District 12: Targeting of Select District Committees for Dissolution
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Transcript of District 12: Targeting of Select District Committees for Dissolution
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7/28/2019 District 12: Targeting of Select District Committees for Dissolution
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Paid for by District 12 Republicans
11506 Heritage Court #7Eagle River, Alaska 99577
ALASKA REPUBLICANS DISTRICT 12EAGLE RIVER/CHUGIAK/FORT RICHARDSON
www.facebook.com/District12ARP
On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was
adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be
squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Judge William Johnson, Thursday, June 12th 1823
May 24, 2013
Greetings to our fellow district and statewide Republican Party Officers,
Let us be clear: A brand new formula for determining quorum in the Republican Party is a
non-starter. It is a fool-hardy way to attempt to upend the results of a district election, and theramifications of the newly proposed formula are utterly ludicrous. The fact that another organization
in some other state uses the words authorized vote in a particular way has little impact on how we
have used the term over many years, and how it was universally understood during the recent districtconvention election process. Districts become organized through the regular district convention
process. There is not a single district in the state that employed the need for an expanded quorum
during their district convention, and with good reason. Immediately following the districtconventions, employing such an interpretation would have instantly disorganized every district in
the state, and the SCC along with it. If the new formula were employed in every district today, the
SCC itself would cease to have a quorum, and then who would choose the members of the SCC?
ADOPTING A FILL ALL YOUR VACANT POSITIONS FIRST APPROACH IS A RECIPE FOR NOTGETTING ANYTHING DONE. District 15 made that mistake in 2010. In the fall of 2010, District 15
was able to successfully fill every single one of their voting district positions (including all
precinct leaders). And that was the last time that they were able to meet as a district. FromAugust 2010, until redistricting in 2012 (18 months), they were never again able to reach quorum
at a meeting, and their district chairman eventually gave up on calling meetings. If the goal is to
not get anything done, thenby all meanschange the quorum requirements. But realize that a
change to higher quorum requirements does not mean higher standards, it means less work.
DISTRICTS DONT TURN ON/OFF LIKE A LIGHT SWITCHTHEY GROW OR THEY SHRINK OVERTIME. Districts are, and for the foreseeable future will continue to be, the lowest organized level
of the ARP. At the lowest level, there will always be ebbs and flows in activity. Gone are the
days of precinct secretaries, precinct committeewomen, precinct committeemen and precinctcampaign chairs. Those chapters in ARP Rules were removed years ago to reflect the fact that
district activity is rarely so overwhelming that it spills over into the creation of precinct
meetings, precinct fundraisers, contested precinct elections, and the like. At the lowest active
level of the party you take what you have and you work with it to build something better.Turning on the light does not result in a fully-formed, sustainable district, but starts the long
process of building and organizing. To stop that process of growth part-way, because of its small
size, does not inspire the plant to grow to higher heights. It merely keeps it from taking root.
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TARGETING DISTRICTS THAT DONT SUPPORT YOU DOESNT MAKE THEM GO AWAYTHEY
JUST FIND NEW WAYS OF EXPRESSING THEIR DISPLEASURE. While it may be tempting to seek outsupporters in such a district and to shake things up, in hopes of moving your supporters into
leadership positions, we suspect the proper way to go about targeting districts to Dissolve
would be to find a district that doesnt have a history of having an average of 12-24 people show
up to a district meeting. Also, it just looks bad when you show up to a meeting on the night of ascheduled election and decree by fiat that one of the candidates running, who lost the same
election only a month before, will now become temporary chairman and serve as an SCC
representative for a district that no longer exists. When you are tempted to shake things up,remember that it is only on rare occasions that butterflies emerge from a hornets nest.
