“Democrat Ad”

Armand Grossman on American Exceptionalism

What is it about our country that sets us apart from all others? Some would say the uniqueness of our founding with rights derived from our creator has put us on a clear path of liberty, equality and prosperity. Many on the left of course reject that notion, postulating that we are no different or better than any other nation and do not deserve our place in the world.

Join us in September as Armand Grossman, current President of the Boca Raton Regional Republican Club, explores this concept.

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Armand Grossman has a long standing, highly distinguished affiliation with Florida Atlantic University. Grossman’s deep affinity for FAU began the same year the university opened, as he was a member of the inaugural class. As an undergrad, he was a founder of the Student Government Association, wrote the SGA Charter and served in the first student senate. He was also a founder of the student newspaper, The Atlantic Sun and served as its first sports editor .Grossman received his bachelor’s degree in political science from FAU, along with a master’s degree in education and an MBA in 1977. Along his academic path, he also has earned a certificate in real estate finance from Harvard University.

Grossman is the former vice mayor of the city of Miami Springs, where he served two terms prior to his candidacy for the state legislature. He also served two years as director of the Dade League of Cities.
Professionally, Grossman has spent 35 years in public and private education. While serving in Dade County schools, he was the basketball coach at Miami Northwestern Senior High School where his teams lost a total of six games over a four-year stint. In the past 18 years, he has conducted nearly 1,500 seminars worldwide on the subject of personal transition and individual achievement.

Professionally, Armand is a commercial real estate broker and developer. He is currently working in the Donald Trump Organization. Grossman served as president of the FAU National Alumni Association for two consecutive terms and as the chair of the FAU Foundation Board of Directors in 2004. Most recently, he was appointed to the FAU Board of Trustees and continues to serve as a member. Grossman and his wife Gina reside in Boca Raton with their sons, Michael, 17, and Mark, 12.

LobsterFest 2019

2nd Annual Rooney’s Bowling Bash

Joe Budd on the 2020 Outlook

Joe Budd, State Committeeman and Trump Club 45 President, gave us a positive rendition of our chances for 2020.

An early Trump supporter, Joe was on board within a couple of weeks of the escalator ride. He noticed that it was the outsider candidates (including Fiorina, Cruz) that were getting most of the attention, and Trump was the best of these. Working as volunteer co-chairman of the campaign in the county, Joe helped his candidate achieve 52% of the vote in the primary and more votes in the general (41%) than Romney, McCain or Bush.

In 2020, it looks like the outsiders have the energy among the Democrats as well, with Biden falling and candidates like Kamala Harris making their mark. Joe expects the eventual candidate to move away from current Democrat leadership. Socialism and massive spending programs though, are not likely to do well in our center-right country.

He had some advice for our Congressional candidates. The only state-wide race in 2020 is for President, so that is where the focus and energy will be. Republican candidates need to attach themselves to the Trump agenda and the Trump campaign, otherwise it will be hard for them to raise funds or get noticed. Going it alone is not a smart strategy for next year.

Florida of course is very important to a 2020 victory, and we constitute a campaign region by ourselves with a state Chairman already in place. Unlike 2016, this time the RNC and the Trump campaign are joined at the hip and working smoothly together. This is true also of RPOF.

Joe and the Snowdens started Trump Club 45 to keep track of the large group of voters who came out to vote for Trump, maybe as first-time voters. Turnout was 52% better than in 2012 and we want to keep it that way. The club took the PBC Trump email list that we had compiled during the campaign, and more than doubled it. It is now the largest such club (of many) in the country. Unlike chartered Republican clubs, TC45 is independent, and has a fair number of Democrat members. This is a good thing as the support for the President here in PBC is bi-partisan.

Scholarships Awarded at June Meeting

At our lunch meeting on June 26, we announced the Anne Roberts scholarship awards to five students who have demonstrated academic excellence in the continuing pursuit of their studies.

