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Local Republicans convene, regroup
By Jason Reagan
reagan@wataugademocrat.com
Recovery from last year’s political losses topped the agenda when the Watauga County Republican Party met Saturday at the county courthouse for its annual convention.
In addition to planning an optimistic future strategy, the party also elected a new slate of officers and heard a pep talk from U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-5).
“This is the first day of the renewal of the Republican Party,” convention chairman Jim Hastings said to the crowd of more than 70 party faithful.
Along with Republicans nationwide, the local party suffered losses in key seats following a juggernaut takeover by Democrats in the November election, which saw the loss of majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate.
Locally, Watauga County Democrats snatched away all five county commissioner seats, the 93rd District state house seat and the 45th District state senate seat as well as the sheriff’s office.
“We only have a few and we’re going to change that,” Hastings said when recognizing sitting Republican officials.
As one of the few to survive the congressional upset, Foxx exhorted local party members to hold the newly elected Democratic leadership to exacting standards. She criticized new House rules that require members to space what she called “two days of work into five days,” adding that many bills — such as innocuous proclamations and resolutions — were being voted upon individually rather than through a quicker unanimous consent calendar. The result, Foxx said, made Congress appear to be working harder than it actually was.
“If Congress were a circus, Democrats would be the contortionists,” she said.
Foxx criticized a House non-binding resolution vote against troop escalation in Iraq last month.
“We are in a global war against radical, Islamic jihadists — not just in Iraq but all over the world,” she said. “We have to win it.”
“You have to get out the vote,” she said to the audience. “This is not for the faint-hearted.”
The party unanimously passed three resolutions designed to proclaim the Republican platform in local and state issues. The first expressed opposition to a measure by state Rep. Cullie Tarleton that would allow Watauga County commissioners to raise the local option sales tax (see “Balance” on page 4 for details).
Former county commissioner David Blust said the measure was something he predicted during the last election cycle when other commissioners claimed the construction of a new Watauga High School would not require tax increases.
The second resolution stated the party’s opposition to the influence of special interests in state legislative politics brought to light following the legal and ethical troubles of ousted House Speaker Jim Black.
The final proposal expressed gratitude to soldiers serving the U.S. military.
With another unanimous vote, conventioneers elected Appalachian State University history professor Jim Goff as chairman and David Blust as vice chairman. The party changed duties and titles from the former model of secretary and treasurer to new positions of secretary-treasurer and deputy secretary-treasurer — electing Jan Woods and Toby Oliver.
The party also presented outgoing chairman Denny Norris with an excellence in leadership award.
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