Mar 23 – Candidate Forum for Congressional District 18
hosts a CD18 Candidate Forum
on Wednesday March 23rd.
At our March lunch, for a first in a series leading up to the August 30 primary and county-wide election, we have invited the seven Republican candidates competing for the CD18 seat being vacated by Patrick Murphy. Murphy, now a Democrat candidate for Senate, has held the seat for two terms after defeating Allen West in 2012. The district, which includes all of Martin, St. Lucie and northern Palm Beach counties, is narrowly Republican (R+3), but the Democrats are fielding some heavily funded candidates with out of state backing.
Currently the Republican field has narrowed to seven with Paul Spain moving to CD21 and Carla Spalding becoming NPA. Of these, Carl Domino, Mark Freeman, Rick Kozell, Brian Mast, Rebecca Negron and Rick Roth have already accepted our invitation, and we are waiting to hear from Noelle Nikpour.
The candidates will be asked their thoughts on the most important challenges facing the country, what sets them apart from the other candidates, and how they plan to defeat the Democrat in the fall. Join us for what should be a highly informative session.
Program Noon – 1PM, Buffet starts at 11:30AM
Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center
Palm Beach Airport
1301 Belvedere Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33405
Phone: 561-659-3880
$25/Members $30/Guests
Pay at the door.
Make sure you submit your RSVP in advance by clicking on our link below:
Republican Club of the Palm Beaches
PO Box 2585
West Palm Beach, FL 33402
(561) 855-0749
Presidential Primary Expo
For the club’s first meeting in our new venue, the Holiday Inn on Belvedere, we invited representatives of all the Republican Presidential candidates to come and tell us why they have made their choice and why we should too.
Originally we were to have 7 speakers, but since Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee and Rand Paul dropped out, we ended up with all of the remaining candidates except John Kasich who does not have a Florida organization.
To start, moderator Fred Scheibl gave a snapshot of the race to date with four states having voted, discussing delegate counts, what states vote when, the state of the polls, and a little about campaign finance. To see the handout on these topics, click HERE.
The speakers all had different points of view (as do their candidates) but there was one common thread – they are all very passionate about their candidate and strongly believe they would make the best President. All made excellent arguments on behalf of their guy.
First, speaking for Doctor Ben Carson, was JTRO President and county coordinator Barry Carson.
Barry spoke of the early days after Ben’s National Prayer Breakfast speech that generated 10 million petition signatures for him to run. A religious man, he is in it for the children, who have no future with the amount of debt we are accumulating. He wants to heal the divisions created by Obama and seeks to heal, inspire and revive the American Spirit. Author of 8 books, including “A More Perfect Union” about the constitution, Ben Carson is running a “we the people” movement to return America to you the people.
Next up was Ted Cruz County Coordinator Marion Frank.
Marion relayed that she hasn’t had a feeling like this since voting for Ronald Reagan. A defender of the constitution, Ted Cruz does just what he says he will do and doesn’t care about being liked for it by the establishment. He has not been corrupted by Washington as he has fought Obamacare and amnesty, and seeks to abolish the IRS with a flat tax. With the prospect of multiple appointments to the Supreme Court, in which we are one justice away from a radical majority, who better to trust with these appointments? Ted has won cases before them on partial birth abortion, the 2nd Amendment (Heller vs DC), defended the 10 Commandments on the grounds of the Texas state capital, and defended us against Mexico and the UN in Medellin vs Texas. If we elect the felon or the socialist on the other side, we will lose the court for a generation. Ted is the best prepared to be Commander in Chief, destroy ISIS, and dump Obama’s rules of engagement.
Next, speaking for Marco Rubio was County Coordinator Pam Wohlschlegel and Teenage Republicans leader Daniel Scroggins.
Marco is a real conservative with a lifetime score of 98% from the American Conservative Union and a Heritage rating 10th out of 535. On immigration, Marco saw the need as a new senator for immigration reform and joined the gang of 8, but the other 7 were very liberal, including the three Republicans. He showcased his ability to find shared values and improved the legislation with increased border security, mandatory e-verify, and eliminated the pathway to citizenship. He is someone who can work with the other side to get something positive for our side. Unfortunately, the bill was withdrawn and we now have nothing. Anyone who says we can round up and deport 12 million people is crazy. Dan told us that on the economy Marco sees tax reform as the key to jobs and higher wages. On national security he will be a Commander in Chief who will protect us at home and rebuild our military.
Lastly, speaking for Donald Trump was former Palm Beach Councilman Bill Diamond.
A new Trump supporter, who was for Marco Rubio only recently (and who he still likes very much), Bill feels that the time has come to unite the party with a winner. Having known Donald for 40 years going back to Queens, he feels the party must rally around someone who can turn on as he has millions of independents and Republicans who never vote. He has made an impression that no one has been able to do, and he is “sui generis” – one of a kind. Bill believes that Donald Trump is the nearest thing to Ronald Reagan. He has worked with government very successfully over many years, and Bill watched him build the Newark courthouse. He is practical, reasonable and a winner. Opening up the Republican party to millions who never vote, Donald is not ideological but there is something else in the air here. We have a winner who will change this country for the better. He is strong, tough, does what he says and his aim is “Lets Make America Great Again”.
