|
Executive Board Member Reports
Juliana McMahan, Chair
Ballots are out and your vote is needed! We have some great candidates--especially for school board races--and we need to get them elected in order to help turn things around in our schools. There are drop boxes all around the county and we will be holding a voting party for anyone who has last-minute questions on Monday, November 6 from 6-7pm at the KCRP HQ, 6610 Kitsap Way, Bremerton, WA 98312. Be sure to return your ballot by November 7!
The KCRP General Election Voting Guide can be found here:
https://www.kitsaprepublicans.com/post/2023-general-election-candidate-endorsements-recommendations
Congratulations to our Executive Board Members who were elected by the Central Committee Members at their meeting on October 2!
- State Committeeman--Keith Houk
- State Committeewoman--Elizabeth Doll
- Secretary--Linda Popp
- Bremerton School District--John Johanson
- South Kitsap School District--Francis Doyle
Please continue gathering signatures for the Let's Go Washington initiatives. Please write the code "CNT-KTSP" in the box on the lower-right hand corner of the pages to help us get credit for the signatures we gather. If we reach 1,000 for all six initiatives, we will receive a $1,000 donation to help our party!
KCRP is looking to hire a full-time employee who will help execute our strategic plan of turning Kitsap County red! If you know if someone who might be interested, please email chair@kitsaprepublicans.com for a job description.
Our new Events Committee Chair, Sean Murphy, organized our First Annual Chili Cookoff on Saturday, October 21. He is planning to organize regular events which will provide Republicans, conservatives, and interested citizens from around our county to get together! Our next event will be our Christmas Party Potluck on Monday, December 4 at 6:00 p.m. at KCRP HQ.
John M. Cameron, Vice-Chair
The 2024 election cycle is likely to be the most chaotic election cycle that we have ever seen. I believe we should pay attention to what other counties are doing and should be working together.
Our PCO meeting continues to be a big success. It is held on the last Wednesday of the month at 6pm at the Cloverleaf Grill. We are focused on recruiting, onboarding, and training. We have begun to implement a strategy to facilitate onboarding PCOs that including a binder and training manuals.
PCO action is being focused on faith engagement of churches and helping our local candidates. Be sure to check in with me or your PCO if you have questions about this.
Keith Houk, State Committeeman
I have been working with our local representatives to effect change and garner support and recognition for the things they've accomplished. State Representative Travis Couture has shared that the 'Belfair Bypass' has cleared major financial hurdles and is moving forward. He also expressed to me disappointment in how the local media fails to report on anything positive that happens in the 35th Legislative District.
Our local campaigns for school board, fire, and city/county council elections are in full swing. Several local candidates have been either endorsed or recommended. It is disappointing that several citizens have recently come forward asking why we didn't support 'candidate so-and-so.' I would ask, where have you been the last 3 months when we were vetting, approving, and supporting the ones that we did? Please be involved all the way and not just at the "11th Hour."
I have been to several fund-raisers and gone door knocking for the local candidates in our school board races. I continue to work with all the volunteers in all the local activities and rallies.
Shelly McKinley-Olson, Treasurer
As the chair of the Lincoln Day Dinner Committee, I want to report that we are working hard to find a good venue and speakers for our March 2024 Lincoln Day Dinner event. Please let me know if you have any ideas.
Linda Popp, Secretary
Happy Fall Everyone! Staying active and involved helps you to see and understand what’s going on with our local Kitsap County Republicans. There’s opportunity for all of us to be active in one way or another. Your help is so needed as KCRP and the 23LD are always the ones leading the charge with new ideas to change the narrative here in Kitsap County.
This last month I listened to Glen Morgan, who’s a political activist here in Washington state, if you haven’t heard him before, make sure and check out his “We the Governed” podcasts. He was the guest speaker at the Silverdale/Seabeck Republican Women’s meeting, which is held every month on the 2nd Monday at 11:00am at the Cloverleaf Restaurant in Bremerton. Glen works hard to unearth what’s going on in this state, and he’s holding our elected officials accountable for their actions.
