PRESS
RELEASE
Jim
O’Connor Announces AZGOP Chairmanship Candidacy
During
tonight’s LD 23 district meeting, Chairman Jim O’Connor announced his candidacy
for the Arizona Republican Party Chairmanship election to be held at the
January 28, 2017 AZGOP Statutory meeting.
“I
am running to give AZGOP State Committeemen an opportunity to choose a Chairman
who will incorporate the grassroots activists’ voices and ideas into the
operation of our State Party. I intend to reopen the doors of party
headquarters to Republican volunteers and take advantage of their willingness
to offer their time, talents, and treasure to the party. I look to orchestrate
a model of appropriate behavior from the top down.”
If given
the opportunity to serve AZGOP members, O’Connor commits to holding monthly
Zoom conference calls with all County Chairs, as well as face-to-face meetings
once each quarter. “I pledge,” he said, “to build a more vibrant AZGOP on a
foundation of trust, honor, respect, and adherence to party bylaws and the
Republican Party Platform.”
O’Connor
has been active in our Republican politics for the past 10 years, having served
two-year terms as a Member at Large for CD 5 and CD 6. He was elected Chairman
of LD 23 in November 2014, and serves on the Executive Guidance Council of the Maricopa
County Republican Committee. During this past year, O’Connor spearheaded the
effort to renounce the National Popular Vote Compact legislation, which moved
through the Arizona State House. As part of that continuing effort, he built a
team to educate legislators and PCs statewide about the failings of this
foolish idea. The compact, if passed, would subvert the will of the people of
Arizona, by mandating that electoral votes go to the winner of the national
popular vote, even if it differs from the actual Arizona result.
The most
salient example of O’Connor’s effectiveness in building the party and
motivating volunteers was his success in working with his district’s Precinct
Captains and Area Directors to appoint 135 new Precinct Committeemen in LD 23.
He
encourages all newly elected Precinct Committeemen interested in voting in the
statutory meeting election to place their names on their District or County
ballots for the position of State Committeeman. Only State Committeemen are
eligible to vote in the race for State Party Chairman.
Jim
O’Connor
