The Montezuma County Republicans, an organization that supports and provides information on Republican political candidates running for local offices, will open headquarters to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until November’s election.
Community members can ask questions about Republican candidates, and fact sheets on each one will be available.
The organization recently created a building committee, designed to manage the facility where monthly meetings, candidate meet-and-greets and public information hours take place. The headquarters is at 24 S. Ash St. in Cortez. Charlie Tate, the chair of the committee, spoke with a Journal reporter about the organization.
Tate is the Precinct 3 co-chair in addition to his role on the building committee. Precinct co-chairs serve as a link between a political party and voters within the precinct’s boundaries.
Members of the organization research each Republican candidate, looking at their background, history and platforms. They also look at how each candidate plans to represent constituents.
“What we plan on doing is a fact sheet that is prepared by the local Republican Party, as opposed to fact sheets that are prepared by the candidates themselves,” Tate said. The organization aims to be as neutral as they can when putting together the fact sheets.
Visitors may ask the volunteers questions about candidates at the open hours. If volunteers don’t have a clear answer, they will research until they do and get back to them, Tate told a reporter.
According to the Montezuma County Republicans website, Republicans value limited government, lower taxes, sound economic policy and strong national defense. The organization focuses on “stimulating economic growth for all Americans, protecting constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, ensuring the integrity of our elections, and maintaining our national security,” according to their brochure.
The Montezuma County Republican Central Committee was established to support candidates deemed integrous. This support comes in the form of education, fundraising, raising voter awareness and supervising elections, their brochure says. The MCRCC’s Executive Board consists of a chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer, and each precinct has two chair positions.
Monthly meetings are on the first Thursday of each month at noon, and all are welcome to attend, regardless of party affiliation.
