Meet the New Chair!

Not everyone is as familiar with Jerry Jackson, the new Chair of the Benton County Republican Party, as we are, so we asked him for an informal interview.  It seemed appropriate to have it as the lead story in our first monthly newsletter email.

1. Tell us about yourself; your background, experience and so on.

I am a U.S. Army veteran who served as a member of the Old Guard for two Presidents.  I’ve been married to Cruz for thirty years and we now have six children and six grandchildren.  I currently work as a private investigator for our company, Willamette Valley Processors, a Process Service Company.  We offer process service, investigations and code enforcement.  In my spare time I have been taking courses and studying Political Science at Oregon State University.

2. What got you into politics in the first place?
Politics became part of my life when I was elected to the School Board at St. Mary’s Elementary in Grass Valley, California.  After moving to Philomath, I began serving on Citizens Advisory Boards.  Later I moved to the Philomath Budget Committee, then City Councilor, and I now serve as the Chair of the Budget Committee.  I haven’t given up on representing the people of Benton County as a County Commissioner, but I think I can handle the duties of BCGOP Chair at the same time once I am elected.
3. What made you decide to run for BCGOP Chair?

Running for public office allows you to see what is really needed from the GOP Central Committee.  I, and people who were running for similar and other offices, were not getting the support we needed.  County level support by individuals was outstanding, but individuals can only do so much.  What was needed was a Central Committee working to get Republicans elected.

I have worked out several strategies to work with the current OGOP Administration and Benton County GOP hierarchy to get Republicans elected at all levels in Benton County.

 4. Interest in the BCGOP has been faltering a bit lately. What plans do you have in mind to rekindle that interest?

The faltering at the BCGOP has been from growing pains, not a lack of leadership or desire.  We became complacent in doing things the way we had always done them while failing to notice that times had changed.  We need to be open to change, to what the politics of today has become.  When the systems we relied on in the past began to fail us, we became a party divided, with many voices crying for different policies.  That divide must end if we are to be successful, and it will take a strong Chair to make it happen.

5. What about gaining the interest of young people?  Do you have some ideas on that?

This is critical.  At one level we do a great disservice to the young Republicans passing through OSU.  On another, we are ignoring a valuable resource.  We started moving in that direction by simply changing the times for our meetings to allow the College Republican President to attend our meetings.  Our bylaws state that the OSU College Republican President is an executive office, which made this an obvious and critical move, in my estimation, and the expectation is that he will bring others of his group with him.  This has also opened up the ability to have joint meetings, the first being in October at OSU.  We also launched the John F. Bell OSU College Republican Scholarship award to attract more of the OSU community.

But ‘younger’ also means those younger than retirement age, which includes most of our BCGOP members.  For now I think we need to concentrate on the college age candidates and be open to issues that might capture the 30 to 50 crowd.  Maybe the college age kids will peak the interest of their parents!  Maybe we can even work on that.

6. I know you’ve already gotten the ball rolling on a few of your ideas. Can you elaborate on those?

We have initiated the Chairman’s Club with the first appeal going in the mail in October.  The Club is intended to appeal to those who are interested in politics at all levels, and fortunate to have the resources to influence things.  Imagine wanting to do something about the state of our local, state and national situation, having the wherewithal to make a difference, and not knowing where to begin.  The Chairman’s Club is intended to be just the organization those kinds of people can depend on in Benton County.

The Club will of course be politically oriented, but it will not be ‘all about politics’.  Sometimes we forget that politics leads to a gathering of like-minded people who sometimes just get together to relax among like-minded people.  There will be dues for members, but nothing exorbitant.  The group will gather four times each year, and the ‘dues’ will pay for the gatherings.  At the same time, each gathering will provide an opportunity for listening to prospective candidates and to hear about issues currently facing Benton County and Oregon in general.  There will be dining and there may be dancing to live entertainment, but it will be funded by those who paid to join, and it will be both fun and informative.  It might even be an excellent dinner experience!

But the Chairman’s Club is only the beginning.  We have other plans for the years ahead.  It’s time the Benton County GOP started having fun with politics! Read More......

Two Republicans initiate petition to change Benton County Charter

Measure would require commissioners to represent separate districts ✧ Benton County voters may get the chance to change how the county commissioners are chosen. ✧ Jerry Jackson of Philomath and Gerald Tsupros of Alsea have filed a petition for a ballot measure to amend the county charter to require that each member of the three-person board be elected from a distinct geographic district. Read more at Gazette-Times...

Related:
Corvallis Gazette-Times, July 26, 2013 Letter (Gerry Tsupros): Geographic commission would ensure accountability
Corvallis Gazette-Times, July 24, 2013 Editorial: District elections for commission don't add up Read More......

Voters will have chance to meet Republican candidates Monday

See Corvallis Gazette-Times article HERE.

What: Republican Candidates' Fair & No-host Luncheon (optional)
When: Monday, September 27th
Where: King Tin Restaurant, 1857 N.W. Ninth St., Corvallis
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Candidates attending:

• Jim Huffman for U.S. Senate
  
• Rose Cook for State Representative, Dist. 16
  
• Jerry Jackson for County Commissioner, Position 1
  
• Mark O'Brien for Corvallis City Council, Ward 1
  
• John Detweiler for Corvallis City Council, Ward 6
  
• Rick Schroff for Corvallis City Council, Ward 7

See you there! --bc Read More......

GT Removes Comment

Re: Jerry J. Jackson, Sr. 7/6/2009 - Below you will find a comment I wrote regarding the story in the GT about the Fender Blue Butterfly. This story ran front page on 7/5/09 with zero comments from the public, until I decided to place a comment. The comment below was in place until sometime this morning. They took it out and put video only to prevent comments. We need to let the GT know they cannot sensor what we write and expect us to remain quiet. The GT continues to traditionally allow comments from readers that do not rock the boat away from their obvious agenda.

paternalistic July 5, 2009 8:12PM PST
I was amazed to see a story on the Fender Blue Butterfly this morning in the GT as they keep telling me they do not have the resources to run a story on the possibility of Benton County moving to HP. We must realize the county should not be a regulatory means for Endangered Species Act. The current draft habitat conservation plan should become non-regulatory and have no authority to add to any additional species, restrictions and or to purchase private property to create 50 to 60 acres of conservation easements in the so-called “blue zones”. Budget shortfalls were discussed during the budget process as the board realized that the county does not have enough money to operate in the future without spending down their reserves. You don't have to go any further then Starker Forest to see we have great stewards of the forest in place without wasting more then $800,000 on a study to regulate your lands. The reason this researcher was able to study these butterflies goes to point, we do not need additional restrictions. Turn this very expensive study into a resource document for landowners to use when applying for a permit to develop THEIR LAND . The county must insure you do not damage the lands where there are endangered species and providing this information to the land owners for free is a good way to insure this happens. STOP THE PLAN NOW AND QUIT SPENDING MONEY. Read More......