Rejection of and Resignation from the LAGOP Central Committee

Dear "Chairman" Janice and AD 66 GOP Central Committee members:

When I first put my name on the ballot to run for Central Committee, I was hoping to work with a new team of leaders and activists who wanted to make a difference, who wanted to turn the tide in Los Angeles County and the state, to improve the status of the Republican Party. 

I was initially disappointed to see that almost the entire slate of people who had served last time -- or rather, who had failed to serve -- was re-elected, aside from myself. I was hoping that things could have changed following my installation as a member.

Sadly, in the last three weeks, I have seen that the AD 66 GOP Central Committee and the LA County GOP leadership still as a whole represent a continuation of the same old failures, followed by corrupt actions and practices. It is astounding to me that Richard Sherman can pat himself on the back with a couple of his previous leaders to take credit for Mike Garcia's and Young Kim's victories, when it has become increasingly clear that these candidates won back losses which happened under Sherman's "leadership" two years prior, and only because of grassroots activism and candidate determination did those seats come back into the GOP fold.

The State of the LAGOP Central Committee Today

Mark Tsuneishi was rightly elected interim Chairman of the AD 66 GOP Central Committee in January 2019, I believe, because the organization meeting the previous month had violated the county by-laws and committee member Rick Marshall challenged those results, and correctly so. Then the county leaders violated more by-laws and pushed aside those lawfully obtained results, and reinstalled Janice without any consent of the governed in that particular central committee.

The AD 66 GOP Central Committee violated by-laws in the past, when they changed the location of the meeting at the last minute on ex-officio members Omar Navarro and Rick Marshall in last 2016. They violated by-laws again when they kept Rick Marshall out of the county central committee meeting a few years later, when he had the votes to oust the corrupt chairman. That is beyond inexcusable.

And who can forget the fact that in 2016 the current, unlawfully installed chair Janice Webb called my work, tried to pressure my boss to pressure me to cancel a meeting that hosted Latinos for Trump. Such practices are unethical and illegal. And the fact that the new crop of Central Committee members wanted to reward the same bad actor--bad actors--is just astounding.

The Central Committee also violated by-laws when they revoked the charter of the Beach Cities Republicans without cause, not having the courage to admit to their members or to the public that it was simply because they did not like my activism or the decision of the members to re-elect me President of that club in 2016. Leadership had pledged to other Republicans in the county that they would have restored the charter once I moved on from the club, but even then they did not keep their word.

And now, Janice has the perverse audacity to get upset with me because I am informing other Republicans in the district--her constituents--that her failed leadership continues on the AD66 Central Committee and throughout the county.

I am beyond disgusted with all of this. It is crystal clear to me what other Republicans in the district have already told me: "The AD 66 Central Committee is a waste of time."

It's with great reluctance and great anguish that I make this decision, but I hereby resign from the LA COUNTY GOP Central Committee. I am just beyond disgusted with the hypocrisy, with the lack of real effort, and with the fact that bad leadership by Janice Webb has actually been REWARDED with another term. I cannot serve with such hypocrisy, dysfunction, and corruption.

Sincerely,

Arthur Christopher Schaper

BREAKING: RPLAC Eminence Grise "Grabby Andy" Gharakani (GimmeKandy) Steps Down

I received two text messages earlier today.

They both indicated to me that the former power behind the throne, or the eminence grise of the Republican Party of Los Angeles, Andy Gharakani, announced at the June 2019 LA County GOP Central Committee meeting that he was stepping down.

He is going away.

Let's be frank: he is being asked to leave.

For the last two months, I have been receiving emails from an account labeled "Take Back RPLAC", and we have received more news about Grabby Andy using the LA County Central Committee to make money, while the county party makes no progress, and the candidates make no victories.

Andy is OUT!

I also suspect that Andy decided to get while the getting was good, because there is no more money to pocket while pretending to consult for candidates and causes which further the state of California.

Gharakani, the "New Majority", and the other leadership PACs have not been about getting good conservative people elected. They have been all about getting their bank accounts fattened.

Now, Gharakani is on the way out.

But what about Richard Sherman? What's going to happen to him?

Word has it that Richard Sherman, the current RPLAC Chairman, is going to step down, too, since he has no idea how to lead, and has only been doing whatever Andy tells him to.

