It was great to see so many of you in person in April, so we’re meeting in-person again in May! The next meeting of Eastside Republican Club is Tuesday, May 11, 6:30-8:30PM, at Fairwood Golf & Country Club in Renton, 17070 140th Avenue SE. Please RSVP if you plan to attend!

The guest speakers for this meeting will include King County GOP Chair Joshua Freed and 26th District State Representative Jesse Young (R-Gig Harbor).  Joshua will provide an update on happenings in the KCGOP and prospects for this fall’s elections. Rep. Young will offer his perspectives on the recently-concluded session of the state legislature. We also have an open invitation to any Republicans and conservatives who have announced their intention to run for election or re-election this year; candidate filing week is coming up May 17-21!

If you plan to attend the meeting, please click RSVP to register, and pay online in advance so we can give a firm number of attendees to the country club. The cost is $10 per person to cover the cost of the meeting space, and includes dessert and coffee service.

Also, if you haven’t yet done so, this is a great time to renew your ERC membership for 2021! Just click on Join, select your desired membership level, and click “Continue to Payment”. Thanks for your support and membership!

Join Us for an In-Person Meeting of Eastside Republican Club!

This meeting was originally scheduled for April 6 but has been postponed to April 13 due to a positive Covid test for one of the staff at Fairwood Golf & Country Club.

With the relaxing of distancing restrictions, we’ve decided to have our first indoor in-person ERC meeting since the start of the pandemic! We’ll be meeting on Tuesday, April 13, 6:30-8:30PM. The meeting will be held at Fairwood Golf & Country Club in Renton, 17070 140th Avenue SE. The meeting will also be available online for those who prefer to remain socially distanced (link will be posted soon).

The guest speakers for the meeting will include State Representative Jim Walsh (R-Aberdeen, 19th District) and former State Senator Mark Miloscia (R-Federal Way, 30th District) who is now the head of the Family Policy Institute of Washington. They will give us an update on the current legislative session and the extent of the damage already done by the Democratic majority.

We’ll also hear from Kent mayor Dana Ralph, and Jerrod Sessler who is a candidate for Congress in the 4th District.

This will be a great opportunity to look ahead to the 2021 local elections – county, city, school district, fire district, and more – and to meet old friends in person once again.

If you plan to attend the meeting in person, please click RSVP to register, and pay online in advance so we can give a firm number of attendees to the country club. The cost is $10 per person and includes dessert and coffee service. If you plan to attend online, please click RSVP to register, but there’s no need to pay; we’ll send you the link before the meeting.

Also, if you haven’t yet done so, this is a great time to renew your ERC membership for 2021! Just click on Join, select your desired membership level, and click “Continue to Payment”. Thanks for your support and membership!

The ERC meeting that had been scheduled for April 6 has been postponed to April 13 due to a positive Covid test for one of the staff at Fairwood Golf and Country Club. For information on the meeting, please visit that post. If you prepaid for the meeting on April 6 and are not able to attend on April 13, please contact the club treasurer, Michael Scheele, at treasurer@eastsiderepublicanclub.org for a refund.

It was great seeing so many of you at the ERC Picnic on July 21. We appreciate Paul Hess hosting the event! We hope you all had a good time hearing from and mingling with the candidates.

As usual, there’s no ERC meeting in August. Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1. We’re working on confirming availability of speakers, and will have details for you soon. Given the progress of the coronavirus, it will likely be another online meeting.

And don’t forget to VOTE!

Due to ongoing social distancing requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic, the April 7 monthly dinner meeting has been CANCELLED. The Board is working on the possibility of rescheduling the candidate forum at a future date once large gatherings are again permitted. The Treasurer will be in touch with those of you who already registered and prepaid for the April meeting to determine if you would like a refund or to carry your prepayment over to the next dinner meeting. Everyone stay safe and healthy!

Due to ongoing social distancing requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic, the April 7 monthly dinner meeting has been CANCELLED. The Board is working on the possibility of rescheduling the candidate forum at a future date once large gatherings are again permitted. The Treasurer will be in touch with those of you who already registered and prepaid for the April meeting to determine if you would like a refund or to carry your prepayment over to the next dinner meeting. Everyone stay safe and healthy!

