February Program Reminder:
Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst was our speaker at last month’s candidate forum luncheon. Come and meet your other candidates for Lieutenant Governor on February 26th! Senator Dan Patrick of Houston and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples will join us at the February 26th candidate forum luncheon. (Land Commissioner Jerry Paterson has also been invited to attend our February luncheon.)
432nd District Court candidates Judge Ruben Gonzales and Steve Gebhardt will also be in attendance as well as the candidates for 231st District Court, Judge Jesse Nevarez and John Clark. The primaries are upon us, so come and get to know your candidates!
Social – 11:00am; Program – 11:30am; Location – Fort Worth Club, 306 7th St., 12th Floor.
To make a luncheon reservation ($25 with reservation, $27 without), RSVP by noon on Monday, February 24th to Helen Bavousett at 817-516-0704 or byronandhelen@live.com. If you are not having lunch, no reservation is necessary. Those who RSVP but do not attend will be billed for their reservation cost. (Please do not RSVP using the Comment/Reply section below.)
President’s Message
Judge Bonnie Sudderth, President of Fort Worth Republican Women
Why am I a Republican?
In case you missed it last month, in 2014 our monthly newsletter will feature a guest post from a Republican woman who would like to spread her message as to why she is a Republican. We hope that in reading these posts, you will be renewed in your beliefs. For those of you who may not understand why a person, especially a woman, would be a Republican, we hope that you will follow these posts with an open mind. We are confident that if you do, you will see that Republican issues are women’s issues. Meet Susie Tonymon, who has been a member of FWRW since 1990! Enjoy!
Susie Tonymon
Let me tell you in very simple terms why I am a Republican and how I arrived at this determination in my life.
My parents emigrated from China in the early 1900s and settled in southeast Arkansas leaving behind poverty, warlords, bandits, political upheavals, and lack of opportunities for a better life. But upon reaching these shores, they discovered they were denied an opportunity to become citizens because of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Therefore, they could not vote and because of that, I was not exposed to party affiliation in general and voting in particular. It was not until 1943 when that restriction was lifted because China was an ally during World War II. There was not much enthusiasm in my family about the electoral process until my father applied and received his citizenship shortly thereafter.
So, what to do? You work hard to achieve your goals; you assimilate where you are planted; you take care of your own; you live within your means; you guide and inspire your children to do their best; you show by example your care and compassion; you stress the value of an education. That’s what my parents did amid the circumstances of a segregated south where the Democratic party held reign until Winthrop Rockefeller became the first Republican governor of Arkansas in 1966.
As I look back over the years, I can see where my political philosophy began to take hold. Here are a few insights.
Governmental programs were instituted that were supposed to help its citizens. Instead they created a society of people who became dependent on government to take care of them. Payment for these programs created a tax burden for us and for generations to come. I could see that government was not living within its means. This was entirely contrary to my vision of how the government should operate. Republicans want people to fend for themselves as much as possible.
Education standards were compromised to the point where students were graduating from high school without knowing how to read. Parental involvement became almost non-existent. Textbooks often contained fallacies or omitted segments of our great American history. The changing role of a teacher who is saddled with “paper work” often marked a decrease in his/her effectiveness in the classroom. Republicans seek to provide remedies.
To work hard to build a business and then to have government place so many taxes and regulations on it stifles the enthusiasm with which this country was built. Yes, some regulations regarding health and safety are necessary, but to place undue burdens on small business thwarts economic development and leads to unemployment and the closing of companies. Republicans fight to preserve small businesses.
Justice within the legal system means interpreting the law as written and not legislating from the bench. Republicans elect officials to uphold this judicial philosophy.
Social issues can be divisive with Republicans on both ends of the spectrum, but overall Republicans agree that disagreements can be civil.
Aside from a strong belief in the Constitution of the United States, you can see the basic values that I live by and the reason why the Republican party fits me. While I may not agree on every issue, for the most part the Republican party fits me, and I am pleased to proclaim, “I am a Republican.”
