A tale of two logos…
First off, I want to say that Mark Wright has become the most effective Chairman that the Placer GOP has had since the 2000-2002 version of Ken Campbell.
I knew when Mark took over the reins of the Placer GOP, he would succeed.
The first key to the success of the Placer GOP is that it is ideologically homogenous. Some outside of the Placer GOP deride this, but the harmony is a critical aspect. I have met few squishes who play will with Conservatives at the party level. Secondly, the “Wing-Nut” Republicans were either quietly moved along or were brought along to participate in a healthy manner.
In the brief time I was Brian Dahle’s Ex-Officio to Placer, I got to see firsthand a healthy, functional committee. Even when Ken Campbell was in his pre-meltdown heyday, the Placer GOP was rocked by infighting. (If you remember, Cheryl Maki, Mike Holmes and others were on the committee then and there was a narrow split between the squishes and the conservatives) If you look at 2002’s election results you’d wonder what happened. Congressman John Doolittle led an effort to defend Campbell and the Conservatives from a takeover attempt financed by some Bay-Area transplant tech millionaires.
In the 20 years I was associated with the Placer GOP, there have been multiple internal wars.
Ken Campbell gave way to Tom Hudson and the three hour meetings he was famous for. Later, Jeff Atteberry became Chair. Atteberry is the man who registered me Republican and got me in to the California Republican Assembly.
Around 2010 with Congressman McClintock not caring about local politics (the polar opposite of Doolittle) – David Stafford Reade and crew (including the psychotic Karen England) complete with several Tea Partiers recruited under false pretenses attacked the committee in 2010 and again in 2012. They Succeeded in taking it over in 2012, ousting Jeff Atteberry.
Dennis Revell became the Chair under this regime and he was never going to be able to be effective given the way he was vaulted in to the Chairmanship. I would later become friends with Dennis Revell and witnessed him become a man of faith and marry his long time girlfriend. It was clear to me that Dennis was not who either side thought he was and I am glad he is clear of the field of fire now. Dennis Revell is a good man who was set up to fail by David Stafford Reade and crew that just wanted an ineffective committee they did not have to worry about.
Eventually, there was yet another revolt that resulted in Mark Wright being elected Chairman. I knew who Mark Wright was and is as a man. I also knew despite him having Tom Hudson as Parliamentarian that he is his own man. I routinely defended Mark to people in local government. I believed that Mark would be an honest operator, I also believed that he’d be able to keep a disparate group of political nerds focused. I had talked to Mark a couple times about fundraising and local politics.
However, the kind of success I saw the Placer GOP achieve in 2020 was beyond anything I saw possible. Mark Wright acted on the good advice of several people and the results speak for themselves. Mark Wright deserves Re-Election to Chair of the Placer GOP.
If someone tries to run against Mark Wright, they can expect to be featured on the Right on Daily Blog. Mark is like family, he was at my father’s 80th Birthday Party amongst other things. I have a strong sense of loyalty and I am proud of what he helped facilitate as the Chairman of the Placer GOP.
Working by myself running the Placer CIR PAC circa 2014, 2016, 2018 and in 2020 the PGG PAC, I had taken runs at several local democrats. However, because I was basically working alone, I was getting attacked repeatedly with FPPC Complaints, legal threats and the like. In 2020, I had reinforcements. Despite this, The PCIR Pac had claimed several scalps. With an active and engaged Placer GOP, we cleared out several local government bodies of democrats in one cycle – as many as the PCIR PAC was able to get in 3 elections combined. Teamwork.
Mark Wright had several people around him that were all working for a common cause except for Suzanne Jones and Tom Hudson. Hudson consistently opposed the party spending money on anything. The committee should remove Hudson from anything resembling responsibility as he has been a roadblock to effectiveness for the 20+ years I have known him. I won’t go in to further detail about his personal issues or lack of character.
Suzanne Jones is too busy pandering to the mask-nazis and the nearly psychotic Granite Bay NIMBY’s to care much about the good operation of the Placer GOP. In fact, her friends have filed 10 FPPC Complaints against Kirk Uhler (6 and counting have been dismissed) and I have gotten legal demand letters from them. The sooner the Placer GOP sends the self-serving RINO Suzanne Jones packing the better. I can convict Tom Hudson of being a Republican, but Jones ran as a liberal democrat to beat Kirk Uhler and with her love of Masks, Lockdowns and enviro lawsuits intends to govern like one. Don’t worry folks, Crazy Susie will be running for Congress, Assembly or something again soon. She has run for 8 different offices since I have known her. Of further note, she did not endorse anyone, abstaining on all votes on the committee to endorse.