I enjoy attending the 23LD Executive Board Meetings. At their last meeting they talked about the recent Republican Old Fashioned Family Picnic. If you didn’t attend, it’s such a wonderful event. Jan Kelly graciously gives us the run of her place for the picnic. There was lots of good food, insightful bits of information, and a great silent auction! A job well done everyone! Also, a special thank you to Chris Stephens for her generosity! If you haven’t tried her “Patriot Apple Moonshine” you’re missing out!
I also serve on the Lincoln Day Dinner (LDD) committee. This coming year the LDD will tentatively be on March 9, 2024. So put that on your calendars!
The last Wednesday of every month, there’s a Volunteer/PCO Meet & Greet that John Cameron chairs. I highly recommend that everyone attend this meeting. At the last meeting we were introduced to one of our new PCOs, David Gonzalez, who has experience as a strategic planner. He’s helping to create a PCO notebook and provide structure for a mission statement and vision plan. Other meetings have involved training and information to help us speak to others about the issues. The meeting may also involve active participation in encouraging others to step up to become a PCO or volunteer.
I’m always so pumped to be able to help our candidates go and speak to their constituents about their platforms. I got to spend a couple of hours knocking on doors with Adrian Wright, who’s running for Bremerton City Council, District 2 position. So many people actually thanked Adrian (and me) for coming to their doors. It’s like they felt we thought they were worthy of our time. I’m not kidding! Adrian even had a guy offer a donation right on the spot, just because he was taking the time to come and meet with folks.
Your help is so needed. Come out and help our recommended/endorsed candidates. If you don’t get out and try, you really have no right to complain about how bad things are getting. Running a campaign is a lot of work, and those candidates are really putting themselves out there. They need your help to be successful!
I attended a Washington Voter Research Meeting where they shared information about the progress of the six initiatives we’ve been getting signatures for. They expressed that they’re on track to have enough signatures for four of the initiatives, and it’s looking good for all six--if they can keep the momentum up! Please grab a packet of the initiatives and talk to your family and friends. Let’s make this happen!!
Francis Doyle, South Kitsap
Here is an update of what has been going on in the South Kitsap. A "Late Note", The Board of Directors for the South Kitsap School District No. 402 adopted the 2023-2024 BUDGET back in August of this year with a Total Appropriations of $187,897,472. The budget breakdown is available online at the South Kitsap School District website Business Services page.
The school board held a Board of Directors Study Session on October 4, 2023 on "SKSD Transportation". The Transportation Director gave an outstanding overview on the Transportation Statistics, Operational, and Facilities Challenges. Major issues that were identified were concerns about driver shortages, operational fleet challenges as to obtaining parts, and the increased costs of parts and fuels used by the school buses. The existing facility has 100 Buses and only 71 parking spots, and 19 other buses were tagged to drivers as "home-buses"--still a 10-spot shortage.
He also talked about the states Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program and the sampling and inspections requirements for maintaining the current permit. He provided an overview on "Transportant" software which is commercially available product that could help provide real-time updates on student safety, tracking, and monitoring via camera feeds that include a parental connection while the students are traveling on the school buses. Funding is needed to obtain and install this management software on the school buses.
He addressed the Stop Paddle infractions encountered during the drop-off's and pick-ups of students on the bus routes and the dangers they impose. His closing remarks spoke about the upcoming change over to "electronification" of the bus fleet, i.e., two electric buses for every diesel bus replaced! I hope some real thought goes into this "Green Dream."
I'm asking the PCO's in the South Kitsap School District to help make phone calls to other Republicans in our district to encourage them to vote for our three great South Kitsap School Board Director candidates--John Sehmel, Jamie Cross, and Rhonda Edwards.
KCRP Executive Board Contact Info: https://www.kitsaprepublicans.com/board
City Council and School Board Notes
City Council
Video archives of city council meetings from all over Kitsap County can be found at:
https://bremerton.vod.castus.tv/vod/?live=ch1&nav=recent
The next Bremerton City Council Meeting will be on October 25 at 5pm in the Norm Dicks building. Everyone concerned about the homeless encampment behind Starbucks should show up and stay informed or watch via broadcast.
