Oregon D.O.G.E. Dorchester Day 2: Parents, Patriots & the Blueprint to Reclaim Oregon

Senator Mike McLane: All right, so we're here. Thank you for being on the Oregon D.O.G.E. podcast and As you know, we're here at Dorchester So introduce yourself

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: Yeah, so I'm Rilie Ashby Anderton I work for a turning point USA with Charlie Kirk and I get to Experience the complaints from college students all the time about what D.O.G.E. is doing on their campus So I get to see that firsthand from them Well, of course, that's national D.O.G.E.

Senator Mike McLane: right that that's a Department of Government Efficiency and we're simply a discussion of government efficiency in Oregon. So but it but the name does make those on the left You know head explode a little bit. Yeah Tanner

Tanner Elliott: Tanner Elliott chair of the Young Republicans of Oregon and Currently work for senator Brock Smith your colleague You know DBS DBS he's Always has a bill for whatever your

Senator Mike McLane: yeah, whatever your issue is he has bill in fact He has a new podcast no BS with DBS and so Is this your first Dorchester conference?

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: No, I was an intern last year Josie kind of pulled me on I met her twin sister And so I've been able to kind of connect with them and her family and everything since so did you grow up in Oregon? Yes, I am born and raised Redmond, Oregon. I live in Beaverton now Against my will but I do enjoy Washington County a lot.

It's a it's a beautiful. It's a beautiful little area But yeah, no, if I ever get the chance, though, we'll probably move back to Dechutes County and go back to Redmond

Senator Mike McLane: Well, Redmond's great. I get a represent in the Senate big chunk of Redmond and And of course her sister I know And her brother-in-law I know because we attended the same church for many many years and In Tanner you grew up also in Senate District 30

Tanner Elliott: I did yeah, no, I grew up in John Day. So born and raised there all 18 years well, I Mean lived there a little longer, but you know born and raised in John Day beautiful area great small town grew up with those rural values that I think I think a lot of people could use in Western Oregon. Yeah, I'm a I five. Yes Hard work integrity so But yeah, no and also worked for Your other former colleague Cliff Bentz.

Senator Mike McLane: Yes now congressman cliff Congressman Cliff Bentz from Ontario who is doing yeoman's work on in the house Representatives in Washington DC and of course he's on a great committee commerce and the environment and energy or You know, etc. So what part of Redmond did you live in?

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: I lived in the Northwest Part of Redmond and so I was right on the canyon almost always We moved four different times and each house was right on the canyon, you know, either across the street or right there And so I got to grow up Right along Elton a gray gray kind of area over by the Pappy's Pizza in the Walmart And if you're from Redmond, you know exactly what I'm talking about. That's a very, you know, very big Monument there.

Senator Mike McLane: Well, that that is I know exactly where that's maple and So you also I think that's that's actually Senate District 30 area. So great to have two constituents in The most beautiful district, you know last night they kept talking about beautiful district I didn't compete.

I'm like I'm not gonna compete with the beach and everything but at any event It's always better at the beach as David Brock Smith. I would say and so tell us what you do at Turning Point USA.

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: So I am the field representative. That's kind of my title But I basically every day go on to a different college campus in Oregon and I promote conservative values And as I'm how dare I that's exactly what they say actually Yeah, no, my favorites are probably going to Portland State University of Oregon and Oregon State University because that's where I get, you know The biggest schools is where I get to get have the most like conversation. I did actually on Thursday. I got asked My stuff got stolen and taken by Antifa And they came and visited

Senator Mike McLane: ANTIFA Stole your stuff.

Senator Mike McLane: Yes. So on Thursday,

Senator Mike McLane: I thought they were kind and compassionate

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: Well, you know, they like to say that but they don't like to speak the truth as well So, yeah, no, I have I got the video footage and everything. It was it was really great Because we've been working with Portland State University because I'm bringing Riley Gaines out there on May 5th To the Smith Memorial Union and they have been Getting ready to protest, you know and shut us down because they don't want us to have free speech They don't want to have curve it. They don't want conservatives to have a voice at Portland State University And so they have been actively planning against us. And so I was kind of expecting You know me and my students are going out there with phone boards that say free the first free speech on our campus and one of them said De I didn't earn it Because that's what we at Turning Point USA believe that if you know, DEI means didn't earn it Not in the sense if you are in that DEI description that you didn't earn it But if you get to a certain point because of DEI you did not earn it

