Richard Eber, California Political News and Views
As Covid-19 stricken 2020 unceremoniously starts to wind down, Republicans in California look to the future. If the past is any indication it is more gloom and doom as Democrats control every State office from Governor to US Senator along with Super Majorities in both houses of the Legislature.
In this negative environment The State Republican Party next February will choose its leader to resurrect the tarnished GOP name. At this juncture the choice will between incumbent Chairwomen Jessica Patterson and long time conservative activist Steve Frank. Their visions of what course Republican leadership should take are as different as night and day.
My friend and Editor at the California Political News and views Steve Frank has spent virtually his entire life championing conservative causes. His leadership within the GOP managing campaigns, training perspective office holders and promoting Republican values is a resume unmatched today.
His opponent for State Party chair Jessica Patterson is a different story.
I first heard of Ms. Patterson at the 2019 California Republican Convention in Sacramento where she was elected to her current post. Despite depending on proxy voting to secure her victory, there was good reason for optimism.
Patterson’s ascension to power came with two important pluses. She was both of Hispanic descent and a woman. These attributes were much needed in an organization whose shrinking number of members and elected officials had made California in effect a one party state.
Building Party unity was evident in Patterson’s acceptance speech when she promised to work with her two defeated opponents Travis Allen and Steve Frank to enlist their assistance with voter registration. Several months into her term, neither of Patterson’s former advisories was ever contacted to lend their expertise.
Even worse, the State Party made virtually no effort to recruit new members to the fold. It soon became painfully obvious that it would be business as usual in the Golden State for the GOP. Most of their efforts would be spent trying to raise money from a selected group of wealthy donors. A limited number of functions were conducted primarily in County Club and conference room settings.
Patterson’s promised “makeover” of the State GOP never happened.
The results speak for themselves as the Republican Party has continued its decline allowing the Progressive Legislature to run roughshod over them with Socialistic legislation. Despite a Republican occupying the White House, it has been business as usual for the conservative cause in California
Much like a football team with a 0-10 record, all that can be said is Republicans are building character in defeat. In sports the coach of a winless team would be dismissed. In this case Patterson is asking delegates for a second term in office.
Since that convention two years have passed. There is no tangible evidence that the State GOP has done much to reach out to Women, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, or other racial minorities. They have given little reason for anyone but fat cats to be part of their so called team.
The major factor in this malaise is that most voters don’t have a clue for what the Republican Party (CRP) stands for in California. Contributing to this sad state of affairs is that Patterson does not see education of the States 40,000,000 residents as part of her job.
She and past Party leaders have left this task up to existing office holders. The problem is there are not enough of these elected officials to fill up a sidewalk café for take-out during the Covid-19 pandemic.
State Party leadership have timidly conducted themselves like fearful RINO’s. Indicative of their leadership, four CRP delegates openly supported Joe Biden in violation of Party bylaws. To date none of these individuals have been censored or removed from their post.
Putting aside the differences in the fractured GOP hierarchy, most voters have sympathetic views towards Republican values including:
- High taxes and excessive government regulations are driving business from the State.
- Gavin Newsom’s Green New Deal policies are driving up the cost of energy and reducing the supply of water for the State.
- Socialist legislation has hindered home building and made it almost impossible to build much needed affordable housing without government subsidies
- Public Employee pension costs for local communities are strangling their abilities to perform basic services without asking for additional sales taxes.
- The powerful California Teachers Association (CTA) is preventing K1-12 kids from attending school in person while they use the Democratic Party to kill highly performing Charter Schools.
Where people really stand on these important issues was displayed in the November 3rd election where voters rejected with Propositions 15 & 16 increasing commercial property taxes and repealing the previously passed affirmative restrictions. They also said “no” once again to rent control and unionizing self employed workers thru Proposition 22.
This all shows that the conservative cause is not a lost cause in California. What is lacking is a mechanism to channel this energy at the ballot box to send Progressive politicians in Sacramento packing.
The current state of affairs amplifies why delegates to the State Republican Convention need to install Steve Frank as Party Chairman.
His leadership, understanding issues, and experience, are just what is needed. There will be no delays in Frank’s transition to power because he has close contacts with Republican leaders in every County in California. These qualifications are essential to the survival of the GOP as it has continued to deteriorate to near irrelevance the last couple decades.
With Frank in office the Party will utilize his organizing ability and register more Republican voters. Assisting in this task will be educating the people of what conservative values are all about and how their lives will be improved by a move in the right direction. When it comes time comes to cast ballots, Frank’s expertise in running campaigns will prove helpful.
In addition to fund raising abilities, he has a track record of actually winning campaigns. This is a much needed shot in the arm that California begs for.
Richard Eber studied journalism at the University of Oregon. He writes about politics, culture, education restaurants, and was former city and sports editor of UCSB Daily. Richard is president of Amerasa Rapid Transit, a specialized freight forwarder.
Get Citizensjournal.us Headlines free SUBSCRIPTION. Keep us publishing – DONATE
Steve Frank must be 80 years old. One of the very first right wing nutjobs.