Other than Jones and Hudson – the next worst problem is Crazy Ed Rowen rambling every meeting about something. I was never sure what in the few meetings I attended.
That’s it. Out of 42 Total Members that is the extent of the problem children.
So, what happened in 2020?
For the first time in many years, the Placer GOP was able to send multiple pieces of mail. They sent mail in Roseville on behalf of Tracy Mendonsa and Gary Johnson. They sent mail in Roseville for school district races. They sent Mail in Rocklin for School District Races. They bought Gary Johnson Signs. They emailed. They called people. They walked precincts.
Literally, the last time I saw that level of activity was in 2004 (at the end of Ken Campbell’s tenure).
In 2020 – I had several goals running the PGG PAC committee:
- Was Loomis Town Council. I had enough money that I did not need help from the Placer GOP (they gave me intel that was helpful) It worked, Republican Danny Cartwright hammered university professor David Ring who penned a whiny op-ed post defeat in a local rag. This is the only win I can take sole credit for.
- LaMills Garrett got bombed by 20%, losing to Tracy Mendonsa. As a bonus, Republican Bruce Houdesheldt navigated an extremely tough re-election with a fully funded communist and a third opponent running to his right. The Placer GOP played a major role in Bruce excelling and Tracy’s lopsided win.
- Gary Miller. Ever since he attempted to recruit an opponent to my Mother (former RJUHSD Board Member Linda Park) – I have wanted to run him over with a political dump truck. In 2016, we blew his co-conspirator Rene Aggie-lair-uh out of office. (Rene ran again and lost in 2018, then ran again and got shellacked 72-28 in 2020) Now, Gary Miller gets to join him in the former Placer County Democrat Candidate dump. When you mess with my family, you die. (in this case it is a political metaphor) Thanks to an active Placer GOP, they helped me get justice against Gary Miller for my Mother.
- Camille Maben. I have tried 3 times to take her out. Thanks to the help of the Placer GOP in 2020, we got her on my third try. She survived 7 terms. It makes the BS $8,000 FPPC fine for issues unrelated to her run in 2016 worth it.
- Rocklin School District in General. Thanks to the Placer GOP, we ran the table on the Teacher’s Union. The Union, like the communist agitators they are have filed a bunch of lawsuits because they are butthurt over the drubbing they took at the ballot box. They don’t want to have to work for the taxpayer money they have been living off of. Now the Union has just one ass-monkey on the School Board, Rick Miller. Miller might be well served to retire. However, if he does not, Right On Daily will make sure he receives the care, therapy and love that he needs. Because we care.
- Roseville City Schools. I wanted Julie Constant re-elected and Gary Miller gone. Sorry, Megan Krafka, I was more focused on torching Gary Miller. But, thanks to the Placer GOP, Megan Krafka got the support she needed to put her over the top (her campaign was excellent in its’ own right). In the Roseville High School District, my friend Julie Hirota got re-elected (I disagreed with the Placer GOP when they pulled her endorsement) along with Heidi Hall and Pete Constant gaining first-time election. Again, the Placer GOP was front and center in this effort. The three Republicans did so well that 4th Place finisher Greg Carnage could only muster half the votes of Heidi Hall. Ouch.
- Brynne Kennedy. Get lost. What a waste of $1Million.
- Rocklin City Council. The three GOP Incumbents benefitted from the activity in the School District race, all won easily. I hope that the Placer GOP takes the time to get to know Ken Broadway a little better. Broadway is a good man and is approachable. Perhaps the dialogue can help Ken adjust some of his decisions in the future. Josh Rolph did well, I hope the Placer GOP keeps him involved somehow.
- Susan Goto. She is the candidate that shelled Rene Aggie-Lair-Uh 72-28. For that reason alone, Goto deserves sainthood. The Placer GOP played a role in helping her piledrive Placer County’s original political dumpster fire.
The whole committee (sans Hudson and Jones) deserves commendation for what they did.