Senator Mike McLane: Well, and that is a growing criticism and in Oregon we have Excuse me a few examples were like in the Oregon Youth Authority There was a supervisor who when he found out that he was hired because of that he Was very angry and said he wasn't respected And Mr. Bird bit anyway, there was a scandal associated but so So I'm curious now Riley Gaines, you know for those who are listening is a Swimmer from the University of Kentucky who tied trans woman A Swimmer and then they gave the award to the trans woman swimmer from University of Pennsylvania and Riley Gaines, you know objected and then now whether she likes it or not she became a national figure because it was very frustrating for people to just say time out like It was a tie, but just the thought that There was competition and between a biological male who was in transition to be a woman Was angered a lot of people and that started was like a snowball effect and she became a national figure She spoke at the Reagan Day dinner last year great speaker or maybe it was a year before I can't remember But it any event she did a great job and she's coming to Portland State Which many would view that's like the center of Antifa activity right you remember when they took over the

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: library Yes, we had you know we're obviously in works with security You know you know making sure that everyone stays safe both sides. They save the protesters in our event And they did bring that up And you know they kind of pitted it on us They were like hey, you know you need to listen to me like when I tell you to back down and stop tabling So that we don't have another library incident and my response to that was well Why am I the one that's being told to stop tabling because I'm so called Antagonizing the protesters to do those awful aggressive crimes I'm like why not go after them and put a stop to them I was like why put a stop to me in my free speech when I've Requested my students have requested they've established that they are going to table as a club as a university club They're gonna be there We have the right to be there and we are there to reach conservative students because there are conservative students who have that deserve a voice on that campus and my my student president She her name is Aviva Zelkend and she is running for student government president and they they had their debates the other night and the current student president called her a fascist and a Nazi and You know threw everything at her and those students are just underrepresented They they you know they get called these awful names and that's what I see time and time again like at for instance at University of Oregon It has been a six-month battle trying to get our club a Turning Point club approved on campus The largest public university in Oregon is saying no we don't want to hear your voice conservatives So we're gonna throw every single hoop that we possibly can to make it to where you don't get to have a club And so they've come up with all these little things that I have to do that aren't online For students access and they're not on their forms that say you will have to do this in order to form a club They're throwing out these new things that I've never even found. I can't find never read And they've just they've pushed it and pushed it and pushed it and I now have students actively going into student government Every day telling them hey when are you gonna give me my club when are you gonna give me my club because what it takes is so many Voices and it's ridiculous that it takes so many voices to get one club started It should have taken just me and my president filling up the form submitting it two weeks later getting approval And now here we are six months later

Senator Mike McLane: six months at University of Oregon and in So one of the members, Turning Point USA, is running for student body president, AS PSU president, and during a debate or forum she was called a Nazi?

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: Yes, she called and the current student president who's running against her said that anyone who voted for Trump, she said this out loud, she said anyone who voted for Trump is a Nazi. She goes, you are a Nazi, referring to my chapter president.

Senator Mike McLane: Well first of all, you know, that's incredibly offensive and I can't believe the school wouldn't address when, you know, I mean, it's awful. Somebody is running for a student government position, it gets to, you know, there's, obviously that word must mean nothing to the one who threw it out there because, you know, the Holocaust, you could go down the list of, you know, world altering atrocities, I mean, you know, committed.

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: I'd like to mention that this my student, she is a religious Jew.

Senator Mike McLane: Oh my God.

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: She is Jewish. You're kidding me. No. So this woman called a Jewish student a Nazi for having the audacity to just simply run for student body president? No, because she stands with the, she called her a Nazi and this is her words, she called her a Nazi because she stands with Riley Gaines and she stands with X, X does not equal XY, chromosomes. Right. And so because of that, she, you know, and because she voted for Trump, she said that that's why she's a Nazi.

Senator Mike McLane: Well, I got to tell you, if there are any reporters listening from the Oregonian will I'm a week or something like that, I sure hope that's covered. And if it's not, maybe we can let that be known. That's horrible. And I apologize on behalf of the state of Oregon and our higher education system to your friend. It's despicable.

And, you know, I could go off on that, but I won't. But I do want to address, you know, so on campuses we've got a growing Turning Point, USA, and it's probably its membership bobbed a bit because I remember when Charlie Kirk came out here, I think it was 2014 or something like that. And I was a house leader and hosted them and it was very interesting what he was doing.

