Republican Women's Meeting June 10 - Maillette for Sheriff Endorsed

Republican Women of the North held a membership meeting over lunch Thursday, June 10 at the Eagle River Inn.

Our President Kim Simac gave a summary of the Wisconsin Republican Convention 2010 that was held May 21-23 in Milwaukee, including the surprising endorsement of Ron Johnson for US Senate. Johnson had just announced his candidacy the beginning of that week and had just begun to campaign.  Scott Walker was endorsed for WI Governor, and David King for Secretary of State.  Lt Governor and our 8th Congressional District Representative races did not select candidates for endorsement.  Nomination papers were presented and signatures gathered for various Republican candidates in the numerous primary races.  We also discussed manning a table/booth at area flea markets and other locations during the rest of this month to gather more nomination signatures and simultaneously promote our club, the GOP and our Republican candidates.  If any members have an interest in helping with this, please email right away and we'll finalize these plans. 

We also discussed plans to promote our club, the GOP and our Republican candidates during Independence Day activities around the area.  We plan to march in at least two parades with a float and we'll be handing out American flags from the Vilas County GOP:  St Germain Parade will be at 1pm Sunday June 27 and the Eagle River Parade will be at 11am on Sunday July 4.  If you are interested in partpciating in either or both parades, please contact Mary Lou Hake at 715-479-8224.  We'll start gathering about 1 hour prior to the start of each parade.      

Next on our agenda was a presentation by James Maillette who is a Republican candidate running for Vilas County Sheriff.  Maillette comes with a strong background in Homeland Security, Intelligence and Counterterrorism.  He is a libertarian-leaning Republican who recognizes that our US Constitution limits governmental power and he acknowledges the importance of protecting individual rights at the local level.  Maillette explained that by not being a current employee at the Sheriff's Department, he has an outsider's perspective and is able and willing to consider alternatives to operate more efficiently and save money in the process.  He plans to bring business-minded/free-market principles to the table.  He talked about leading a more open department with staff members and the sheriff himself out visiting members of the community routinely.       

Maillette has been involved in joint functions we have had with the Vilas GOP.  He assisted as a moderator at our Great Debate held in May, which served to vet the candidates with probing questions and valued follow-up.  After some discussion about his campaign and positions, we decided to take a vote in favor of endorsing James Maillette for Vilas County Sheriff.  He brings extensive knowledge and willingness to serve and we look forward to supporting him in the primary and general elections this fall!   More information can be found about James Maillette on his website and we encourage you to take a look and consider your support of his campaign.    

Republican Women of the North, Northern WI, rwotorth@gmail.com