By Sandra Crosnoe and Sarah Burnett
We have come a long way towards moving Washington County GOP to a properly functioning county. When I first moved to Bartlesville in 2005, I immediately attended precinct meetings, became a precinct chair and was appointed secretary for the party. It wasn’t long until I was removed as secretary (for supporting another Republican candidate for president – Ron Paul) instead of apparently the ‘approved’ one. Back then the Executive Committee ran the party and although the rules clearly put the County Committee in charge, the two were commingled and never handled properly. The excuse was ‘it has always been done this way’. People either walked lock step with those in office or they were asked to leave and/or be quiet. More on this back story here if you wish to pursue that sad story. So for many years, several of us decided all we could do was pray. We simply did not have the numbers to change things at that point. We organized a prayer team and over the years, I wrote lots of stories about Washington County on my personal blog scrosnoe.com. Search Washington County for lots of history if that sort of thing is of interest to you.
So pray we did and that was the best decision we could have ever made. Our Heavenly Father showed up to answer those prayers a couple of years ago via a whole team of likeminded grassroots individuals ready to work hard and take back this county. And long story short – we did! It was not without a battle, a very intense one. That story is documented here on OKGrassroots in multiple articles:
In the last two years, County Chairman Larry Murray engaged the County Committee to be actively involved in being present in the community, holding our government officials accountable, and informing thousands of voters of upcoming elections and issues on the ballot. This has led to huge wins, including:
VOTERS VOTE NO TO CHARTER CHANGES
The WCGOP stood against changes to the Bartlesville charter that would have lessened public comment, lengthened terms of council members, and moved elections to lower turnout dates, and the voters defeated those changes on April 2, 2024!
FLIPPED TWO CITY COUNCIL SEATS TO STOP DRAG SHOWS
In a two-year effort, the WCGOP members worked to stand with voters and against drag shows. Two city council seats were overturned thanks to many efforts by our members.
STOOD FOR REPUBLICAN VALUES AS A COMMITTEE
The County Committee met almost every quarter, working on party business, and passing many resolutions, including condemning our state senator’s legislation to bring abortion back to Oklahoma.
STOPPED GREEN AGENDA AND SURVEILLANCE
The WCGOP Committee members raised concerns about the green agenda in a city Comprehensive Plan and thanks to that pressure, the plan is now being amended. The County Sheriff and County Commissioners agreed to defend Constitutional Rights and rescinded their efforts to bring Flock Cameras to Washington County after WCGOP members raised 4th Amendment rights concerns.
This year’s convention was a huge success! Our keynote speaker was Ryan Walters and he had his lovely young daughter with him on the podium and held her hand as he spoke on matters he is currently addressing like keeping the Bible, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence in our classrooms. He took time to answer as many questions as people had most graciously and visited with people as he left for another engagement.
Credentials were handled shortly after registration closed. Resolutions were debated openly and many resolutions were passed, including resolutions regarding Repealing the FACE Act and Repealing the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, and a Resolution to Censure Oklahoma Republican State Senators, Representatives, and Local Officials who support transportation surveillance.
For elections for the WCGOP County offices, those running as a Grassroots Slate were individually nominated and nominations were open to nominations from the floor but none were offered. Elections were all by voice and were unanimous consent.
Chair: Vic Severin
Vice Chair: Sarah Burnett
State Committee: Eddie Collins
State Committee: Michael Stadelmaier
District Committee: Larry Murray
District Committee: Josh Lock
Alt State Committee: Sandra Crosnoe
Alt State Committee: Rob Burns
You must be logged in to post a comment.