6A March 4, 2016 Seaside Signal seasidesignal.com
‘COWGIRL UP!’
GOP women to meet in Seaside
By Eve Marx
For Seaside Signal
Republican women are
hoping an aggressive “get
in the saddle campaign” can
give a big boost to state and
national Republican efforts
in this election year.
Oregon Federation of Re-
publican Women President
Janice Williamson said her
15 years experience with
rodeo, gymkhana, jackpot
rodeo and barrel racing plus
working horses for the track
taught her the importance of
putting shoulder to harness
and saddling up. “We’ve got
a lot of work to do,” William-
son said from her home in
Salem.
On March 10, the state
federation meets at the Con-
vention Center in Seaside to
kick off their two-day spring
board meeting. Inspired by
the theme, “Cowgirl Up,”
about 100 women are expect-
ed to attend.
“I decided to call the meet-
ing ‘Cowgirl Up — Freedom
IS a Big Deal’ because that’s
what we need to be doing,
Williamson said.
Williamson said she sees
the federation as a way to
build numbers and strength
for the state federation, Na-
tional Federation of Repub-
lican Women and the Oregon
Republican Party.
“I’m in a unique position
to help us get a voice at the
table with Oregon Repub-
lican Party,” she said. “It
‘I decided to call the
meeting ‘Cowgirl
Up — Freedom IS a
Big Deal’ because
that’s what we
need to be doing.’
Janice Williamson,
Oregon Federation of Republican
Women president
the same time and place as the
52nd Annual Dorchester Con-
ference.
“We schedule our meeting
so that the ladies can attend
Dorchester at the same time
and participate in that,” Wil-
liamson said. “That’s where
they introduce new candidates
and sitting legislators so peo-
ple can meet them in a casual
atmosphere.”
Policy platform
Williamson said the fed-
eration did a lot of work in
will make us stronger, more 2014, but needs to do more to
prominent to increase our get more Republicans elected
membership.”
in Oregon.
The primary issues for
National president women in the state are jobs
Carrie Almond, president and high unemployment.
of the National Federation of
“What’s going on in the
Republican Women, will be capital is terrible right now for
the March 11 luncheon speak- the Oregon people,” she said.
er. Almond was elected Na- “It’s only going to be worse
tional Federation of Republic raising the minimum wage.”
Women president at the 38th
“The other problem is the
Biennial Convention in Phoe- health care system in this
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A resident of Chillicothe, Medicaid,” she continued.
Missouri, Almond is the for- “They’ve spent all the health
mer president of the Missou- care money. The state isn’t
ri Federation of Republican going to get any more money
Women, and served as the back from the Feds, so we’re
national federation’s second left to fend for ourselves to
vice president and treasurer. get insurance and the insur-
“Pulling Together in an Elec- ance companies are raising
tion Year” will be her speech their rates. This is terrible for
topic.
single mothers with children.”
Oregon gubernatorial can-
From her home in Missou-
didates Dr. Bud Pierce and ri, Almond said there are 23
Bob Niemeyer will be the af- million unregistered voters in
ternoon speakers.
the U.S. who lean Republican.
The Oregon Federation of “In 2014 the National Feder-
Republican Women meets at ation of Republican Women
SUBMITTED PHOTO/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Carrie Almond, president of
the National Federation of
Republican Women.
logged over 4.2 million vol-
unteer campaign hours,” she
said. “If you put that at $10
an hour, that means Republi-
can women gave $42 million
worth of our time for our can-
didates across the country.
There are 65 million wom-
en belonging to the Nation-
al Federation. Working side
by side with the Republican
National Committee, we will
take back the White House.”
Williamson said the fed-
eration chose Seaside to hold
their event because that’s
where its been held for at least
30 years.
“You have to have some-
place the ladies like to go and a
venue large enough to accom-
modate the crowd,” she said.
Sixty to 80 attendees is the
norm but because this is an
election year, Williamson said
she anticipates at least 100.
Naturalist Maine to give
presentation on rainforest
Join naturalist Neal
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ages for a conversation in
words and images about the
forest native to this coast in
a presentation titled “How to
See a Rainforest” Wednes-
day, March 16, at 6 p.m. at
Seaside Public Library. It
is the third program in the
2016 Listening to the Land
speaker series, which this
year is following the theme
of water. Admission is free;
refreshments are served.
To begin to understand
our rainforest — past, pres-
ent, and future — you need
to do more than follow the
rain as it splashes on a tree’s
needles, runs down the bark,
and reaches the roots in the
soil. For instance, the biol-
ogist notes, “They look like
a bunch of individual trees,
but in fact they are literal-
ly all communicating with
one another.” As always,
Maine will take us below
the surface of things, from
how things seem to work
to how — according to the
latest science — things real-
ly work and what scientists
still don’t understand about
the rainforest biome.
