Greetings Fellow Manatee County Republicans: 

My name is Jacqueline Heisse and I am a Precinct Committeewoman for Precinct 305. I am running for State Committeewoman because I feel that we are losing our country. Our Federal government is bankrupt, running current annual deficits of $2 trillion and a National Debt of $35 Trillion. Our border is being invaded, impacting our national sovereignty and security. We are funding endless wars and our judicial system is weaponized. We have political prisoners in our country and our nominee President Trump could be one of them. Our energy industry is being attacked and inflation is out of control.

Even in our local county in “free” Florida,  we have many issues not being addressed, such as the cost and the speed of development, traffic congestion, exploding insurance rates, deteriorating infrastructure and pollution of our waters. Local elected officials seem only interested in serving the special interests. The taxpayers are being squeezed and our quality of life is suffering. 

The Republican Party has the power to change this but I do not see an urgency in addressing these problems. Where is the fight? I see a disconnect between the Republican voters and the party they joined to organize and represent their interests.  We seem to be out of the loop. 

The local Manatee County Republican Executive Committee (MCREC) is not active. There is no fundraising, no meetings, and no outreach to the voters. This committee is the “official voice” of the Republican Party in Manatee County and has the power to address the action or inaction of our Republican representatives. It also has the ability to advance or oppose policy issues, but only if Republicans are involved. The committee is designed to have one man and one woman to represent each 1,000 registered voters in every precinct. There are currently 456 open seats on this committee and there has been no effort to fill those open slots.  We are far short of having the manpower to effectively educate and inform our electorate. This all seems deliberate, by shutting down the county party they are shutting out the grassroots – you! 

I joined the committee in 2021, shortly after the 2020 Presidential election.  I was amazed that there was no desire to look into the irregularities of that election process.  There was no orientation for the new members, such as providing the governing documents and the minutes of past meetings. We could not even speak to amend an agenda, ask a question or present new business.  The clear goal was to run the party in a very top-down approach with a high percentage of large donations from a small number of developers, political action committees and incumbent politicians.

Over the last two years, the effectiveness of the local committee seemed to only deteriorate the more we tried to assert our rights. We turned an important corner in May of this year when we demonstrated the power of the members by electing our candidates as the new secretary and the new treasurer.  We also enacted a first ever written financial policy to control the spending of the Chair.   

It is important to note that the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) has not helped us and has only reenforced the top-down tyrannical management of our local Board 

(County Chair, County Vice-Chair, State Committeewoman, State Committeeman, Secretary (Vacant 12/23 to 5/24) and Treasurer (Vacant 12/23 to 5/24)). I have worked hard, along with many others, to educate our members and to begin the turnaround so that our local committee is managed from the bottom up and controlled by the precinct committee members (the People). However, we need further reform both at our local level and at the RPOF. 

As State Committeewoman, I want to return the Republican Party to the people so our voices are heard and our interests are clearly represented.  Grassroots participation is the only solution to solve these problems. We need all hands on deck.  This is the only way to make our government accountable. President Trump is a great leader but he is only one man. 

Specifically:

• I will actively endeavor to build and empower our local county executive committee. We must restart fundraising and raise an army of well-trained members who share our values.  We have over 450 open precinct seats and we have not raised money in the last 5 quarters.
• I will lead the Board of the local county executive committee to develop effective community outreach to share our values and why they work. We need well-informed citizen volunteers who are actively participating year round, not just during election cycles. This outreach should also gather information to identify the issues within our communities and to ensure we are addressing them. We should not see contract workers hired by consultants knocking on doors in our communities. This is our job or our government will not work for us.
• I will provide open communication between the Republican Party of Florida and the local county executive committee and clubs. I feel that the communication within our party has been inadequate. At times it feels like a secret society.  Also the decisions of the RPOF should reflect the views of our local Republican committee and voters. I will vote based on those views, not my own. The people should run the party; the party does not run the people.    and finally…
• I will assist in identifying the best qualified Republican candidates who share our values and will represent us, and help get them elected.

We need a fresh approach

We cannot continue to elect the same type of experienced “political operatives” and expect a different result. 

Ronald Reagan once said “To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last – but eat you he will.  

We all must act.   

Please support me for State Committeewoman.  You will not regret it. 

Thank you and regards, 

Jacqueline (“Jacki”) Heisse, P.C. 305