Next month, at the California Republican Party Convention, the roughly 1600 members of the California Republican Party State Central Committee will be gathering for the biennial organizational convention for the Party — and electing a new State Chairman. The incumbent, Duf Sundheim, after four tireless years of hard work, is retiring (or as we say in the biz, is "termed out") and so that means that there is no incumbent. Well, not quite…
Two years ago, San Diego County Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring (and also then President of the Republican County Chairmens’ Association) ran for and was elected without opposition as the Vice Chairman of the Party. Since then, in addition to continuing to work hard as Chairman of his own County Party in San Diego, Ron has been working side by side with the other CRP Officers and Staff, and has been traveling all around the Golden State on behalf of our GOP candidates and endorsed causes.
All of Ron’s hard work has earned him the respect of the membership and stakeholders of the CRP — and as such (knock on wood) with just a little over a month until the election, Ron is the only candidate running for the Chairmanship, which I guess would make him the frontrunner!
As most FR readers know, besides publishing the FlashReport, I am also running for State Party office — but one much lower down the ladder than Chairman. I am running for Southern Regional Vice Chairman (Riverside, Orange, Imperial and San Diego Counties). At this convention, delegates will elect a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and eight regional Vice-Chairman. The Committee’s Treasurer and Secretary are elected at the Spring Conventions in even-numbered years.
My campaign is going very well, though it is a lot of hard work, and I am taking nothing for granted. You can read more about that here. As a candidate myself, I haven’t been endorsing candidates in other races for Party office — except one. I have endorsed Ron Nehring for Chairman. Maybe that’s why we were able to land an interview with the busy Vice Chairman, who is constantly on the road these days, campaigning the length of the Golden State.
I have known Ron many years now, and Ron is 100% committed to being a strong, hard working leader for California Republicans. So without going on any further, here is our interview…
FR: Ron, thank you for taking the time to conduct this brief interview with us for the readers of the FlashReport, many of whom are State Republican Party Central Committee Members. Of course many are already familiar with you in your capacity of Vice Chairman, but as you get ready to assume the top office in the Party, this is a great opportunity to ask you to talk about some important topics!
So to start off, what are your top priorities for the CRP for the 2008 election cycle?
RN: The first action item will be the California Republican Party Performance Review, a top to bottom review and assessment of every aspect of CRP operations and programs. This 90-day review period will consist of 45 days to develop recommendations followed by another 45 for implementation. We need to take stock of exactly where we are in each area of operations, programs and finance, see what we’re doing well, and see what needs to be addressed to get every aspect of our party up to world class standards.
Additionally, I will focus action on strategic objectives in the areas of voter registration, Republican voter turnout, strengthening our county committees and volunteer organizations, and building the permanent campaign infrastructure we need to succeed in California. Each of the three times I’ve been elected Chairman of our party in San Diego, and when I was elected President of the County Chairmen’s Association, we laid out a strategic plan that guided our programs and operations over the term. I plan to do the same for the CRP for 2007 – 2008.
FR: The San Diego County Republican Party has flourished under your leadership. How will you take that success to the statewide GOP?
RN: The first step is understanding just why the party in San Diego has become so strong.
When I became Chairman we immediately set a goal to build a world class Republican Party in San Diego County and adopted a strategic plan outlining five key areas for development: voter registration, Republican voter turnout, nominating and endorsing candidates, and developing the human and the financial resources necessary to make those programs happen.
With the adoption and first stages of implementation of our strategic plan, the donors and volunteers really came through. Within 18 months we went from no precinct organization to 1,463 volunteer precinct representatives throughout the county. The donors responded similarly: in 2001 we raised just $66,000. Last year we raised over $2 million.
The result of our persistent focus on organization and communication produced tangible results at the polls. Since 2001 we’ve taken an Assembly seat from the Democrats, added a Republican to the San Diego City Council, won two mayoral elections in San Diego when everyone expected the Democrats to take over, took back the mayor’s office in Chula Vista, and more. In all, 63% of the elected offices in San Diego County are now held by Republicans.
This is the same approach we’ll take at the CRP: a relentless focus on organization and communication, recognizing that in a state with 1.3 million more of “them” than “us,” victory demands we build a better campaign organization than the other team.