Education is the KEY to making a difference in the world and supporting their future in preparation for what life brings.

In addition to our featured speaker, Former Congressman Tom Rooney, a fellow at the George LeMieux School of Public Policy at Palm Beach Atlantic University, we heard from a previous year’s graduate, Lauren Staff, UF FL graduate, who has just returned from travels in Italy. She is taking a position at Villanova University Sports Broadcasting with the hopes of attending law school in the future.

In his remarks, Congressman Rooney reflected on his 10 years in the Congress. He is leaving after a self imposed term limit pledge he made when he first ran for the office.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, he spoke of what he was able to accomplish, but suggested that the elimination of earmarks has made an appropriator’s job harder. Instead of elected representatives making the decisions on what projects in their districts should get funding, the job is done by the un-elected bureaucrats in the agencies. He also spoke of how much being in the minority is not pleasant. After his stint in Nancy Pelosi’s House the last time around, he had no desire for a repeat experience.

At PBAU, Tom will be teaching a course in criminal law, with another one on politics planned for next year.

Our 2019 awards of $500 each went to:

1. Jenna Calderaio, one of 80 in the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship at FSU. Jenna interned for Congressman Brian Mast last summer and this year is interning at Wright Patterson Air Force base in Dayton Ohio as a criminal investigator. She created her own business, SanMatic (an automated sensor bathroom stall door lock) and has been active in FSU Republicans and Turning Point USA. Jenna will graduate in 2020 and hopes for a career in product development.

2. Jessica Blakley, majoring in Economics and Public Policy at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, is in her senior year, to graduate this December. Among her achievements as one of the winners of the Palm Beach Post Pathfinder Awards, President of future Business Leaders, and 2nd place winner at PBA Entrepreneurship Challenge, she created her own business “Make Up Doctor”. At Belmont, she was elected Congresswoman in the Student Government and was chosen to intern last year in the Tennessee Legislature. Jessica has volunteered in Haiti Missions, Belle Glade Missions, Puerto Rico Missions, and the Christ Fellowship Office. Jessica has been interning with Laffer Associates, one of the key crafters of Reaganomics, in the health care policy division and has accepted a full-time position with Laffer upon graduation. Jessica aspires to study for a Doctorate degree to eventually work as an economic analyst for the Federal Reserve.

3. Ben DeHaan, from Ada, Michigan, is in his junior year at Palm Beach Atlantic University studying business management and political science. Because of his recommendation by Dr, James Todd of PBAU for an internship with the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee, Ben was also recommended for our scholarship by the PB County REC Chair, Michael Barnett and our Club Member, Claire Jones. Ben is spending this summer in Michigan working for TGG Solutions, a business solutions company, specializing in Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance policies. Ben plans to join our Club on his return to school.

4&5. TWINS: Keelie and Rileigh Hanley—came to our committee as a pair and presented themselves to our membership as a duo. Both graduated from the celebrated SunCoast High School with an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and plan to attend Embry Riddle Aeronautics University in Daytona Beach, studying Computer Science and Global Security with the intent to apply for the US Air Force Academy in 2020.

Also at the meeting were Christian Acosta, candidate for Congressional District 21, and Rick Roth who is running for re-election in House District 85. Christian will be facing several other Republicans in next year’s August primary for the right to challenge Democrat incumbent Lois Frankel.

Please join us on July 24th for Joe Budd, PBC State Committeeman and President of Trump Club 45. Joe will fill us in on plans for 2020 and how we can prepare to re-elect the President.

PBC Committeeman and Trump Club 45 President Joe Budd for July Meeting

2020 is coming! What are the state and local plans to re-elect the President and win Republican seats next year? What can we do to help?

With the Florida Democrats pulling out the stops to register 1 million voters and turn the state blue, the 2020 election will be a struggle. Joe Budd will share some of our party’s plans, as well as what the Trump Club 45 will be doing.

Come prepared to get charged up and ready to go!

