Quarterly State Committeewoman Report

State Committeewoman Report February 2025

UPDATED LOYALTY OATHS NEEDED FROM ALL MEMBERS

As of the January 11, 2025 Annual Meeting, the RPOF Executive Board amended Rule 9 (Loyalty Oath) of the RPOF Rules of Procedure. In addition to some minor clarifications and the inclusion ofa phone number, the only substantive change is as follows:

“I will abide by the Constitution, Rules of Procedure, and County Model Constitution of the Republican Party of Florida.”

It should be noted that the RPOF Rules of Procedure and the County Model Constitution were also updated. Changes in these documents directly impact the Oath. It is suggested you review each of these documents which are also attached.

Please complete the updated RPOF Loyalty Oath before April 1, 2025.

NOTE: Party Office should be written in as “Precinct Committeeman” or “Precinct Committeewoman.” There are 3 ways to complete this requirement. Pick one and get your Oath in.

1.   Complete at February 11th Meeting. Copies will be available at check-in, or you may print it out at home and bring it in. Turn in forms to designated people at the end of the meeting.

2.   Print at home to mail or deliver to HQ.

o  Download the RPOF Party Loyalty Oath HERE.

o Fill out electronically or print & fill out.

o  Mail it or hand deliver it to the Lee GOP office. If you choose to mail your oath, it is your responsibility to ensure it is received. It must be received before April 1st.

Lee GOP

12995 S. Cleveland Ave

Suite 239

Fort Myers FL 33907

(Call 239-936-8779 to confirm the front desk is manned before you come)

3. Fill out Oath electronically and email it to us.

o Download the RPOF Party Loyalty Oath HERE.

o The RPOF Loyalty Oath form is an electronically fillable PDF. Complete the RPOF Party Loyalty Oath and save it. The form needs to be witnessed; it does not need to be notarized.

o  Email your completed PDF before April 1st to Secretary@LeeGOP.org and include “New Loyalty Oath” in the subject line. It is your responsibility to contact the Secretary to ensure timely receipt if you do not get a confirmation email.

Do not send your oath directly to the RPOF – Party rules clearly state Loyalty Oaths must be submitted to the local party chair or designee.. Members who do not submit a new RPOF Party Loyalty Oath by April 1, 2025 will be automatically removed from membership. If you miss the deadline, you can always re-apply for membership in accordance with the rules governing the filling of vacancies.

If you have any questions, please reach out to State Committeewoman Jenner (ElectTaraJenner@gmail.com) or Secretary Mary Hartley (Secretary@LeeGOP.org)

Please see sample Loyalty Oath below, green highlighted areas need to be completed.

REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

COUNTY LEVEL

The Lee County Republican Executive Committee (LCREC) is comprised of Precinct Committeemen and Committeewomen who hold Party office for a four-year term. The application to be a Party member requires completing a DS-DE 305C Candidate Oath during the qualifying period in Presidential Election years.

The LCREC is allocated one Precinct Committeeman and one Precinct Committeewoman per 1000 registered voters, regardless of party affiliation, in each of the precincts. In election years If there are more applicants than precinct spots in a given precinct, an election will be held during the Primary in that specific precinct. The Party positions will be filled by those candidates with the most votes, up to the number of available positions in that precinct.

Vacancies may be filled throughout the four-year term, and candidates must meet the requisite criteria. Members in good standing vote on the admission of those seeking to fill vacancies.

In addition to the Precinct Committeemen and Committeewomen, the State Senators and Representatives who reside in the County are at-large members during their terms of office.

There are four Board members elected for a two-year term by the members of the LCREC who are in good standing. These elections take place in December following the Presidential and Mid-term elections. Those positions are the Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Only members in good standing are eligible to run for a Board position.

Also on the Board are the State Committeeman and State Committeewoman. Those positions are a four-year term elected County-wide by the registered Republicans voters during the Primary Election in Presidential election years and are deemed at-large members. The winner is determined by a plurality vote, meaning there is no run-off election.

