Filing Day is Here!!



Candidates filing for a place on the 2014 GOP Primary Ballet
Andy Isaacs, Rick Gommert, Frank Summer, Dave Barkemeyer, Kyle Deal (Interim Chairman), Sam Berry, Donna Orsag, Jay Beathard, and Chuck "Tank" Balch

Opening day of the filing period for the 2014 Primary Elections was brisk for the Republican Party of Milam County as nine candidates came in to file for seven of the eleven spots on the 2014 GOP Primary Ballet.

Candidates filing are as listed below:

County Judge

David Barkemeyer – incumbent
Frank Summers

County Treasurer

Donna Gilbert Orsag – incumbent

County Commissioner (unexpired term)

Chuck “Tank” Balch – incumbent

Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1

Rick Gommert – incumbent

Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2

Sam Berry – incumbent

Justice of the Peace, Precinct

Andy Isaacs – incumbent
Kim Stewart

Constable, Precinct 3 (unexpired term)

Jay Beathard

I will be updating the filing information as quickly as possible via email and on our website at www.milamgop.org

Filing for a place on the 2014 GOP Primary Ballet will conclude on December 9th, 2013. Anyone who would like to fill out an application to file in the Republican Primary they can reach me at 254-627-9349 or via email at milamgop@yahoo.com
Thanks,
Kyle

 

Kyle Deal

Interim Chairman
Republican Party of Milam County
milamgop@yahoo.com

Milam County Budget Meetings

Hello Everyone,

I was pleased with what I heard about the attendance at the Republican Women’s Meeting last night. I missed the women’s meeting as I was at the Public Meeting on the County Budget held by Judge Barkemeyer in Milano last night.

I felt I needed to attend these as I have been getting a number of calls about the proposed budget and wanted to make myself as available as possible for these.

If you haven’t had a chance to attend one of the four meetings already held then you still have a chance to attend one of the remaining three. Judge Barkemeyer will be holding three more meetings as follows.

August 22, 2013 – 6:30 pm at the One-Stop Center in Rockdale.
August 26, 2013 – 6:30 pm in Gause at the Fire Department.
August 27, 2013 – 6:30 pm at the Thorndale Chamber of Commerce.

Participation in the governing process is what makes government as effective as it can be. Simply voting is not enough so please come out and be a part of the process and not just a spectator. You won’t regret it.

Thanks,
Bill

Positive Campaigning in Milam County

As I look back at the last few years here in Milam County I am very proud of all the work that the folks in both the Republican Party and the Republican Women of Milam County have put in. In just four years we have built a conservative movement here in Milam County that as witnessed not only the first elected Republicans in Milam County, but a majority of Republicans in county office.

To Date, Republicans hold 14 of the 20 elected county offices – OUTSTANDING!

Most of the credit belongs to the candidates and the volunteers who have worked so hard to build the Republican Brand in Milam County. As the County Chairman I owe a great deal of gratitude to all those who have provided their time and money, as well as their active participation that has in turn provided untold motivation for me, for the Milam GOP Leadership, and for the candidates themselves – THANK YOU!

I would also like to thank everyone for what I consider the most important virtue of the Conservative Movement in Milam County – Staying Positive.

Unfortunately, there are many examples of negative campaigning, be it in federal, state, or local elections; however, from the first Milam GOP meeting I attended we have worked hard to conduct ourselves in a classy and positive manner while leaving the negative campaigning to others. As long as I am Chairman, I will continue to insist that candidates looking for the support and affiliation with the Republican Party of Milam County continue to do so.

In the most recent election we had one candidate for a county office who promised to run a positive, issue driven campaign. But when the rubber met the road, he used negative campaigning while claiming that he was simply using the incumbent’s record to demonstrate how his ideas would be better. Unfortunately his attacks (regardless of their accuracy) became more desperate as the campaign went on and he offended many voters as well as those in the party and in the end his negative actions resulted in him being soundly defeated.

