Jim Wise comments on the local elections and the Republican Party

The following is a direct quote  from Jim Wise as posted on his Blog:   http://belviderepolitiks.wordpress.com/

On April 7, voters sent a clear message – change is coming. This is a message that the leadership of the Boone County Republican Party had better take heed of. This past election cycle, the leadership of the Boone County Republican Party chose to protect the interests of a few select individuals, and the public offices that they hold, at the expense of the needs and interests of the citizens of Boone County. This caused the Party to lose one City and one Township office and only able to hold on to several other elected offices by the slimmest of margins. The prized possession of the Party, the office of Mayor of Belvidere, was nearly lost to an Independent candidate who lacked even the most basic of qualifications to hold such an office. The Party is in trouble of losing its status as the dominant political party in Boone County and to retain its dominance in Boone County politics three things must occur.
First, the Boone County Republican Party needs new leadership. The current Chairman is void of the skills needed to sustain the Party’s dominance in Boone County politics and should be replaced in order to prevent any further decline of the Party’s membership and status within the County.
Secondly, because it has become too focused on a select few public offices and individual office holders its membership base is shrinking and candidates who previously sought County, Municipal, Township and Precinct offices as Republicans now run under the banner of the Independent Party. The Party needs to refocus its attention on the citizens – the ones that live on Main Street not High Street in order to regain its base of support from among the citizens of Boone County.
And thirdly, it needs to move beyond the old ways of governance. Its membership is comprised of both men and women, but has a woman ever led the Party? There are many women among the Party membership who have the skills and ability to lead the Party. Two who come to mind are Cathy Ward and Patricia Zickert. Studies have proven that women make better leaders of organizations where interpersonal skills are more important than brawn. The Party has plenty of brawn, but has failed to take advantage of the skills that are needed to promote, nurture and sustain the Party and its membership, skills that women in general posses.
Change is coming to Boone County in small measured steps. But change in the leadership of the Boone County Republican Party needs to take place before the next cycle of elections, before it loses its status as the dominant political party in Boone County and surely before the current leadership leads the Party to its grave.

Jim Wise