Is there new hope for a real, robust political opposition in Los Angeles County? The Democratic Party throughout the state of California is collapsing in on itself. The California Democratic Party had to throw out their previously-elected chairman, openly gay nurse Eric Bauman, for sexual harassment, and even then he had only gotten elected by a 72 vote margin.

The Democratic hegemony in California is beyond corrupt. There is room, there is opportunity for real leadership to pay attention to the needs of everyday Californians who want safe communities, freedom, and a desire to live their lives in peace.

With the RPLAC eminence grise gone, there's an opportunity for different leadership to Make LA County Great Again.

Personal Note

Normally, I would not add these remarks, but I think it's worth while to do so. One of the individuals whom I spoke with about the above news had known about all the bad things that RPLAC had attempted against me and others.

The more that I have learned more about Christ's love for me. The more that I realize how rich and ravishing His grace is, the less concerned I had become about outcomes. I no longer put undue pressure on God to vanquish my enemies, so to speak, but to take solace, love, and strength in His caring for me. He is in the restoration business, and therefore I no longer have to waste my time trying to make other people pay back whatever they may have told me.

More importantly, however, I needed to understand fully that God's love for me is real, eternal, and has been showering on me since the beginning, even before I believed on His Son! It would he contemptible for me to base God's love on me based on whether things worked out, in that he removed bad people from power on my timetable.

But God is not moved by even that. God wants me to love Him on the must trustworthy, perfected foundation: His Son's death, resurrection, and never-ending ministry at the right hand of God the Father. That is the basis for our love, that is the basis for our faith in Him. His love alone, His grace alone supplies us perfectly--and I learned to recognize how unmovable His love is for me.

When I rested in that, no matter what bad things may have happened, then all the prayers that I have prayed began getting answered in much shorter time than previously realized. It's quite something!

So, when I received the two text messages from friends of mine regarding what happened to "Grabby Andy" Gimmekandy, and what is likely in store for Richard Sherman, I had a simple peace about it. My joy is no longer based so narrowly on seeing the downfall of my enemies, since God has already blessed me with so much more--and is blessing me all the more!

Will there be a new future for the Republican Party of Los Angeles County? Who knows?

Outrage with RPLAC and "Infighting": Don't Blame the Messenger, Don't Ignore the Message

When I slammed the Republican (RINO) Party of Los Angeles County, and then when I exposed David Hadley as an arrogant Never-Trumper not willing to take charge and do something to help the county party, my friend Claude Todoroff of the Torrance-Lomita Republican Assembly shared my letters with other members of his club.

Some of the people who read my letter were thrilled.

Some people, like Bob Burchett, blew a gasket.

 Burchett just issued this crazy rant rebuttal:

Name calling, yelling in the closet, sending endless badly-written, insulting emails to each other and the like (even if 100% accurate) only insure this place we know & love remains a dark blue state forever. As is already well known, us lonely remaining few Republicans lag behind “Decline To State” people fed up with us AND the Blue Boneheads. You guys are simply playing right into their game.

What came would that be? Bob Burchett wouldn't tell me.

Want to know how insignificant the LAGOP is now? Just look at the EMAIL names in the “TO” header above.  There are so few of you guys that you can actually get your first name in each of the addresses!  Richard, Howard, Cary, Jacqueline, Alex. Yeah YOU.  Want to know where the problem is? Here is a MIRROR.

What has happened to the Republican Party of
Los Angeles County?

Time to either put up or shut the HELL up as political infighting is a complete waste of electrons to carry ones and zeroes (mostly zeroes from what I can read) so what to do?

Infighting is sometimes necessary. The 2016 Election was nothing but infighting, and yet President Trump stomped on 16 other candidates, and then he took on Crooked Hillary, Goofy Gary, and Evasive Evan, and Joking Jill to become the next President of the United States.

I get so tired of people saying "stop with the infighting." When there is nothing but bad leadership, it is essential to confront the terrible leadership and demand that they shape up or ship out!

Arthur: if you have so much time on your hands to spend yelling at others to do something about it rather than just talk (loudly) then why not run for office vs. run away from it?

This Bob guy has not been paying attention. Pretty sad. No wonder some conservatives aren't accomplishing anything.

David Hadley, whom I find to be way too under-powered to be in charge of much, who may have only 10% of Arthur’s energy,  but DOES have the best statement I have seen from any of you people in weeks did say it rather pointedly;

DO SOMETHING INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT IT.

