Information Packet

2015 Fall Convention

Information Packet

Auth: Maryland Republican Party, R. Christopher Rosenthal, Treasurer This message has not been authorized or approved by any candidate. www.MDGOP.org

Maryland Republican Party 2015 Fall Convention

Event Details and Registration

Holiday Inn Solomons Conference Center & Marina 155 Holiday Drive Solomons, MD 20688 410-326-6311 November 20th-21st

You are responsible for making your own room reservation; please use the following code when making your reservations: Maryland Republican Party Reservations must be made by 11/4/15 Click here for online reservations (use group code M5R): http://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/solomons/slmmd/hoteldetail

Contact: Margot Crouch Maryland Republican Party 69 Franklin St. Annapolis, MD 21401 410-263-2125 [email protected]

Paid for by the Maryland Republican Party. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. www.mdgop.org

Table of Contents

I. Letter from the Chairman ……………………………………………………. 4 II. Convention Schedule (tentative)……………………………………………… 6 III. General Session Agenda (tentative)…………………………………………… 7 IV. Minutes from Spring Convention …………………………………………….. 8 V. Resolutions……………………………………………………………………. 20 VI. Proposed Bylaws Amendment………………………………………………… 21 VII. Appendix a. Registration Form b. Central Committee Member Proxy Form

TO: REPUBLICAN STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS FROM: CHAIRMAN DIANA WATERMAN DATE: October 15, 2015 RE: MARYLAND REPUBLICAN PARTY FALL CONVENTION

Dear Central Committee Member,

Pursuant to Article VIII, section 1.d. of the Maryland Republican Party's Constitution and Bylaws, I hereby call the Republican State Central Committee's 2015 Fall Convention to be held at the Holiday Inn Solomons Conference Center & Marina on November 20th and 21st.

Tentative Weekend Agenda: Registration and Check-in for the Fall Convention will be open from 5:00pm – 7:30pm on Friday, November 20th and will reopen on Saturday, November 21st at 7:00 am. Hospitality suites will be held on Friday, November 20th from 8:00pm – 11:00pm.

The schedule will be similar to the Spring Convention. Breakfast will be held at 7:30am on Saturday. Our guest speakers will be three of the filed or prospective US Senate Candidates, Richard Douglas, Chrys Kefalas, and Del. Kathy Szeliga. At 9:00am, the General Session of the Convention will convene. We will break at 11AM for workshops. All credentialed individuals will receive a box lunch to be eaten during the workshops. Workshop topics include GOP DataCenter, Grassroots Activist Training, Campaign Finance Compliance, and Hispanic Outreach. The General Session will convene again at 2pm. The convention will conclude with a Reception honoring the life and service of Frank McCabe.

Central Committee members or their proxies will be voting on three amendments to the State Bylaws. One of these addresses the lack of consistency or any statewide guidelines concerning the nomination process for the filling of Vacancies in the State Legislature. This concern was brought to our attention earlier this year after the Governor created several vacancies through appointments to his Administration. A joint committee composed of the members of the Standing Bylaws Committee and the members of an ad hoc committee created to address this issue drafted this amendment. It creates a statewide process for the counties that wish to use it, while at the same time, allowing for local Committees to draft and adopt their own process within their jurisdiction that will meet the same guidelines in all 24 jurisdictions.

Sponsorships, vender booths, and advertising opportunities are all available as well.

Our Governor has had an amazing 9 months since his Inauguration. The Baltimore Sun recently opined, “Is he unbeatable?” Well he has done something rather unusual in the world of politics – he is governing as he ran – tirelessly, aggressively, and smartly. He has taken real steps to reduce the financial burdens on middle class Marylanders and has clearly put our State on the right path to making it more business friendly which means more jobs! And he’s just getting started!

I look forward to seeing you all on November 20th and 21st.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me or call Joe at 410-263-2125 or email him at [email protected]. Thank you again for the time and dedication you put into our organization.

Sincerely,

Diana D Waterman Chairman, Maryland Republican Party

Maryland Republican Party 2015 Fall Convention November 20th-21st Holiday Inn Solomons Conference Center & Marina Tentative Agenda Subject to Change Friday, November 20th 5:00 p.m. Registration Opens – Conference Center Concourse 7:00 p.m. Executive Committee Meeting – Hunting Creek 7:30 p.m. Registration Closes 8:00 p.m. Hospitality Suites

Saturday, November 21st 7:00 a.m. Registration Opens – Conference Center Concourse 7:30 a.m. MDGOP Breakfast U.S. Senate Candidate Panel – Patuxent Ballroom Richard Douglas, Chrys Kefalas, and Kathy Szeliga 9:00 a.m. MDGOP General Session, Part 1 – Chesapeake Ballroom Registration Closes 11:00a.m. Break 11:10 a.m. Workshop Period 1 GOP Data Center - Beau Harrison, RNC – Point Patience Grassroots Activists Training – Senator Justin Ready – Mill Creek Campaign Finance Compliance – Dirk Haire and Chris Rosenthal – Back Creek 12:25 p.m. Lunch (pick up & take to second workshop) – Patuxent Ballroom 12:35 p.m. Workshop Period 2 GOP Data Center - Beau Harrison, RNC – Point Patience Grassroots Activists Training – Senator Justin Ready – Mill Creek Hispanic Outreach – Ivan Garcia-Hidalgo – Back Creek 1:30 p.m. Registration Opens 2:00 p.m. MDGOP General Session, Part 2 – Chesapeake Ballroom Registration Closes (you must be in line by 2 p.m.) 6:00 p.m. MDGOP Reception in Honor of Frank McCabe – Patuxent Ballroom