A member of KCRP attended the "informational" Bremerton City Council meeting of October 11. Many issues came before the council, one involved Sheridan Park (Item #1) and the need for upgrade, and a request for funds. It's going to take a bulldozer to remove an old WWII bunker on the property, which has re-bar sticking out of it (dangerous and very over-grown with ivy). If anyone in KCRP has heavy equipment and wishes to volunteer, please contact the city and refer to the Sheridan Park project. Sheridan Park has been neglected for a long time, is terribly run down, and needs volunteers and money to fix it up.
Item #5 was also of interest, developers are once again targeting the eastern shores of Bremerton/Kitsap, which is still county owned. Geologically it is questionable if this area is suitable for development, despite the county's "UGA" which many consider some sort of mandate.
Developers are asking the City of Bremerton to facilitate development of the "Fisher Plat" (former Cheney estates) so utilities (sewers) can be installed as a prelude to development. This is a zone of fairly pristine forest to the south of 30th, on the east shoreline, and is inhabited by much wildlife and possibly two threatened species. Illahee went through this same process with the county last decade and that community stopped the development with grassroots legal proceedings. The "Fischer Plat" is full of creeks and gullies, so lift stations and pressure sewage lines will be needed for services. Check out their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710056957211078 (Save Enetai)
Bainbridge Island School District
School board website: https://www.bisd303.org/domain/44
Bremerton Bremerton School District
School board website: https://www.bremertonschools.org/SchoolBoard
Documents link: https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/wabrsd/Board.nsf/Public
Bremerton schools showed a small contingent at their October 2 meeting. One teacher who spends time with Bremerton schools says there are many children in Bremerton district now who speak limited English and are not fluent in Spanish either. The Bremerton bi-lingual education department is hiring fluent Spanish speakers to teach them. Many of these immigrant children speak "Mum" which is one of several dialects used by the modern Mayan indigenous groups of Guatemala (and southern Mexico.) These children have been observed as mostly good students and (other than the language hurdle) no more challenging nor challenged than mainstream American children of the same age.
Lance Byrd is running for school board in Bremerton and spoke to the assembly. He cited lower test scores in their schools. This is no shock considering a hefty percentage of Bremerton students can't speak English.
Central Kitsap School District
School board website: https://www.ckschools.org/administration/c_k_s_d_school_board/school_board
North Kitsap School District
School board website: https://www.nkschools.org/about-us/school-board
Advisory board website: https://www.nkschools.org/get-involved/advisory-committees
South Kitsap School District
School board website: https://www.skschools.org/school-board
Board meetings recap: https://www.smore.com/gp6t2
Many parents in the South Kitsap district have found the "Parent Square" app/link to be very helpful in "being connected" with their district. Please contact your child's instructor as needed.
There was a large parental contingent at the October South Kitsap School Board Meeting. One who teaches at SKHS frequently reports the student body has a significant right-wing percentage and is remarkably tolerant of all viewpoints. In fact, some high school students enjoy wearing tees with guns on them to school, which some might feel is of concern.
See Francis Doyle's report above for more information about what is going on in SKSD.
Thoughts and stray input
Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Endorsements
The Kitsap County Republican Party Central Committee endorsed both Semi Bird and David Reichart for Washington State Governor during their October 2 meeting. The hope is that a single candidate will be endorsed during the Kitsap County Republican Party Convention on February 10, 2024. Everyone interested in voting on this issue needs to attend their Precinct Caucus on January 13, 2024 and run to be a county convention delegate. Please mark both of these dates on your calendar.
Bremerton Homelessness
The MLK encampment on Broadway, near the intersection of Wheaton and 6th (behind Starbucks), was mentioned. Mike Simpson and Adrian Wright both put themselves forward as being deeply concerned over this issue, and both are running for city council in Bremerton. The city is "allowing" this encampment due to "cuts in funding for mental health" and mental health facilities being closed in the state. The residents of the MLK encampment are apparently some of the same people who since year 2000 have been camping in the Illahee Preserve and vicinity. (They are leaving some serious filth behind!!! Not to mention terrorizing Fred Meyer with shop-lifting, and endangering the forest with illegal fire pits.) Possibly this also involves those who were in a shelter close to the Salvation Army, which now seems to be boarded up and closed.