And, you know, I applauded it because let's give folks, students who want to be able to hear and express conservative views and opportunity to do that. And but he told me some of the challenges just here in the state of Oregon and it was appalling. But I want to also turn to, you know, Tanner, who is the chairman of the Oregon Young Republicans. Tell us a little bit about the Oregon Young Republicans.

Tanner Elliott: Yeah, so excuse me. So yeah, I just became chairman this past March. So it's been, it's been, we've grown our membership by 90%. It's been exciting just to see that we're getting people, you know, fired up about conservatism in this state.

And we're making conservatism cool again, as we like, as Riley knows that too. And that's kind of, you know, the message that we're putting out that people that want to see a change of leadership that are young and that don't know where to go, that they do have a place to go and they can have a voice to begin to help change the direction and the policy and the leadership of our state. And you know, we're planning on doing, getting people registered to vote.

I do think this fall we're going to be tabling to get some also College Republicans to join as well, just to, you know, to grow our membership numbers because it seems like the College Republicans, Turning Points kind of taking the College Republicans over. So, you know, no offense to college Republicans, but, and yeah, no, we have, we have a great team. We have, of course, your staff are Alex Lopez. We have Calvin Bennett is doing a phenomenal job as our national committee man. So, you know, you have to have a great team to build a great organization. And that's what we're doing.

Senator Mike McLane: So for folks who are listening now to out there who would be younger than me, how does someone become a member of Young Republicans? Because I mean, the age might surprise us is to is there an age limit?

Tanner Elliott: Yes. So it's anyone 18 through 40 have to be a registered Republican in the state of Oregon. And I have to pay a yearly fee, a membership fee. And that's how you join. That's it.

Senator Mike McLane: 18 to 40. And so how does someone find out more online about Oregon Young Republicans?

Tanner Elliott: Well, we have a website, Young Republicans of Oregon. We're also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. And we're also, I think, we're going to start exploring into TikTok. So.

Senator Mike McLane: TikTok? Isn't that now I would I was still I'm a member of the Air National Guard. And we were prohibited from having TikTok on our phones as members of the military.

But my daughter has it and she was showing me how fun it is. And of course, that was like two years ago or whatever. And then I saw all these little things of like politicians doing little dance. And I thought, you know, if you got a like dance on TikTok to get elected, I'm not sure I'd win. And so is that a still a thing?

Tanner Elliott: I think that's more of a left thing when it comes to the dancing.

Senator Mike McLane: Oh, OK. Well, thank God. Yeah. I mean, but Trump's got a kind of a dance.

Tanner Elliott: Yeah, you know, that one does the thing. Yeah, I mean, the Trump dances. That's different, but doing all the really like sporadic, you know, a sporadic dance moves and yeah, we don't.

Senator Mike McLane: All right. Well, that restores some of my confidence in the activities of the Oregon Young Republicans that you're not out there dancing on a TikTok. Although maybe, you know, that could be fun. My my daughter's really into she's 25, but my daughter is a potential member of the Oregon Young Republican. I'm going to have to ask her about that. And and I to get to get it. And Turning Point is college kids. Yes. If you're a student in college, you can be a member of Turning Point, USA.

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: Yeah. If you're 18 or 26 and you go to school, you are more than welcome to join Turning Point USA.

Senator Mike McLane: And how does somebody let's say someone watch it? Because, you know, it's happening, right? Oregon D.O.G.E. podcast has become in the huge everywhere kids everywhere. I mean, there are students at duck games holding up signs.

We love Oregon D.O.G.E. So how does someone who's watching here, because there's going to be thousands and thousands of young people watching, how does someone become a member of Turning Point? How do they find you?

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: We also have a website at Turning TPUSA.com. And then I have my personal Instagram, TPUSA underscore cascade. And that's where I post everything that I'm doing in Oregon. All the events that we're doing, all the fun activities on campus, where I'm going to be. But I know if you felt the get on invalved form, it'll go strictly to me, the field rep, and then I will give you a call.

So if you see a random number, don't worry, it's not scam. It's probably me asking you to get involved and answer the call to make your state and your country amazing again.

Senator Mike McLane: So so two questions before you wrap up. Number one, what's your favorite Senate district in the state of Oregon?

Tanner Elliott: I mean, it's easy. We're Senate District 30. Or

Senator Mike McLane: Senate District 30. That's the answer, by the way, because.

