By, Michelle Hazekamp
March 26, 2022
We Appreciate Our Delegates!
Saturday, March 19th, the Muskegon County GOP hosted a Delegate Appreciation Event as a "Thank you" for all the Muskegon County Precinct Delegates and the effort they put in to making the Muskegon GOP successful. A casual dinner was provided while delegates were able to mingle with one another at Whitlow's Event Center. The night concluded with the Candidate Meet & Greet as the GOP hosted an entourage of 27 Elected Officials and candidates running for various elected offices whose fates will be determined in the upcoming April 23rd State Convention (whom the Precinct Delegates elect) and the August Primary.
The Most Important Players in the Political Field
Precinct Delegates have one of the most important roles in politics. Although they are at the base of elected officials, they are closer to their communities than any other elected officials. Precinct Delegates have the power to change the demographics of their political party (whether it be the GOP or Democrat) from consisting of an executive committee made up of "establishment" elected officials to "conservative" and vice versa. They are the most important players in "making change" happen in their communities.
Roles of the Precinct Delegate
The roles of the Precinct Delegate are many and they are elected to two year terms. At the County Convention, they elect their county party leadership and can be elected to serve on a party committee. At State Conventions, Precinct Delegates are the ones who elect state party leadership and nominate the party candidates for Secretary of State, Attorney General and Lt. Governor, Presidential candidates, and Supreme Court nominee's and university board members. The elected nominee's will then become the endorsed state candidates. Precinct Delegates also keep their communities informed on important issues and support candidates with their campaigns.
Meet the Candidates
Kristina Karamo; candidate for Michigan Secretary of State, was a huge hit. She has been a guest at the Muskegon GOP before and is always well received. She informed us on the current election fraud data, the illegal and suspicious shenanigans of our current SOS, Jocelyn Benson, and her goals to make our elections great again. She intends to reform the election system and the way the SOS office runs their operations in order to accommodate "we the people" in a more efficient and sensical manner. Secretary of State candidates are elected by Precinct Delegates at the State Caucus, which will be coming up April 23rd. Kristina is endorsed by the Muskegon County Republican Executive Committee.
Learn more about Kristina at kristinakaramo.com
John Gibbs, Congressional Candidate for District 3, received a warm welcome as he relayed his story of how he worked in Silicon Valley developing the first iPhone, his mission work in Japan and how he ended up working for Dr. Ben Carson and President Trump during the Trump Administration. He witnessed first hand the corruption that takes place in Washington D.C. by our elected officials. John was born and raised in Lansing, MI and upon returning home after the 2020 election, he is determined to continue the fight to draining the swamp.
Visit John at: votejohngibbs.com.
Tamara Carlone; candidate for Michigan State Board of Education. Tamara has been in the fight against the indoctrination of our children for over 15 years, as she has fought tirelessly against Common Core in Michigan and has worked with Northville School District to ensure excellent and proper education. She continues to fight for our children as she takes on Critical Race Theory, the sexualizing of children and advocates for school of choice. Tamara's work and accomplishments are quite impressive. Tamara is endorsed by the Muskegon County Republican Executive Committee. You can learn more about Tamara by visiting her website at: carlone4education.com
Sevag Vartanian, candidate for University of Michigan Regent, gave a heart-felt speech as the father of a current U of M student who was on the verge of being forced to drop out after the vaccine mandates were implemented. Conservative students are shamed and ridiculed on campus and Sevag intends to make U of M a place where Conservative opinions and values can be freely expressed. He also aims to lower the cost of tuition. Visit Sevag at: votevartanian.org
John Moolenaar and Tom Norton, both Congressional Candidates for District 2 who both vow to defend the freedoms that are enshrined in the Constitution and fight against socialism and will fight for election integrity and safe borders. You can visit their websites at: johnmoolenaarforcongress.com and tom.gop
Ryan Kelley, gubernatorial candidate for Michigan Governor ended the line of speakers with his list of plans he will implement in his first 100 days of office if elected. He intends to end all pandemic related issues on day 1 which include cancelling emergency state-wide orders, ending all state and federal mandates and giving doctors full authority to prescribe effective Covid treatments. He also vows to remove all voting machines associated with the 2020 election fraud, address the failing education system and ban Critical Race Theory from our schools. Learn more about Ryan at: ryandkelley.com
Candidate Recognition
Candidate recognition was given to Judicial, State Senate and Representative, County Commissioner and Municipal candidates who were in attendance. They included:
Ray Voet; Judicial Candidate for Michigan Court of Appeals in the 3rd District. judgerayvoet.com
Al Swanson; Judicial Candidate for Muskegon County's Circuit Court.
Senator Jon Bumstead; current Senator and candidate in the new 32nd District. senatorjonbumstead.com
Greg Vanwoerkom; current State Representative and candidate for the 88th District. votevanwoerkom.com
Luke Meerman; current State Representative in the 101st District
Andrew Sebolt; Candidate for State Representative for the 102nd District. sebolt4staterep.com
Mick Bricker; State Representative for the 88th District. votebricker.com
Phil Morse; State Representative for 102nd District. philmorseforstaterep.com
Many more candidates were in attendance at the event, who also received recognition.
A Productive Day
As campaign season is beginning for some, yet continue for those who have been in the race since 2020, the Delegate Appreciation was definately appreciated by all who attended and the Candidate Meet & Greet gave everyone much needed knowledge on where our Candidates stand on extremely important matters enveloping our state. Earlier in the day, several members of the Muskegon GOP took "the plunge" at the Muskegon County Polar Plunge Fundraiser to support a very special cause in raising funds for the athletes of the Michigan Special Olympics. Saturday was an enjoyable, yet productive day in doing something good for children in need and appreciating those who are greatly valued for their services!
A special thanks goes to all the volunteers who made this day possible!