MARYLAND REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 Fall Convention Solomons Holiday Inn Conference Center and Marina

TENTATIVE AGENDA (subject to change) CALL TO ORDER INVOCATION PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE CONGRESSIONAL REPORT SENATE LEGISLATIVE REPORT HOUSE LEGISLATIVE REPORT CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE REPORT RULES COMMITTEE REPORT SECRETARY’S REPORT TREASURER’S REPORT CHAIRMAN’S REPORT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT NATIONAL COMMITTEEWOMAN’S REPORT NATIONAL COMMITTEEMAN’S REPORT FINAL CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE REPORT RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE REPORT BYLAWS COMMITTEE REPORT OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS ADJOURNMENT

Maryland Republican Party Spring Convention Princess Royale Hotel Ocean City, Maryland April 18, 2015

Call to order: 9:00 am by Chairman Diana Waterman

The opening prayer was offered by Delegate Mary Beth Carozza

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Grant Helvey (Worcester County)

Chairman Diana Waterman opened the convention by thanking our convention sponsors: Bethesda Architects and Millennial Maryland.

Welcome – Worcester County Executive Bob Culver Welcomed the Maryland Republican Party to Worcester County

Governor Larry Hogan The Governor’s speech is attached.

Rules Committee Report – Nathan Volke, (Anne Arundel) The Proposed Convention Rules were published in the convention booklet The Convention Rules were adopted by unanimous voice vote.

Secretary’s Report – John Wafer Minutes of the December 6 Spring Convention were included in the call to convention e-mail packet. There were no changes or corrections requested

Treasurer’s Report –Fred Fred reviewed the distributed financial statement line by line.

Credentials Committee Report – Kevin Waterman (Queen Anne’s) A preliminary report of all credentialed delegates was presented for review. Total possible delegates: 303 Total delegates present: 228

Dan Bongino Mr. Bongino spoke about the 2014 win and preparation for the 2016 election. He is optimistic about Maryland’s future. We won’t agree on every issue. There is nothing wrong with that. We have to re- elect Governor Hogan in 2018. Thank you for your support. Secretary’s note: Mr. Bongino is leaving Maryland for a new home in Florida.

Chairman’s Awards Chairman Waterman honored the service of three outstanding people for their work. These awards are presented at the discretion of the Chairman.

DeCorsey Bolden and Brenda Butscher, both from Garrett County, were honored with a Chairman’s Award for Meritorious Service in recognition of their many years of service to the Republican Party and the people of Maryland

Joe Cluster, MDGOP Executive Director, was honored with a Chairman’s Award as the Most Valuable Republican for his contributions in leading the Party to victory in the 2014 Election.

Senate Minority Report - Gail Bates Senator Bates began by noting that “the biggest problem we have with our budget is that the debt service is growing at 6% annually, but revenue growth lingers behind at 1% annually.” She noted that “the 2015 legislature repealed the rain tax and increased funding for charter schools. A moratorium on fracking was passed instead of a ban. State employees will be trained in customer service. A phosphorous management bill passed with the governor’s limits. State employee pension funding was improved.”

Chairman Waterman presented an award on be behalf of the Republican House Caucus. Congressman Andy Harris received the Guiding Light Award. Congressman Harris was recognized for his outstanding contributions in helping to elect members to State Legislature and overall support of the Republican Party and Republican candidates.

House Minority Report – John Cluster Delegate John Cluster “The Central committees worked hard to win elections in 2014. Thank you for sending great legislators to Annapolis.” He went on to say “the budget was the elephant in the room. Governor Hogan killed the structural deficit in one session. The Democrats re-allocated funds but we still ended the session without new taxes and a fiscally responsible budget with only 1.5% spending growth.” Delegate Cluster said “the legislature Eliminated ballistic finger prints.” He also noted that a judge has ruled that “a good and substantial reason” to get a gun permit is unconstitutional. A child services bill to protect children was also passed. “Many bad bills were passed. The session was dubbed the year of the criminal. The Second Chance act shields an ex-offender’s record from employers.”

Congressman Andy Harris Congressman Harris believes 2016 holds great opportunities for Maryland. “Congress is in a battle with the President’s liberal ideology every day. We (Republicans) believe that financial decisions should be made at home. The Democrats believe in helping the Washington bureaucracies. Education choice is only offered by Republicans.” He said “the Veterans Administration, Health System does not work”. He asked, “instead of throwing more money at the problem why not allow the veterans to choose their own health care provider? Our

veterans deserve to have a choice about where they receive their health services. “Until we allow competition with the VA the system has no incentive to improve.”

“The IRS is not answering half of the phone calls it receives. END THE IRS!” “We need to be the party of ideas, innovative policies that will work for this country.” The congressman answered a few questions from the delegation.

Chairman Waterman called for a recess for education sessions: 11:00 am

The convention reconvened for the afternoon business session: 3:04 pm

Credentials Committee The final report of all credentialed delegates was presented for approval Total possible delegates: 303 Total delegates present: 259

Total weighted votes present: 528.241

National Committeewoman’s Report – Nicolee Ambrose NCW Ambrose narrated a PowerPoint presentation Beacon, a new RNC IT app., enables smart phone use for D2D. A Voter Survey has been developed by the Grassroots Committee for use during D2D. A Candidate Training sub-committee has been appointed. Join a Super Saturday in a county near you for Voter Registration and survey data collection. July 1 is the deadline for Super Saturday proposals for 8/1/2015 – 11/30, 2015. NCW Ambrose announced an award competition for Voter Registration.

