A Message From The Chair - Kalamazoo County Republican Party

WHAT HAPPENED?

On February 17^th the KGOP Delegation of 39 delegates and 39 alternates traveled to the Lansing Center to participate in the MIGOP State Convention. On that Friday night the 4^th congressional district met in conference room #7 to elect the District Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer, as well as each County’s State and District representatives.

The rules had previously been unanimously agreed upon and adopted by the six County chairs. Each County would have time to caucus and elect their nominees, if they hadn’t done so at the time of the Convention, this time would take place after the election of the District Officers. The County’s also had agreed (Rule #6) to number of State and District County seats were allocated per unanimous agreement.

Rule #9 of the 4^th Congressional District established this process for each County to caucus and select their nominees as follows:

9. Nomination Process for State (6) and District (15) Committee openings.

Each County will caucus and its voting delegates shall elect the nominees for each State & District position assigned to said county, as available (per schedule – section 5).

County chairs will announce their nominees to the District delegation at large. The District delegation shall accept as final, each counties nominees.

If a County does not fill all of their allotted nominees for State and or District seats, those empty seats (lacking a county nominated representative) shall be filled by the District Delegation.

This rule ensured that individual County’s got to choose and elect their own representatives to the number of allotted seats for their County. This rule was later modified to take out the following sentence, “The District delegation shall accept as final, each counties nominees.”

Within minutes of the meeting being called to order at 7pm, a delegate from Kalamazoo County proposed a motion to set aside rule #9 and exclude Kalamazoo County from this process. The motion was seconded by another delegate from Kalamazoo County. The rule change would allow the entire district, which included 5 other County’s, to vote on the Kalamazoo County seats.

The rule change silenced the voices and diluted the votes of the duly elected Kalamazoo County Delegation. Instead of the 39 Kalamazoo County delegates choosing and electing their own representatives to the 4th District, 135 delegates from other counties were able to vote on Kalamazoo County seats.

All of the other counties in the district got to choose who their own representatives to the District Executive Committee and State Committee would be…except Kalamazoo County.

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

The KGOP organization is committed to protecting its members and stakeholders from nefarious actions and actors. Due to what happened at the District Caucus, the KGOP Chair called a special closed executive committee meeting on March 1^st, 2023. At the meeting, the individuals that orchestrated and perpetrated the actions that took place at the District Caucus were censured, their KGOP membership revoked, and their dues refunded.

We take seriously the many complaints which were brought forth after the Convention. As the leader of the KGOP it is my duty to insure that the overall safety and health of the organization and its members it protected, as such there will be appropriate measures taken to protect our organization and its members.

WHERE ARE WE HEADING?

As an organization we are committed to protecting our members interest and creating a positive environment moving forward. The KGOP will be laser focused on spreading the Republican platform and message to the citizens of Kalamazoo County.

The KGOP has 21 working groups and committees made up of delegates and members who are actively working to better the organization and help make a stronger and growing Republican Party in Kalamazoo. We plan to move forward, growing the party and work vigorously this Fall to assist candidates in the Fall Municipal Elections.

Additionally, the KGOP delegate training committee is ready to prepare our delegates for the upcoming election and for the Presidential cycle in 2024. We will be hosting monthly delegate meetings for training and bringing forth speakers who will make Kalamazoo County the model of the State, with our new delegate data tools and walk apps. Designed by delegates for delegates.

One final thing, we would like everyone to welcome Karen Williams, who has been appointed as the Chair of the KGOP Precinct Delegate Committee.