EARLY VOTING IS UNDER WAY!
You have until February 28 to vote early in the Primary Election. The Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, March 4. Remember that photo ID is now required to vote. For more information, visit http://www.votetexas.gov/ or download the VoteTexas app to your smart phone!
BEFORE YOU VOTE . . .
Every vote counts, which is another reason we must be responsible with the privilege of voting. Please take some time to educate yourself about the candidates. Thanks to Beryl Dowd who has passed along a great tool to use as a start to making your voting decisions. Visit https://ivoterguide.com/ConsiderMyself.aspx to get started.
A list of Republican Party Primary Election candidates can be viewed at http://www.texasgop.org/elections/
You should also view the sample ballot at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/2014-sample-republican-party-primary-ballot.pdf
MARCH 4 PRECINCT CONVENTION INFORMATION
If you are interested in becoming a delegate (or alternate delegate) to the Republican Party of Texas State Convention held June 5-7 in Fort Worth, you must first attend your precinct convention and be named a delegate to your Senate District convention. The Precinct Convention is the same night as the Primary Election, beginning a half hour after polls close. Ask the Election Judge where your precinct convention is and he or she will direct you.
The Senate District 10 Convention will be held on March 22. The main purpose of this convention is to collect resolutions to send to the state convention and to elect the delegates and alternates to the state convention. The SD10 Convention will be held at the Mansfield AISD Center for the Performing Arts located at 1115 Debbie Lane, Mansfield.
If you have questions about this process, please contact:
David Wylie 817-247-2237 Senate District 10 Chair Pct Chair 2305, Arlington DavidWWylie@gmail.com
BOOT CAMP FOR REPUBLICAN WOMEN?
That’s right! Some of our FWRW attended the Texas Federation for Republican Women Leadership Boot Camp held on Saturday, January 25. They spent quality hours sharing ideas and learning innovative strategies to strengthen the club and its effectiveness in assisting Republican candidates and voters. We thank them for their time and dedication and look forward to implementing the ideas they brought back here to Fort Worth!
FWRW President – Judge Bonnie Sudderth, TFRW District Director SD 10 – Kaye Moreno, Voter Registration Chair – Debra McDaniels
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
FWRW 5th Vice President – Communications and Newsletter Editor, Cynthia Favila-Terry
The strength of conservative values and the Republican Party in Texas is being tested this year. In fact, it is being challenged. And for what? The great state of Texas has seen growth in economic times when the rest of the country has either seen little growth or has seen job and population loss in record volumes. It seems that all of this talk of blue and pink is about simply taking political power. Perhaps these power-seeking Democrats should be reminded of something Thomas Bertram Lance once said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Texas isn’t broken, and we must continue to make it stronger as opposed to letting them try and “fix” it. This primary is another battle in the war we are in this election season. It’s up to us to show them what a battleground is.
Start by voting in this primary. Volunteer in one campaign or several. Republican candidates need you! If you want to volunteer to assist a Republican candidate’s campaign, but you’re just not sure how to get started, please contact FWRW Third Vice President – Campaign Activites, Pam Bassel. pam.bassel@fwch13.com.
If volunteering is not something you are able to do, then here are some other suggestions:
- Send a donation to help the candidates get their message out;
- “Like” the Republican candidates on Facebook;
- “Follow” them on Twitter and retweet their tweets to help them get their message out;
- Contact Brooke Allen at ballen@browndean.com to order your “Let’s Keep Texas Red” gear (I get lots of attention when I wear mine and it’s a great conversation starter!);
- Invite your friends, who may be on the fence, to come to a luncheon or attend a candidate forum; and
- If you have not done it yet, follow @FWRepWomen on Twitter! Social media is a powerful and free avenue to get the message out.
There is so much happening this election season and the FWRW want to help spread the information, but we need your help! Do not hesitate to share information by emailing it to c.favila.terry@fwrw.org We will get your events and messages out to our members so that together we can KEEP TEXAS RED!
FORT WORTH REPUBLICAN WOMEN 