Once again, where has Bob been?

The act of stating repeatedly ‘you do your job’ no, YOU do your job, blah, blah is enough to cause most of us to just hit the unsubscribe key. Blindly and mindlessly forwarding this trash ranks lower on my scale of timewasters than driving up to Sacramento and taking videos of scream-sessions. Nobody is DOING anything, they are just SCREAMING about it.

WRONG AGAIN. Because I blasted the RPLAC leadership, they had to run to the radio and cover for their fecklessness, then get on board and start handing out Yes on Prop 6 signs.

Trump; against ALL odds and most of YOUR BUMBLING NOT voting for him still landed the closest thing to a real Republican in the White House in 30-odd years with CAGOP missing-in-action.

It's important for me to recognize when Bob isn't talking to me. I voted for our President in the general election, and it was one of the best votes I had ever cast!

TODAY John Cox is following the exact same pathway and did you SEE what he is doing by taking the fight to the DMV handing out bottles of water to folks sweating 2+ hour waits in that line?

What a vote getter! Who thought of THAT campaign technique??

It's a good idea. I am glad that John Cox is doing something. He just needs to do a whole lot more of it, and he needs to fight harder against the Fake News peddled by the lame-stream media.

That person should be the leader of the CAGOP just for coming up with the best idea I have ever seen.

Call Kellyanne Conway or Sean Spicer to get some REAL advice on how to ELECT a Reagan replica….they DID IT and you don’t even talk about it without tripping over your keyboards.

I suspect that many leaders in RPLAC are not interested in advice, they are not interested even in winning.

Anyone AWAKE out there? This guy COX may (or may NOT) be your first choice for Governor but it had better DAMNED WELL be your only choice when you pull that curtain back & yank that lever. If he loses it will be YOUR FAULT for doing nothing while saying lots.

EYEOPENER: Anyone else notice that for the first time in 16+ years there is an R next to the name opposing nearly every D in the upcoming mid-term races? This is historic you MORONS and none of you reading this is actually DOING anything while all of you are TYPING behind your firewalls instead of making it actually happen for us.  

I noticed.

Anyone else recall this is how we got crazy Arnold elected guv pushing out Gray Davis based solely on his TAX VOTE?  Arnold sat in there for a few years unable to get anything meaningful done in a sea of blue resistance….it is true but that wasn’t his fault; it was OURS for not voting-in a sea of RED to get him some support. Yes I am talking to YOU out there.

So Arthur IMHO it is finally your calling and time to put up or shut up. Get off the bus headed for Canada, Sacramento or the next Antifa yell-session, get your FACE out of the BOOK and show them you actually DO mean business by running for some faction of the GOP leadership and rallying the troops to get MONEY and SUPPORT and actual VOTES for this election in the next few weeks or simply get a real job and unplug that useless computer that can’t spell each time you get angry in the safety of your bedroom.  Hadley may not be your best friend but call his bluff….I DARE you.

Someone else has called his bluff. His name is Steve Frank. I have been writing about him for the last two weeks, every since he announced that he was running for CAGOP Chairman.

Hadley was dead WRONG to not support Trump or man-up when the going got rough , couldn’t even beat useless AL but he is at least WORKING on the GOP leadership with maybe some new blood and plans….you DO have some real plan this time right Dave?  For God’s sake I sure as hell hope so….you ran a deadpan campaign and didn’t support much of anything the rest of us did but I do take my hat off to you for wanting to be the LEADER of this ragtag bunch….is it too late to get something done for this one election that matters or are you going to wind down a lackluster show and BLOG with a bottle of wine next to the PC as we burn in blue hell with Newsom at the helm of the Titanic. 

Bob, I don't drink wine. Perhaps you do ... and too much. 

Actions always speak louder than words; so children stop the infighting and ELECT SOME REPUBLICANS YOU HATE BUT AT LEAST AREN’T DEMOCRATS!

One has to wonder were Bob Burchett has been all these years.

Now hit that key, unsubscribe me from all of this blathering crap and don’t even ASK me for a dollar to support you until you stop the childish public display of stupidity.

I didn't send this to you, Bob. 