As of the Bremerton City Council Meeting on October 11, homeless populations have been found in Sheridan Park, and the Oyster Bay region is being slated for development of a Homeless Shelter (Item #7 on October 11's agenda). A homeless encampment is also started near the Sylvan Way Library, next to the parking lot and near View Ridge Elementary (in full view of children at recess).
"Causes for homelessness" were outlined as follows: 1) mental illness, 2) drug usage, and 3) the physically challenged. Drug users seem to make up the biggest portion of the population and, bizarrely, this is not considered "mental health" by some public entities. We need to pressure our civic leaders to do their homework. In the same sense that the AMA regards alcoholism as a medical disorder, drug addiction is as well. Someone camping on the sidewalks doing drugs has a social problem by definition, as per DSM-5.
https://www.gatewayfoundation.org/addiction-blog/dsm-5-substance-use-disorder/#:~:text=DSM%2D5%27s%2011%20Criteria%20for%20Addiction&text=These%20criteria%20fall%20under%20four,substance%20but%20being%20unable%20to
Frequently those with substance addiction are trying to "self-medicate" and have a bi-polar syndrome, a disorder recognized by the American Psychological Association. Rehabilitation facilities and licensed assessment for these people needs to be encouraged, rather than leaving them to camp on the streets. Clinical assessment takes at least 72 hours of drug-free observation, and a "cure" cannot be assured in less than six months of treatment. It is a situation everyone is avoiding, but eventually it WILL land on YOUR doorstep, so we need to pull together on this matter.
A casual search on line showed many rehab sites available in Tacoma and Seattle for those on Medicaid but NONE in Kitsap. There ARE possibly new facilities being built near KMH (?) There should be NO veterans in the homeless population, and if you meet ANY vets panhandling or camped on the street, call the Veteran's hotline and let them know. Veterans take care of their own.
To follow up on this subject:
Mike Simpson: electmikesimpson2023@gmail.com
Adrian Wright: adrian4bremerton@gmail.com
VA homelessness hotline: Dial 877-424-3838 and Press 1
Narcotics Anonymous: https://www.kitsapgov.com/pubdef/Pages/AA-and-NA-Meeting-info.aspx
NA help line: 360-215-2616
Statement in Support of Israel
The Kitsap County Republican Party stands with Israel, a long-time ally of the United States, and supports her right to defend her country and her people.
We condemn the barbaric actions of the enemies of Israel in their recent attacks on Israel and civilians, and call for them to immediately cease their hostilities.
Our deepest sympathies are extended to the family and friends of those have lost loved ones or been injured or captured.
We encourage everyone to join together in prayer:
• Pray for peace in Israel. (Psalms 122:6-8)
• Pray for unity in the United States in their support of Israel.
• Pray for the safe return of the hostages.
• Pray for those who have been injured or lost loved ones.
• Pray for wisdom and resources for Israel as they work to defend their people, land, and sovereignty and rebuild what has been destroyed.
Patriotic Book of the Month
Killing the Witches by O'Reilly/Dugard. It's difficult to accept that such injustices EVER happened in America, but the hysteria was real, and so was the hanging of innocents. Many of our Constitutional laws today are a result of this time period. The most striking thing about the Salem hysteria was the fear level affecting the citizens who allowed it to happen. We need to learn from this. First, never let hysteria make our decisions for us (whether it be from social leaders or media) think for yourself! and secondly, have the courage to speak out against true injustice. Because if you don't, you may be next. Facts, figures and do your homework.
Contact other conservative groups in our area: https://www.kitsaprepublicans.com/local-groups
Contact Newsletter Editor: josiec5150@gmail.com
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Do you have 1-2 hours a week or month to volunteer in person, at home, or virtually? KCRP needs volunteers in many areas for any skill level.
Volunteer Now!
| 
