Fountain Hills Republican Club members were treated to two keynote speakers at their meeting Saturday, June 19.

Mickie Niland, current chair of the Maricopa County Republican Committee, and Dr. Richard Rutkowski, chair of Legislative District 23, were speakers.

Niland shared results of Republicans getting successfully involved. She said there are areas in the county where there is less influence of the GOP, and her goal is to change that “a little at a time.”

She said her driving force is based on five “Ps:” Prayerful, purposeful, passionate, proactive and persistence. She told the group that Republican clubs are particularly important to get out the vote in 2022 as redistricting lines are drawn.

The 2020 Census shows a changed demographic to the state, which will result in changes to legislative districts.

Rutkowski’s message was similar, reminding club members that registered Republicans in Fountain Hills and Scottsdale far outnumber Democrats. He said party members need to individually influence more like-minded constituents.

He presented two choices to the group:

“The results of the November election can make people either give up, or it can prompt them to try to do something more about it,” Rutkowski said. “One way to do more is to become a Republican precinct committeeman (PC). In this role, you represent the Republican voters in your precinct.

“The idea is to know the issues, know the Republican platform, know the Constitution and use this knowledge to educate voters, to convince them to support our beliefs and to elect Republicans to office.”

Niland and Rutkowski shared that since January, Maricopa County has added 1,500 new precinct committeemen. There are still openings to add to the Republican rolls.

Rutkowski provided his email address so people could contact him about volunteering to work in precincts. It is ld23gop@gmail.com.

Boe James, the club’s first vice president, commented that even if people did not want to serve as a precinct committeeman, they still can make a difference by getting involved (on the local level).

It was concluded that everyone knows registered voters who either blindly cast their ballots, don’t study the issues or don’t bother to vote. Those are the ones Republicans can target to educate on the issues and the party platform.