While I am happy to report this sort of activity has been a rarity while campaigning at the county level, I am saddened to say that it is not and will not be the case at the state level. Currently we have several GOP candidates at the state level who are already using negative campaigning to attack fellow Republicans in the hopes of gaining votes – UNACCEPTABLE!

In the coming months you will begin to see the shaping of campaigns and feel an ever increasing exposure to those campaigns as we approach the November filing period and the March Primary Election. As always I will hold fast to the Milam GOP policy of supporting all the candidates who run under the GOP label in a fair and equitable manner. To those who chose negative campaign tactics, be advised that such actions will be met with little support from the Milam County GOP Leadership.

It’s not that the Milam GOP doesn’t support a candidate’s right to run their campaign as they see fit, we just want positive campaigning where the issues and ideas are discussed and the politics of personal destruction are a thing of the past. Remember, you can’t explain how you will make things better if you’re badmouthing you opponent.

Good Luck to all,
Bill


Bill Whitmire
Chairman
Republican Party of Milam County
www.milamgop.org

Looking Down the Road!

Well it’s time to start thinking about the 2014 primaries and the eventual 2014 General Election. Here in Milam County we will have 11 local offices up for election along with the state and federal offices. Candidates will start filing for office November 9th, I will list them all later. Needless to say, we need some good folks to step up and take a part in the process.


I hear a lot of people grumble about those in office or about how much we need term limits, but without good people stepping up to serve…well nothing will change.

How about you, have you ever thought about running for office? Yes there are some negatives, but the benefits of working for your fellow citizens to improve things for the future generations far outweigh any negatives that can be associated with serving in office.

The founders of this country set up the government (be it federal, state, or local) to be a place for citizen servants to govern for a while and then return home to live under the very laws they passed while in office. Unfortunately, over time that philosophy has been shattered and now we have lifelong politicians who make a career of being in government.

Politicians who work to make the legislating of the government at all levels so difficult to understand that most people feel unduly intimidated by it and fail to even try and comprehend it. I dare say this alone is the single greatest contributor that creates the misunderstanding, overregulating, and overspending that engulfs today’s big government.

What we need are more citizen servants. People not looking for a career, just a chance to serve their fellow citizens and reign in the generally out-of-touch elected bodies such as the administrative, legislative, judicial, and yes…even the local county government at times.

So, are you willing to step forward and help out by doing your part? Or are you going to stand on the sidelines and watch those you disagree with or those who have been in office for too long continue to lead the country, state, or local government.

The choice is yours. You can run for office, help someone else run for office, or get involved with the local county party. But what none of us can do any longer is just continue on the same path and hope something better comes along. If you look at the truly great moments in history you will see that the path of the future was not decided by the will of one or two people, but by the actions of a determined and motivated citizenry.

So as a citizen, how motivated are you at this moment in history.

Voting is a start, NOW GET INVOLVED!


Thanks,
Bill


Bill Whitmire
Chairman
Republican Party of Milam County
254-482-0354

March 19, 2013 Repulican Women's Meeting

Hello Everyone,


I hope everyone is doing well. Just wanted to drop a little reminder that this is the third Tuesday of the month and as such it is the Republican Women of Milam County’s monthly meeting is tonight. It will be at 6:30 at the Budget Host Inn & Suites in Cameron.

Eric Opiela is the guest speaker tonight. Eric is the Executive Director and General Counsel for the Republican Party of Texas and he will be addressing the get out the vote efforts throughout the state and how to better it here in Milam County.

I invite you all to come on out for an informative talk, especially if you are an aspiring candidate for 2014. Remember, filing for the 2014 election starts in November at the latest and possibly as early as September depending on this year’s legislative session.

I would also like to take a moment to address an issue that I know is near and dear to our recently elected officials and that is campaign finance and helping y’all out with some of the expenses from last year’s campaign. During the last meeting we discussed this and wanted to make sure each of you know that there is still an opportunity to get some help from the RWMC.

