Saturday gathering a call for Republicans to get involved in local issues

Whipping up a friendly crowd at the local GOP convention, the chairman of the county’s Republican Party called for more “community organizing” and invoked former community organizer and President Barack Obama’s name in almost the same breath.

“I know we all think it's nasty because that's what Barack Obama did, right? But that's how they took over this country,” said Matt Heath. “That's how they took over counties like Sonoma County, by getting involved in the community. It's about time we conservatives get involved in our community.”

Based on ticket sales, about 175 people attended the Saturday convention at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Heath said. Others, too, emphasized close-to-home activism.

“Starting at the local level is very important because that’s where we can have the most impact,” Cheryl Giurlani, president of the Santa Rosa Republican Women Federated, said as she waited for the speakers program to begin.

Outnumbered statewide — and 3-1 by Democrats in Sonoma County — local Republicans have to calibrate their strategies to be relevant, said Dave McCuan, a Sonoma State University political scientist who studies electoral politics.

(According to the California Secretary of State’s latest records, Sonoma County has 172,523 registered Democrats, or 59% of registered voters; 56,542 voters with no party preference, or 19%; and 52,637 registered Republicans, or 17% of registered voters.)

As a “bloc of activists in a period of national polarization and local party weakness … they have to find inroads for offices that are nonpartisan“ such as school boards and planning commissions, for example, said McCuan.

Events such as Saturday’s convention “create a rah rah effect, a cheerleading effect for the members,” said McCuan, as well as driving participation to impact statewide and local measures — especially those that are tax-related — on the March 5, 2024, ballot.

As the day drew on, Heath, the party chair, put it this way: “If we can find one additional new volunteer, if we can find 10 new people who want to get involved and we can find somebody who wants to run for local office, it's been a success.”

Which is not to say there weren’t loud calls on Saturday for staples of Republican political meat and potatoes: to ban critical race theory, eliminate discussion of transgender rights and sexual orientation from schools, “lock the borders down,” and center fossil fuels in the nation’s energy and national security policies.

“What is important for you to know is that we have to have energy independence in order to be able to win the next war — and there will be another war," said Denice Gary-Pandol, earning a solid round of applause.

Gary-Pandol’s campaign website describes her as a political scientist focused on national security issues. She aims to take over the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who is retiring.

Eric Early, a Los Angeles attorney also running to replace Feinstein, railed against the FBI, the Department of Justice and transgender athletes and garnered his own applause when he described himself as a “proud MAGA Republican.”

Other candidates dug in to the nation’s divisions.

"There are candidates in this race and on the campaign trail that say we need to bring people together, we need to heal the divide. I say nonsense to that. That is feel good happy talk,“ said Tief Gibbs of Novato, running to be the GOP candidate to go up against Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, in the 2nd Congressional District.

“That has never worked in the history of mankind and it has cost the Republicans power for the last 30 years,” said Gibbs, who positioned herself with the hard right congressional Freedom Caucus and added, “I want to bring our country back from the precipice of Marxism.“

Gibbs’ Republican opponent to face Huffman, Chris Coulombe — an Army veteran who was raised in South Park, a few blocks from the fairgrounds — focused on water security and the local cost of living.

He said Huffman’s advocacy of a plan to remove Scott Dam on the Eel River would, by draining Lake Pillsbury, imperil a water source crucial to firefighting efforts and agriculture. And, pointing to state data that show a declining Sonoma County population, Coulombe said people are voting for change with their feet.

"Most people in this district are frustrated. It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat, it doesn't matter if you're a Republican. We all need water. We all need opportunity for employment,“ he said. ”We all need a place to work or to provide services ourselves as small business owners.“

Joan Riebli, president of the Sonoma Valley Republican Women Federated, said she admired Gary-Pandol in particular but that she and the other stumping candidates haven’t “got a snowball’s chance in hell.”

“It’s hard,” said Riebli, ”being a Republican in California.“ In Sonoma County, she said, ”you shut your mouth.“

The convention, she said, “ was helpful for a short period of time because you don’t have to have the tape across your mouth.”

As he ate his lunch, Andrew — who in a sign, perhaps, of his party’s position locally, didn’t want his last name used because he didn’t want his political affiliation known at his workplace — offered both gloom and a trace of optimism.

“I feel like it's kind of hopeless, to be honest with you. Sometimes I feel like we're wasting our time here. I think a lot of Republicans feel that way,” he said.

“We do these things here out of hope that someday Democrats and people who lean left will realize that some of the policies that are put forth on that side aren't working,” he said. “And maybe they'll look at Republicans as an alternate option and say, ‘Hey, you know what? Maybe we should try those policies.’ OK, so here we are.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 707-387-2960 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jeremyhay