National Committeeman’s Report – Louis Pope NCM Pope Stated that the RNC has changed the way we run campaigns. Our number one job is to elect a Republican President in 2016. Voter outreach and messaging are driving all campaigns. The RNC has focused much of their attention on data and has opened an office in Silicon Valley to take advantage of available talent. We won in 2014, because we identified our voters. We made 2 billion Contacts on Social media in 2014. The RNC has shortened the Primary process. Maryland’s primary will be April 26. There will be only nine Republican Presidential debates. The first will be in August 2015. The RNC Convention will be held in Cleveland, OH, July 18, 2016. Opposition Research efforts have been stepped up. We are blessed with candidates. We have an exciting Presidential election cycle ahead.

Guest Speaker – Michael Zack R Party must get back to Basics. “The Truth is the best Offense. We tend to lose when we don’t speak the truth. The Republican Party was formed as a protest against slavery. Tolerate NO PRIVELEDGED CLASSES.”

Finance Chairman’s Report – Steve Salamon

Mr. Salomon said “We have an unprecedented opportunity and we are off to a great start.” MDGOP needs to raise $500,000 to support Party operations. We want to raise an additional $160,000 for voter outreach. Send me two or three names of influential people in your county who will write a check for $1,000, $5,000, or $10,000.

By-Laws Committee - Rob Willoughby Motion by Rob Willoughby to amend the By-Law 9.2, to recognize Party committees (as defined in State Law) as official entities of the Maryland Republican Party (SP 15-01)

BYLAWS AMENDMENT SP 15-01

Recognizing Party Committees (as defined in State Law) as official entities of the Maryland Republican Party

Rationale: Party Committees (such as those committees formed by the House of Delegates and/or Maryland Senate Slates) are hereby recognized as official entities of the Maryland Republican Party, thus changing their status and subjecting them to different provisions of campaign finance laws. Therefore, section 9.2 of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Maryland Republican Party should be amended to add Party Committees as official entities.

EXISTING LANGUAGE 9.2 Other Committees a. Finance Committee. (1)The Finance Committee is a standing committee, which is primarily responsible for fundraising activities of the State Central Committee. (2)It shall receive copies of all reports from the Party Treasurer. (3) Members. (a) The Party Treasurer and National Committee Members are members of the Finance Committee. (b) The Party Chairman appoints the other members of the Finance Committee, and with the majority approval of the State Executive Committee appoints the chairman of the Finance Committee. (c) The members of the Finance Committee need not be members of the State Central Committee. b. Ad Hoc Committees (1) The Party Chairman may establish ad hoc committees as the Chairman deems necessary or proper to advise the Chairman in conducting the affairs of the Party. (2) The members of ad hoc committees need not be members of the State Central Committee.

PROPOSED LANGAUGE Insert the following as new subsection (c): c. Party Committees (1) Any Republican Legislative Party Caucus Committee established under Maryland Code, Election Law Article 13--208.1 shall be incorporated as a standing committee of the Maryland Republican Party. 11

Motion to Table amendment 15-01 by Lee Havis (Prince Georges) Second by Kathy Fuller (Carroll) The motion to table failed by majority voice vote. Motion to close debate by Loretta Shields Second: Matt Helminiak (Carol) The motion to close debate passed by majority voice vote. The motion to adopt the by-law amendment SP 15-01 passed by a 2/3 majority voice vote.

Motion by Rob Willoughby to amend the By-Law 4.6 to change the time and manor of the Quadrennial Organizational Meeting of County Central Committees

BYLAWS AMENDMENT SP 15-02

Changing the time and manner of the Quadrennial Organizational Meeting of County Central Committees

Rationale: By state law, Republican Central Committee members are elected in the Republican Primary in the Gubernatorial Cycle and take office 14 days after the subsequent General Election. Our existing bylaws call for a Quadrennial Organizational Meeting to be held after the Primary Election, which has caused some issues with smooth transitions from one set of members to another. This amendment pushes the Quadrennial Organizational Meeting back to after the General Election, in line with the beginning of the terms of new members.

EXISTING LANGUAGE

4.6. Quadrennial Organizational Meeting.

Not later than fifteen days subsequent to the gubernatorial primary election, the newly-elected County Chairman (in any county where the County Chairman is elected in the gubernatorial primary election) or the newly-elected member receiving the highest number of votes, or, if no election is held because of an insufficient number of candidates, the member whose last name comes first in alphabetical order shall, upon at least five days notice, hold a meeting of the incoming County Central Committee to elect officers..

PROPOSED LANGAUGE

Strike section 4.6 and replace with the following

4.6 Quadrennial Organizational Meeting a. Meeting Requirements (1)Each County Central Committee shall hold Quadrennial Organizational Meeting after the Gubernatorial General Election in order to elect new officers and organize the new Central Committee.

(2) The Quadrennial Organizational Meeting shall be called within 5 days subsequent to the Gubernatorial General Election, and members shall be given at least 5 days notice of the meeting. (3) The Quadrennial Organizational Meeting shall be held prior to the 14th day subsequent to the Gubernatorial General Election, which is the day that new Central Committee members take office. b. Responsibility To Call Meeting (1) Local Central Committees may state, through their bylaws, a policy regarding who is responsible for calling the Quadrennial Organizational Meeting. (2) Should no policy (as referenced in section (1) above) be present in Local Central Committee’s Bylaws, then the responsibility to call the Quadrennial Organizational Meeting shall fall to, in order: (i) The newly elected member who received the highest vote total in the Gubernatorial Primary Election. (ii) The newly elected member who received the second highest vote total in the Gubernatorial Primary Election. (iii) The sitting County Chairman (iv) The Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party

The word “to”, was inadvertently omitted in the following sentence. 4.6:a(2)

Rob Willoughby – amended the motion to approve with correction: The Quadrennial Organizational Meeting shall be called within 5 days subsequent “to” the gubernatorial General Election,

Motion to Table by Lee Havis (Prince George’s) Second by Kathy Fuller (Carroll) The motion to Table the amendment failed by majority voice vote.

