despite the passage of four months, not a single significant step has been taken to build our party structure. Already, 120 days have passed since the last election, and we are no more prepared today to deliver those additional votes in every precinct than we were four months ago.

This is unacceptable.

Granted, every organization has problems, but the good ones don’t have the same problems year after year. Right now, without a change, we’re on track to have the same problems come 2008. I’m not willing to stand idly by and let that happen, and I don’t think you are either.
Together, we can make sure that 2008 is remembered as the year when the Republicans took back Bernalillo County. How do we do it? With three simple steps:

1. Communicate our message
2. Raise money
3. Recruit volunteers

This is not speculation on my part. I’ve done it before successfully. From 2000 to 2004, I was the President of Junior Achievement of New Mexico, a privately funded not-for-profit that teaches students to understand business and economics and value the free enterprise system.

When I took over the organization, it had $25,000 in assets and annual revenues of $200,000. In four short years, I was able to increase the net assets by a $100,000 while doubling annual revenues to over $400,000 per year. More importantly, I was able to double the number of students participating in the program by significantly increasing the number of volunteers involved.

I did the same for an El Paso chapter of the organization with even more amazing results. During a one-hour lunch, I raised $80,000 in a room with just fourteen people. Admittedly, they were the right fourteen people, but that was no accident, I invited them.

Communicate a message. Raise money. Recruit volunteers. That’s the plan.

I’ve had a similar success in the private sector. After leaving Junior Achievement, I launched an advertising and public relations firm. In just three years, I’ve grown this firm to the 14th largest agency in the state with a couple of million dollars in annual billings.

I know how to set goals and achieve them, and I’ve set a goal to make the Bernalillo County Republican Party the strongest county party in the state. With your help, I will do it. That’s my commitment. Elect me to be your Bernalillo County Party Chairman, and together, we’ll deliver for our Republican candidates in 2008.

Sincerely,

Mario Burgos

P.S. Below is a list of activities I’ve been involved in during my last six and a half years in New Mexico. This is by no means a complete list; however, I think it provides a good indication of the level of my commitment to our community, our state and our future. You can also learn a lot more about me by visiting www.MarioBurgos.com.

Political Involvement:
* Heather Wilson for Congress, Finance Committee 2005 – Present
* Member of the NM Delegation to 2004 Republican National Convention
* Bernalillo County Small Business Coalition Chairman, Bush/Cheney 2004
* Appointed by the U.S. Treasury Secretary and the IRS Commissioner to be New Mexico’s representative on the National Taxpayer Advocacy Panel 2002 – 2005
* 2004 Candidate for State Representative, House District 22
* Political Blogger 2004 – present
* Frequent Republican commentator on KNME’s The Line and Channel 4’s Eye on New Mexico

Community Involvement:
* AYSO Soccer Coach 2004 – Present
* Albuquerque Del Norte Rotary Club 2001 – Present
* United Way Young Leaders Society
* National Federation of Independent Businesses
* Association of Commerce and Industry
* Middle Rio Grande Business Education Collaborative 2002-2004
* New Mexico Business Roundtable for Educational Excellence
* 2004 NM Business Weekly 40 Under 40
* March of Dimes, Walk-a-thon Fundraising Committee 2005
* Popejoy Hall’s Primavera Ball, Marketing Committee 2006 – Present