Robert L. “Bob” Burchett

Certified Communications Engineer

Enterprise Electronics

22826 Mariposa Ave.

Torrance CA 90502

Direct line: 310.534.4456

FAX: 310.534.1233

Website: www.EEonTheWeb.com

Claude Todoroff, President of the Torrance-Lomita Republican Assembly, wrote in my defense (he was the one who had forwarded the letter I had written to the RPLAC "leadership" and David Hadley:

Bob,

Arthur was the president of the Beach Cities Republicans for two years. He is out in the trenches fighting the battles (oppose sanctuary state, oppose illegals being city commissioners etc.). Someone has to do the dirty work because the leadership is AWOL. The leadership isn't even leading from behind. I suspect like 50 years ago they have fled to Canada or Sweden but I'm sure they will be first in line when the commendations for doing a great job are handed out. In Jan. 2019 you have the opportunity to run for TLRA president or some other board position. I'm termed out and can't run again until at least 2020. I doubt if anyone else will run so you'd be a lock. We need new blood and work on the base that Todd Blair (2012-2013), Sarah Wiltfong (2014), Rick Marshall (2015-2016) and I have built. New ideas will improve the club and you have the experience that we are looking for.

Claude

RPLAC Hires Clueless, Unpaid Intern for Executive Director--What Could Go Wrong?

The Republican Party of Los Angeles County has turned into an embarrassing non-entity.

They have run out of money. They have no integrity. 

In fact, they had a weak turnout at the CAGOP Convention in Anaheim last week. I saw Howard Fakes and Andy Gimme-candy, but that was all. Where was chairman Richard Sherman? What about Gary Scam-inoff and his live-in girlfriend Maureen "The Drunk" Johnson?

They were nowhere to be found. Unbelievable. What kind of Executive board spends more time going after conservatives, when they should be building up their team grassroots, registering voters, raising money, getting Republicans elected, and making Los Angeles County great again?!

Where are they? One report informed me specifically that Scam-inoff, a coward of many stripes, chose not to attend since he would make one group angry if he voted for or against the resolution to repeal the Top Two primary.

So, what has the defunct RPLAC been up to since Jason "Spellcheck" Maruca took off since they stopped paying him?

They hired a new executive director!

Who is this person, and what does she bring to the dying enterprise?

Here's the latest eblast:

It is with great pleasure that I announce, effective Monday, October 9th, Zaira Cedano will be joining the LAGOP team as our new Executive Director. Many of you know Zaira, who has been active politically in Los Angeles County for a number of years, including being one of the earliest and longest serving interns at the LAGOP.

By the way, I contacted the headquarters, and nobody answered the phone. She's not doing a very good job!

Zaira has a Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science and a Masters Degree in Health Policy and Management from Mount Saint Mary's University. Most recently Zaira worked for the Congressional Leadership Fund as the Los Angeles County Field Director for California's 25th Congressional District (Rep. Steve Knight). Zaira has worked on a number of political campaigns including Meg Whitman, Neel Kashkari and David Hadley. Zaira is currently the Chair of the 59th AD Committee, where she actively volunteered in recruiting and assisting local candidates and fundraising, and over the years, Zaira has helped our county party in voter registration, staffing New Citizen Ceremonies and community engagement. In addition, Zaira is fluent in Spanish, which will certainly help as LAGOP reaches out even more to diverse areas in the county.

A few reminders:

Meg Whitman lost her race for governor.

Neel Kashkari lost his race for governor.

David Hadley won his election to the 66th Assembly District without the County Party.

He lost his re-election bid when the county party got involved.

The 59th Central Committee does not exist. Go to the county part website, and you will find nothing there except a list of cities/locations in the area. The district is current represented by hard-core progressive leftist Democrat Reggie Jones-Sawyer, the same open-borders sellout who also attacked the rights of California citizens to profess and practice their faith in public and private. His own chief of staff cursed out a pastor, and the cursed-laden, viral message went viral.

She sounds like an empty suit, so why did the county go out of their way to "hire" her?

She speaks Spanish! Yes, that will make everything work out, won't it? They are still playing politics out of the 1990s Democratic playbook, obsessed with race and identity, but not interested in ideas, policies, principles, or anything related to the ongoing concerns of day-to-day life.

Due to her experience with LAGOP, she is already quite familiar with how we operate. I know that she will be a great asset to our local party leadership team.

How they operate? Distracted and irrelevant!

I encourage all central committee members to connect with Zaira over the coming weeks, to make this as smooth a transition as possible. I would also request all Assembly District Chairs schedule a time with Zaira, to provide her with the most recent updates in your respective districts.