The motion to adopt the by-law amendment SP 15-02, as corrected, passed by a 2/3 majority voice vote.

Executive Director’s Report – Joe Cluster Executive Director Cluster said, “We have an exciting year ahead with an open US Senate seat.” We need to identify Republican candidates for the seat. Please direct interested individuals to Joe Cluster or Chairman Waterman.

Special Guest Speaker – Wayne Dupree Mr. Dupree spoke about his decision to change his affiliation to the Republican Party. He described how the term “racist” was used to end discourse. The media is perpetrating a fraud to keep the black community in line. When you leave this event, don’t be afraid to tell the truth about ending slavery and supporting the Women’s Rights movement. Be bold. Don’t let anyone stop you by calling you names.

Chairman’s Report – Diana Waterman Chairman Waterman announced future Convention dates published in our program. 13

Take the enthusiasm you gained here, home with you. Get a toe hold in another community. Other groups who need to hear the Republican message. People are ready to learn. We need to recruit them. In 2016, we need to elect a Republican President. We have bigger and better opportunities now, better than we have ever had.

Resolutions Committee Report – Loretta Shields (Howard) Resolution had to be submitted by April 8. The committee met and decided that neither of the resolutions, submitted, would be presented for debate.

New business No new business was discussed

A motion to adjourn was made by: Dona Goeller (Talbot). Second by Deanna Stewart (Montgomery) The motion to adjourn the Spring Convention of the Maryland Republican Party, passed by majority voice vote.

Adjournment: 4:39 PM

Respectfully submitted by John D. Wafer, Secretary Maryland Republican Party

Governor’s OC Convention Speech 4.18.15

Thank you very much! Good morning! It’s a great time to be a Maryland republican, isn’t it?! I brought a special guest with me this morning. Please join me in welcoming my much better half, the first lady of Maryland! After spending the past 90 days with so many partisan democrats in Annapolis, I can’t tell you how great it is for us to be here in ocean city, with so many Maryland republicans. Diana, thank you for that introduction and for all your hard work on behalf of the party. I also want to thank our national committeeman and committeewoman, our executive committee, our executive director, and staff. As a former central committee member myself, and as someone who volunteered in grassroots Maryland republican party politics for 50 years, i know how much you all do, and how important your work is. And i want to sincerely thank each and every one of you in this room for your tireless efforts and everything you have done to make our party stronger. Please give yourselves a big round of applause. Boy, how things have changed in our great state and for our Maryland republican party!

They said that the Maryland Republican Party was dead. They said we would never elect another republican statewide. They thought we were extinct. They buried us face-down so that we would never be seen, or heard from, again. Well … they were wrong! We are better, stronger, and more unified than we have ever been before in the history of our state. This week, we just finished a tough 90-day legislative session in Annapolis. I’m so proud of our republican legislators. They worked hard and fought for you. They did a great job, and we all worked together as a team. Let’s give a big round of applause to our republican legislators! They stood strong on our principles throughout the 90-day session. And their “no” votes on the democratic budget delivered a strong, unified message that the era of excessive spending, high taxes, and fiscal irresponsibility is over in Annapolis. We didn’t accomplish everything we wanted to. It is impossible to clean up 8 years of mess in just the first 90 days. But i can tell you that we are off to a great start and we are heading in the right direction. On the budget, we had the lowest rate of growth in 40 years. And after 8 long years of 40 consecutive tax hikes, we finally broke that streak. Not only did we stop the tax hikes, but believe it or not, we actually have tax cuts in Maryland! We promised to repeal the rain tax mandate and we did exactly what we said we would do. The repeal passed 138-1 in the house and 47-0 in the senate. In just 90 days, we have changed the focus in Annapolis to fiscal responsibility and we have put Maryland on a new path. By any measure, we are far better off than we were just 90 days ago, and we are finally heading in the right direction. And i am excited about where the Maryland Republican Party is today. I can honestly say that the Republican Party in Maryland has never looked better. Four years ago, at the MDGOP convention, at this very same hotel, we threw a launch party for a new organization that i had just founded called change Maryland. On that beautiful spring weekend 4 years ago, nobody expected a republican governor to be standing before you at this great convention to talk about the rebirth of, and the new strength of our state party. Things were starting to look pretty good in 2002, but then we lost election, after election, and it looked bleaker and bleaker. People said we would never elect another republican in Maryland again. There were actually stories talking about the death of the Republican Party in Maryland. We were barely hanging on. People all across the state had given up hope that we could ever turn it around.

