Clark County resident Peter Hotrum shares his thoughts on the Washington State Republican Party 2024 Convention
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com
‘Consent-of-the-governed’ isn’t just a pithy catch phrase, it’s how American self-government is intended to function from Washington DC to Washington state to the Clark County Republican Party. Many people believe Washington state is infected with fraud and corruption since mail-in ballots installed single-party rule. Don’t despair yet, there are pockets of function if you look for them.
As a first term Precinct Committee Officer (PCO) and first-time delegate to the Washington State Republican Party 2024 Convention in Spokane, I see reason for hope. By a show of hands, it appeared 70-80% of delegates were first-time attendees. I took it as a sign of grass-roots interest in self-governance and we-the-governed made our voice heard. On day one we confronted the tyranny of the small powerful committee and triumphed with the will of the people. The candidate committee appeared to fall prey to some convenient last-minute “information” and attempted to remove the state governor’s race from the list of endorsements. We-the-people made it loudly clear that was not our will and we ultimately triumphed with 72% of the state endorsing Semi Bird.
So, what happened to the loser Dave Reichert? Well mostly what we had was a rumor swirling around the convention. He never showed up to present his case to we-the-people much like his non-existent campaign for the last year while Bird ran laps around the state talking to everyone. Some people said he was on his way to the convention but heard there were a lot of Bird signs and he turned his limo around and went back to his lakeside vacation home and left his minions there to cause chaos for the rest of the convention. The next day we got a sort of confirmation from his own mouth that he was “given assurances” that he would not have to compete in a fair contest of ideas for leadership against Bird. Maybe he’s onto something – the last time someone campaigned from their basement and scripted events while minions did dirty work, they ended up a president.
The next controversial endorsement was for Public Lands Commissioner, a technical position managing state natural resources with data driven science against political pressure from special interest groups. Sue Pederson is a real true scientist well qualified with a career directly applicable to the job and we endorsed her with a resounding 86% of the state.
So, what happened to the loser? She was none other than our very own infamous Jaime Herrera Beutler from right here in Clark County, nationally renowned for voting to impeach the only president intent on making America great and infamous for ignoring her constituents and selling out faster than Biden to every special interest group who drives by and happens to glance her way. She probably would have done better if she’d stayed in her basement and called some friends at the Seattle Times to try to eliminate her opponent. Instead, she got very publicly spanked by a paddle the size of 86% of the state of Washington.
The rest of the races were all great candidates who presented great ideas for leading their respective positions and we endorsed with paper ballots hand-counted and verified with redundancy and observers. Unsurprisingly, it worked despite attempts to thwart the process. I commend Chairman Walsh for his patience and wisdom dealing with the endless queue of “point of personal privilege” and “I’m hungry let’s table endorsements” in the middle of voting. You can guess who those delegates voted for and their intended purpose for disruption. Keep an eye on Pete Serrano as he is well qualified and not running against an incumbent. Other candidates endorsed were Raul Garcia, Matt Hawkins, Dale Whitaker, and Dave Olson.
Here are some key takeaways for me. Despite abuses of Robert’s Rules, it works and gives a framework of order. Factions will always try to weaponize it, however. One motion stands out as a theme “I call the question” which is intended to end long and laborious debate that is tirelessly beating a dead horse. The first day it was used effectively to shut down those attempting to cause chaos and delay votes with filibustering and out of order motions. The second day it was used against the body of delegates to rush a vote on the platform that was only disseminated the night before and not fully discussed and the mass of the delegates did not know this would enshrine abortion into our platform simply because it was legal.
Most people agree there are many laws that are wrong. I’m disappointed the mass of delegates were not quick enough on their feet but I was proud to notice that Clark County had the largest group of hands trying to stop this addition to our platform because we’ve had a pretty serious focus on training the last year or so.
Lastly, committees are powerful and should get the trust-but-verify treatment. Two out of four committees at the convention attempted to pull-one-over on the body of delegates and one succeeded. As PCOs, if you hear the phrase “out of respect for you we decided for you” or “it doesn’t align with our strategic plan,” sit up, pay attention, take your role seriously, and let the will of the people be heard.
Peter Hotrum
Clark County
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