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: Yeah, Senate District 30. I did say that for the record yet.

Senator Mike McLane: And then second, how has your experience been at Dorchester? Tanner?

Tanner Elliott: Well, I'm on the board. I have been the last three years and this is my fourth Dorchester. And, you know, I think that out of all the ones I've been to, we have the most amount of Young Republicans here, younger people. So there's a lot of, I'd say, energy and enthusiasm in the room. And I also want to add that Senator Brock Smith does have the second most beautiful.

Senator Mike McLane: Oh, well, listen, I get it. You work for DBS. You work for this other district, but you grew up in District 30 as did you. So but Rilie how has your experience been at Dorchester this year?

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: I love Dorchester. I always enjoy it. It's super, super fun. I got to last year, I dragged my at the time fiance with me to Dorchester to be interns with Josie. And now we're married. So I get to kind of enjoy that, you know, kind of step back instead of being an intern this year, I get to just enjoy it, you know, with him and and come. And then I got to speak on the panel with Tanner. And and also I'd like to add, Tanner has done a phenomenal job with YRO, like the Young Republicans of Oregon, like he said, has just grown so much.

And I love partnering with him. And I, you know, my students all know about YRO and they know I'm involved in my own personal life, not with Turning Point, because those opinions are my own. And, you know, they all know and they're, you know, they're following they're following suit. And so I'm really excited to see we're going to we really are going to make Oregon great again, like with Tanner's leadership. I'm very excited.

Senator Mike McLane: So if that became a phrase, make Oregon great again, it'd be mogo. Mog. Mogo. Mogo. Moga. We might try Togo. I know that or Pogo Pogo, it's a Pogo stick. So come up, not now with an acronym of. P O G O. That'll take off. Listen, you guys take that. That's my gift to you. I just tell you, and then we have hats that say Pogo. It'll work.

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: Perfect. I love it.

Senator Mike McLane: Thanks for being on.

YRO Sponsored Young Guns Panel @ Dorchester Conference 2025

Mark Fitz: Our next panel, I'm going to call up here our emcee, but I like to describe a little bit, our Young Republican of Oregon national committeeman, Calvin Bennett, is extremely ambitious and capable. There's a team of people trying to build something. Calvin Bennett, in the last election cycle, worked for Todd Nash, Terry Tipsord and Paul Dreschsler's campaigns, putting it all on the field, really, really fighting for the cause. Currently, he is chief of staff for a representative, Greg Smith, and I'd like to invite Calvin Bennett up to announce our panel from the Young Republicans.

Calvin Bennett: Thank you, Mark. Oh, man, guys, it is good to be here. Are we not thankful that we are at Dorchester right now? Come on. I've been saying all weekend, it's the best weekend of the year. All right, so we got a really good group of people here. Like Mark said, we have a team.

We have a diverse team, and I'm going to call them up here in a second. But I want to comment on those campaigns that Mark just mentioned. So to give you guys a little background about myself, last year at Dorchester, I was an intern, actually. And during that time, I was working on Senator Nash's campaign. We won that.

I was super happy. And then it's graduation week from university. And I'm like, oh, man, what am I going to do with my life? And Stan Pulliam calls me and says, Calvin, I hear you like winning.

Why don't you come out to Gresham and come win a couple races with me right now? And I'm like, I got nothing better to do. So I sold everything I owned that didn't fit in my little car. And I drove over to Gresham from Eastern Oregon, and I moved in with this old lady named Betsy Lee.

Right? Who knows Betsy Lee here? Does anybody? Josie does.

This is why Josie's the best. Anyways, I just wanted to give you the example of what our team is. That's just one story.

You're going to hear a lot more stories tonight, but I just wanted to give you that peek. So can I please have my panelists come up, which includes Tanner Elliott, our current chair. That also includes Catherine Whiteford, our national, Young Republican's National Co-Chair.

So she runs this country. And then we got Rilie Ashby. Where are you at, Rilie? Oh, there you are. Oh, yeah, entrance in the back.

Guys, grab any seats. She is our Turning Point director for Oregon. And then our final person.

Where is Mr. Alex Lopez? There you are. Come on up. All right. So just to give you, I just want to give you guys a little heads up. We need to give Alex a little grace.

And it's not just for his usual faults. Alex, we had our fourth panelist. Was supposed to be a guy by the name of Peter. I don't know his last name. It's something with a G. I can't pronounce it.

