Author: rraz-admin22

This week Pima County hosted the seven (7) Chairmen from the Arizona border counties: Pinal, Graham, Greenlee, Graham, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Yuma, and Pima. We shared ideas to build the Republican brand in Southern Arizona, were briefed on the AZ51 initiative, learned about redistricting, and heard a State update from Chairwoman Dr. Kelli Ward. Working together we will build a strong alliance to share our Southern Arizona concerns with our elected officials and party leaders.

Our former Pima County Chairs had breakfast with me on Tuesday and shared some sage advice. Our Republican Club Presidents met Tuesday afternoon to roll out initiatives on Voter Registration and Redistricting. Thursday night LD9 hosted a get together at Brother Johns BBQ; so fun to see so many PCs hanging out and having some fun, and to meet new people interested in joining the winning Pima County Republican team! I had a spirited discussion with Garret Lewis on the radio Tuesday and had television interviews with Frankie McLister KVOA Channel 4 and Bud Foster KOLD Channel 13.

The Cochise County Lincoln Day Dinner on April 2 featured Congressman Andy Biggs, who has been a voice for Arizona in Washington. Being there to support the Cochise County Republicans was awesome. What a week on the heels of the first ever Pima County Republican Party Border Tour with Sheriff Mark Dannels, (former) Sheriff Mark Napier, and Sheriff Mark Lamb!

Looking forward, on Tuesday we will submit 56 PCs to the Board of Supervisors for appointment and we will be rolling out the welcome mat for the Arizona State Executive Committee meeting in Pima County! Thank you to our ALMOST 600 Precinct Committeemen for all the work you do, to the PIMA GOP team that works tirelessly, and to all our Republicans who understand that to WIN, WIN, WIN, we must stand united.

On Friday (March 26) the Pima County GOP sponsored a trip to the Arizona border with Sheriff Dannels (Cochise) and Sheriff Lamb (Pinal). We need to hear and learn the truth of the horrors on our southwest border. The current Administration in Washington D.C. is not willing to be truthful about the crisis on our southwest border and continues to downplay the human tragedy that is taking place. The security of our nation, health of our citizens, freedom of all people, and protection of children is no longer at risk–instead, it is now being destroyed.

Our border crisis is not new, and Washington D.C. has been planning and preparing for the surge(s) on the border for at least a decade. The unaccompanied alien children (UAC) program managed by the Health and Human Services/Office of Refugee Resettlement/Administration of Children and Families (HHS/ORR/ACF) has changed the program acronym to unaccompanied children (UC) removing the designation of alien (the legal term for a person who is not a citizen). Wouldn’t you think that unaccompanied children (UC) might include homeless children in the United States? It doesn’t. This surge on our border is a human trafficking crisis, and the numbers are growing under this Administration.

President Trump’s Administration worked with Mexico and Central America to reduce border crossing and specifically children coming to the U.S. alone. See the significant decrease in FY 2020; we were winning. Let’s be clear, many of these “children” are males between the ages of 16-18. Consider that approximately 47% of Salvadorans, 56% of Guatemalans, and 52% of Hondurans are under the age of 25. They are potential voters. Do you wonder why they arrive with the BIDEN t-shirts? They are already supporting their candidate!

While there is great concern about national security, human trafficking, and drug trafficking, you should also be concerned about your health and the health of Americans. Dr. Lee Vliet (Tucson, AZ) addressed this issue in many articles over the past decade. Not until this most recent surge on the border have we been faced with the COVID invasion. The Northern Triangle isn’t vaccinating their citizens. The poverty rate in Honduras is 62%; Guatemala 60%; and El Salvador 30%–they have no healthcare, and they have no vaccinations—COVID or otherwise.

The Pima County Republican Party will continue to work for all Republicans in Pima County and bring you events, learning opportunities, and information so we can persuade our Pima County neighbors with facts and not fake news. For today, all we can say is “they’re coming to America”.

It has been another amazing week in this job as the Chairman of Pima County Republican Party: from speaking to the Greater Tucson Leadership, LD 14, PCs, our Pima County leadership team, and our State Chairman Kelli Ward; from attending a PACKED Green Valley Lincoln-Reagan Day Luncheon; and from answering lots of emails. This job has a lot of listening in it, and I have learned so much from listening to all of you.

Someone asked me why I wouldn’t sign a Recall Petition for the Governor. My answer is simple—he’s a Republican, and the next in line – Secretary of State – is a Democrat. It’s like voting for a Democrat.

Someone else asked why I allowed someone to be an appointed PC. My answer is simple—he’s a Republican. I believe in a big tent. Someone submitted a PC Appointment form, did not receive approval, and has asked why it’s not approved. My answer is simple—you are registered as a Democrat.