I don’t think the system ran as smoothly as it should have last year and as the Chairman of the Milam GOP I take responsibility for that. I know there are a few of you out there who are still a little irked at me and I apologize. I should have done a better job keeping you all informed. I am thankful that each of you was elected, but I feel that some of you needed a little more help than you got and for that I apologize.

HOWEVER, like I said, after our meeting last month we decided to try and get you some help with last year’s expenses; to do so we need some help from you also. But in order to get some help we will need some information from you all and we need to definitely keep the lines of communication open.

There was a bit of a lack-of-communications issue last year and we are working on that by preparing for next year’s election by designating aid levels for candidates depending on whether they are county-wide or precinct candidates and by providing a candidates packet for Primary winners that will give the candidates instructions and an application to fill out to receive aid from the RWMC.

So there is the event for this evening and what we are looking forward to in the next few months. If you are not able to make it tonight and you would like to know more about running for office, getting some financial help for last year’s campaign, and whatever else you might have a question or concern about, then just give me a call.

I am very excited as I have already had a number of possible candidates already sit down with me to discuss the 2014 race and to begin the decision making process and the organizing required for a run for office. I would also suggest if you are considering a run for office in 2014 or you are a current office holder then you should probably be there.

I hope to see you all soon!

Thanks,
Bill



Bill Whitmire
Chairman
Republican Party of Milam County
254-482-0354

Term Limits – Are They What We Need?

Term Limits have long been a popular debating point in American politics. There is much to be said for both sides of the argument. Whether you’re for term limits or not, that is up to you and I will not try to sell you on either side. But the one thing that is important to remember is that the main detriment to term limits is similar to the obstacles involved in unseating incumbent office holders.

The simple fact that there is a lack of good people willing to run for office; therein lays the single largest obstacle to keeping a good slate of people in government. It’s not that there is an overall lack of people willing to run, just a lack of good solid citizens who will to take the plunge and actually run for office. And who can really blame them?

A run for elected office invites many terrible experiences such as the basic unsavory criticisms, all the way to time away from home and family, the financial investment that is seen as insurmountable, and an invasion of privacy that most folks can’t even begin to imagine. Yet even with all this we are still surprised that the people who run for office so often tend to be of unfavorable morals.

Before this goes too much farther I am not saying that there aren’t good people in elected office – There Are. But for many folks who would make good elected officials, the intrusions into their life are far more than they are willing to endure. So whether we enact term limits or we are just looking for a better quality of person to run for office, good people must step up and meet the challenge of running for office.

Term Limits can be good as they keep people from becoming too complacent after years of serving in elected office; however, they can also be a detriment if good people are removed from office by term limits and replaced by less than desirable people who are elected simply because good people won’t run for office.

So in the end, term limits have their good points and their potential failing possibilities. The question is, if given the chance would you be willing to run for office? Or are you one of those willing to let someone else do it. It’s easy to sit back and just let someone else do the hard work, choose the hard path, and make the hard decisions. Are you one of those citizens or are you ready to make a difference?

If you support term limits then understand that the day may come when you may be that good person who people select to run – Would You?

The choice is yours,

Bill

2013 Reagan Day and Texas Independence Day Dinner

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to send out a little notice for you all to place on your events calendars.

The Republican Women of Milam County (RWMC) will be hosting their annual Reagan Day and Texas Independence Day Celebration on February 7^th, 2013. The evening will kick off at 5:00 pm with a mixer featuring our local elected officials in addition to State and federal representatives of Milam County.  Supper will be served at 6:00 pm and you definitely do not want to miss this as the meal will be served once again by the Kostrums. Speakers will begin around 6:30 capped off with our special guest Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

There will be a silent auction filled with donated items from various elected officials and community members. This is the only fundraiser the Republican Women will have this year and we need everyone’s support to make it a success; Money raised from this event will go to help candidates in future elections and towards community events such as the “Old-Fashioned Rally in the Park” and to support local schools with unfunded projects.

Get your tickets early as they are going fast.  For tickets contact any of the Officers of the Republican Women or Bill Whitmire at 254-482-0354.

Thank You,

Bill