In Case you missed it, the legislative leaders wanted you to know everything about California Trailblazers. In the interest of transparency and full disclosure, your intrepid blogger has joined in the message from our legislative leaders.
A message from:
Senate Republican Leader Pat Bates
Senate Republican Leader-Elect Shannon Grove
Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron
And your Intrepid blogger
Dear Republican Party Member,
We have a choice to make in response to the 2018 elections. Will our GOP continue down a path of divisiveness that all but assures continued liberal progressives will control our Golden State, or are we going to stand up and take the fight to the Democrats with a strong, organized and fully-funded California Republican Party?
In fact, Jessica Patterson’s Campaign Consultant is one of the top vendors to the California Republican Party.
The answer is clear. We’re never going to give up or concede that Republican values aren’t best for California.
Yet our choice for CAGOP Chairman has been involved in an attempted gut and amend of the CAGOP Party Platform, defending Proposition 14 twice and thwarting numerous efforts to hold wayward legislators accountable.
That’s why California’s Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel and National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon endorsed Jessica Patterson to be the next Chairman of the California Republican Party. We couldn’t agree more.
We support Jessica because she is a proven visionary leader with the ability to raise money, deliver a powerful Republican message and support our grassroots organizations and activists. That’s how we’ll regain seats in Sacramento, Washington DC and re-elect the President.
Since its’ 2011 inception, the California Trailblazers has been present and participated in the net loss of 13 GOP Seats in the State Legislature. 28-19 in the Assembly, 15-11 in the State Senate. How low can we go? Since its’ inception in 2011, the California Trailblazers has paid $2.3 Million in Salaries against a paltry $142,000 in candidate contributions. Jessica Patterson’s haul has been over $1.2 Million.
Recently you have probably seen some juvenile and ridiculous attacks aimed at California Trailblazers, the organization that Jessica has done a fantastic job leading the last seven years. We would like to stress to you in the strongest terms possible that these attacks are wrong and they are filled with falsehoods and inaccuracies about this great organization.
We believe a net loss of 13 seats in the last 7 Years was worth the investment in Trailblazers.
Here are the facts:
As California’s GOP legislative leaders, we know California Trailblazers is the best candidate support program our state has ever seen. In fact, CA Trailblazers is the ONLY candidate recruitment and training program the State GOP has ever had. Before it was created, the Republican Party had nothing to offer conservatives who wanted to run for State Senate or State Assembly.
Chad Mayes, Catherine Baker and Brian Maienschein were three of the “Conservatives” heralded by Trailblazers. Every Cap and Trade Vote in the Assembly was a Trailblazers Alumni.
In 2010, Jessica Patterson ran victory 2010, one of the worst years for Republicans in California since the 1970’s.
In 2012, Jessica saw the void and created California Trailblazers, building a strong board of directors and creating a curriculum that included teaching candidates the fundamentals about fundraising, messaging, social media, communications, precinct organization and Get Out the Vote. Trailblazers was modeled after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy’s national Young Guns program that took back the House of Representatives from Nancy Pelosi in an overwhelming landslide victory for Republicans in 2010 (and will again in 2020).
In 2012, Jessica Patterson was in charge of the victory program once again, yielding the largest net loss of seats this century in the legislature before 2018.
Trailblazers was never designed to fund or run campaigns. It gives candidates and their consulting teams a powerful head start so that they can hit the ground running and focus squarely on challenging and beating losing to Democrats. In fact, Trailblazers has been so efficient over the years that Jessica has pushed to contribute excess funds to our Republican candidates in an effort to do everything possible to help elect Republicans to the State Assembly and State Senate. But, let us be clear about this again, Trailblazers was not created to be a funding organization. Its mission has always been, and always will be, recruiting and training candidates. A mission when judged by results has been a colossal failure.
Today, thanks to Jessica and her work, nearly all Republicans who serve in the State Legislature have benefitted in some way from Trailblazers or supported the program as an important part of our party operation. This is evidenced by the fact that Jessica has been endorsed by overwhelming majorities in the Senate Republican and Assembly Republican caucuses as well as former GOP elected officials.
The largest benefit has been the smallest GOP Caucus since 1883.
And The price for this training program has been $2 Million Plus paid to consultants.
As we move toward the February CRP Convention in Sacramento, let’s work together and take the fight to the Democrats. Do what we tell you to. Jessica Patterson is a strong conservative liberal who has already proven herself, standing up for Republican values unless paid to do otherwise, supporting Republican candidates and helping Republicans win elections.
We know Jessica Patterson will be a great Chairman of the California Republican Party, because she takes orders and we hope you will join us and endorse her too.
Sincerely,
Senate Republican Leader Pat Bates
Senate Republican Leader-Elect Shannon Grove
Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron
Your Intrepid Blogger