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 2 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 3 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. 4 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 5 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 6 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 7 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. 8 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