And then the discussions get less simple. I have had numerous discussions on whether or not a REPUBLICAN PC can collect signatures, walk neighborhoods, hold meetings for the INDEPENDENT candidate(s) running for City Council. This answer is not so simple, because we don’t have a Republican who has submitted paper work to run. As Republicans we affirm that we will support the Republican party and we will work to elect Republican candidates. In the absence of a Republican candidate in the past, we have supported Independents. This is where it gets confusing for me. If the Republicans continue to support Independents because candidates believe “Republicans can’t win an election in the City of Tucson with a 2 to 1 Democrat voter registration advantage,” then shouldn’t our job be working to overcome the voter registration deficit by registering Republicans, working on Ward Only initiative, and finding strong Republican candidates to run as Republicans? Help me out on this one; I am listening.

Shelley Kais

Today is the 85th day since the 2021-22 Pima County Republican Board was elected. We had our second Executive Committee meeting on March 11, and the room was electric. We are ahead of last year in our Trunk and Tusk memberships, and our first Border Tour with Sheriffs Mark Dannels and Mark Lamb is sold out for March 26. Our Lincoln Day dinner is scheduled for October 23, 2021, our April 24 Candidate School has amazing NATIONAL SPEAKERS on campaigning, and events are scheduled monthly from now through December.

The volunteer program at the Headquarters Office is up and running, and we are scheduling morning and afternoon volunteers Monday-Friday and have already scheduled through May 1. We are starting a Citizen Journalist program to combat the fake news (or no news) in Pima County. The Voter Registration drives are being planned, and we are closely monitoring voter registration numbers. AND, we hit our 500th Precinct Committeeman! This means we have recruited and on-boarded 153 Precinct Committeemen. We are offering PC training at our Headquarters and transitioning the training to the Legislative Districts. Some of our LDs have done such an amazing job training their PCs, we benchmarked from their ideas! Our Legislative Districts are building programs and opportunities for their PCs—movies, speakers, and events. We are doing this to build and unify our party and to elect Republicans.

And now for the GREAT news…Congressman Ann Kirkpatrick is not running for election in 2022. This will be an open seat, and with redistricting we will take that seat back in 2022.

The Pima County Democrat Representatives/Senators are supporting Pamela Powers-Hannley’s vote supporting soft sentencing of child sex predators and staying silent in their support for disgraced Andrew Cuomo. We will take back our Legislative seats in Pima County. More than 50% of the country does not believe that Biden can unify the country—he can’t. And that failure is an opportunity for Republicans. You see what has happened in two-and-a-half months; let’s see what we can do in two years. Let’s get to work and win; let’s elect Republicans!

Shelley Kais

Looking back on this week, I am so happy to have been elected to be a part of the Pima County Republican Party (PCRP) Executive Committee. The members of the board, the Precinct Committeemen, the volunteers, and the loyal Republicans who support our cause are showing up everyday. As a County Committee, I believe that we must provide excellent customer service to our constituents; we need to listen. One of my goals is to “seek first to understand then to be understood”.

To those of you who are sharing your concerns with me, I am listening. If you are a Republican voter who is mad as heck because we lost the elections, come work with us. If you are a PC who feels like we are not doing enough for PCs, I am listening to your concerns and will work to implement ideas that will work. If you think I know something but you didn’t tell me, trust me–I probably don’t know; email or call me.

If you want to start a new party, thank you, but you will have to count me out. The PCRP will work with every LD, club, group, movement, PC, Republican voter in Pima County for us all to be successful, but I will not leave or work against my party. Don’t confuse that with thinking that I won’t demand ACCOUNTABILITY. The PCRP will hold each other, elected officials, PCs, volunteers, and Republican voters accountable to do what they say they will do or do the job they have been elected to do. But our primary FOCUS will be holding the 14 elected Democrats in LDs 2,3,4,9,10 ACCOUNTABLE to represent ALL of Pima County and to hold the 6 elected Republican officials in LDs 11 and 14 ACCOUNTABLE to do what they said they would do. Additionally, our FOCUS will be on our Board of Supervisors, City Councils, School Boards, and other elected officials in Pima County. We will work for you. But that leaves me with just one question: Since no Republican has pulled papers to run for City Council, WILL YOU WORK FOR US?

The economy is struggling. If I had to decide this year to add $14,000 worth of debt to my family’s financial plan, I would not do it. Why then does Congress think it is ok to add $14,000 per household to the National Debt? We are probably not going to see significant pay increases this year at our jobs, but Congress thinks it is a good idea to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. If the government asked me to contribute $1,000 to bail out local and state governments that have mismanaged their funds, the answer is NO. And for all these things they want from me, they want to give me $1,400 “recovery rebate.” Save my children’s future and stop the spending! This is all happening right now in Washington DC as they get ready to pass a $1.9 trillion spending package. The real showstopper for me is on page 305 of this 591-page bill entitledAmerican Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund appropriated at $570,000,000. Learn more

Really all I want is to reopen schools, put people back to work, get vaccines for those who want them, and keep our community safe. What gives me great hope is Republicans all over Pima County want those same things and are joining as Trunk and Tusk members, Precinct Committeemen, and are volunteering to work at the party and investigating whether or not to run for office. Parents are demanding their children go back to school, businesses are suing local governments to stop the lockdowns and end the curfews, and people are taking off their masks and fighting for their freedoms. Join us in the fight. Be Republican!

