June 2021

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OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE PINELLAS COUNTY REPUBLICAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Pinellas County We recently held a well-attended candidate Republican Executive recruitment workshop with very informative Committee Meeting presentations from seasoned and first- time elected officials, former candidates MONDAY, JUNE 14 and campaign professionals. The focus was on providing potential candidates at SPEAKER: the local level a foundational knowledge State Attorney Bruce Bartlet of what it takes to get a campaign off the ground. The workshop was attended by 6 PM New Member Orientation over 40 individuals interested in seeking local office. PGOP Vice-Chairman Adam 7 PM General Meeting Ross deserves much of the credit for getting this initiative off Feather Sound Country Club the ground, as does PGOP Secretary Katy Kelly and Executive 2201 Feather Sound Drive Director Charlotte Smith. We received a lot of great feedback Clearwater from the participants. Many thanks to Seminole Mayor Leslie Waters, Matt Tito, Redington Beach Commissioner Rich Cariello and Jonathan Torres for their presentations.

Republicans have recently awoken to the importance of local PCREC OFFICE HOURS elections, likely due to the havoc local Democrat leaders allowed 9 AM to 4 PM to be wreaked in cities across the heartland last year. It matters now more than ever that qualified, principled Republicans serve Monday—Friday in local leadership, whether that be Sheriff, State Attorney, Supervisor of Elections, County Commission or even local municipal councils. Not everyone has the time, desire or flexibility to serve in elected office; however, there are other ways to get involved in your local governments. INSIDE Every municipality has a number of boards citizens can get Page 1 — Chairman’s Column involved in. For example, my town, Belleair, has opportunities to serve on boards ranging from code enforcement to infrastructure Page 2 — Vice Chair’s Message to police pension and historic preservation. Information on these RPOF Quarterly Meeting boards and how to apply should be available on your municipality’s Summary website. Get to know your commissioners/councilman and build relationships with them to have opportunities to serve on Page 3 — Calendar these boards when there are openings. In some municipalities, such Page 4 — Legislative Update boards are more than advisory and can provide you with a real Page 5 — Candidate Workshop opportunity to make change in your community. As Republicans, it is in our nature to think big, but now more than ever we New Members need to be involved in the smaller segments of government. Page 6 — New Member Initiative

Person of the Month Todd A. Jennings, Esq. Chairman, Pinellas Republican Party

Pinellas County Republican Executive Committee Office | 4707 140th Avenue North | Suite 208 | Clearwater, FL 33762 Phone: 727-539-6009 | Fax: 727 536-5902 | info @PinellasRepublicans.com | www.PinellasRepublicans.com

RPOF Vice Chairman ’s Message Quarterly Meeting Make America Florida! Summary The May Pinellas GOP meeting was a great wrap up from our legislative delegation regarding the recent legislative session. We heard from Speaker Chris Sprowls, Representative Chris Latvala, Representative Linda Chaney, Representative and Senate candidate The Republican Party of Florida held its second Nick DiCeglie and Senator Ed Hooper. With all the disfunction in annual quarterly meeng at Howie in the Hills Washington D.C., it was great to hear about so many conservative, at Mission Inn April 30 and May 1. I recommend a benchmark legislative accomplishments in Tallahassee this year. visit to this area which sll has remnants of Our State Legislature and Governor DeSantis pushed over the “Old Florida”. goal line advanced penalties for looters and rioters, gender protection for women’s sports, improvements for election integrity, historic The CD12 caucus met and discussed how the expansion for School Choice and penalties for de -platforming by RECs within this Congressional District recruits social media companies, among others. Florida is leading the way volunteers. Ad Hoc and Standing commiees for the nation, and our leaders are keeping Florida Free! then met. As a member of both” Large County We are 17 months away from the 2022 elections. Every seat in the Super 8” and “First Amendment” commiees, legislature will be on the ballot and so will Governor DeSantis’ it was noted that Pinellas County has 70% of position. Florida is also gaining an additional seat in the U.S. elected offices filled by Republicans. We are Congress, and there will be a U.S. Senate race. Expect millions of the third county with the highest success rate dollars to pour into our state from New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago to attack our great conservative leaders. It in elecng Republicans. is not a coincidence that Governor DeSantis has replaced President Donald Trump as the media’s target for attacks. Day 2, Saturday morning, Corey DeAngelis, an