What chairs? What leaders? There's nobody doing anything anywhere!

I believe you all will be as impressed with Zaira as Andy and I are. I know we all will work closely with our new Executive Director, in the same positive manner we did with Jason Maruca.

Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Zaira. She can be reached at Zaira@lagop.org or (818) 558-7600.

Respectfully,

Richard Sherman

Chairman

Republican Party Los Angeles County

Final Reflection

There is something fitting and gratifying about the slow decay of the current RPLAC leadership.

They have crappy leaders, they have no ideas, and they have no money.

It's all their fault, and they get to clean up the mess, or move out of the way to allow for better leadership. Shame on all of them.

Who is RPLAC Chairman Richard Sherman? Another "Nice Guy" RINO

Richard Sherman was approved to be the next RPLAC Chairman.

Who is this guy?

I had never heard of him, but there is so much going in California politics that I am catching up on.

Sherman, according to a few sources, is a liberal, a professional nice guy, and a psychiatrist.

Here is his statement after becoming the RPLAC Chairman:

The New Republican Party of Los Angeles County welcomes you!

The Republican Party of Los Angeles County (RPLAC) is a volunteer organization, made up of engaged community members who care about bringing common-sense policies back to all levels of government, from Washington D.C. and Sacramento, to your local City Hall.

Not entirely volunteer. The party spent $60,000 for their useless executive director, money that could have been helping to elected candidates, register voters, etc.

Each day our members fight for issues voters care about most – creating good paying jobs that improve our economy, providing our children with the best education, making our neighborhoods safe, increasing opportunities for all, and strengthening our quality of living.

Uh, no they haven't.

We are fortunate to live in the most diverse region in the entire world. Our communities are rich with people from all over, with different cultures, traditions and heritages. That’s what makes Los Angeles County unique. We want the new Republican Party, our members and voters, to reflect this wonderful diversity.

WHAT? What does diversity have to do with anything? This is the same tired nonsense out of the overplayed, left-wing identity politics playbooks. Can't we do better than living in the 90s?

Members of RPLAC are elected every four years by the voters, and are tasked with representing all Republicans across the county and the values they care about.

"Elected"? That's rich. The powers that be behind the throne outlined the slate that they wanted in charge, and there was no one available with the votes to challenge this establishment status quo.

What a laugh!

We encourage all Republicans to get involved and participate in our activities, which include social and educational programs, recruiting candidates to run for public office, volunteering on various campaigns and becoming engaged in the issues that impact our local communities.

No they don't! They bankrupt Executive Committee revoked the charter for the Beach Cities Republicans and the Mountain View Republicans. They have deliberately quashed conservatives and distanced themselves from President Trump and his winning MAGA Agenda.

What can you say about party leaders when they join forces with Cheating Chad Mayes?!

The Permanent Minority Leader's Club

The mission of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County is simple:

-Create Better Jobs & Strengthen Our Economy

-Make Our Neighborhoods Safe

-Provide All Children A Quality Education

-Increase Opportunities For Everyone

How do they intend to do all of this when they play Democrat-lite? Anyone want to tell me?

They don't. Chuckles Munger Jr. is taking his money and going elsewhere. He sees that all the big spending has not paid off. He does not have all the power that he claimed to have. The power of the organized grassroots proved too much for the donor class in the state of California.

If you are interested in shaping the future of our region and making a difference, we want you to become a part of the new Republican Party of Los Angeles County.

That word "new" appears twice, as though there is anything different about the same, old-hat leaders who do nothing, accomplish nothing, and have nothing to show for their systemic failure at leading.

Professional Nice Guy

Sincerely,

Richard Sherman

Chairman

Los Angeles County Republican Party

There was nothing sincere about Richard Sherman and Co. decision to attack conservatives and silence activists.

Nothing at all.

Sherman is a liberal.

Sherman is accommodating.

Sherman is going to have to pick up all the pieces as all the money leaves the building. The Executive Director has called it quits, as well, has no interest in running things, since they are not going to be paying him.

Perhaps Spell Check Maruca can look into remedial English to learn how to read and write--and make some sense when he sends out emails.

Can't we do better than this?!

BURN IT DOWN: RPLAC Goes Bust,"Spell Check" Maruca Leaves

Controlled failure has become the norm for the California Republican Party.

There is no clearer example of this than the Republican Party of Los Angeles County.

