New
Young Republican chapter arrives
By
Marianna O’Carroll
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
The Young Republicans chapter of Long Beach has returned in full force. Spearheaded
by President Robert Garcia, 27, the new club encourages young professionals
between the ages of 18 and 40 to join and get involved in the local community.
When committee members began to meet five months ago, they envisioned the Young
Republicans to be a good place to network and meet “other professionals
interested in Republican politics” Garcia said.
The six founding members of the Long Beach Young Republicans include Noel Hacegaba,
Lisa Herbst, Marisa Perez, former Cal State Long Beach Law Society President
Milton Arcos and two former CSULB Associated Students, Inc., presidents; Michael
Johnson (2004-2005) and Robert Garcia (2000-2001).
Garcia guided and organized the committee, which developed a charter that was
recognized as an official club by the Los Angeles County Republican group last
August.
About 55 people attended the first mixer earlier this month at Smooth’s
Sports Grille in Long Beach and showed great interest in the group which is
designed to appeal to a younger Republican demographic. Milton Arcos, 24, said
he remembers meeting at least three current freshman at CSULB.
The Long Beach Young Republican’s future goal is to go beyond providing
a space for those who are interested in networking. They plan to recruit like-minded
individuals who live, work or study in the local area close the “pretty
large void of Republican Organizations in Long Beach,” said Arcos, a
law student at Chapman University.
The club also plans to educate its members and the community on public policy
issues and current legislation.
Voter education is a short term and long term objective for this group. Lisa
Herbst, an account executive at the public affairs and advocacy firm Svorinich & Associates,
said, “Voter education is an important piece of our political process.
We
wanted to create an energetic organization that would bring young Republicans
together socially but also educate them about important issues we’re
facing today.”
The group’s founding members differ in their political beliefs and want
to embrace these differences by accepting liberal, moderate and conservative
Republicans into the group.
“
The more diverse our group is, the better” said Garcia, who describes
himself as a social liberal and fiscal conservative. The mixer also had a “very
diverse showing of potential members,” Arcos added.
Although diversity will be an important feature of the Young Republicans, members
should demonstrate a sincere interest in the future of the community by explaining
and promoting the core principles of the Republican Party.
The Young Republicans chapter will
be holding elections in January
2006.
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