Adjunct Scholar and Senior Fellow at the Cato We also have important local elections upcoming. First the mayor’s race in St Petersburg, and Republicans have a candidate on the Instute, discussed School Choice, Educaon ballot, Robert Blackmon. Then, we will have municipal races and Freedom and Messaging on Educaon, a hot county commission races, and our State Attorney Bruce Bartlett topic of significant importance to the future of will have a special election due to his appointment by Governor America. Following that, a joint meeng, DeSantis. Mr. Bartlett will be the speaker for the June Pinellas including the State Commieemen and Women GOP meeting and will highlight the critical issues that make his race such an important feature in our daily lives. and Chairman’s Caucus took place and addressed the issue of keeping our elecon primaries Pinellas GOP had a Candidate Workshop in May. The event closed and problems associated with write-in assisted potential candidates for state and local elections learn candidates. Moving up the Primary to provide what it takes to run effective, conservative campaigns and win! Seventeen months go by fast in political time. Pinellas GOP is more me for candidates to campaign into the ready and getting its members and communities ready to work general elecon was discussed. The topics of hard and win. We will be holding a Membership Initiative on the Voter Registraon and Flipping NPAs were evening of June 11 th at Local Brewing Company in Palm Harbor. addressed in the next training session in addition Please attend if you are able and learn how to Fundraising and ways in which to successfully you can get involved in the important upcoming state and local elections. If you can accomplish this task. help with door knocking, phone calls, voter registration, sign waiving, poll watching or The meeng was then adjourned, followed by anything else, please call the Pinellas an Execuve Board Meeng and an RPOF Social - GOP office at (727) 539 6009, or send an sponsored by the Lake County Republican Party. email to [email protected] ,

to sign up! Pam McAloon —Adam Ross

PCREC Vice Chair State Commieewoman Pinellas County

CALENDAR OF EVENTS—JUNE 2021 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 HRO BWRC PGOP MEMBR RCTS TRAINING HRCOPC PCYR PCTRC 6 7 8 HRO 9 10 PSBRC 11 BWRC 12

PCYR SPRC PFRW MEMBERSHIP RRRCTOW INITIATIVE PCREC SPRC CPRC 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 PCREC HRO NPRC TBTRC RCGL RRRCTOW NPRC 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 RCGL HRO DSPGOP SLRC PSBRC SLRC 27 28 29 30 HRO

BELLEAIR WOMEN’S REPUBLICAN CLUB (1st Friday of the Month) FRIDAY JUNE 4__11:30 AM Guest Speaker: State Senator Ed Hooper & Officer Installation (Reservation required) Location: Belleair Country Club, 1 Country Club Lane, Belleair 33756 Contact: President Deb Walker (727) 422-5291 [email protected] www.BelleairWomensRepublicanClub.com

CENTRAL PINELLAS REPUBLICAN CLUB (2nd Thursday of the Month) NO MEETING Guest Speaker: No meetings in June & July Location: Seminole Rec Center, 9100 113th Street N., Seminole 33772 Contact: President Barbara Stephens (727) 397-3449 [email protected]

HISPANIC REPUBLICAN OUTREACH ( Tuesdays by Appointment Only) JUNE 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 Location: 4707 140th Avenue North, Suite 208, Clearwater, FL 33762 Contact: Chely Hernandez-Miller (727) 434-4008 [email protected] www.PinellasRepublicans.com

NORTH PINELLAS REPUBLICAN CLUB (3rd Thursday of the Month) THURSDAY JUNE 17__6 PM Guest Speaker: TBA Location: Leo’s Italian Grill, 33286 US 19 N, Palm Harbor 34684 Contact: Ron Walker (727) 639-1511 [email protected]

PINELLAS COUNTY REPUBLICAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ( 2nd Monday of the Month) MONDAY JUNE 14__7 PM Program: State Attorney Bruce Bartlett Location: Feather Sound Country Club, 2201 Feather Sound Drive, Clearwater 33762 Contact: (727) 539-6009 [email protected] www.PinellasRepublicans.com

PINELLAS COUNTY YOUNG REPUBLICANS (2nd Tuesday of the Month) TUESDAY JUNE 8__6 PM Guest Speaker: Pinellas County Property Appraiser Mike Twitty Location: St. Petersburg Yacht Club, 11 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg 33701 Contact: Jerick Johnston (727) 488-5703 [email protected]