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President and founder of the Trump Club 45, the largest such club in the country, Joe Budd is our State Committeeman and has been a member of the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee Board of Directors. He is a past President of the Boca Raton Regional Republican Club and has been locally active in politics since his run for Congress in 2009. Joe served as a vice chair of the Palm Beach County Trump campaign helping President Trump win a decisive primary victory with 52% of the vote in our county.

Joe has been married to his wife Sherry for 33 years and has three children and one grandchild. Joe operates a successful Financial Planning firm in Boca Raton as well as an Insurance Brokerage firm.

Former Congressman Tom Rooney to Present 2019 Ann Roberts Scholarships

Presenting the awards for the club will be our featured speaker, Former Congressman and Senior Fellow at the LeMieux Center for Public Policy at PBAU, Tom Rooney.

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Tom Rooney recently retired from his position as US Representative for Florida’s 17th Congressional District. Having served since 2008, he was on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Military Construction and Veteran’s Affairs, and State and Foreign Operations. He also served on the House Select Committee on Intelligence and was Chairman of the Intelligence Subcommittee on Emerging Threats. He was also deputy whip when the GOP was in the majority.

Prior to his election to Congress, Rooney worked as an Assistant Attorney General, and was CEO of The Children’s Place at Home Safe, a home for abused and neglected children. He was later appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to the Children’s Services Council of PBC. An attorney, Rooney was in private practice with a Stuart Law Firm.

He has a degree in English Literature from Syracuse University, a master’s degree from the University of Florida, and a JD from the University of Miami School of Law.

2019 Session Accomplishments with Representative Rick Roth

Our May meeting featured HD85 Representative Rick Roth, who described some of the significant actions taken by the Florida Legislature in the just completed session.

• The House passed a parental notification act for abortions by minors, but it was not passed by the Senate.
• Felon voting rights re-instatement (from 2018 amendment 4) was clarified to state that all aspects of a sentence must be concluded (including restitution if applicable)
• Smokeable marijuana is no longer prohibited for medical use with a doctor’s letter
• Texting while driving is now a ‘primary offense’ meaning you can be stopped for it (Emily Slosberg’s crusade)
• The “Certificate of Need” requirement for expansion of medical facilities was eliminated
• Coverage of 21 types of cancer are now covered under firefighter health plans
• HB7113 transportation bill authorizes 3 regional corridors to be built
• The Parkland bill that allows for the arming of teachers (with board approval) passed
• The “assignment of benefits” to rebuilding contractors was limited and polices can be written to preclude it
• The “sanctuary cities” bill (SB168) passed, allowing for the fining of local governments who do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities

For more detail on the major bills from this session, see:
2019 Legislative Session Update

Please join us next month on June 26 for the awarding of our annual Anne Roberts Scholarships. The presenter will be former Congressman and Senior Fellow at the Lemieux Center for Public Policy, Tom Rooney.

NCNC – Imparting Local Knowledge for 10 years

Our April meeting featured Sal Faso, President of the North County Neighborhood Coalition.

Started by a small group of concerned residents 10 years ago, NCNC has grown to encompass 23 Communities and Condo/Homeowners Associations in the North County, with 45,000 residents and 30.000 voters. With a mission to “improve the quality of life for residents in North Palm Beach County”, NCNC operates by educating its members on the local issues that affect them, and by making government accessible by hosting meetings with local officials.

As a non-partisan group, Sal and the NCNC have hosted candidate forums for county and municipal races, and their monthly meetings are well-attended by candidates running for offices at all levels. With a 76% average voter turnout by NCNC community members (compared to 60% county wide), candidates ignore NCNC at their peril.

Sal and his team advocate for many local issues affecting residents, including safety and security, economic prosperity, the character of the area, financial accountability of government, and maintaining home rule.

For more information on the NCNC, or to get your community involved, check out their website at: http://www.ncncpbc.org/

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