Dear Fellow Republicans,
 
While December brings preoccupation with holidays, shopping, family and friends, at SFGOP we are planning for a productive 2009.  In January, the San Francisco Republican Party will welcome the new committee which was elected in June 2008 (seems like a long time ago!).  Eight new members will be joining the 27 member committee and I look forward to new ideas and approaches to furthering Republican principles in San Francisco.  One of the first responsibilities of the new committee will be to elect officers and establish committee assignments.

In lieu of the required end of the year “State of the City” address, Mayor Newsom produced a 7 ½ hour marathon, delivered as a  10-part webisode via YouTube .  No reporters were present, no questions were asked.  Rather, the Mayor was able to deliver a monologue that consisted of his evaluation of his accomplishments in 2008 along with a wish list of projects for 2009.  Curiously missing was any mention of how any of these programs would be funded, especially in light of an anticipated $500M+ deficit for 2009.  Here’s our take on a few of the highlights and lowlights. 

Paraphrasing Republican icon Teddy Roosevelt …it is better to fight and come up short than not to fight at all!  Even under the best of circumstances, running for office is a huge undertaking.  In San Francisco, with less than 10% of voters identifying with the Republican Party, running for office is a real uphill battle!  Republicans can only win by turning out the Republican vote and attracting votes from Independents and conservative Democrats.  We are grateful to three candidates who fought the good fight and have agreed to share their insights.