The acquittal of President Trump on February 13 was quickly eclipsed by the sadness of Rush Limbaugh’s passing. My pastor once said, “Teach your children to love the rain.” That phrase comes to me in times like this when we realize that things won’t always be happy, but we find joy in remembering Rush’s words and wisdom and the stories that have been shared about him. Another part of the joy was hearing President Trump share his stories about Rush. We hadn’t heard from President Trump in a while, so even in sadness, we find joy.

And in loss, we find wins. While our elected Precinct Committeemen were at 349 in December, we added 53 more on February 16 and have approximately 50 more in the pipeline! PC training is continuing with one more class at the end of February, and we are considering many more opportunities to involve our PCs. Our Legislative District meetings are “selling out” and interested Republicans are stepping up to join our ranks. Our Trunk and Tusk program is moving forward as we prepare to reach out to our Republican Community and welcome them to become a part of Trunk and Tusk.

On March 2 at 5:00 pm, Chris DeSimone is hosting a WakeUp Tucson event at St. Phillips Plaza. He is inviting all potential candidates to come and introduce themselves.

There are many things happening in our party. We may have felt the rain, but the sun is coming out, spring is in the air, and the Pima County Republican Party is moving forward!

Please join now! Our first Trunk and Tusk event is coming up on March 26:

Southern Border Tour with Sheriffs Mark Dannels and Mark Lamb

This week has been a very sad time in the history of the United States. As we watch an unconstitutional impeachment and lies and theatrics taking place on the floor of the Senate, Americans continue to suffer from loss of income, children struggle without their friendships and opportunity to learn, and we question our loss of freedoms. The strength of the Pima County Republican Party grows, however, as we add Precinct Committeemen to our ranks, hold our first Executive Committee meeting of 2021, finalize the renovation of our headquarters, meet with community leaders, speak at our clubs and LDs, and build our party.  

While we struggle with what we see taking place in Washington DC, our Pima County Republicans can stand firm in knowing that we are growing in number and spirit, focusing on strategy, and joining together in unity to fight for our freedoms, our country, and our party.  Pima County Republican Party is the party that will open small businesses, put people back to work, open the doors of our schoolhouses, support our first responders, ensure election integrity, and keep our citizens safe and free.  

Join me. There is a lot of work to do.  

As the 2021-2022 Executive Committee moved into place, big changes were about to happen. We decided that it was time for the Pima County Republican Party to start new and that meant it was time for a good housecleaning, a new coat of paint (or 18 gallons), realign the workspace to maximize working and meeting space, and get ready to throw open our doors for the upcoming city elections and the 2022 Statewide elections. We are almost ready and will be welcoming our fellow Precinct Committeemen and Republicans with a professional meeting place in the weeks to come.

The candidate searches are underway for our City Council Candidates and our upcoming 2022 Candidates. There are many offices to consider if you are thinking about candidacy. We will be publishing a list of federal, state, city and school board races in the near future.

Your Executive Committee members are out meeting with your clubs and your legislative districts and are available to speak at any of your meetings. The job of your ExCom is to serve, and we are here working for you.

Shelley Kais

It is an honor and a pleasure to have been elected as the Pima County Republican Chairman. Our Executive Committee is a fine group of Republicans and are all working in their newly elected positions. Our six-hour retreat on January 16 got us all working in the same direction to WIN, WIN, WIN.

Our Board has been at it since their election on December 19 and have been recruiting volunteers and Precinct Committeemen, cleaning the headquarters, painting, reorganizing, and getting ready for a grand opening on February 13. We have also had three politically motivated attacks against our headquarters where our windows were smashed with rocks!

We have eighty (80!) recently recruited Precinct Committeemen pending appointment by the Pima County Board of Supervisors—that will bring our total Precinct Committeemen count to 447!! Our Election Integrity Committee met on January 30 and will be reporting soon on their progress.

It has been my privilege to attend meetings at LD 11, LD 10, Pima County Republican Club, Pima County Republican Women’s Club, and United Republicans of GreenValley/ Sahuarita. Additionally, I have been on The Morning Ritual, Wakeup Tucson, Inside Track, Tipping Point, KVOA Channel 4, and KGUN 9 getting out the Republican message. I had my first official meeting with State Party Chairwoman, Dr.Kelli Ward, this past week and look forward to working together to elect Republicans up and down the ballot.