STATE LEVEL

RPOF Officers

Officers of the State Committee consist of:

o State Chairman

o Vice Chair

o Secretary

o Treasurer

o Assistant Secretary

o Assistant Treasurer

o National Committeeman

o National Committeewoman.

The State Executive Committee (SEC)

The RPOF is the State level of the Republican Party. Members of the State Executive Committee (SEC) include:

o The RPOF Officers (see above)

o Thirty individuals appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and Speaker of the House (10 from each for a total of 30 appointees)

o The Chairman, State Committeeman, and State Committeewoman of each of the 67 counties.

The SEC members are responsible for electing the officers every two years, or as needed to fill vacancies. Additionally, the SEC votes to adopt or decline any changes to the controlling documents during the annual January organizational meeting. The SEC may also address resolutions and other actions.

*See the attached State Executive Committee (SEC) chart for details.

The RPOF Executive Board

The RPOF Executive Board is comprised of the following people:

o All officers of the RPOF

o National Committeeman and Committeewoman (NCM/NCW)

o All 28 Chairs of the Congressional District Caucuses

o Chair of Chairmen Caucus (Chair of Chairs)

o Chair of the SCM/SCW Caucus

o Chair of Appointees

The Executive Board votes on items presented during the quarterly meetings including but not limited to Rule and Constitution changes as well as disposition of grievances. When the Chair of the Caucus is unavailable, the Vice Chair serves on the Executive Board as the alternate. Decisions made at the Executive Board sessions during quarterly meeting are effective immediately and subject to annual review and consideration by the SEC during the annual meeting in January.

*See the attached Executive Board chart for membership details

RPOF Caucuses

1. County Chairmen’s Caucus – comprised of all County Chairmen. Members of the caucus elect a Chair and Vice Chair who serve a two-year term. The Chair serves on the Executive Board and is referred to as the Chair of Chairs. The Vice Chair fills in when the Chair is unavailable.

2. State Committeemen and Committeewomen’s Caucus – Comprised of all State Committeemen and Committeewomen. Members of the caucus elect a Chair and a Vice Chair who serve a two-year term. The Chair serves on the Executive Board and is referred to as the Chair of the SCM/SCW. The Vice Chair fills in when the Chair is unavailable.

3. Appointees Caucus – the 30 members of the caucus are appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and Speaker of the House (10 each). The appointees elect a Chair and Vice Chair who serve a two-year term. The Chair serves on the Executive Board and is referred to as the Chair of Appointees. The Vice Chair fills in when the Chair is unavailable.

4. Congressional District (CD) Caucuses – Members of the caucuses comprise the Chairman, State Committeeman, and State Committeewoman (SCM/SCW) from each county in the Congressional District. It also includes three appointees and the Congressman for the District. Some Counties may be part of several different CD Caucuses. Lee County is one such County. The Vice Chair fills in when the Chair is unavailable.

5. Lee County Congressional District Caucus Participation- Lee County is in Congressman Byron Donalds’ CD-19 caucus and Greg Stuebe’s CD-17 caucus. Each CD caucus elects a caucus Chair and Vice Chair. Those eligible to run for one of the officer positions must reside in the Congressional District in question. There are also appointees from the legislature who are voting members but who are not eligible to run for an officer position. Additionally, the Congressmen are also voting members in their caucus.

CD-19 Caucus members:

o Congressman Byron Donald

o Collier County SCW Kristina Heuser (CD-19 Chair)

o Collier County Chairman John Meo (CD-19 Vice Chair)

o Collier County SCM Doug Rankin

o Lee County Chairman Mercedes Price

o Lee County SCW Tara Jenner

o Lee County SCM Michael “Mick” Peters

o 3 Appointees

Those eligible to run for CD-19 Chair and Vice Chair were the two County Chairmen and the two SCWs. The two SCM (who reside in different Congressional Districts) and the appointees were not eligible to run, but were eligible to vote.

