What’s politics without a little drama?
Two events were held over the past two days to give voting members of the Clark County Republican Party one last opportunity to hear from the candidates running for chair before they vote on Tuesday.
Setting the Stage
The meeting began with the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance, and a review of the rules of decorum for the meeting – basically, act like an adult and everyone can stay.
It might be surprising, but those involved in politics actually aren’t any more civilized than the rest of us (perhaps even less so).
Dani Kear, co-producer of the event, gave us a little background on organizing the evening.
The two leading candidates, Jill Douglass and current chairman Jesse Law, were to be the main focus.
Kear was told Law would not shy away from a debate so long as the venue, moderators, and date were unbiased and agreeable.
After getting in contact with Douglass and receiving her suggested dates, Kear continued to try and contact Law, stating she waited hours or days for a response at times.
Law’s No-Show: Avoiding Bias or Avoiding Questions?
The back and forth ultimately resulted in the original venue and moderators no longer being available or willing to participate.
Heidi Harris was asked and graciously stepped in to moderate, but after some more words were exchanged Law ultimately declined to participate.
There’s more backstory, I don’t really know all of it, but the sentiment seemed to be that Law was simply not interested in attending because he felt there was bias against him. Fair enough, I suppose.
Instead, Law held a moderated town hall meeting yesterday evening.
While I wasn’t able to attend his event, it was clear from the debate on Wednesday that no matter what you’re running for or where, there will always be someone who doesn’t like you – and doesn’t mind saying so.
Who Did Show?
The next to take the stage was Bob Olson. Olson had the opportunity to speak briefly about his experience and his goals if elected as chair.
One thing he mentioned was ensuring that, in future races, no Democratic candidate goes unopposed.
Olson finished with thanks towards the organizers of the event, and then Heidi Harris and Jill Douglass sat down for their discussion.
Douglass ran for Senate District 6 last year, losing by a small margin; just under 4,500 votes. Now, her goal is to bring clarity to the CCRP and get more Republicans running (and more importantly, elected) going forward.
Before beginning questions, Heidi Harris shared her disappointment in Law’s lack of appearance.
“It’s disappointing that he didn’t come because I think these discussions need to be had,” she told the crowd. “People need to be able to ask the questions, because don’t we all want to be on the same page?”
Absolutely.
Douglass Addresses the Rumors
Douglass opened by thanking the organizers, then addressed some rumors:
“Despite what some people have said, I did not put this debate together. I was simply invited to the debate as was Jesse,” Douglass continued, “Some have alleged that I’m like a Hillary Clinton who’s been given the debate questions … I don’t know what’s going to be asked of me tonight.”
Social media does a great job of churning the rumor mill. And on the topic of social media, Douglass took a moment to chide her opponent, Olson, on his Facebook conduct.
She gave him credit for his passion and willingness to serve and pointed out where they align, but then addressed his less agreeable statements.
“Bob, throughout this entire campaign, you will not find that I have said anything at all negative towards you. … you have said a lot of negative things about me and I have let every one of them go.”
Douglass concluded the quick admonition by saying “You’re free to have your opinion and I harbor no ill will; again I have not said one negative thing about you. I appreciate the willingness of anyone who’s willing to step forward and try to make the party better.”
And we haven’t even gotten to the first question yet! Politics is fun!
Recruiting Better Republican Candidates
So, question one: How do we get good candidates?
Douglass said the Democrats have a great process for identifying, vetting, training, and supporting worthy candidates, whereas the Republican party does not.
“If we would could do some better recruitment and development and training,” Douglass said, “we could try to cut down on the amount of our candidates that are primaried.”
Ego also seems to be an issue among Republican candidates according to Douglass.
She thinks that many candidates have starry eyes when it comes to office, shooting for whatever their heart desires, even if another Republican candidate is better suited.
This often results in candidates who’ve lost their primary still feeling like the Republican who won is their enemy; that means split support from inside the party, which in turn leads to lost races.
The Party’s Piggy Bank is Empty
Harris’s next question was about the CCRP’s finances.
While Douglass was clear she didn’t want to or feel the need to publicly trash anyone, it isn’t exactly a secret that the CCRP is kind of – well, a little more than kind of – broke.
“The responsibility of the county chair is to do the amount of fundraising necessary to get conservatives elected into office,” Douglass said. “So if for no other reason, change is necessary because our party is financially broke.”
No Budget, No Plan, No Progress
Douglass later touched on a lack of real planning within the party.
“You cannot just hope that we elect people,” Douglass asserted, “You cannot just hope that we bring in a certain amount of money. You have to put a measurable plan in place and and really have a very results-driven strategy.”
Shockingly, Douglass shared that the party has not had a finance director – or even a budget.
“I’ve been reading up on other county parties across the nation and trying to determine what what do they do that we’re not doing, and one of them is the critical piece of having that budget and that finance director.”
Stop Guessing – Start Listening
They continued on to discuss messaging. Douglass said, “We have to stop assuming that we know what people care about. We have to get in their communities and ask them what they care about.”
She continued “We have to stop just popping up during election year and saying, ‘Vote Republican. We’re better for you.’ When they don’t know us. We have to have a presence. We have to show we care all day, every day, every week, every month, all year long.”
Both Harris and Douglass gave flowers to John Tsarpalas and the team at Nevada Policy for their great work in messaging and putting together comprehensive information for us.
Politics with a Purpose
Douglass next shared with us why she got involved in politics in the first place. “The fact is, every one of us every day of our lives are involved in politics,” she stated.
She reverently shared the story of a family who attended her church, whose only son was drafted and died while serving in Vietnam.
With tears in her eyes and a slight waver in her voice, Douglass shared that the young man was buried next to her grandparents.
“Every time I go home and I go and I visit my grandparents’ grave,” she said, “I’m reminded of the service and sacrifice of Kent Purcell Jr. and the family that lost their only son. And I’m reminded that I have an obligation to try to make this world a better place. And that’s why I do what I do.”
For those who want to watch the full event from start to finish, the complete video is available to watch on this channel, as well as video from Jesse Law’s event last night.
