April 2021- Chairman's Comments

Hello Person County Republicans.

This past month we have had some great news. Our GOP voter registration has risen and the Democrats have fallen below 40%. That is Historic! Our Party registration surged to record numbers in 2020 and we are happy to see the trend continue.

Of course, party growth and strength only matters when we flex our muscle and that is more than showing up to vote. Voting is critical, but it does not maintain or hold accountable our elected officials but once every election cycle.

We must exercise our strength consistently. This is done by scrutinizing our elected officials via all means possible. Here in the county, this is done by showing up in person, or attending via live streaming of meetings over the internet. At a minimum, I am asking members to simply looking at what is on Agenda or the county calendar as a great start to being aware and knowing when to engage. When you see something interesting, investigate and ask questions of our county Staff, elected officials at commission meetings or other republicans you know.

We need to maintain a level of curiosity even if it only requires 15 minutes a week reviewing the County Commission Agenda. For certain, we are not going to get the real story from any press. Emailing elected officials is an easy and quick method to remind them that they are being scrutinized. Together, a quick review of their Agenda and composing a follow through, yet simple email, might only be a 20 minutes investment for any week. Most of us spend more time on social media!

And speaking of Social Media, the Facebook group Person County Local got an unexpected plug from the press this week. There you will find lots of people talking about all kinds of things happening in the county as well as local politics. No matter where you engage with people, we as conservatives, need to pay attention and speak up more often. We need to exercise our strength by consistently promoting our principles as the best method of maintaining the American Dream.

As we look around the nation, we see all kinds of destressing trends in politics that threaten our investment in this country. We cannot allow our strength to show up just every two or four years and expect elected officials to "do the right thing" in between. They need some level of constant supervision or oversight that comes from us.

So, if everyone starts with 15 minutes and an email to all commissioners sent via the County manager each week (single email for the collective meeting group to receive) it would go a long way. Exercising our political influence like this is healthy for all of us, our county, and the nation.

- Chris Weaver, Chairman, Person County GOP