Let’s be honest. We had hit rock bottom. It was against this backdrop that i decided to launch change Maryland—a nonpartisan grassroots organization committed to bringing common-sense and fiscal restraint to Annapolis. And many of you in this room were a part of that effort from the very beginning. And we attracted disaffected democrats and independents to join our cause. Almost immediately, we began challenging the out-of-touch leadership in Annapolis. First in social media, and then in interview after interview, locally and then even nationally. And the more out of touch politicians in Annapolis became, the stronger our movement grew. It didn’t take very long for change Maryland to become the largest nonpartisan, grassroots organization in the history of the state. Tens of thousands of frustrated Marylanders from all parties and walks of life who were fed up with politics as usual in our state, and who weren’t going to take it anymore. We became the leading voice of opposition to the failed democratic monopoly in Annapolis. Yet, despite our years of success in challenging the status quo, and changing the dialogue, many people still refused to believe that there was any hope of actually changing Maryland. Because after all, how could you change Maryland without changing governors? The naysayers all said: A republican wouldn’t be able to raise the millions of dollars needed to compete. Donors wouldn’t be able to raise the millions of dollars needed to compete. Donors wouldn’t give to a republican gubernatorial candidate out of fear of retribution by the party in power. They said Maryland had become just too liberal and too deep blue for any republican to ever win again. Despite these long odds, we kept fighting. I was not willing to give up hope that we could turn things around. But others were giving up. $10 billion in tax increases had crushed our economy. Businesses, jobs, and taxpayers were fleeing the state in alarming numbers. We had lost more than 8,000 businesses and Maryland’s unemployment nearly doubled. We had the largest mass exodus of taxpayers fleeing our state of any state in our region and one of the worst in the nation. And, while most states around the country had turned the corner, sadly, Maryland continued to languish behind. The federal government ranked our state’s economy 49th out of 50. That was simply unacceptable. As a lifelong Marylander who loves this state, it just broke my heart.

So, in January of last year, i decided to do something about it by announcing my candidacy for governor. No one gave us any chance whatsoever to win. The odds makers wouldn’t have even taken a bet on our race. Just before election day, Nate Silver, the famed prognosticator who in the previous election had predicted every single electoral vote in the country, gave us a 97 percent chance of losing by between 13 and 18 points. I’m not sure, but i think Nate may be looking for a new line of work at this point. Of course, thanks to all of you and all your hard work, we won what has been called the biggest upset victory in the entire nation. And i became only the second republican governor elected in Maryland in nearly 50 years, and the first Anne Arundel county governor in more than a hundred years … And the first and only governor of any party to ever be elected on public financing limits in the history of our state. We were outspent by $16 million dollars by a margin of 5 to 1, in the bluest of blue states, where only 26 percent of the voters were republican. But we never stopped believing. We knew that by running a smart, disciplined, unified, grassroots issues-focused campaign, we could overcome the odds. And, with the help of everyone in this room, that’s exactly what we were able to accomplish. And we raised over $1.6 million for the MDGOP victory program, which funded the grassroots republican effort, all across the state for all our candidates. We opened victory headquarters operations throughout the state. We hired dozens of grassroots mobilizers. We recruited thousands of volunteers and we provided the high-tech tools every county needed to make hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get republicans out to vote. And our unified and organized effort paid off—big time! In fact, the victory was so decisive, that just this week, a well-known democratic strategist and pollster published a national article entitled, “what happened in Maryland?” His analysis concluded that our message and focus was what won the race. The people of Maryland were fed up and were demanding change. And contrary to an inaccurate report in the new york times, low democratic turnout was not even a factor in our race. We won because of the high percentage of Democrats crossing over, and our huge spread among independents who usually vote with democrats in Maryland. We won independent voters by more than a 30-point margin. His study proved that we still would have won the race, even using the turnout numbers from 2002, 2006, or 2010.

And amazingly, he concluded that even if it was the 2008 presidential year, with Barack Obama at the top of the ticket and record-high democratic turnout in Maryland, we still would have won the race. On Election day, because of our MDGOP victory efforts, we turned out more than 75,000 additional republicans who had never voted in a non-presidential election before. We turned them out, and they voted all the way down the ballot. We won 20 out of 23 counties by a margin of over 35 percentage points! And our coattails were stronger than any republican in the history of the state. For the first time ever, we now have 50 republicans in the house of delegates and we now have 14 republican senators. In the sixth legislative district in Dundalk and Essex, in Baltimore county, where they hadn’t elected a republican in 70 years, we won by a 51 percentage point blowout and we elected a republican county councilman, a state senator, and all three republican delegates! For the first time in history, we have 5 republican county executives to only 4 for the democrats. We now control a majority: 16 out of 23 county governments. And there are now a record 181 republican local elected officials—50 more than the democrats have, statewide. And for the first time ever, five Maryland counties no longer have any elected democrats at all, in any positions. Ladies and gentlemen: by working together, we have defied the odds … and come back from the dead … stronger than ever. Our party has come a long way in the four years since we launched change Maryland here at this hotel, at this spring MDGOP convention. Together, we have completely rebuilt this state party from the ground up, and now we are all working together … to put Maryland on a new path. As a lifelong, active member and now a leader of this party, i want you to know how proud i am, of all of you, and all you have done to help accomplish this amazing turnaround for our state party. A healthy, strong, and competitive two-party system is great for all Marylanders. We are now relevant, and actually have real power. And with the great group of republicans we helped to elect, all across the state, we now have the opportunity to lead… To accomplish great things for all Marylanders … and to change Maryland for the better. Thank you!

Resolutions Please submit all proposed Resolutions to Joe Cluster ([email protected]) or MDGOP, 69 Franklin Street, Annapolis, MD 21401. Please “cc” a copy to Diana Waterman as well ([email protected]) as a backup. Resolutions must be received at MDGOP by 5PM on Wednesday, November 11, 2015 in order to be considered by the Resolutions Committee. Resolutions not received by this time may still be considered by the body, pursuant to Bylaws Article IX, section f.2.

Maryland Republican Party Proposed Bylaws Amendment FA15-01 An Amendment To Add A Policy For Filling Legislative Vacancies Submitted by the Joint Bylaws and Legislative Vacancy Committee.