It's Italian. Anyways, he was supposed to come here, but his foot broke in Italy on the way in. And he will no longer be making it.

So Alex is stepping in. And he was Lori Chavez-DeRemer's campaign manager. Can we get a round of applause for Lori Chavez-DeRemer? Failing upwards the Republican way. In Oregon. Anyways, guys, can each of you guys give a brief just introduction of yourselves? And then we'll move on to questions afterwards.

Catherine Whiteford: Yeah, I'm Catherine Whiteford. I'm the Co-Chair for the National Young Republicans. And I've been in this role since summer of 2023. And then before that, I was the state chair of the North Carolina Federation of Young Republicans for four years for two terms.

And then I was their national committee woman before that for two terms as well. So that's kind of my background. I work in software for my actual paid gig. But basically, this Young Republican stuff has been a second full-time job. So unpaid, which shocks people. They're like, you get paid no money, and you're doing all of this. But it's because we all care about this stuff. So that's a little bit about me.

Tanner Elliott: Tanner Elliott, chair of the Young Republicans of Oregon, just got elected this past March. A little bit about me. I got my start with Congressman Bentz on his first campaign. And how I actually got that job is I sent Cliff a message on a Facebook messenger and just went from there. And I got a job with him. And I worked for Stan Puliam when he ran for governor and did Adam Baker and Kori Haynes in the metro area in 2022 when they're running for state representative. So yeah. And originally from Eastern Oregon in John Day. Anybody know where that's at? All right.

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: Yeah, I'm Rilie Ashby-Anderton. And I'm from Redmond, Oregon. I'm very proud Central Oregon, girly. But now I'm in Beaverton for Turning Point USA. And I started out at George Fox University. And I went there for one year, started Turning Point chapter along with two other different clubs. And I quickly realized college is lame and I wanna make money instead of losing it. And so Turning Point actually sent me a DM.

So kind of the opposite thing is Tanner. They DMed me and I said, yes, please, I will work for you absolutely. And so I've been the college field representative since July. And so almost a year now. And yeah, I've just always been involved. I was in student leadership always on everything political I possibly could. I've attached to the hip to Josie. So she's carried me through and everything that she possibly can. So yeah.

Alex Lopez: Hey everybody, my name's Alex Lopez. I'm 24 years old. And this is my fourth Dorchester. But I got my start with Carter Swelman and Lori Chavez-DeRemer back when she was, just came off. Is this, hold on. Is that a little better?

Okay, thanks Mike. But when I was growing up in Happy Valley, Lori was the mayor. And that's how I got to meet her. She actually threw out the first pitch at my Little League games every season. And so I kind of got to know her in that role. But I asked her and her chief of staff, Jihun Han, if they needed any help when she announced that she was gonna be running for Congress. And they said, yep, come on board. So I joined as an intern and just kind of worked my way up becoming her campaign manager and her deputy district director when she was in office. I now serve with the honorable Mike McLain in the state senate down at Salem. And it's just great to be here and be on the stage. So thank you.

Calvin Bennett: Awesome, thank you guys. Am I connected? Oh, there we go, there we go. Awesome. All right, Tanner I'm gonna be gearing this first one towards you. So let's start with the basics. What are the biggest concerns you're hearing from young voters in Oregon and your network? And how can we tailor our message to connect with our constituents, our young constituents?

Tanner Elliott: I'd say the most important issue that I'm hearing from young people in our state, it's about affordability. It's about the kitchen table issues. It's people, friends of mine, they don't see a reason to stay in Oregon compared to going to a state like Florida or Utah or Nevada that have, you can afford to own a home there but you can't afford to own one here.

So affordability has to be the top issue. And I mean, it's just sad to see how many of my friends are already leaving Oregon. I say it all the time, our state's becoming sicker, it's becoming older. And I'm hoping that with our organization, we're going to begin to change that tide in this state and it's gonna take all of us working together. But we gotta talk about inflation, you gotta talk about getting people actual hope that they can make it and that they can live the American dream in Oregon.

Calvin Bennett: Thank you, Tanner that was really insightful. Catherine, can you share a little bit about the same question and just what you've seen on the national sphere and then as well as since you're from North Carolina, is that any different over there? Would love to hear just a little contrast or compare.

