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