Steve Frank for CAGOP Chairman: Back to Basics Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
’BACK TO BASICS’ FOR THE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY
by Stephen Frank

INTRODUCTION: For several years the Republican Party in California has been in decline, as evidenced by the decline in voter registration. Voter registration statistics show the Decline to State registrations have exceeded Republican registration for the first time. Back to Basics is a framework designed to start the discussion on identifying what needs to occur with ‘The Team’ (Legislature, donors and grassroots) to reestablish the Republican Party’s relevance again in California. To win elections, The Team must all be at the table together developing policy and get out the vote strategies.

TRENDS: In the primary on June 5, 2018 there were 21 Assembly seats, 9 Congressional and 6 State Senate seats with no Republican representation on the ballot. This is unacceptable and must be reversed. The good news is that the grassroots and donors are still looking to the Party for leadership. Yet they want to be heard, as part of The Team in identifying candidates for every seat to end the vote depression.

COALITIONS: Our party needs to expand its base and its activists and reestablish its coalitions who have lost confidence in us over the past decade. We must engage coalitions and community groups and challenge them to again become involved. We need to undertake a coordinated and structured approach with them to grow the group, create activist opportunities and a fund-raising capacity, within the community.

FINANCING: CRP financing has for years relied on a single source and major donors. We need to work in conjunction with the legislative caucuses to raise money which they need to control in the support of candidates. This opens the opportunity for joint fund raisers for County Committees, in conjunction with the Caucuses and CRP. This helps build the local finances of Committees and to bring big name office holders or personalities to our efforts.

VOLUNTEER GOUPS—INSIDE AND OUTISDE THE PARTY: Volunteer groups are the foundation of the Republican Party and we need to promote them, help them grow and work with their leadership. The CRP Volunteers Club committee needs to be the focal point of growth and leadership training, not just a by-law enforcement committee. This needs to be an activist activity, showing the base of the Party are the people at the grassroots.

VOTER REGISTRATION: The CRP needs to stabilize its voter registration framework to halt the registration fall. We need a framework of principles along with appropriately allocated resources to fulfill this very important strategic requirement. Amongst other principles discussed in the Back to Basics paper we must:

·         Re-Introduce the bounty system, the removal of which is the reason we have so many seats in trouble.

·         Ensure ‘The Team’ works together to push voters into the GOP column in 2020 by increasing voter registration, developing dynamic volunteer training, increasing the number of hands-on deck raising funds, and introduce important ballot measures.

COMMUNICATIONS: We need to be aggressive in our messaging using talk radio, newspaper, TV interview, social media along with forum to promote our values, principles and legislation at the state and federal level. We must also be aggressive in our responses to issues of the day through active use of press releases and op-eds.

CLOSING

Back to Basics is primarily a starting point for discussion on a framework to reinvigorate the Republican Party in California in preparation for elections in 2020. Its principle focus is on The Team (legislature, donors and grassroots) that must come to the table as equal investors in the CRP going forward, to ensure we identify quality candidates and provide the them the resources (people and money) to make them successful.