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Final Count: 92 to 118

Well, it looks like it’s time for me to go back to making money. I lost my campaign to become the Chairman of the Bernalillo County Republican Party. The good news is that we got a lot of folks not usually involved in these things to show up for the convention. The bad news is that we didn’t get enough. Although, if all of those in absentia self-nomination forms, proxies and dues we collected could have been used, the results may have been different. But, alas that was not the case.

I say “we” because I had a group of volunteers helping me out that really impressed me with their energy and commitment. These people are the Party’s future – at 37, I was the old guy – and at some point we are going to have to change the rules of the game if we want them to continue playing. They’ll turn out their vote, but they are not going to sit for three to four hours in a hot room just for the sake of going through the process. It’s just not going to happen, but you can still get them to vote. I’m sure there is a lesson there… somewhere.

I do want to thank those volunteers and the 92 people who came out and supported me, as well as the other folks who gave up their Sunday to show their support to the candidates in general. I also want to publicly acknowledge the newly re-elected Chairman Fernando C’deBaca for being gracious in his win.

Tomorrow some folks will receive a mail piece that somehow didn’t end up in mailboxes when it should have. There are three points made in the mail piece, and I stand by them:

  1. Republican activists, especially those holding party positions, must not endorse Democrat candidates, even ones in “non-partisan” offices. I, like most New Mexicans, have Democratic friends, even a few who have run for elected office. However, I will not endorse them, nor support them financially. Because let’s face it, those same officials will, at some point down the line, act in a partisan manner and go after our Republican officials in a very partisan way. It’s just the nature of the beast.
  2. Bernalillo County Republicans did not turn out the vote to win the First Congressional District for the first time in 2006. This must NEVER happen again. And, if we don’t want a repeat in 2008, we need to start working on it… Yesterday.
  3. We’re not raising the money we need to run an effective organization. It’s not enough to keep the lights on and a paid member on staff. We need to raise significantly more. There are very few places left in America that are not gerrymandered to benefit one party or the other. Bernalillo County is one of these truly competitive areas. So, Republicans no matter where they may be, can truly further the cause by supporting the Bernalillo County Republican Party. And that support should go to building a strong volunteer structure all the way down to the precinct level.

With that said, we’ve elected a Chairman, so let’s get to work.