Rationale: Rationale for this amendment is discussed in the memo from the Bylaws/Vacancy Policy Joint Committee.1 Current Language Proposed Language ARTICLE XIV Article XIV -- Reserved Policies and Procedures

14.1 Process for Filling Legislative Vacancies By County Central Committees

Each County Central Committee shall have a process for filling legislative vacancies should one occur. The process that governs the filling of vacancies shall be either:

(a) A local policy which is incorporated into the County bylaws, which includes (at a minimum) the following:

1. A description of the timeline that will be followed for filling the vacancy. 2. Requirements for public notice of the vacancy, interviews, forums and voting. 3. The details and requirements of the application process. 4. The details of an interview process. 5. The details of how and when voting shall take place and how the results shall be announced. 6. Any special process (should the county decide to have one) that allows for Short Term Vacancies (less than 30 days remaining in the term) 7. The requirement that voting be done in public (even if done by secret ballot).

(b) If no local policy exists in the County bylaws which meets the requirements described in 14.1(a) above, then the County Central Committee shall use the policy contained in “Appendix A” of these Bylaws to govern all legislative vacancies which occur in their county.

1 Please see two attachments: (1) Memo from Bylaws/Vacancy Committee and (2) Proposed Appendix A (Vacancy Policy) 20

TO: All State Central Committee Members of the Maryland Republican Party

FROM: Robert W. Willoughby, Chairman The Bylaws Committee The Special Committee on Legislative Vacancy Procedures

DATE: September 30, 2015

RE: Final Report & Bylaws Amendment Proposal

The issue of the need for a bylaws amendment in order to solidify a policy on legislative vacancies was raised during the 2015 Session of the Maryland General Assembly, where several pieces of legislation were introduced that would strip Central Committees of this Constitutional Duty. At that time, Chairman Waterman circulated a draft policy (a combination of current policies from several counties) to the Executive Committee for feedback. Feedback was received and it was evident that any such policy would require a great deal of attention.

At the 2015 Spring Convention of the Maryland Republican Party in Ocean City, Chairman Waterman asked volunteers if anyone was interested in serving on a special committee that would look into drafting a statewide policy on legislative vacancies. Several members contacted her that they would be interested in doing so. Furthermore, at the Summer 2015 Executive Committee meeting in Annapolis, the Executive Committee charged that the amendment be drafted by the Bylaws Committee working in conjunction with the Special Committee on Legislative Vacancy Procedures. The Executive Committee gave this joint committee two charges to guide their work:

1. Recognize the Constitutional Authority of the Counties and allow them to write their own policies as long as their policies meet certain requirements and were incorporated in their Bylaws. Do not use this as a way for the State Party to try to control local decision-making.

2. Craft a policy that could act as a state model and best practice that could be used by counties who decide they do not wish to opt-out (as described above), and incorporate that default policy into the MDGOP Bylaws.

We believe we are presenting a product that is true to both of our charges. We have, as an overture to local control, written in an opt-out policy which allows local Central Committees to decide upon their own policies with a few stipulations. Also, we have presented a comprehensive draft policy that counties can use, if they choose. If, after review, a county does not like certain provisions of our policy, they may use their opt-out option. If however they do not wish to craft their own policy, then they will operate under the draft state policy.

The hope is that this Bylaw Amendment will bring structure, clarity, and transparency to the way in which we operate. Control is still resting with the individual counties, but policies will now be incorporated into local bylaws and the state bylaws so that everyone knows the rules of the game before it is played.

We believe that we have crafted a policy that respects local autonomy while also offering a model policy for a county who does not wish to craft their own. No matter which route a county chooses to take (writing their own policy or defaulting to the state policy), the procedures and rules will be incorporated in to bylaws, made public, and easily accessible.

Should you have any suggestions regarding this amendment, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or (443) 786-4518.

A proposal to amend the Maryland Republican Party Bylaws by adding the following as Article XIV (currently reserved):

ARTICLE XIV Policies and Procedures

14.1 Process for Filling Legislative Vacancies By County Central Committees

Each County Central Committee shall have a process for filling legislative vacancies should one occur. The process that governs the filling of vacancies shall be either:

8. A description of the timeline that will be followed for filling the vacancy. 9. Requirements for public notice of the vacancy, interviews, forums and voting. 10. The details and requirements of the application process. 11. The details of an interview process. 12. The details of how and when voting shall take place and how the results shall be announced. 13. Any special process (should the county decide to have one) that allows for Short Term Vacancies (less than 30 days remaining in the term) 14. The requirement that voting be done in public (even if done by secret ballot).

(d) If no local policy exists in the County bylaws which meets the requirements described in 14.1(a) above, then the County Central Committee shall use the policy contained in “Appendix A” of these Bylaws to govern all legislative vacancies which occur in their county.

THE BYLAWS OF THE MARYLAND REPUBLICAN PARTY APPENDIX A Procedures to Fill a Legislative Vacancy by a County Central Committee Referenced in Article 14, Section 1(b)

Section 1. Purpose.

Article III, § 13 of the Maryland State Constitution provides that a vacancy in the Maryland General Assembly shall be filled by designation of the central committee of the party and district from which the legislator was last elected or appointed within thirty (30) days of the seat becoming vacant. Within 15 days of receiving name(s) from the Central Committee, the Governor shall appoint from among the name(s) received. The members of the Republican State Central Committee of Maryland, who are elected by the Republican voters of Maryland, recognize the responsibility with which they have been entrusted and understand that they are charged with filling any vacancy as representatives of their jurisdiction without personal partiality or prejudice. Recognizing that some counties have adopted their own policy governing the filling of Legislative Vacancies, this policy shall govern the selection process for the local Republican Central Committees for all jurisdictions of the State of Maryland as governed by the Republican State Central Committee of Maryland in the absence of a county policy adopted as part of the county’s bylaws, meeting the criteria detailed in Article 14, Section 1(a).

