A New Day at RPI

By now most of you know that the RPI leadership elections are over. The new leadership team is: Matt Strawn chairman, Jim Kurtenbach co-chairman, Matt Randall treasurer and Bill Schickel secretary. 

I think that this is an exciting new day at RPI. This is a leadership team that I believe we can unite around. Matt has shown his willingness to listen to Republicans all over the state in his Pizza and politics tour. While I do not personally know Jim Kutenbach, I have heard great things about him from many of my friends and colleagues. Matt is an up and coming leader in this party, a young businessman who will do a great job as RPI treasurer. Bill is a dedicated hard worker and he will be an excellent secretary.

This chair election has been unprecedented. The degree of openness and the level of communication by the candidates and the SCC is refreshing. The interest shown by activists across the state shows the excitement we have in our party. Now is the time for us to unite around our team and our message — the work begins today.

Here is the breakdown of the results:

Chair*

Matt Strawn	10
Danny Carroll	7
Andy Cable	0

* Christopher Reed, [[I forgot: Paul Pate]] and Matt Randall removed their names from consideration.

---

Co-Chair

Jim Kurtenbach	9
Paul Pate	4
Leon Mosely	4
Christopher Reed	0

Gopal Krisha and Lisa Smith were nominated for re-election to treasurer and secretary respectively. Both declined to run.

Of course, I am not the first to post the results, Krusty, QCI, Flyover Country and Iowa Defense Alliance all beat me to it. But I am happy to say that the results are available at all. In the past, the SCC has kept the vote totals secret. I promised to post them here and with the help of my colleagues on the SCC who also wanted a more open process, I have kept my promise. 

This process brought out a great set of Republican leaders. I sincerely hope that Andy Cable, Christopher Reed, Danny Carroll, Paul Pate, Leon Mosely and Stewart Iverson continue to lend their considerable talents to the party. We need you guys.

Comments

[Al Bregar]

David, that was to be expected. You had obligations to attend to while we didn't. I am glad I was finally able to meet you. Keep up the good work.

[Al Bregar]

Oh and you forgot Paul Pate withdrawing from the chair race.

[Tim]

David, thank you for your service and dedication to our party. I can also chime in where your modesty refuses to take you and state with certainty that the integrity of the SCC board, thanks in part to your leadership... is a breath of fresh air at RPI.

It feels like a unifying day. May I suggest you take a couple days off now, turn off your phone and slowly back away from your blog!?

[Mike]

Mr. Chung, I'm disturbed somewhat by the election of Mr. Kurtenbach as Co-Chair. No one had heard any information that he was even interested in any of the RPI Executive offices until his "election".

Why wasn't he at the Forum a couple of weeks ago to answer questions from the SCC and the public?

This smells of a backroom deal to placate certain individuals on the SCC who threw temper tantrums when their own backroom efforts to name the next Chair were made public.

[Green Republican]

I have to agree with Mike. Although I am pleased that this ordeal is over, I am concerned that a candidate for co-chair was not 'vetted' to the public before his election. It also smells of a back room deal for votes for chair or something else given in return.

I will continue to believe that this is not the case, but I hope that someone will investigate it.

[Andy Cable-]

The forum was for Chair candidates only.
Kurtenback is a very well known and respected former House member like Carroll.
I think most if not all the SCC knew him and the only vetting not being done is by the bloggers.
I accept that Jim K is not part of any backroom deal. When you study the votes for Chair and understand the Co-Chair vote came up afterwards so any deal would no longer be totally valid it is apparent that he simply was asked and decided at last minute to run.
Leon did not have the votes unfortunately ahead of time. Reed and Pate dropped out officially the day of the vote and Kurtenback's name had made the rounds of the SCC since Thursday as the only oppositon to Leon.
No one has been more of a proponent of establishing transparency and ending back room secret deals than I have been.
I know these people and was there- this passes the smell test to me without even a faint odor.

[Dane Nealson]

Andy,

Thank you for posting that information. Hopefully we can focus on the future now, looking at what really matters: winning elections with a well-organized network based on conservative values. I appreciate your candidness throughout the whole process and admire your work. Also kudos again David for an awesome blog.

Dane

[Steve]

Malcontents already?!? Yes, thank you Andy for setting the record straight. Jim is one of the most upstanding men I've met while active in politics.

Because I'm feeling salty this morning, I'll remind future naysayers that many of Leon's elections for co-chair were part of back room deals. Ever been to state convention? There's more backroom deal cutting over platform planks than anything else (forgive my blasphemy, of course the platform is a sacred document that may not have been written directly by the Almighty, but written through him nonetheless and I would never imply that it's as much a concoction of special interests as most legislation)...

[Andy Cable-]

Dane
Thank you for all the good work you do for Conservatives and Republicans within our state.
You are so correct that it is now time to rally behind this outstanding new leadership we have to do our battles aiming at the real enemies of our society and values- the oppositon party and their extreme liberal agenda.
In my 30 years plus of working within RPI this weekend was the culmination of the most exciting, refreshing and most of all positive statement by a SCC I have seen.
While the open process we witnessed may have some kinks it is much superior to the past. It has and will go a long way to reassuring and energizing our base that we are a Party that recognizes their needs, hears their protests and truly represents them at all levels in every corner of the state.
I thank Randall, Schickel, Chung, McGee and Ortega among others for understanding the true meaning of "representation" and helping justify the trust of many of us that the SCC is doing their job the way it should be done - for the Republicans that elected them.

[GOP Stomp]

Steve 10:18
I certainly hope your life insurance is paid up for I am sure there are bolts of ligthening even as I write this being aimed at you for such sacrilege.
I even hear Deace in the backround screaming for your head.

[Carolyn Williams]

Andy - thanks for your service.

you've been great over the last months taking time to talk to ppl like me who don't know what's going on...

you're an iowa GOP treasure.

[Andy Cable]

Carolyn
People like you? What is that suppose to mean? From you emails, our talks and your empassioned words at a SCC meeting it is "people" like you that I enjoy communicating with. You are true grassroots Iowa Republicans- the kind I have dealt with and enjoyed for years as County GOP official. the kind of people I tried tospeak for during this Chair race. Kind of the "silent majority" of the Iowa GOP. Definitely my "kind of people!

[Sunshine]

Time to move on to the local election...

Conklin vs. Tim Palmer ?
Barnes vs. Dawn Brown ?
Laurie Hamilton vs. Janet Johnson?

No mention of anyone wanting to be Treasurer. No big surprise there.

Will you tell us who you are supporting?