Check out this article by California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring from FlashReport:

Government employee unions in the Southern California city of Oceanside forced a recall election on a Republican member of the city council yesterday for a novel reason: contract negotiations are coming up, and the unions would rather control both sides of the negotiating table instead of just one.

In a crushing defeat that will cause reassessment of labor’s political muscle locally, the union-led recall attempt of Republican Councilman Jerry Kern was overwhelmingly rejected, with a stunning 63% of voters opposed.

Demonstrating just how far union officials would go to put their parochial interests ahead of those of taxpayers, the recall election was forced upon the financially strapped city even though the cost of conducting the election itself would exceed $500,000. In other words, union officials were willing to bet hundreds of thousands of dollars of their members’ money on a recall campaign, plus half a million in taxpayer funds to run the election, all on a gamble to take control of the city council just as contract negotiations were set to begin.

A clearer example of parochial interests crowding out the public interest would be hard to find.

Regrettably, the city cannot recover the half-million dollars it was forced to spend conducting the recall election at the insistence of government employee union officials. Those funds are lost permanently at a time when Oceanside, like virtually every other California city, is struggling to make ends meet.

Councilman Jerry Kern’s victory in the recall election is a major victory for the Republican Party of San Diego County, which together with its ally the San Diego Lincoln Club quickly mobilized a comprehensive voter education and mobilization campaign on Kern’s behalf. Together, the Republican Party under the leadership of Tony Krvaric, together with the Lincoln Club led by Tom Sudberry, brought together the infrastructure, volunteers and funds necessary for victory. Dozens of College Republican leaders poured into the campaign to provide critical ground support to maximize the turnout of Republican voters.

Taxpayers throughout the region will be the ultimate beneficiaries of the Republican campaign to support Councilman Kern and defeat the recall. A union victory would have no doubt produced a much more expensive contract with city employees at a time Oceanside can least afford it.

More importantly, the Republican victory takes a dangerous tool permanently out of the hands of union officials: using the recall process to exercise undue and improper control over both sides of contract negotiations. For this reason above all others the results of the Oceanside Republican victory will be felt, and taxpayers will benefit, for years to come.

COLLEGE REPUBLICANS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN CALIFORNIA

Michael Antonopoulos is Chairman, California College Republicans

With a Democrat in the White House, the pressure is on for College Republicans to up the ante in the never-ending fight against the left on our campuses.   And like the CR’s that have come before us, we have no intention of shrinking away from the challenge.

The year is still young, and the California College Republicans are off to a great start!  In July, we hosted our annual Ronald Reagan leadership training in Simi Valley with 75 CR’s in attendance, making this year’s retreat one of the largest yet.  The Reagan Board of Directors Retreat helps equip CR leaders from across the state with the tools to build and sustain successful chapters, with trainings on fundraising, club building, and activism among others.

Taking the momentum from that weekend, CCR sprung into campaign mode, holding two GOTVs for David Harmer, the party’s nominee against John Garamendi in CD 10.  In the upcoming 6 weeks, CR’s have our sights set on defending Councilman Jerry Kern from the labor-sponsored recall effort in Oceanside Beach.

While CR’s will never hesitate to hit the pavement for Republican candidates, at our core we are activists who thrive on taking the fight to the left on campus.  One primary objective of this year’s state board is helping clubs better publicize their own activism.   Working with CR Veteran and Patriot Axiom founder Leigh Wolf, CR clubs are turning out more videos then ever before.  The underling philosophy within CR’s is that, while it is enjoyable to irk liberals, it is equally important to show the world off campus that there are young people who do not blindly follow the Democrat party.  In our opinion, if activism takes place and nobody hears about it, then it might as well have never happened.

With President Bush out of office, and President Obama side-stepping the great issues of our time while simultaneously expanding government to unprecedented levels, college students’ once unwavering support of Obama is beginning to falter.  Obama is President, the sun has not come out, and CR clubs are growing at their most rapid pace in the last four years.

To capitalize upon the oncoming wave of talented, energetic youth activists, CR leaders are travelling to campuses across the state to help table and train club leaders on how to best maintain and activate their groups.   We are also in the process of building a new and improved website, part of our much larger plan to expand the CR new media presence.

Our movement is always growing, and we need your help to keep the momentum rolling.   If you know a college student looking to get involved, please have them email Megan Rodriguez.