FR: Tell us how the GOP faired in San Diego County last election, and also share your thoughts about the national and statewide results…
RN: In 2006 we had a great year in San Diego County, despite the national trend to the contrary. In fact, the Voice of San Diego last week published a revealing article discussing in detail how the national trend favoring Democrats in 2006 stopped in San Diego, highlighting five key races in Democrat districts which Democrats all lost. The county party’s programs effectively combined with the CRP Victory program and delivered victory for many of our Republican candidates in difficult districts.
The Schwarzenegger and Poizner campaigns showed us that Republicans can win our state, even in difficult years. We have to build a powerful party structure that will get the McClintocks, Stricklands, and McPhersons across the finish line too.
Across the country many of our candidates clearly suffered from the nationalization effect that Democrats promoted. As a result, local and state issues were displaced by national issues such as the war in Iraq, serving to move the discussion in the liberals’ favor while driving up Democrat turnout and depressing ours. Iraq, the Foley scandal, and other issues gave Democrats an enormous edge.
I was in Washington in 1994 when a similar nationalization effect benefited us. That year we won a tremendous number of seats, many of which we shouldn’t have won but for the national wave. We promptly lost those seats in 1996. The same can be true of Democrats in 2008. They hold numerous seats they have no business holding, including in California. Our goal will be to build the organization needed to take back those districts in 2008.
FR: Tell us a little bit about your background. Where you were born? Went to school? Professional career?
RN: My parents emigrated from Germany after my father visited America as a sailor on a merchant ship. When he married my mother, he decided he didn’t like the socialist trends he saw in Europe, and wanted to raise his family in freedom. They settled in New York.
I first realized I was a Republican as I watched the 1980 debate between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, and I was rooting for Reagan. Later I registered as a Republican on my 18th birthday, and have been ever since. Later that year I joined the College Republicans during my first month in college and was elected President of the club a few months later – a position I held during my four years as an undergraduate.
While active in CR’s I learned of the Leadership Institute, which is still led by Morton Blackwell, the Republican National Committeeman from Virginia. I attended my first campaign school in 1989. While the classes I took as I studied Political Science taught the theoretical, Leadership Institute training taught me the skills necessary for conservatives to win in politics.
FR: In the small about of time that you are not doing political things, what else do you like to do?
RN: I’ve been waging a war of attrition against the gophers on my property. They’re winning.
FR: You are running for the highest Republican Party office in California. Parties are founded around ideas and ideals. Why are you a Republican? Do you take any issues with the positions articulated in our CRP Platform?
RN: Government should exist to protect the liberties of the people. The Republican Party understands this point and is the most powerful force for protecting and advancing liberty and opportunity within our democracy. We are that force because of the soundness of our principles as embodied in our platform, which I support.
Party leaders must not only share our principles, but also serve as forceful advocates for these principles as well as for our candidates. As Chairman of the Republican Party in the sixth largest county in America I have spoken out boldly on behalf of our party and our candidates, both in print and broadcast media. One of my favorite such opportunities came when I debated a local union hack on the issue of Proposition 89 last year. You can watch it here.
We are the party of the free, the party of the taxpayer, the party of the small business owner, the party of the family, the party of strong defense, the party of Reagan. That’s why I am a Republican.
FR: What is the biggest challenge facing the California Republican Party right now? And how will you approach that challenge?
RN: Our challenge is to build a permanent campaign organization that is as powerful as our principles. In a state with 1.3 million more of “them” than “us,” we have to beat our adversaries with superior organization, including a robust precinct organization in each of our 58 counties, ongoing registration efforts, electing Republicans to local government throughout California, and leveraging our volunteer and donor strength with the best technology.
FR: It is often said that the CRP is a stool with three legs, all of them necessary to thrive – our elected officials/candidates, our grassroots volunteers, and our donors. Do you have a plan to engage all of these constituency groups when you are Chairman?
RN: Our party actually has six key stakeholder groups: volunteers, donors, elected officials, candidates, committee members, and rank and file members. To be successful, our state party and county committees need to continually communicate with and engage the members of each of these groups, recognizing what each group needs from, and can contribute to, the party. As Chairman in San Diego County our party makes it a priority to communicate and be responsive to all of our stakeholders – it’s a key management practice to building and maintaining confidence in the party.
FR: Ron, thanks for taking the time to chat, and we’ll look forward to your election at the convention next month. Your enthusiasm and drive are commendable!
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You can find out more information about Ron and contact him at his website here.