PINELLAS FEDERATED REPUBLICAN WOMEN (2nd Thursday of the Month) THURSDAY JUNE 10__6:30 PM Guest Speaker: State Attorney Brue Bartlett Location: 1530 N. McMullen Booth Road, #D12, Clearwater 33759 Contact: Julie Vayne (727) 501-3078 [email protected]

PINELLAS SUNCOAST BLACK REPUBLICAN CLUB (4th Thursday of the Month) THURSDAY JUNE 24__6 PM Program: TBA Location: Po’ Folks Restaurant, 2001 34th Street N., St. Petersburg 33713 Contact: Joyce Subhi (727) 338-9177

REPUBLICAN CLUB OF GREATER LARGO (3rd Monday of the Month) MONDAY JUNE 21__6 PM Guest Speaker: Installation of Officers Location: Alfano’s Restaurant, 1702 Clearwater Largo Road, Clearwater, FL 33756 Contact: Jim Frishe (727) 480-5901 RSVP Jan Cox 727-515-0163 www.largorepublicanclub.com

RONALD REAGAN REPUBLICAN CLUB OF TOP OF THE WORLD (2nd Tuesday of the Month) TUESDAY JUNE 8__7 PM Guest Speaker: Jack Shaffer. WWII Veteran Location: WEST Activity Center, Top of the World Contact: Edwina Schick (678) 414-5300 [email protected]

ST. PETERSBURG REPUBLICAN CLUB (2nd Wednesday of the Month) WEDNESDAY JUNE 9__7 PM Guest Speaker: Florida Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls Location: St. Petersburg Community Church, 4501 30th Avenue N., St. Petersburg 33710 Contact: Barb Haselden (727) 709-7039 [email protected]

SUNRISE LEADERSHIP REPUBLICAN CLUB (4th Tuesday of the Month) TUESDAY JUNE 22__7:30 AM Guest Speaker: Republican Strategist Amanda Makki Location: Perkins Restaurant, 2626 Gulf to Bay Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33759 Contact: Skylar Alexander (419) 852-6389 [email protected]

TAMPA BAY TRUMP REPUBLICAN CLUB (3rd Tuesday of the Month) TUESDAY JUNE 15__6 PM Program: Matt Bruce, The Captain’s America Third Watch Radio Show Location: Mugs Sports Bar & Grill, 13563 Icot Blvd., Clearwater 33760 Contact: President James Stratton (727) 410-6758 [email protected] Facebook: Tampa Bay Trump Club

At the May 10 PCREC meeting, those attending were privileged to receive a report from Pinellas County state legislators: Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, Florida Senator Ed Hooper and Florida Representatives Chris Latvala, Nick DiCeglie and Linda Chaney.

The 2021 legislative regular session concluded with passage of a plethora of important bills on a variety of topics, and Pinellas County representatives were instrumental in many of these. Some bills received national attention — positive or negative, depending upon your political persuasion. The list below is not comprehensive; it is but a slice of all the bills that were passed. Many of these bills have been signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, while some are still awaiting his signature.

We are grateful to our local representatives who worked hard during the 2021 legislative session to preserve conservative values in Florida!

SB 90 — Election integrity bill, strengthening voter identification, prohibiting the mass mailing of ballots, banning ballot harvesting and prohibiting private money from administering elections in the state.

HB1 — Anti-riot bill that establishes new criminal definitions under the anti-riot law and grants civil immunity to people who drive into protesters who are blocking a road. Prevents people accused of rioting from bailing out of jail until after their first court appearance and increases penalties for assaulting law-enforcement officers while engaging in a “riot”.

SB 1954 & SB 2514 — Provides infrastructure to combat sea level rise and safeguard coastal communities. SB 1954 will establish a grant program within the Department of Environmental Protection and will also fund resiliency projects throughout Florida, while allowing the state to partner with local governments to protect coastal communities.

SB 7072 — Holds Big Tech accountable by driving transparency and safeguarding Floridians’ ability to access and participate in online platforms. All Floridians treated unfairly by Big Tech platforms will have the right to sue companies that violate this law and win monetary damages.

SB 1884 — 2nd Amendment Protections bill, which will take effect July 1. Broadens a 2011 law, which can make local governments pay as much as $100,000 in damages if they are sued for imposing gun regulations.

