The Salt Lake County Republican Party

Listen to Chairman Wright interviewed by Jeff Robinson of KCPW News 12.11.2009. The Salt Lake County GOP is changing things up just a bit as they prepare for their county convention next year. Download audio

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Salt Lake County Republican Party announces Mass Meetings in 2010

The Salt Lake County Republican Party announced that on March 23, 2010, it will be holding mass meetings on the legislative district level instead of the precinct level to increase participation and make it easier for voters to find their caucus meetings. Previously, the Salt Lake County Republican Party held precinct meetings in each precinct, usually at personal residences of Republicans.

“Currently, there are 836 precincts in Salt Lake County,” said Chairman Thomas Wright. “We felt it was important to centralize the meetings into 31 legislative district locations, rather than 836 precinct locations, to most effectively elect delegates who will select our party’s candidates.”

“This centralization will make our meetings ADA accessible, easier to find and more welcoming to the record number of new participants we are seeing this year,” Wright continued. “By advertising 31 locations located throughout Salt Lake County, participants can show up to a local high school or library in their legislative district and then break out into the same precinct meetings that have been held previously. The process of electing precinct chairs and delegates will be completely unchanged.”

The Salt Lake County Republican Party is expecting record turnout due to the current political climate. Some precincts have had turnout so high in previous years that the home holding the meeting could not accommodate everyone who wanted to attend. And, those were years of poor turnout for Republicans.

“In order to accommodate the high level of attendance we are expecting in 2010, we need to have precinct meetings in locations that can accommodate large groups of people,” Wright said.

Wright added that having the meetings at central locations will allow the party to easily answer questions and distribute a more consistent message to its members.

“We’re showing the public that the Salt Lake County Republican Party wants to include everyone who can support its platform,” Wright said. “We want to have Republicans with different perspectives and backgrounds who support our platform come to a neutral location to become a delegate or precinct chair. We also encourage unaffiliated and independent voters to attend our events and consider registering as Republicans if they feel inclined to do so. This is not a party run by a few power brokers. This is a party of the people. We work hard to encourage people to get involved.”

Precinct caucuses will be held the evening of Tuesday, March 23, 2010. Locations of mass meetings will be posted on www.slcogop.com as they become available.

For more information, please contact Julie Dole, julie@slcogop.com

Update 12/7/09: Leading Story tonight on KSL! http://bit.ly/6KQHfh