I'll be putting up several posts about Saturday's Tulsa County Republican Convention -- you'll see "TCRC 2005" in the title. The convention meets every odd-numbered year to elect party officials and to approve a party platform. There is also a county convention in every presidential election year.

The usual order of business is to hear speeches from Republican officials in the morning then after lunch to elect party officers and vote on the platform.

The party officers elected for 2005-07 are

Chairman: Jerry Buchanan
Vice Chairman: Joy Pittman
State Committeeman: Michael Bates
State Committeewoman: Charlotte Harer
1st District Committeeman: Jeremy Bradford
1st District Committeewoman: Erin Patrick

The 1st District Committeeman race was the only contested race -- 2002 mayoral candidate Ray McCollum was the other candidate. It was clear that Jeremy Bradford, president of the Young Republicans chapter, had the support of a broader cross-section of party leaders.

Jerry and Joy are going to make a great team. Jerry took a leap into politics a little over a year ago when he decided to run in the special election for House District 67. He didn't win, but he ran an honorable race, and rather than sulk, he volunteered to help build the party organization. He will do a great job with the nuts and bolts of the party. He's also a man of principle, evidenced by his role as a lay leader of the Church of the Holy Spirit, an Episcopal parish at odds with the national church over the ordination of homosexuals. As a spokesman for the congregation, he's demonstrated firmness without vitriol.

Joy was a fellow delegate to the Republican National Convention and served on the RNC platform committee. She's also a heck of a dancer. (Shockwave required, click on DAY 3, then click on DELEGATE DANCE-OFF. That's Joy on the right as the video begins and ends.)

As I was unopposed, I was allowed to make a two-minute acceptance speech, in which I called the delegates' attention to three crucial elections coming in the next few months. (1) The City of Tulsa has a general obligation bond issue for basic infrastructure on the ballot in April, and it needs to pass. It's all about the basic duties of city government. (2) In order to hold on to the District 5 council seat, it's crucial for only one of the seven Republicans who have expressed interest in the seat to go ahead and file for the special election. The election has no primary and no runoff -- it's first-past-the-post. I urged the candidates and precinct leaders in the district to caucus and agree as to which of the seven should be the Republican standard-bearer. (3) We've got to defeat the recall attempts and keep Chris Medlock and Jim Mautino in office. It would be a violation of democratic principles if duly elected officials were replaced in midterm by the appointment of the candidates who lost the last election.

The six elected officials together form the Central Committee of the county party. It's a good team, and I'm proud to be part of it once again.