Dear Fellow Republicans:

It may be summertime, but change certainly hasn’t taken a vacation.  As fall arrives, you’ll be seeing new faces in leadership roles at SVgop. 

First, Kim Theis has replaced Carol Morrison as Executive Director.  When Carol took the job some two years ago, we agreed that it was a temporary position for her.  We’re very lucky – and I’m deeply grateful – that she stayed as long as she did.  Carol put together strong programs that enabled us to raise funds and elect Republicans.  She has counseled me, encouraged me, and inspired me.  I wish her success and satisfaction in this next chapter of her life.

Next, I will be stepping down after four great years as Chairman of the SVgop. I have accepted an out-of-state job offer.  Steve Mullen our Vice Chairman, will succeed me. Some of you may already know Steve since he has been actively involved in Republican politics for several years.  As a retired financial services professional, Steve has the time – and more important, the talent – to devote to a resurgent Republican organization in Silicon Valley. I’m delighted to have a man of Steve’s caliber on the team.

There’s never a perfect time to leave something you love, but I’ve had to make the right decision for my family.  SVgop will continue to flourish.  We’ve built a strong organization and a talented team.  I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and I’m confident that we can build on our success. We now have hundreds of volunteers and our budget is 10 times what it was just four years ago (and may grow to 14 or 15 times by election time). 

We have over 150 elected Republicans in Santa Clara County, alone.  2 of the top 3 offices in the County are occupied by Republican women, Sheriff Laurie Smith and District Attorney Dolores Carr.  We have turned some elected commissions (city councils and school boards) from Democrat to Republican – yes, right here in Silicon Valley!).  And there are more we can win!

We have continued to elect Republicans while the national mood for Republicans has not been strong.  And we are used to dealing with a press that is overwhelmingly “in the tank” for the Democrats – yet we won over 50% of our elections here in 2006 against a negative national tide and the local media bias.  

This November, we have good shots at city council seats in San Jose and Morgan Hill.  We can and will elect Dean Andal in Congressional District 11.  And, as Barack Obama tries unsuccessfully to position himself as a centrist, we can and will elect John McCain as president of the United States.  (How many times has McCain been written off before… and remember that Hilary got more votes than Obama – the local media will not remind you that Obama became the Democrat nominee because of arcane rules in the Democrat Party’s nominating process). 

Republican candidates – and county chairmen – change over time. That’s why it’s so important to build a strong, permanent party organization that can provide the resources and structure to win elections. That’s what we’ve done here in Silicon Valley.  We have hundreds of volunteers and Team Leaders who step up to the challenge for every election cycle now, and early signs are that they are doing so to help with our Victory 2008 campaign.

THE SINGLE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO ELECT BETTER REPRESENTATION IN SILICON VALLEY IS WITH A STRONG REPUBLICAN PARTY.    If you have not done so, please contact us to see how you can you can get involved or click here to help us fund our efforts:  www.svgop.com/donate/.   I’m confident that the SVgop team will continue to grow and prosper with your help. Please join me in welcoming our new SVgop team.More importantly, help us by actively joining our team.

With Great Appreciation and Best Wishes,
 
Keen Butcher