WHO IS DISTRICT 12EAGLE RIVER/CHUGIAK/FORT RICHARDSON?DISTRICT HISTORY
AND UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS
Military Community (Much of the district is located on Fort Richardson/JBER) 3 Republicans for every Dem One legislator has been seeking (unsuccessfully) to make the district committee an
extension of his campaign/staff Full delegation to State Convention (+ alternates) District represented at every SCC Meeting since district convention District jointly-sponsored a very successful event in preparation for the recent Anchorage
Municipal Election that was attended by more than 50 people, and featured lengthy
presentations by all regional candidates for Anchorage Assembly and five out of sixcitywide candidates for Anchorage School Board
Low number of registered voters (34th/40) Low voter turnout (32nd/40) District Committee: 9 Members
Our district organization was formed in 2012 as part of the 2012 statewide redistricting
process. As one of our first activities as a district, we were pleased to be able to facilitate theparticipation of 292 Republican voters who took part in our District 12 Presidential Preference
Poll on March 6th
. Three days later, on March 9th
, our district committee was formed at the 2012
Republican District Convention held at Jitters Coffee Shop in Eagle River. Through the hardwork of our convention organizers, 25 delegates to our district convention participated in
electing the members of our district committee and determining the direction of our district for
the next two years. It was at this point that the leadership of our district passed from ourtemporary chairman and secretary (Peter Giessel and Rep. Dan Saddler respectively) to our
district committee, comprised of the five elected district officers (District Chairman, Vice-
Chairman, Bonus Vote, Secretary, and Assistant Secretary) and our two elected Republicanlegislators. At no time since the convention has our district committee consisted of fewer than
six officers.Also at our district convention, we elected a full state delegation consisting of 12 state
delegates (as well as a number of alternates) to the 2012 Republican State Convention. All ofour delegates were credentialed as having been properly elected at our district convention and
over the course of the weekend worked diligently with other delegates in committee and on thefloor to represent the Republican voters in our district. At the urging of our temporary chairman,
Peter Giessel, our district convention chose not to pursue the recruitment of a district treasurer or
assistant treasurer, as the ARP State Treasurer had offered to perform those duties on behalf ofour district, and a treasurer duplicating those duties at the district level was not needed.
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Likewise, we did not elect precinct leaders, as no precincts had been organized prior to the
district convention, and the absence of precinct leaders, while a valuable and contributing part ofthe district when active, was universally understood by all districts in Alaska, as no reason to
immediately cause the business of a district committee to come to a screeching halt.
Additionally, while we applaud the few individuals in our district who have expressed
interest in possibly serving as a precinct leader, we also recognize the difficulties of serving as aprecinct leader in a district such as District 12, as our district is greatly impacted by the transitory
nature of military service, with nearly half of our precinct leader positions located on Fort
Richardson (JBER). Owing to the frequent nature of military deployments and reassignments,and the severe restrictions placed on political activity occurring on military installations, we are
cautious not to too quickly recruit individuals who will be unable to fulfill the duties and
responsibilities of a precinct leader. We are all too aware of the hardships encountered bydistricts who have rushed to fill all of their precinct leader positions only to then be unable to
achieve quorum and conduct any district business whatsoever, as in the case of the previous
District 15. We have learned from such unfortunate situations and established a process by which
any individuals desiring to be a precinct leader will be well-acquainted with the duties of the
position prior to their appointment being approved by the district committee. We recommend thatall districts do likewise.Summary: Following the results of the election held at our March District Meeting, which
was properly noticed and attended by 100% (all six) of the members of our district committee, our
district became the target of an attempted hostile takeover of our district committee, meant to steal
from us the extensive work of our committee since the 2012 convention. We declaim any support
whatsoever for the attempted takeover of our district and the attempt by state party leadership to
interfere with a properly held district election process in an effort to overturn the results of that
election.
Sincerely,
David Eastman Wayne Ozosky Devin Homan
District Chairman Vice Chairman Secretary
Laura Temple Karen Perry Ronnie Barcak
Assistant Secretary District 12 Bonus Vote Treasurer
Theresa Barcak
Assistant Treasurer
Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding, and should, therefore, be construed by
the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not to be sought for in metaphysical
subtleties, which may make anything mean everything or nothing, at pleasure.
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Judge William Johnson, Thursday, June 12th 1823