UNANTICIPATED EVENTS
by Josepth R. Concannon
Remember, we are the Republican Party and here in Queens we set the standard of personal integrity, professional engagement and straightforward honesty. The future is bright and we just made 4,000 brand new friends in this election cycle. Now go out and be proud; your party is on the move!
Who would imagine last summer as members of our club traveled to Staten Island to support our local police officers, that one year later I would be running for City Council – again. Our club is on the front lines on education, public safety, dignity for those homeless and much more. It’s been a busy year; Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a healthy New Year!
Unanticipated events such as the assassination of police officers Liu and Ramos, murder of Police Officers Brian Moore, Randolph Holder all shake us at our core. The lack of responsible dialogue from our President, former US Attorney General Holder and Mayor de Blasio has set off a firestorm of anti-police rhetoric across our nation. The rhetoric from our elected officials has been downright dangerous and the murder of our police officers locally, regionally and nationally has been heartbreaking and frightening to say the very least. If the safety of police officers is in question, then what does that hold for us, the citizens they are paid to protect? When the police are afraid to enforce the law, we as a city, state and nation have a huge problem. Public safety, homeland security is the cornerstone of our economic engines and social welfare. We are a nation of laws. At some point the silent majority will speak out and speak up. It is our job to engage them when they do speak.
The lifeblood of our democracy is an engaged citizenry. As a Republican, I have continuously fought to represent our common sense values here in the Borough of Queens and throughout the City of NY. Giving life to the Republican Party message is an honor. I have always advocated smaller but more effective government; I have represented the interest of families, workers, businesses and had a keen understanding of the needs of our seniors and civic responsibly. Government is NOT inherently bad, but like any group of individuals brought together, they must be closely supervised and managed. Our best days are ahead of us and our Party is growing. We are now united but learning the pains of a young growing leadership in our County. Each year we will be stronger and as we mature we will attract new and perhaps young professionals looking to work within the political system.
In this past election cycle we had the message, “Send de Blasio a midterm message.” Our message was welcomed and received so well that we are still hearing from voters who are looking for more. While the party registration is 83% Democrat in this district, it was never our mission to convert thousands of democrats. We were and still are firmly focused on identifying our voters, those who think like us. Our ground game needs to improve which means we need to bring our newly registered and disenfranchised Republicans and Conservatives, etc., to our meetings.
I want to thank everyone for their support: financial contributions, endless time and work done on behalf of our campaign and more importantly our Party. I carried the Party’s flag and presented it to everyone in this district. Our message was heard and our opponent heard it as well. The people of Eastern Queens said enough is enough and now the Mayor has announced his preparation to run for re-election. The Republican Party needs to identify its mayoral candidate as well. Our club will be at the center of all of these activities and we must be ready. Join us; victory for us is forthcoming, but we have to work very hard to achieve success. Take nothing for granted. Our club is in a leadership position in our county. It is our responsibility to lead by properly organizing our Party’s local leadership, district leaders, then county committees. These are our ground troops. Our club can help these leaders and should assist them. We need strong education programs on policy issues as well as the routine mechanics involved in the election process. Remember, we are the Republican Party and here in Queens we set the standard of personal integrity, professional engagement and straightforward honesty. The future is bright and we just made 4,000 brand new friends in this election cycle. Now go out and be proud; your party is on the move!