Most Grateful to Serve,

Kelly Sackett

Congress

Repowering Palisades Means Lower Costs, Greater Energy Security, and Good Paying Jobs for SW Michigan

Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) released the following statement after the Department of Energy officially announced the conditional commitment of up to $1.52 billion for a loan to repower Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert, Michigan. “Today’s announcement is a massive step towards restoring 800 megawatts of carbon-free energy generation and hundreds of highly skilled jobs right here in Michigan’s Fourth Congressional District. Holtec’s historic repowering of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant will provide safe, reliable energy to meet Southwest Michigan’s growing needs, and it lays the groundwork for the first-of-their-kind small modular reactors to be placed at Palisades in the future. For these reasons, I’m proud to have led the bipartisan congressional effort on behalf of this project to lower energy costs, create jobs, and strengthen American energy security.” Congressman Huizenga has been a vocal leader in the bipartisan effort to repower Palisades. In July, Huizenga pressed Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry on restarting Palisades and the importance of nuclear energy. In September, Huizenga discussed the importance of the power purchase agreement between Holtec and Wolverine Power Cooperative. In December, Huizenga led a bipartisan letter to the Department of Energy requesting a timely and responsible review of repowering Palisades. In January, Huizenga wrote about Fueling Southwest Michigan’s Future by Repowering Palisades In late January, when Bloomberg broke the news that the Department of Energy was moving forward on Palisades, Huizenga spoke about the impact on energy security and good paying jobs. In February, Huizenga visited Holtec International’s Corporate Technology Center in Camden, New Jersey to see work being done for Palisades.

October 26, 2023 In The News A Michigan GOP lawmaker's sign in support of Israel hanging outside his office in Washington, D.C., was vandalized with bloody handprints, his office said Thursday. Rep. Tim Walberg's office revealed his "I stand with Israel" sign was defaced, with the congressman declaring, "anti-semitism has run rampant across the country." "This is yet another despicable act which should not be tolerated," Walberg, a former pastor, said in a press release. "At a time like this, we must think of our Jewish community members, including those on my staff, who are enduring this targeted behavior and harassment following the largest attack on Jews since the Holocaust," he continued. Walberg's office told Fox News Digital the sign had been put up earlier this week, and that the congressman had tweeted about standing with Israel after the country was attacked by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, sparking a war. The Michigan Republican's office said the congressman employs Jewish staff members and believes the vandalism is unacceptable. Walberg's office also said they have contacted U.S. Capitol Police about the incident. Capitol Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Earlier this month, Walberg, who has been vocal in his support for Israel, led a letter with 43 other lawmakers to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona demanding he take action to protect Jewish students on American college campuses. "Many student groups have issued statements condoning and even celebrating the terror attack, which should be considered a modern-day pogrom. Some student groups have even utilized imagery of a paraglider to advertise their rallies, unequivocally celebrating the despicable tactics used by Hamas — a terrorist organization that President Biden stated is a ‘group whose stated purpose for being is to kill Jews,’" the letter reads. Walberg called out universities for portraying themselves as "inclusive and tolerant" and speaking out regarding social issues while remaining silent on the current crisis. "In recent years, schools have been quick to weigh in on a plethora of social issues, but suddenly, many have gone silent as anti-Semitism rages across college campuses. This deafening silence and lack of moral clarity by college administrators comes as student groups openly celebrate a terrorist attack motivated by bigotry," Walberg said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "These schools pride themselves on being inclusive and tolerant, but it is clear there is an anti-Semitism crisis on these campuses, so we’re calling on the Biden administration to take action to protect Jewish students and to visit these schools to examine why they are such a hot-bed for anti-Semitism." Pro-Hamas sentiment could be seen at universities across the country since the attack on Israel this month. An organization called "Cornell Students for Justice in Palestine" introduced an anti-Israel resolution to the student government body this week justifying the Hamas terror attack and Palestinians’ right to "resistance by any means necessary." The vandalism of Walberg's pro-Israel sign also comes as some Democratic members of Congress promote Hamas propaganda and participate in pro-Palestinian protests at the U.S. Capitol complex. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., tripled down on the Hamas narrative that Israel was behind last week's explosion at a Gaza hospital, something that had already been debunked by both Israeli and U.S. intelligence. Tlaib is now facing a censure resolution in the House introduced on Thursday by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. A U.S. Capitol Police spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the department is investigating the incident. This article originally appeared on FoxNews.com on October 26.

Jeff Heppler	Dist 6
John Gisler	Dist 7
Wendy Mazer	Dist 8

Congress

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