Section 2. Definitions.

For the purposes of this policy, the following terms are defined.

(a) Committee shall mean the local Central Committee of one of the 23 Counties of Maryland or the City of Baltimore.

(b) County Chair shall mean the Chairman of the local Central Committee of one of the 23 Counties of Maryland or the City of Baltimore

(d) Legislative Vacancy shall mean a vacancy in a seat, occurring in either the Maryland House of Delegates or the Maryland State Senate, whereby the member immediately holding the seat prior to the vacancy was a Republican at the time of last election or appointment and where the geographical boundaries of the district either lie entirely within the Committee’s jurisdiction or occupy some portion of the Committee’s jurisdiction.

(e) Application Deadline shall mean the deadline for submitting a timely application to fill a Legislative Vacancy as prescribed in Section 4 herein.

(f) Occurrence of Legislative Vacancy shall mean the receipt of notification that the House of Delegates member or State Senator has resigned or otherwise vacated his or her office.

(g) Short-term Vacancy shall mean a Legislative Vacancy occurring within sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the vacating member’s term in the General Assembly.

(h) Applicant(s) shall refer to an individual or individuals who submit an application(s), for a vacancy, to be considered by the Committee.

Section 3. Announcement of Vacancy.

Upon the occurrence of Legislative Vacancy, the County Chair, or their designee, shall, within five (5) days, publicly announce the Legislative Vacancy by the following means:

(a) by sending written notice, either in the form of standard mail, electronic mail, or other means of written communication to:

(1) all members and officers of the Committee;

(2) all elected public officials who were elected or appointed as Republicans and represent all or part of the county in question.

(3) the president of each Republican organization in the County or Baltimore City.

(b) by issuing a press release to local media announcing the vacancy and that the vacancy shall be filled pursuant to the Committee’s policy on Legislative Vacancies.

Section 4. Applications to Fill Legislative Vacancies.

(a) Any individual who meets the requirements of the Maryland State Constitution to serve as a member of the Maryland State Senate or Maryland House of Delegates from the district in which the vacancy occurs may apply to be considered as a candidate to fill the vacancy.

(b) Any individual wishing to apply to fill the vacancy shall submit a completed application prior to the Application Deadline.

(c) The Application Deadline shall be announced along with the Legislative Vacancy in accordance with Section 2 above, and shall in no event, be set less than ten (10) days nor more than fifteen (15) days after the Legislative Vacancy occurs except as prescribed in Section 10 herein.

(d) Any individual wishing to apply to fill a Legislative Vacancy shall send his or her application via electronic mail (email) or USPS mail to the officially published address of the Committee. (Read Receipt on email and Tracking on mail suggested)

(e) Any application materials received by email or postmarked by the Application Deadline will be deemed to have been timely filed.

(f) The County Chair, or their designee, shall confirm receipt of an application within three (3) days of receipt by the Committee.

(g) Any applications or application materials not timely filed shall not be considered.

(h) All committee members shall be sent an electronic copy of all applications within two (2) days following the Application deadline.

Section 5. Review of Applications.

(a) Each application received in a timely manner shall be reviewed by the County Chair, or their designee, to verify that applicant meets the constitutional eligibility requirements (e.g., residency in the district, etc.) to occupy the seat in which there is a Legislative Vacancy and that the application is complete.

(b) The County Chair, or their designee, shall report the findings on the submitted applications to the entire Committee.

Section 6. Public Comment Period.

(a) Within (3) days after the Application Deadline, the County Chair, or their designee, shall announce the identity of all applicants for the Legislative Vacancy along with an invitation for public comments in the same manner as set forth in Section 3 above for originally announcing the Legislative Vacancy.

(b) The method and deadline for submission of public comments shall be announced in accordance with subsection (a) above.

Section 7. Interviews.

(a) The Committee shall interview candidates seeking to fill a Legislative Vacancy, and shall notify any candidates who will not be interviewed.

(b) The interviews may take place at a Regular or Special Meeting of the Committee as defined in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Committee.

(d) After the interview of applicants is completed, the Committee will discuss the qualifications of the applicants, which may occur in Executive Session.

Section 8. Selection of Candidates.

(a) There shall be no proxy voting on applicants to fill Legislative Vacancies.

(b) If a Central Committee member is also a candidate, it is suggested that they recuse themselves from the vote. A Central Committee member may recuse themselves from the vote for other conflicts of interest as well.

(c) Voting shall take place in a public session by secret ballot, and the ballots tallied and results announced after the completion of the interview of applicants. It may occur during the same session as the interview of candidates or during a subsequent meeting of the Committee provided that it occurs during the time period as provided by section 6(c) herein and the vacancy exists at the time of the vote.

(d) If no individual applicant receives enough votes to constitute a majority of committee members, second and subsequent ballots will be taken until one applicant receives votes of a majority of committee members. The Committee will then forward their decision to the Governor.2

Section 9. Early Initiation of Process for Anticipated Vacancies.

(a) In some cases, when an incumbent member of the State House of Delegates or the State Senate, has announced an intention to resign as of a given date, it may be prudent to initiate the selection process prior to the actual occurrence of a vacancy.

(b) When the Committee receives a copy of an official resignation letter of a State Delegate or State Senator, which is dated as of a date certain occurring no more than thirty (30) days in the future, the Committee may proceed with the process for filling a Legislative Vacancy as if the Legislative Vacancy had occurred on the date the letter was received. However, in no event, shall the Public Hearing or any Vote take place prior to the actual occurrence of the Legislative Vacancy.