After a 30-year career
as an award-winning biolo-
gy teacher at Seaside High
School, Neal Maine became
WKH¿UVWH[HFXWLYHGLUHFWRURI
North Coast Land Conser-
vancy. Since his retirement
in 2010, he has pursued
his passion to make deeper
connections to the coastal
system, using photography
to record some of his experi-
ences and to develop greater
public appreciation of living
in what he considers para-
dise.
DINING
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Seaside’s ‘Helping Hands’ at federation conference
North Coast Republican Women
President Pat Roberts and District 1
Director Coral Rose Shipley will assist
with Oregon Federation of Repub-
lican Women’s “Caring for America”
project: “Helping Hands of Seaside.”
The federation has selected Helping
Hands Reentry Outreach Center for
their philanthropy project.
As Seaside residents, both
Roberts and Shipley want the North
Coast Republican Women to know
they would be welcome as mem-
bers.
Williamson declined to name a
Republican Presidential candidate
the federation will be supporting.
“We have a policy where there are
multiple candidates not to come
out in support as a federation until
after the primaries,” she said.
Excellence in family dining found
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Dorchester Conference aims beyond GOP
Republicans take on the tough
issues at gathering
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
Seventeen days, 14 hours 20 min-
utes and 49 seconds. At the time of this
writing that is how much time remains
before the 52nd annual Dorchester Con-
ference.
The ticking clock online heralds the
tradition-rich, Republican gathering,
started by U.S. Sen. Bob Packwood 52
years ago “as a vehicle to get the senator
elected,” Dorchester’s 2016 President
Tom Simpson said recently. Most of
the years, the conference has convened
in Seaside, except for a few when the
group met in central Oregon.
While traditionally associated with
the GOP, Simpson said the conference
is aimed at the “moderate-middle, espe-
cially the moderate side of the Oregon
electorate.”
“It is ‘Participatory Democracy 101,’
a way for people to come together and
chat with people they just met, (be)
challenged on the beliefs they have, and
go away hopefully smarter and having
met some people they might not nor-
mally have met,” Simpson said. “That’s
what we set out to do.”
Opening ceremonies begin March 11.
Tucker Carlson of Fox News appears as
keynote speaker Saturday morning, fol-
lowed by a Q&A. State Sen. Ted Ferr-
ioli, R-John Day,
and Rep. Mike
McLane, R-Pow-
ell Butte, share the
dais Saturday, After
lunch, state treasur-
er candidates from
the
Democratic,
Republican and In-
Dorchester
dependent parties Conference 2016
debate. Breakout
President Tom
sessions,
social
Simpson
hour and a tent
show follow. For $40, guests can have
their photo taken with Carlson, with
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ing Veterans Project.
A presidential straw poll Sunday will
provide a glimpse at the state’s Novem-
ber leanings, although they do not serve
as an endorsement, Simpson said.
While associated with the Republican
Party, Simpson encouraged Oregonians
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“We like to think we’re allowing
conversations that aren’t taking place,”
Simpson said. “There were certain con-
versations that weren’t taking place
in the Republican Party. If you’re a
one-party state, what’s not being talked
about? We try to set it up in such a way
that we can have that conversation.”
Simpson said he hoped to challenge
the beliefs of those attending the confer-
ence.
What does it mean, for example, if
2UHJRQ¶VUDQFKHUVDUH¿JKWLQJWRSULYDW-
ize some public lands?
ROBERT CAIN LD,
“We want peo-
ple to consider what
it means to have a
public land,” Simp-
son said. “Could
beaches be privat-
ized as an unintend-
ed consequence?”
Tucker Carlson
Gun control was
an issue originally
considered “off the table” for the con-
ference, he said.
Simpson fought to bring it back in..
“We were told that it’s not an issue open
to debate. Which says to me that’s why
we should be debating it. If you’re clos-
ing off argument on a topic because you
believe it’s settled, I can guarantee in
Oregon, it’s not settled.
“We shouldn’t be throwing bombs
at each other,” he added. “It needs to
be talked about. Reasonable people can
disagree.”
When he’s not involved with the
Dorchester Conference Simpson, 53,
works as director of government affairs
for Standard Insurance.
The conference is an event, the Lake
Oswego resident said, he’s been in-
volved with all his life.
“I have pictures of my mother Jo-
sephine running the forums,” Simpson
said. “A lot of my peers would go skiing
or play golf — I would go to Dorches-
ter.”
Those interested in signing up for
the Dorchester Conference may do so
through Saturday, March 12.
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