HB 7045 — School Choice bill projected to allow more than 60,000 previously ineligible students to seek vouchers. Raises the income threshold to be eligible for School Choice vouchers from 260% of the federal poverty level to 375%, or from $68,900 for a family of four to $99,375.

SB 1028 — Fairness in Women’s Sports Act which bans biological males from competing in girls’ sports.

HB 545 — Sex Education and School Curriculum Transparency bill which requires school districts to review and approve sex education materials annually. School districts would also be required to notify parents of those annual meetings where the curriculum will be discussed and approved. Parents would also be allowed to have their child “opt out” of the curriculum.

HB 7061 — $196 million tax relief package that includes a third week-long tax holiday and new tax credits and exemptions for hiring interns, charitable contributions, cleaning contaminated sites and purchasing items that assist in independent living.

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Workshop educates potential candidates

In May, Pinellas GOP hosted a three-hour research done by Pinellas GOP volunteers, and workshop for registered Republicans interested it places at their finger tips valuable information in becoming candidates for various elected to help them decide if they want to become positions. The more than 40 attendees were candidates. presented with a wide range of information, beginning with PGOP Chairman Todd Jennings Jonathan Torres covered “Media and Communications”. explaining why we need qualified candidates in He presented an overview of the importance of all levels of elected offices and the importance of social media and delved into the pros and cons of candidates understanding and supporting the each medium. He also offered important insight RNC Platform. He also asked attendees to self- into some important do’s and don’ts for candidates. assess why they want to run and gave them tools for deciding which office is best for the Each participant anonymously completed a individual. workshop evaluation form which provided high marks for all the presenters and the workshop PGOP Vice Chairman Adam Ross discussed content. Many were very appreciative for the what a candidate can expect from the local party opportunity to attend. during a Primary Election and the General Election. He also explained the nuances between a non-partisan race and a partisan race and how the campaigns differ. Seminole Mayor Leslie Waters presented an overview of “A Winning Grassroots Campaigning Agenda!”, including her “Top 10 Tips for Candidate Campaign Communications”.

After a brief break, Matt Tito spoke about his own 2020 experiences as a new candidate, about GOP of Pinellas Meeting finding volunteers and effectively managing May 10, 2021 them, while peppering is presentation with anecdotes from the campaign trail. Redington Marvin Eckenrode Beach Commissioner Rich Cariello followed and South Pasedena spoke about the personal commitment necessary District 69 — Precinct 214 to run a successful campaign. He explained the need to be fully committed and the sacrifice of Will Braddock time and resources necessary. He also gave a St. Petersburg step-by-step guide for how to get started. District 70 — Precinct 126

PGOP Secretary Katy Kelly walked the potential candidates through the resource binder they were provided. The binder contains hours of

DEBORAH WALKER: PCREC BOARD

New BWRC president Todd Jennings, Chairman

Deborah Walker is the new president of [email protected] Belleair Women’s Republican Club. She Adam Ross, Vice Chairman has served as BWRC chaplain for the [email protected] past two years and has been an active Katy Kelly, Secretary BWRC member since 2012. [email protected] Jamie Jodoin, Treasurer With executive experience in the hospitality industry as [email protected] sales trainer for Holiday Inn International and as business development director for Uniglobe Travel International, Deb Charlotte Smith, Executive Director has the know-how and ability of an outstanding leader. Her [email protected] goal as president of BWRC is to continue the club's reputation Michael Broadus—Legal Counsel

as a strong, politically active group while also maintaining Questions? Comments? Suggestions? an enjoyable camaraderie. Deborah leads by example and [email protected] has utilized initiatives such as visiting other Republican clubs STATE PARTY OFFICIALS to glean new ideas, assisting candidates in their campaigns and encouraging BWRC members to be involved in local Joe Gruters Chairman-Republican Party of FL government, among others. Mark Phillips State Committeeman Pam McAloon State Committeewoman Deb was an active Pinellas GOP office volunteer for several years and has become a cherished friend to many fellow Attention PCREC Members:

Republicans. She participates in many local Republican RPOF County Model Constitution: Section 4—Removal for Non-Attendance at County Executive Committee Meetings activities while running her own business. She is a dedicated, (a) A county executive committee member who is absent for three (3) consecutive regular meetings without a valid excuse natural leader, and her goal is to keep Belleair Women’s shall be removed from the County Executive committee as of Republican Club great. the date of the third consecutive missed meeting.