CHATHAM REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE
MEETING, DECEMBER 1, 2014
CHATHAM COMMUNITY CENTER
The meeting was called to order by Fran Meaney, Chairman, at 5:00 p.m. Fran asked Vice Chair
Elaine Gibbs to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Fran reminded us that we did not have our regular monthly meeting on November 3rd due to
the midterm election which was on Tuesday, November 4th. Fran spoke about the successful
election of Charlie Baker and Karyn Polito to be the next Governor and Lt. Governor of
Massachusetts. They will lead Massachusetts’ executive branch for the next four years. Cape
Republicans did well in the election. State Representative Randy Hunt won his third term in the
Fifth Barnstable District. First time candidate Tim Whelan succeeded in his race against his
Democrat opponent for the First Barnstable District. Adam Chaprales’ loss by 205 votes to the
freshman State Representative Brian Mannal (D) for the second Barnstable District was a
disappointment. Democrat Representative Sarah Peake ran unopposed in the 4th Barnstable
District. Along with Republican David Vieira from Falmouth, who ran unopposed in the Third
Barnstable District, Republicans now control three out of the five Barnstable districts on Cape
Cod and the Islands. Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe won re-election for the
fourth time. Democrat Dan Wolf won his re-election for State Senate crushing his opponent
Ron Beaty. Republican Leo Cakounes of Harwich won the important race for the Barnstable
County Commission.
In the race for the 9th Congressional District, John Chapman’s percentage margin of victory in
Chatham was the best of all the cities and towns in our district. During the campaign Chapman
repeatedly challenged the well-funded and union backed Keating (D) to defend his positions for
the votes he cast. Keating voted over 90% of the time with the Democrat leadership in
Washington, disregarding the concerns of the district he was elected to represent. John
Chapman worked very hard for nearly a year and earned our enthusiastic support. Fran said
about John’s campaign, “It was a well-run, savvy campaign conducted by a true gentleman.”
Fran described how Ron Beaty became the Republican candidate for state senate pushing out
conservative Republican businessman Allen Waters. Because of his prison sentence for
threatening to kill President George H.W. Bush and his questionable tactics in the primary, Fran
did not recommend that Chatham’s Republican Town Committee vote for the Republican
nominee for the state senate position. Instead the committee in a mailing to all of Chatham’s
voting households recommended a write-in vote for Allen Waters on November 4th.
Nationally, the election of Republicans went well. Those candidates who got elected were able
to convince voters that they stood up for American working families. It remains for Republicans
to carry that message forward and to show the truth -- that Democrats now represent their
wealthy cronies rather than the struggling middle class.
In New Hampshire’s Senate race Scott Brown believes that voter fraud may have contributed to
his loss. He reported to Fran that 30,000 people in New Hampshire registered to vote on
November 4th without having to show proper identification. Brown said that he plans to work
on legislation in New Hampshire to change this practice.
Fran held the first straw poll for the 2016 Presidential election tonight. We were asked to
select our first choice for President from a list of about 25 possible Republican candidates. The
results were Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker finished first, with former Governor and 2012
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush tied for second. The
committee will hold a straw vote each month to see how the candidates fare among our
attendees.
There was a brief discussion about several important issues facing our country at this time.
Polls show that the American people are in favor of “securing our borders” by 70%. How does
President Obama’s move to change our immigration policy without approval from Congress
impact our security and does his action violate our U.S. Constitution? In the case of the
Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in June of 2015 whether the
state subsidies survive or are struck down--which may cause the law to collapse. Will Congress
secure enough votes for the passage of the Keystone Pipeline only to have President Obama
veto the bill? Many black communities are in turmoil and are being guided by leaders like Al
Sharpton who often promotes their own self-interest.
Vice Chair Elaine Gibbs urged members to let their views be known in Washington by calling
senators and representatives and letting them know how you view important issues. She said
that they keep count of all such calls and this is one way to have your voice be heard.
Fran said that Treasurer Sam Black will be moving to Chatham the middle of 2015 and therefore
we will need a new treasurer. Fran asked for a volunteer but no one responded at this time.
Fran discussed plans for our Christmastime Get-Together to celebrate the elections and the
Christmas season. It will be held at New England Pizza on Thursday, December 11, 2014 at 5:00
p.m. Bob Shafter will be collecting unwrapped toys and donations for the Toys for Tots Charity.
John Chapman will be attending and will speak to us about his campaign and possibly tell us
about his future plans.
Fran reviewed how the new technology used by MassVictory measured up in the recent
election. Substantially (80%) more voters were contacted by volunteer phone callers. In
Chatham, we didn’t do door to door campaigning and we weren’t able to get as many phone
volunteers as we would have liked, but 65% of voters showed up to vote, one of the better
records in the state. Fran said that we need to build our email list as much as possible in 2015
because it is a more practical way to reach a larger number of voters. He urged us to continue
asking our friends and neighbors to be added to the list.
The Secretary’s minutes from October 6, 2014 were approved. However, the Secretary later
realized that several contributions made to the candidates had not been properly included in
the previous month’s minutes. A motion was made and passed to correct the Secretary’s
minutes for October 6, 2014 to include records of those contributions.
The Treasurer’s Report was given by Sam Black. The balance as of October 6, 2014 was
$12,433.54. Total receipts were $2,100. Expenditures totaled $7,876.44, leaving a balance of
$6,657.10 as of December 1, 2014. Most of the expenditures were contributions to Republican
candidates. The Treasurer’s Report was approved.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Marie Acton, Secretary