Alcona County Republicans
Meeting Minutes
October 24, 2022
Opening:
The Meeting called to order by Carrie Mullins at the Chosen Ranch Community Center (CRCC) at 7:14pm.
Present:
Carrie Mullins, Chairman
Jeffrey Dobbs, Vice Chairman
Jessica Dobbs, Secretary
Chris Wagener, Treasurer
Drew Wagener, Deputy Treasurer
Greg Anderson, Sergeant At Arms
Kris Anderson, Trustee
William Sickner, Trustee
Absent:
Molly Adkins, Trustee
Larry Brozowski, Trustee
Business:
Pledge of Allegiance & Invocation Given
To start the meeting, we stood and said the Pledge of Allegiance, and an Invocation was given by Gary Wnuk.
Local Candidates
Gary Wnuk for School Board (Fairview School District), Lisa Turek for School Board (Alcona School District), and Craig Johnston for County Commissioner were all in attendance today and offered a chance to speak. They all declined. But we thank them for being a part of our group and coming to the meeting!
Final Push, What You Can Do
These are the last two weeks before the Midterm Elections. Be sure to talk to everyone around you about voting NO on the three proposals, and use our Voter Guide to assist you with knowing who to vote for this November. Also, try to make it to our October 30th Candidate Roundup (Meet & Greet)!
November 8 General Election
Just a quick FYI, Open Carry is allowed at polling places, so long as you aren’t brandishing your weapon(s), or threatening people. Be aware that Democrats may feel threatened if they simply see your weapon.
Conceal Carry is okay as long as you follow the rules and regulations you learned about when receiving your Conceal Carry License. (Like, not carrying within schools and churches, etc.)
Signs & Literature Available – Political Signage Laws
We have extra Tudor Dixon signs. The day after Carrie ordered the designs Jess made, Cam Cavitt brought in 25 Tudor Dixon signs for us to use. There is plenty of literature for DePerno & Karamo to take, but no signs as of yet.
The first weekend of November, we would like to put up signs on the Right of Way areas around the county. Please see the attached literature about the Right of Way Signage Laws.
There are very strict laws about placing signs within 100 feet of a polling place. Carrie went over some of these with us all.
October 30 Meet & Greet Candidate Roundup
Dollar donations are welcome at this event, due to funds being almost all used up at this point.
We would love for candidates to come and record a short “commercial” to be released live and sent to the county chairs to release to their own distribution lists as well.
Michelle Hoitenga & Cam Cavitt will for sure attend.
The event starts at 12pm and will go on until at least 7pm.
Jenny is catering for us. Jeff Dobbs is handling the Social Media and Electronic Devices for us. There will be no rent due for the hall thankfully.
Call to County Convention: November 28, 2022
November 28th is the Executive Committee Election Convention & Potluck Party Celebration.
Anyone who would like to run for a position on the Executive Committee needs to send Carrie an email at alconacountyrepublicans@gmail.com indicating their intent to run. (If you feel uncomfortable sending it to Carrie, you can also send it to Jess Dobbs, the secretary, at secretary.alconarepublicans@gmail.com).
Update on January 6 Equal Application of the Law Resolution Sent to Jacob Lang
Carrie sent this resolution to the D.C. Jail and the Virginia Jail. Virginia refused the package and it will be returned to Carrie soon. This indicates that Jacob is likely still at the D.C. Jail. Carrie will also be doing handwritten notes to show the Jan 6th detainees that they are not forgotten.
Jim White – Trustee Resignation
Jim sent an email to Carrie to resign as Trustee. It was due to personal reasons, and so we are all praying for him and his family as he takes this step back.
Treasurer’s Report
Drew read the report aloud for all in attendance. You can find the report attached to these minutes.
Jeff motioned that we accept this report, with Greg seconding. The motion is passed.
Minutes
The minutes are posted on the website. Jeff motioned that we accept the minutes as presented on the website, with Chris seconding. The motion is passed.