CD-17 Caucus members:

o Congressman Greg Stuebe

o Charlotte County SCW Katherine “Kat” Pellegrino (CD-17 Chair)

o    Charlotte County SCM John Bothwell (CD -17 Vice Chair)

o    Charlotte County Chairman Dave Kalin

o  Lee County Chairman Mercedes Price

o  Lee County SCW Tara Jenner

o Lee County SCM Michael “Mick” Peters

o Sarasota County Chair Jack Brill

o Sarasota County SCW Rachel Frank

o Sarasota County SCM Joe Neunder

o National Committeeman Joe Gruters

o 3 Appointees

Those eligible to run for CD-17 Chair and Vice Chair included everyone except for Lee County Chairman Price Harry and SCW Jenner because they live in CD-19, and the appointees.

ANNUAL RPOF MEETING JAN 2025

Annual RPOF meeting was held on January 10 and 11. Officer and Caucus elections took place over the course of two days. Review of the Executive Board Rules and Constitution changes made over the past year were ratified. An orientation session was held for newly elected Chairmen and State Committeemen and Committeewomen.

Caucus Elections

Each of the caucus met and elected officers who will serve on the Executive Board.

State Executive Committee Meeting

Caucus Chair Elections were ratified.

Board Elections were held.

Prior controlling document updates made by the Executive Board were ratified.

RPOF Board Elections Results

o Chairman Evan Power was reelected by a strong majority, with his challenger receiving only 19 votes.

o  Jesse Phillips, the Vice Chair from January 2024, received close to 1/3 of the votes but was defeated by the newly elected Vice Chair Jovanté Teague.

The following incumbents were reelected without opposition:

o Secretary Kristy Banks

o Treasurer Mike Moberley

o Assistant Secretary Clint Pate

o Assistant Treasurer James Campo

o Other officers of the RPOF include the National Committeewoman Kathleen King and National Committeeman Joe Gruters who were previously elected.

Executive Board Meeting

The Executive Board, upon recommendation of the Constitution and Rules Committee, updated RPOF Rule 9 to insert additional language into the Party Loyalty Oath and instructed all County REC members, through their County Board, to update their Party Loyalty Oaths by April 1, 2025.

RPOF Committees

Chairman Power has requested all the County SEC members (Chairs and SCM/SCW) submit their preferences to serve on different committees. These requests will be reviewed and appointments will be made within the next couple of weeks.

CHARTERING PROCESS FOR CLUBS

RPOF Rule 1 outlines the process, restrictions, and conditions for creating a chartered Republican or rechartering an existing Republican club.

There are restrictions on the use of the name, abbreviations, and symbols of the Republican Party. There are also restrictions on activities by chartered Republican clubs. These restrictions include but are not limited to:

o Compliance with applicable state and federal election and campaigning finance laws

o Adoption of by-laws consistent with state or federal laws, the Constitution or Party Rules of Procedure of the Republican State Executive Committee, and of the Republican Party of Florida County Model Constitution

o May not engage in intra-party differences or support the nomination of one Republican candidate over another unless the Republican Party has voted to endorse that candidate under Rule 8

o Non-Republicans may not be guest speakers at an official meeting or function without the approval of the Chairman of the County Republican Executive Committee

Charter applications must be approved by at least two of the following individuals no later than March 15, 2025:

o County Chairman

o State Committeeman for the County

o State Committeewoman for the County

The County Chairman and State Committee Members are tentatively set to meet Saturday, February 22, 2025 from 10 AM to 11 AM at the LCREC offices located at 12995 S. Cleveland Ave., Suite 239, Fort Myers FL 33907 to address club chartering with interested parties. Please confirm your availability and, preferably, have your charter paperwork in hand for this meeting.

If you are interested in more information and/or would like a copy of the chartering application paperwork, please email SCW Tara Jenner at ElectTaraJenner@gmail.com. Also contact her to confirm the above mentioned meeting date and time. Please note “Republican Club Chartering” in the subject line of your email.