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Don’t miss Eastside Republican Club on April 7! We’re hosting a Candidate Forum for the top five Republican candidates for Governor of Washington! Our own Marty McClendon will moderate. This will be one of our biggest events of the year and we’re expecting a sellout crowd! RSVP today! Pre-pay to save $2 and reserve your spot. As always, we will have a great dinner and plenty of time to hang out with new and old Republican friends! Dinner starts at 6PM and the program begins no later than 6:30. Let’s turn Washington red! See you on April 7, 6PM at the Sheraton Hotel in Bellevue.

About the Candidates (in alphabetical order)

Loren Culp is Police Chief in Republic, Washington. As a U.S. Army Soldier, Loren honed his leadership skills in the Drill Sergeant School which he then used to help turn civilians into soldiers. He was the Honor Graduate for his class of Combat Engineers and an Honor Graduate of the Non Commissioned Officers Academy for Leadership. He was a Sergeant in the world famous 101st Airborne Division and the 2nd Infantry Division serving under President Ronald Reagan. After his military service, he was a small business owner for more than 20 years. In November of 2018, Loren was the first Police Executive to take a stand against the gun restriction initiative I-1639 which he believes is unconstitutional.

Tim Eyman is best known for sponsoring many conservative ballot initiatives in Washington, including I-695 (“$30 Car Tabs”), I-747 (1% limit on property tax levy increases), I-18 (reducing the King County Council from 13 members to 9), I-900 (government performance audits), I-960 (2/3rd legislative vote to raise taxes), and many others. In 2019, his initiative 976 to restore $30 car tabs and repeal the onerous Sound Transit tax was approved with 53% of the vote statewide, but is being challenged in court by Democrat politicians who resist the will of the people. He has stood strong in the face of legal persecution by the Washington State Attorney General, who is demanding he be permanently banned from political activity in Washington. He’s a frequent speaker at ERC, most recently on the topic of “Fearless Activism”.

Phil Fortunato is State Senator for the 31st Legislative District, and serves on the Senate Transportation Committee, Housing Committee, and Environmental Committee. He previously served as State Representative in the 31st and 47th Districts. Starting with a lawn-cutting business at age 18, Phil built a successful commercial landscaping and hydroseeding business. He currently owns and operates Eco-3, an erosion and stormwater management company. With over 30 years of experience, Phil provides environmental training and helps builders navigate environmental regulation. He was president and founding director of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the International Erosion Control Association. He and his wife Suzanne had been married 42 years, and have five children and four grandchildren.

Joshua Freed, a lifelong Washingtonian, was elected to the Bothell City Council in 2005 and later served as mayor. He oversaw revitalization of downtown, protected open space, and cleaned up long-ignored environmental issues, while giving tax relief to those who needed it. When King County announced plans to further imperil those with drug addiction by building heroin injection sites, Joshua persuaded local officials in nearly 20 cities and counties to ban injection sites in their communities and focus public resources on helping people break the cycle of addiction. He founded his real estate company with the vision of developing strong communities for families, and grew the business during the Great Recession into one of the premier locally-owned homebuilders in the Puget Sound region.

Anton Sakharov is a community activist and businessman who knows what it’s like to live under anti-capitalist regimes, something he fears could happen in this country and in the state as we tilt closer and closer towards socialism. He’s an immigrant who has lived through Soviet socialism and witnessed religious oppression and antisemitism; he knows from personal experience that our current path is a dangerous one. He pledges to use his more than 13 years experience in high-tech and in-depth management experience, to turn Washington away from its current socialist direction.

Eastside Republican Club’s monthly meetings are held at Sheraton Bellevue Hotel; click here for location information and directions. Monthly meetings cost $25 per person [$23 per person if paid in advance, online]. Please RSVP online at https://www.eastsiderepublicanclub.org/rsvp/ so we have an accurate count for dinner.