League of Women Voters for Northeast Michigan
Going forward, we will have no further dealings with this group. They recommend voting YES on all three ballot proposals, which goes directly against their charter that states they shall remain non-partisan.
Escrow Money for Oscoda County GOP
Oscoda GOP has officially been formed. As such, we will send a check for the money we’ve been holding in escrow on their behalf. Drew motions that we pay the money to the Oscoda GOP, with Jeff seconding. The motion passes.
Resolution for the ACCOA
Attached to these minutes is the Resolution that was passed by the Alcona County Grassroots Conservatives group.
Drew motions that we accept and sign onto the resolution as presented by the ACGC group. Kris seconds this motion.
Roll Call Vote to Accept the Resolution (needing 2/3 vote of Executive Board):
- Carrie Mullins – Yes
- Jeff Dobbs – Yes
- Jess Dobbs – Yes
- Kris Anderson – Yes
- Greg Anderson – Yes
- Chris Wagener – Yes
- Drew Wagener – Yes
- Molly Adkins – ABSENT
- William Sickner – Yes
- Larry Brozowski – ABSENT
Motion passes. Precinct Delegates in attendance voted yes to sign onto this resolution as well.
Matthew DePerno & Kristina Karamo Signs
Steve Yoder said there are no more signs for either candidate available. These candidates are focusing the last of their campaign funds on mailers to be sent out next week or so. Dixon is hoping to release a new commercial soon. It is interesting that nearly 60% (or more) of Whitmer’s campaign funding is coming from states such as California and New York…
Carrie would like for Jess to design signs for DePerno & Karamo, as she did with Dixon and the 3 Proposals. She wants to order the same amount of the new signs, from the same company.
Motion to create and order signs for DePerno & Karamo made by Jess, with Drew seconding.
Roll Call Vote:
- Carrie Mullins – Yes
- Jeff Dobbs – Yes
- Jess Dobbs – Yes
- Kris Anderson – Yes
- Greg Anderson – Yes
- Chris Wagener – Yes
- Drew Wagener – Yes
- Molly Adkins – ABSENT
- William Sickner – Yes
- Larry Brozowski – ABSENT
The motion passes.
Good of the Order
Bob Turek:
- He’s not asking for any money, but he’s curious if the ACR will purchase and fund signs for local elections? Carrie affirmed that we can and will if we have the money and if the board approves the motion to do so.
- Regarding the ACCOA: Tomorrow is their board meeting and he and Leroy is to be installed as new members of the Board. He let everyone know that he was instructed to sign a confidentiality agreement which was not voted on by the previous boards, nor is it in their bylaws that such a form needs to be signed in order to be on the board. Tom Weichel, the Alcona County Prosecuting Attorney, said it was a bad agreement and that he wouldn’t sign it. Bob is inviting everyone to attend the meeting, as it should be interesting.
Judy French:
- She noted that if you go to the ACCOA, the entire building has cameras and microphones, and wants everyone to be aware of this fact. She noted that there is a rumor going around that the microphones are no longer operational, but she doesn’t know if this is fact or fiction.
Carrie Mullins:
- If you have spare time, pick up Campaign Sidekick and do some phone banking. If you have any questions about it, ask her and she’ll train you on how to use it. Also, take literature and signs and voter guides!
Bruce Lantto:
- November 6th, at Family Heritage Baptist Church, at 2pm, they will be praying for the Nation and the elections. Be sure to come and pray.
No other comments.
Tentative Agenda for the Next Meeting:
- Resolutions Updates
- Meet & Greet Event Updates
- Signs Updates
- Good of the Order
- Other Agenda Items to be Added as Needed
Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn, called by Gary, seconded by Jeff at 8:40pm. Next open meeting to be held on November 28, 2022 at 7pm at the Chosen Ranch Community Center.
Minutes submitted by: Jessica Dobbs