(c) If the process for filling a Legislative Vacancy is initiated early due to an anticipated vacancy, the Application Deadline may be set no earlier than ten (10) days prior to the receipt of the copy of an official resignation letter.

(d) Should the process have been initiated early, but for some reason the Legislative Vacancy never actually occurs, the process will terminate immediately.

Section 10. Short-term Vacancies. In the event of a Short-term Vacancy as defined in Section 2(g) herein, the Committee may act to fill the Legislative Vacancy at a Regular or Special Meeting with voting taking place in accordance with Section 8 herein except that no timeframes specified in these policies shall apply to filling the Short- term Vacancy. In addition, the Committee shall not be required to announce, take applications for, or

2 According to Article III, § 13 (as clarified by the Maryland Court of Appeals in Case No. 92 (2014)), the decision of the committee may be to send a single name, send multiple names, decline to participate by not sending names. 26

interview applicants for a Short-term Vacancy. The requirements of Sections 3 through 8 of this policy shall not apply. Any selection to fill such a Legislative Vacancy, however, must still be made within thirty (30) days after the occurrence of such a vacancy as set forth by the Maryland State Constitution.

Section 11. Filling of vacancy in a multi-County district

(a) In the case of a Legislative District occupying part or all of more than one (1) County, the County committees shall follow the guidelines above for a single County district and shall work together wherever possible.

(b) Applications shall be sent to a single address and then shared with all committee members as set forth by section 4(h).

(c) If possible, the Public Hearing and Voting shall be held in one location for all committee members. Each Committee shall vote separately, using the voting procedures stated previously in Section 8(c). The results of each County Committee’s votes shall be presented to the public, and the appropriate name(s) sent to the Governor.

(d) If a joint hearing and vote is not possible due to distance or other factors, then the above guidelines shall be followed on an individual county basis, however, the county chairmen, prior to releasing their individual results, shall meet to share their results in an attempt to submit a single joint nomination. If the counties have different preferred nominees and cannot reach a consensus, multiple nominations may be submitted.

Section 12. Notification of the Governor.

The County Chair, or their designee, shall notify the Governor of the Committee’s decision within one (1) day after the final selection is made. Pursuant to the Maryland State Constitution, the Governor must be notified no later than thirty (30) days after the occurrence of the Legislative Vacancy.

Maryland Republican Party Proposed Bylaws Amendment FA15-02 Creating Liability For Suits Brought Against the Party or a Constituent Body of the Party Submitted by Al Mendelson, Baltimore County

Rationale: Incorporating into the Bylaws the legal right of the MDGOP to seek court and attorney fees for future litigation actions brought by a member where the court rules in favor of the Party. Current Language Proposed Language ARTICLE V Article V State Central Committee

Inserting new language as 5.5 Responsibility for Litigation Costs Section 5.5 and renumbering subsequent sections Any member of the Maryland Republican Central accordingly. Committee who files suit or causes to have suit filed against the State Republican Party (or a constituent body of the Maryland Republican Party as defined in Article III of this document), and the courts hold in favor of the State Party, all costs incurred by the State Party shall be borne by said member(s).

Maryland Republican Party Proposed Bylaws Amendment FA15-03 Granting Executive Committee Voting Rights to the Maryland Black Republican Council Submitted by Antonio Campbell, Chair, Maryland Black Republican Council

Rationale: Granting the Presiding Officer of the Maryland Black Republican Council one vote during proceedings of the Executive Committee. Current Language Proposed Language

Article VI Article VI State Executive Committee State Executive Committee

6.2 Membership and Voting 6.2 Membership and Voting

d. Chief Executives of the following d. Chief Executives of the following organizations: organizations:

(1) The Maryland Federation of (1) The Maryland Federation of Republican Republican Women with one vote; Women with one vote; (2) The Maryland Federation of Young (2) The Maryland Federation of Republicans, with one vote ; Young (3) The Maryland Federation of College Republicans, with one vote Republicans, with one vote as long as (3) The Maryland Federation of the chief executive is a Registered College Republican in Maryland ; Republicans, with one vote as (4) The Maryland Federation of Teenaged long as the chief executive is a Republicans, with no vote; Registered Republican in (5) The Maryland Black Republican Council, Maryland with one vote; (4) The Maryland Federation of (6) The Heritage Council, with no vote. Teenaged Republicans, with no vote (5) The Maryland Black Republican Council; and The Heritage Council.

2015 Fall Convention Registration Form (or register online, http://www.mdgop.org/#!2015-fall-convention/c1obr)

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Event Number of Cost Total Tickets* 2015 Fall Convention VIP Package $145 each 2015 Fall Convention Reception Package $120 each 2015 Spring Convention Regular Package $80 each Convention/Workshops Only $55 each Total Due: Price contingent on registering by 11/10, $25 late fee assessed after close of business 11/10

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CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBER PROXY FORM

I,______, a member of the Republican State Central Committee of Maryland from ______County/Legislative District, do hereby, name, designate, and appoint ______, a resident and qualified voter of the aforementioned County or Legislative District, as my true and lawful agent to act in my stead in all matters coming before the ______Convention of the Republican State Central Committee of Maryland, with full power to vote and act on all matters, as if I were present and acting on my own behalf.

______Signature of Member Witness (signature)

______Date ______Witness (please print name)

ACCEPTANCE OF PROXY

I swear and/or affirm under the penalties of perjury that I am a registered Republican voter from the County/Legislative District, as applicable, of the Central Committee from whom I accept this proxy.

______Proxy Signature Address

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PHOTO ID VERIFIED ______(CREDENTIAL COMMITTEE INITIALS ______)