As we approach the 30-day mark of Chairman Hartigan stepping down, I am humbled by the response and acceptance I have received as the acting-Chairman. The State Central Committee prays all is well with Dave and his wife Connie and that their new adventure is a blessed one.
The response we have received in our efforts to rebrand and build the party over the last 30 days, to say the least, has shocked me. We have grown our Facebook audience from a just over 300 followers to almost 1,200. I never would have thought it possible in such a short period.
The new webpage (www.idahocp.com) is up and online. We continue to work on getting the old domain redirected and pointing search engines in the right direction. The traffic volume is still light, but as new content is added while simultaneously recovering old content, we see continued growth in the volume.
The number of registered voters has decreased, from our record high, after the November election. This is a typical trend after the odd year purge. (Every odd year voters who have not voted in the last 4 years are removed from the voter roles). The hit to our registered numbers this year was not as large as anticipated, meaning more of our voters are actively participating in elections. This is an exciting trend and wonderful news.
My priority lies in growing the party. I am seeking to build County Central Committees in every county in the state. We need membership involvement to move beyond voting at the polls. We need members talking about the party and spreading the word. Many in Ada County have stepped up to my call. Hopefully, very soon, Ada County will be our first active central committee. Interest exists in several counties, and we intend to build on that as quickly as we can. By building and training counties with large populations, who can in turn assist their neighboring counties, we can potentially achieve more rapid growth.
Each and every one of your thoughts and ideas are important to me. I want to hear from you. Please be aware I will not intentionally ignore anyone. However, I am exceptionally busy, and things get missed. Emails have gone straight to my spam box, and I did not see them. Please be patient with me. If you send an email and I do not respond within 48 hours, please send a follow-up. I know the frustration that comes with feeling ignored. When I first moved to Idaho and attempted to get involved with the party, I felt the leadership was more interested in schmoozing with national leadership than working on the state party. In my opinion, this is a backwards approach.
A strong national party without strong state parties is an impossibility. Similarly, a strong state party cannot exist without strong county central committees. The bread and butter of any political party is its membership, not its leadership. My job is to build unity and morale within the party, to assist in any way that I can at the local levels to build the party, and to ensure our bylaws and state laws are followed. I am here to guide and nurture, not dictate, or rule.
THIS IS OUR PARTY, not my party. Together we can accomplish great things, together we can achieve anything we set out to accomplish. I cannot do this without you. You, however, can do this with anybody sitting in my seat. I pray for the wisdom and guidance to do what is right for the party. I know my actions and decisions will not make everyone happy. Some will not agree with what I do or how I approach something. I can promise you the actions I take will be what I feel will benefit the party to improve and grow.
We have a motto in CP, “Stand up, Stand together”. Now is the time. Please feel free to contact me with concerns, ideas, or questions.
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Tony Ullrich,
acting-Chairman
Constitution Party of Idaho
info@idahocp.com