Instead of supporting volunteer clubs, the Executive Board spent more time undermining them. They attacked the Mountain View Republican Club because they wouldn't play ball with RINO Kash-N-Kari, who was a total liberal on every issue that mattered. Yes, he did a great job vocalizing the widespreading corruption with teachers unions, but other than that he spent more time kicking Republicans in the face and doing everything to pretty much hand the re-election bid back to Jerry Brown.

Then there was the whole Beach Cities Republicans debacle. The corrupt Central Committee leadership, including Janice "Caught in a" Webb along with Gary SCAM-inoff and his live-in for-hire girlfriend Maureen Johnson. (Did you leave your car at that Marina Del Rey bar again, Maureen baby?!).

Of course, there's the new County Chairman, Richard "Do Nothing" Sherman along with Andy Gimme-Candy, the New Permanent Minority leader who doesn't care about the needs of voters or business owners, many of whom are simply fleeing California.

Now comes the next blow to this corrupt enterprise.

The overpaid personal secretary for the empty RPLAC enterprise, Jason "Spell Check" Maruca is leaving the herd.

Here's the latest eblast from RPLAC:

It is with sadness that I write to inform our membership, that our Executive Director for the past four and a half years, Jason Maruca, will be leaving RPLAC to pursue other opportunities in the world of politics.  Jason has been an invaluable member of our team, and played a significant role in turning RPLAC into a credible political organization. With so many diverse regions, issues, campaigns and personalities, organizing such a large political operation was no easy task, and Jason played a major role in creating a fully functioning county party, focused on winning elections.  We will have an announcement shortly regarding the RPLAC team moving forward. Our goal is to make this transition as smooth as possible. We all owe Jason a debt of gratitude for his tireless efforts on behalf of RPLAC. We wish him great success in all his future endeavors! Thank you all. Richard Hi My name is "Munger Puppet" Except Munger just took his hand out of my a----" Richard Sherman Chairman Republican Party of Los Angeles County

Well isn't that something?!

"Hookt on Fonix werkt for mee!"

Jason Maruca is moving on.

Why, though?

Because Chuckles Munger Jr. has cut off all the money.

He isn't paying for the overhead anymore for the overpaid, costly hotel rooms where the useless Central Committee used to hold their monthly Executive Committee meetings.

How about that?!

Big Money has pretty much worked over everyone in Los Angeles County. Did the liberal Establishment fools really think that bending over for liberal loonies and the Big Money RINOs like Charles Munger Jr.s was going to work out for them in the end? Wow, they sure got played didn't they!

Ha Ha!

Munger cut off the money, and now they have nothing left! That's what you get, folks, when you dishonor your base and lie to the public about hard-working conservatives who want to Make California Great Again and stop the political corruption eating away at this entire state.

Then again, though, what's the point of trying to sell people on our brand when our own party is just as corrupt?!

Has RPLAC Already Chosen a New Executive Board? (Addenda)

The following email was released to the Republican Party Central Committees this week.

It's very disturbing to see a succession rather than an election.

This does not make any sense.

Los Angeles County Republicans got wiped out in Election 2016.

David Hadley lost re-election.

This is the worst outcome. He was--IS--a great legislator.

He should have won.

The candidates with an R after their name who did win--won because of their connections to more conservative sections of the state--Orange County, San Bernardino County, etc.

Do we really need the same failed phalanx of leadership, or should we regard the successors as a break away from the means and mission of the past?

I need more information, but I can say that at least two of the considered slate give me great pause.

Here is the email from outgoing RPLAC Chairman Mark Vafiades, with my comments to follow:

Dear ----,

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your Chairman for the past four years! We have accomplished so much together, turning RPLAC into a strong political operation and one of the most active and professionally run county parties in California.

2014 was a great year, and there are an unprecedented number of Republicans are elected to local office.

The sad thing, however, is that I have heard from many of these elected officials that the County and State Parties are not helping them!

This is wrong.

When I ran for Beach Cities Republicans President, one of the most critical elements for  me was getting support  to local candidates, so that they would not be going along into battle.

No elected official in the county should ever feel alone or without support.

We had an unprecedented number of targeted races in Los Angeles County during my two terms, and we helped elect Republicans to legislative and local office, raised nearly $500,000 for our Party and millions for our candidates.

OK. Indeed, we had targeted races all over the county--we did not win one seat. In fact, we lost a seat here in the South Bay!

