Mark Harmsworth (R-44th District, Mill Creek) joined the state House of Representatives in 2014. He is a principled conservative who works with colleagues on both side of the aisle to support policies for economic growth, education, and relief for transportation congestion. He serves on the House committees on Transportation (Assistant Ranking Member), Technology and Economic Development, and Rules. Mark worked for over two decades in the technology industry, including a successful career at Microsoft. He is a former Mill Creek Mayor Pro-Tem having served two terms as a city council member. Currently he enjoys working as one of the directors for the Everett Community College Foundation and for the Boys and Girls Club of Snohomish County. Mark lives in Mill Creek with his wife of over twenty years, Sarah, and their three children. Rep. Harmsworth will report on the 2017 legislative session.

Dr. Gene Kopelson is president of the New England chapter of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, an active Churchillian, and a holocaust educator. As a historian, he has published works on Theodore Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet, Ronald Reagan’s 1966 campaign and Mexican American voters, the 1968 Nebraska and Oregon Republican primaries, and Washington State Republican politics in the 1960s. The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial featured his research on Robert F. Kennedy as an inspiration to Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal. His research on Reagan and Eisenhower was featured in 2015 at the 125th Commemoration of the Birth of Dwight Eisenhower at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. He and his wife Mindy educate about the resistance and update teacher-student book and video teaching trunks at the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle.

When not researching and writing history, Dr. Kopelson is a cancer physician. He has published over forty medical articles, contributed chapters in medical textbooks, and lectured in the U.S. and abroad on radiation oncology. He graduated Princeton University with an A.B. Cum Laude in Biochemistry, obtained his M.D. at Columbia University, and completed his internship and residency at Harvard University’s Department of Radiation Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. For two decades, he was the director of a cancer center affiliated with the Yale University School of Medicine and was a practice accreditor for the American College of Radiation Oncology.

Dr. Kopelson will address the club on his book Reagan’s 1968 Dress Rehearsal: Ike, RFK, and Reagan’s Emergence as a World Statesman.

Eastside Republican Club monthly dinner meetings are held at Embassy Suites Bellevue. Dinner is served at 6:00PM, and the program begins at 6:30PM. Please RSVP online if you plan to attend the upcoming meeting. Monthly dinner meetings cost $20 per person.

Do you think since your children are grown, education is no longer an issue for you? Think again! After decades of indoctrination and a deliberate dumbing down, our schools have produced citizens (including legislators, journalists, and tens of millions of voters) who believe America is oppressive, socialism is cool. and science is based on consensus!

Lt. Col. Roy White is a retired Air Force fighter pilot of 20 years service who is a native of North Carolina but now resides in the Texas Hill Country outside of San Antonio. In 2013 when Texas was considering new instructional materials, Roy, a former school teacher, began what has become the largest national grass-roots organization dedicated to returning truth to our children’s social studies textbooks. His organization, Truth in Textbooks (TNT), has grown from a Texas-only effort that now stretches from California to Florida to North Carolina to New York. Organizing and training over 150 volunteers from 20 states and disseminating their research has resulted in millions of children now having more historically-accurate information within their classroom walls. He will be addressing Truth in Textbooks, and the success which has come from dedicated citizens who do the tireless research.

Sharon Hanek is an accountant, community volunteer, wife, and mother who became active in the political arena when she became involved in education issues. Her “mother bear” instincts brought her into the political arena, where she has run for office and is the current Vice Chair of the Pierce County Republican Party. She now travels around the state presenting her findings and advising others on how to navigate through Olympia. Over the years, Sharon has been a guest on local and national radio programs. She believes that citizens getting involved can change our state, and is committed to helping others learn to be a strong voice in their community and in politics. Sharon will be addressing Truth and Deception in Washington schools.

We will also hear from Jinyoung Lee Englund, who is running for State Senate in the 45th District. A third-generation Washingtonian and married to an active-duty U.S. Marine, Jinyoung has ten years technology and public policy experience solving problems: securing funding for an NGO providing clean water in Africa; serving constituents in Congress as a staff member for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers; educating the public, government and law enforcement on Bitcoin and Blockchain; and Product Manager and Advisor on Technology and Innovation for the U.S. Marine Corps. Her campaign is focused on opposing an income tax, reducing car tab taxes, and prioritizing education. She will share her views on education funding among other important topics.

Finally, the Club will conduct a brief Special Business Meeting to elect a new President to serve the remainder of Tim Cruickshank’s unexpired term.

It was great to see everyone who came to our Eastside Republican Club Picnic on July 11. We had some great food and fellowship, and were able to hear from many great candidates! Thanks to them for their hard work campaigning, and to you all for supporting them.

If you haven’t yet sent in your ballot, please be sure to get it postmarked on Tuesday or deposited in a ballot drop box by 8PM. To find the drop box closest to you, go to http://kingcounty.gov/depts/elections/how-to-vote/ballots/returning-my-ballot/ballot-drop-boxes.aspx.

Information on the September dinner meeting speakers and the special business meeting will be posted here soon.

The topic for the June 6, 2017, monthly dinner meeting of Eastside Republican Club will be “What you need to know about the Deed of Trust Act and why should you care?”. It will be presented by Michelle Darnell, Jeff Jared, and Kreg Kendall.

Michelle Darnell is a consumer advocate. borrower advocate, and expert on the Washington state Foreclosure Fairness Act. She was a candidate for state Senate in the 48th District in 2014, and for state House in the 48th district in 2016. She is now chair of the Libertarian Party of King County, and works as a legal assistant in the law office of Jeff Jared.

Jeff Jared is an attorney in Kirkland. He specializes in family law, criminal defense, and foreclosure defense. Jeff was a candidate for U.S. Senator in 2000.

Kreg Kendall is managing broker at Windermere Real Estate/Bellevue Commons, Inc. He’s a director of Washington REALTORS, and a former director of Seattle King County Realtors.

Michelle, Jeff, and Kreg will discuss the legislative history of the Deed of Trust Act, property rights, foreclosure trends in King County, foreclosure mediation, how foreclosure is related to homelessness, who profits from foreclosure, non-judicial foreclosure verses judicial foreclosure, litigation challenges, standing to sue, and knowing what you’re signing in property transactions, and what people can do to help.

Eastside Republican Club’s monthly dinner meetings are held at Embassy Suites Bellevue. Dinner is served at 6:00PM, and the program begins at 6:30PM. Please RSVP online if you plan to attend the upcoming meeting. Monthly dinner meetings cost $20 per person.

Dr. Roger Stark is the Health Care Policy Analyst at Washington Policy Center. A retired physician, he is the author of two books including The Patient-Centered Solution: Our Health Care Crisis, How It Happened, and How We Can Fix It. He graduated from the University of Nebraska’s College of Medicine and was one of the co-founders of the open heart surgery program at Overlake Hospital. He also serves on the Board of the Washington Liability Reform Coalition. He will address the club on where we should go from here on replacing Obamacare.

Tim Eyman is best known for sponsoring many conservative 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. This year he is promoting I-1550, which would further limit property tax increases.

Also at this meeting the Club will announce the winners of the Eastside Republican Club 2017 Scholarship Essay Program.

Eastside Republican Club’s monthly dinner meetings are held at Embassy Suites Bellevue. Dinner is served at 6:15PM, and the program begins at 6:45PM. Please RSVP online if you plan to attend the upcoming meeting. Monthly dinner meetings cost $20 per person.