When: October 13, 2021 6:30pm-8:30pm
Where: Sun Lakes Country Club #1 Navajo Room
Who: approximately at capacity
AGENDA:
- Chairman Michael Tennant greeted the guests, led the gathering in a short prayer and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
- 1st Vice Chairman, Carolyn McCorkle, introduced Louann Sedgewick who told us about the “Arizona for Voter ID Act”. This is a voter initiative they are trying to get on the 2022 ballot. It will require a voter ID to be able to vote in person or by mail. She is gathering signatures.
- Carolyn introduced Stephanie Murphy who is part of a parent organization trying to hold the CUSD
(Chandler Unified School District) more accountable for their budget/spending. She says they want the district to be “more transparent” as to where the money is being spent and she recommended that we vote NO on the budget override ballot that many of us just received in the mail this week. - Carolyn then introduced Kurt Rohrs. Kurt is running for the CUSD school board. He is hoping to change the balance of the board by making it more “conservative” in focus. He said another person is also running that we should vote for, Charlotte Golla who is also a conservative. He has been attending and speaking up at CUSD meetings for the last 3 years. His children attend the district. He has been fighting to get rid of CRT (Critical Race Theory), The explicit sexual curriculum and was instrumental in standing up against the “Deep Equity” curriculum. In his brief talk he said he stands for 1) No political activism by teachers in their classrooms, 2) No sexualization of the students using explicit sexual language or illustrations in the recommended reading or curriculum, 3) Using sound financial practices, 4) Getting the “bad apples” ie, socialist/activist leaning teachers out of the district.
He said Sun Lakes residents can and should vote for the school board members, it is on their ballots.
Approximately 1/2 of the property taxes Sun Lakes residents pay goes to the schools. He explained that there are 2 kinds of elections: those for “Bonds” which are raising money for buildings and those which are “Overrides which are for “Operations”, namely salaries. Approximately 90% of the money from “Overrides” goes to salaries. He said this particular over ride (which we recently received ballots for) is an extension or continuation of one which was set in motion 30 years ago. If it is defeated, they would have to “cut” 15% of their staff to make up for the money which would be lost. This 15% could be teachers, maintenance or administrational people. His update on “CRT” was that it was voted out, but some “bad apples” may continue to teach it “on the sly”. - Carolyn introduced the 2 republicans running for the seats in the AZ House of Representatives. Rod Hardin and Julie Willoughby. Rod is a business owner in Chandler who is in favor of school choice and is prolife. Julie stressed the importance of requiring voter ID to vote in elections and doing away with vaccine mandates.
- Carolyn introduced Jim O’Connor. Mr O’Connor is our Corporation Commissioner. He is not running for office, but he encouraged the audience to sign petitions and donate money towards the campaigns of the people they want to elect to office. He said donating $5 to help a candidate to participate in “Clean Elections” is the best return a person can get on their money because it is in an investment in the outcome of an election. He suggested that people get pages of petitions and take them with them to circulate and get friends and neighbors to help, too.
- Carolyn introduced Matt Salmon. Congressman Matt Salmon shared his vision for a strong Arizona and reviewed his past record of public service. He has an established state and federal voting record and served in the Arizona Senate from 1991-1995 and in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Arizona’s fifth congressional district from 1995-2001 and again from 2013-2017. He has lived in Taiwan, speaks Mandarin, and while in Congress served on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Education and The Workforce Committee. Matt was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus in 2015. Salmon’s platform includes law and order and border security for all Arizonans. He has asserted, “It is the duty of our federal government to protect and secure our national borders. Yet, as the constant threat of terrorism and increased drug cartel violence intensifies, millions of unidentified persons continue to cross our borders illegally, posing grave risks to the sovereignty of the United States and the security of its people.” In his talk he stated three main things he would focus on as Governor should he win the election: 1) Law & Order: He would “Back the Blue” (police) and support the armed forces by protecting our southern border and by finishing the building of the wall. 2) He would seek to lower taxes and would like to see AZ follow Florida, Nevada and Texas by doing away with income taxes altogether. 3) He would focus on improving the education of the children in AZ. He believes in “School Choice” and teaching the basics like Math, Reading, Science and History as well as Civics. He said, unlike some of the people running for Governor, he has a track record that voters can count on. After his talk there was a question and answer time.
- Carolyn introduced Jeff Fine (running for Clerk of the Superior Court) and Amanda Bodwin (running for Mine Inspector). Each introduced them selves and gave a brief description of their backgrounds and qualifications for those positions.
- The 50/50 Raffle was held and the winner donated her winnings of $103 back to the SLRC. The 50/50
raffle is one way in which SLRC pays for the room rental, honorariums for speakers, and printing costs for the many handouts. The other main source of income is the dues we collect. You can become a member by paying $20 a year in dues which will benefit the ongoing work of SLRC. - The next meeting will be November 10, 2021 in the same location at 6:30PM. The speakers next month will discuss BORDER SECURITY. Please check our website to see who the speakers will be—just google: slgop.org
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