In order for us to continue making RPLAC stronger, we need the right team in place. This past June, we were lucky to elect a new membership, made up of active and engaged Republicans from across Los Angeles County. I am very excited about the future of RPLAC.

Now I have to start raising some objections. How many Republicans got wiped out locally this time around? We still do not have the final data on SD-29, in which Ling Ling Chang is barely holding on by 187 votes!

While I could not be more proud of everything we accomplished, it is with great sadness, that I announce I am not seeking another term as Chairman, but will remain very involved in our Party.

I am supporting Richard Sherman as Chairman. Richard has been a dear friend, and a loyal and hardworking member of our Party for many years. He is the best person to lead RPLAC, and I will work closely with him as his 1st Vice-Chairman.

Notice that he is supporting Richard Sherman, but he is not fully or formally installed ... yet.

This thing called "an election" has to take place.

Free elections are a necessity, not just in cities and states, but within political parties.

Richard is a member of the Executive Committee of RPLAC and has served in leadership positions of his local AD Central Committee for close to ten years. In addition, he is a delegate to the California Republican Party and recently served on the Platform Committee. Richard has been an active political grassroots volunteer for many years and has worked on a number of races. He has served as President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition and is currently on the National Board, is a licensed psychologist, having served for five years as one of Governor Schwarzenegger’s appointees on the California Board of Psychology. Richard will bring his political experience, organizational skills and steady hand to RPLAC leadership.

My bigger question -- what vision does he have for expanding conservatism in Los Angeles County?

How are we going to compete in one of the bluest counties of the country, where Republicans barely made a blip in the radar, and one of the most successful assemblymen--David Hadley--was wiped out with a word?

His loss was an epic disaster, and we need to take a long, hard look at this problem!

We will also keep our great Team in place, including our Executive Director, Jason Maruca, and our Finance & Political Director, Andy Gharakhani.

Right now, I am not a big fan of Jason Maruca or Andy Gharakhani. I am not sure who these people are. Does Gharakani even sit on a Central Committee?

I was very displeased with the lack of professionalism toward the Beach Cities Republicans, too. Shouldn't directors of any stripe know how to lead and support the troops under their charge?

In addition to supporting Richard Sherman, I am also proud to announce my endorsement for the RPLAC Leadership Team. I am convinced this group has everything it takes to help our candidates win on Election Day and keep the momentum we have going at RPLAC.

Chairman Vafiades has every right to endorse whomever he wants.

I believe that the next phase of leadership should respect our need to fight back, hold onto our vales and expand our numbers!

RPLAC LEADERSHIP TEAM

Chairman: Richard Sherman

1st Vice-Chairman: Mark Vafiades

2nd Vice-Chairman: Howard Hakes

Treasurer: Gary Aminoff

Assistant Treasurer: Jacqueline Loza

Secretary: Janice Webb 

Assistant Secretary: Andre Hollings

The RPLAC Elections take place on Saturday, December 10th at our Organizational Meeting in Pasadena. I ask each of you to make sure to attend and vote for the Republican Leadership Team.

 I will be attending very soon.

I am most displeased with Janice Webb as a choice on the Executive Board.

Make me RPLAC Secretary
Or I will call your boss!

I am also unsure what to think of Gary Aminoff at this time. His initial decision to seek suspension then possible revocation of Beach Cities Republicans' charter was very disturbing, then disappointing.

[Aminoff wrote to me the following in response to this statement above:

"I never made a decision to seek suspension or revocation of Beach Cities Republican's charter. I don't even have the authority to make that decision. I chaired a meeting of the Bylaws Committee to determine if there was a violation of the Bylaws. That was my sole role."

There's just one problem-- Jason Maruca had informed me in the email that the By-Laws Committee recommended suspension. What is going on?]

True leadership does not just arbitrarily push people out without respecting by-laws and the integrity of the process, the principles, and the people who work for conservative values and actions in Los Angeles County and throughout the state of California!

Webb's behavior towards me and others seriously questions her ability to govern effectively.

Click this link for more information.

We need leadership in the county that is willing to confront bad policy and bad leaders on our city councils and school boards.

I believe that we should embrace our conservative values, educate people on their merits--both young and old need to be educated--and then reach out into communities where we have never gone before.

I am very suspect of at-large blank slates, and I want to learn more.