Also introducing themselves at the meeting were candidates Rebecca Negron (CD18), Robert Goldberg (County Commission 5), Peter Noble (Greenacres Council), and surrogates John for Rick Kozell and Linda Ivell for Marc Freeman (CD18).
Our meeting next month will be on the usual 4th Wednesday of the month, March 23 at the Holiday Inn. With the Presidential Primary for Florida over and done with, we will turn our attention to Congressional District 18 and host a forum for the 9 candidates in that race. Watch the website and email for details.
Apply Now for the 2016 Ann Roberts Scholarship
The Republican Club of the Palm Beaches’ Scholarship was named after a long-standing and active member of our Club, Anne Roberts.
Anne Roberts
Anne Roberts, a petite but strong and dedicated Republican, was born in Virginia in 1920. She lived and worked in Maryland until 1954, and then moved to Palm Beach County. Interestingly, this was the year after our Club was chartered.
While working as an R.N. for 50 year, she and her husband served on the REC. She was presented the Jean Pipes award by Palm Beach County Republican Party as an acknowledgment of her dedication to Republican principles. She never sought the limelight herself, working behind the scenes, continually letting others take credit. She always admonished us to “do the right thing”, make sure there’s education involved, mentor the young to follow in the right path, have fun, be prepared, and by all means, don’t lose money doing it!!! That is who Anne Roberts was!
In the late 80’s she had worked her way to 2nd Vice President of the Florida Federated Women. She was tasked with the “Entertainment”/Program for the NFRW National Convention held in Orlando on the 50th anniversary of the organization. She had the entire PB delegation, consisting of 6 Federated clubs, involved –even doing a “can-can” dance for one evening’s entertainment. What a “hoot” Anne was!
Her many committees remember her, not only for her great character and good judgment, but as the epitome of organization –always ready with even the tape, paper clips and scissors. She chaired a Lincoln Day Dinner in the 90’s, and true to who she was, read up on protocol for seating. She knew the value of research for allowing her to be sure everything ran smoothly—and many of us remember she knew how to delegate that research..
In 2005, Anne chaired the FFRW State Convention held in West Palm Beach. Despite a recent hurricane which cancelled the keynote speaker, she found a better one; and the show went on! If there were glitches, no one knew.
Anne left us before our club chartered with Republican Party of Florida. But, being a renaissance woman who realized that times change, I am sure she is smiling as we carry our Club’s Legacy onward. She would be very proud of the young folks who have received a scholarship in her name.
The Anne Roberts Memorial Scholarship is available to any full or part time undergraduate or graduate student seeking to further their education. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or above and plan to attend an accredited college. Applicants must be Palm Beach County residents and registered (or pre-registered under 18 yrs. of age) Republicans. Current members may refer applicants for this scholarship. The deadline for this application is May 31. The recipient will be eligible to receive up to $500 to be sent to the school they will attend. Award will be presented at the monthly luncheon June 22, 2016.
RCPB Scholarship application 2016
Previous Years Winners
In 2014, our previous undergraduate recipients kept up their grades to receive additional scholarship: Dylan Brandenburg, John Clark, Jason Ferrara, and Daniel Kozell. Because of the generosity of our club members, we were able to add a fifth recipient, Hanna Matry, a junior at UF majoring in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering and a member of the University’s Rocket Team in the NASA Hybrid rocket competition.
2013 was an expansive year for our scholarship program, with 6 recipients. They went to Elizabeth Cayson, a county employee who is attending Walden University in Illinois remotely, and Danielle Madsen, who recently graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic and is working at a TV station. Three Florida State students received grants including John Clark (3rd year), Dylan Brandenburg (1st year) and Daniel Kozell (2nd year), and Jason Ferrara who is attending the University of Alabama received his third year scholarship.
In 2012, there were 5 scholarships awarded: James Schackelford in his 3rd year at Florida Atlantic University and Daniel Kozell entering Florida State University. We continued to follow John Clark, Jason Ferrara and Shirley Schaff.
In 2011, there were four scholarships awarded. John Clark attending Florida State University, Jason Ferrara attending University of Alabama, Shirley Schaff attending Northwood University and Kimberly Twoey attending Palm Beach Atlantic University.
In 2010, one scholarship was awarded to Cindy Morris, mother of 5, in her final year with 3.7 GPA at Palm Beach Atlantic College School of Education with endorsements in special education and English and a second language.
The second 2010 scholarship was awarded to James Shackelford, majoring in accounting at Florida Atlantic University. With his passion for politics, he is active in student government and volunteered for Allen West and Marco Rubio campaigns. After receiving his masters in Finance, James plans to attend law school.
The 2009 recipient, Nicole Vega, from Berean Christian High School, aspired to be a civil engineer. After much mentoring by several Club members, Nicole has changed her studies to major in Communications with a minor in Political Science at Palm Beach State College.