Catherine Whiteford: Yeah, so, is it on? Okay, sorry guys. Yeah, so just being North Carolina State, I'll speak from that standpoint first but we actually started the first Young Republican Legislative Caucus in North Carolina with our Young Republican legislators that they officially created, did the paperwork in the state legislature. And one of the things that we did with them with that group is we actually sent out a survey to all of our members of the North Carolina Young Republicans and just asked them what are your top issues as a Young Republican or just as a person in general. And the number one issue was housing affordability and just home ownership attainability. That was just overwhelmingly the number one issue.

And so having that data where we actually got that directly from our members to be able to present that to our Young Republican legislators was really valuable because then they could go and show to their colleagues that hey, this is what YRs care about and obviously anybody else in our age bracket would also care about that too. I just recently got married, it'll be our two year anniversary next week and so we haven't yet bought a home but that's something that we're looking at doing in the not too distant future and housing is very expensive and so especially the interest rates on that. So that's something that right now we're kind of just waiting to see when we can actually do that that's feasible. So I feel like that's a lot where a lot of our folks in Young Republicans are at. And so before Trump got elected, I was worried that I would never be able to have a home especially if Kamala Harris had gotten elected.

I'll be like, we're toast dude. So I'm really glad when Trump won, I actually cried. Because I was just like, there's actually a future for our generation. And so I feel like that hope is really what Young Republicans feel with this new administration. That hope that was just being basically snuffed out over the last four years.

And I don't know if we would be able to be able to recover from that if we had not gone the direction that we had gone. So, but I will say again, with the wire legislators, I just feel like that was really helpful for them to be able to collaborate with us. And also we had the ability for if anybody had like localized issues or if they personally had a policy issue that they cared about, there was a column for them to write any ideas that they had that was more specific. So that ability to provide that direct feedback, I think is really great for Young Republicans.

So that was something that we were able to do. And that's something that's actually an initiative that we're doing at the national level is to create these Young Republican caucuses and all of the state legislatures. So Ohio and Colorado are some of the states that have most recently done that. See, I think that Louisiana as well. I don't have any notes in front of me, but some of those states are the most recent ones that have created those. So we're excited about the opportunity to also have these legislators collaborate across state lines about the issues. It's been interesting to hear from like the Tampa Bay Young Republicans that I was just recently in Florida last month, I think it was, or was it this month?

I don't know when, where it was. I just have a severely herniated disc. So like I've been in and out of doctor's offices the last week and I got a spinal injection and I'm here. And so I just was like, I just need to get through this.

So if I'm like all over the place, it's yeah, the drugs. But in any case, it's been really valuable to have these collaborations. And I'm really excited about what this can look like in the future. And yeah, so I try to, as far as, so that's what we're doing at the national level.

Oh, that's what, sorry, again, Tampa. So one of the things that they mentioned to me was that they actually worked together to actually pass legislation with the Young Republicans. And what they passed was they actually are requiring that communism is actually taught in schools.

So that was something the Young Republicans actually, that they were the primary people that pushed that initiative and it got passed in the Florida legislature. So I feel like that's something that in other states, they could probably do the same thing. So that's an idea that, I mean, North Carolina is not doing that. So I mean, we could try to do that there as well.

So however we can try to implement ideas that Young Republicans are bringing in other states, I think that that's a really, really great way to collaborate. But yeah, I think housing affordability is number one. The issue that I got involved in was higher education reform. College affordability was actually the issue that made me interested in getting involved in politics. And my dad said to me, Catherine, maybe instead of complaining about it, you should go out and be the voice that you wanna see.

Cause I was just complaining. I was watching Bernie Sanders talk about free college and I was getting annoyed cause obviously that's not the solution, but he was the only person talking about it at the time, just being an issue at all. So I feel like for the GOP, and this is my last point, but for the GOP members that are not in YRs, I think the biggest thing that you guys could do as far as how you could help support us is not brushing off our issues. Because I think that a lot of the times that I would bring up the issue of college affordability, they'd be like, pick your shelf up by your bootstraps. And that was the end of the conversation.

And so that's not an answer. And a lot of young people saw Bernie Sanders as the only person who gave a crap. And that's the reason why they were drawn to him and his message. It wasn't necessarily because he had the best ideas, it was because he cared. And so I feel like if we can show that we actually care about young people's issues, that's the thing that we need to try to focus on.

Calvin Bennett: Awesome, thank you for that. Rilie, kind of on the same thing. You are going on to college campuses every day here in Oregon and talking with students. And do you know, sometimes it's a little more combative, sometimes it's nicer. You guys know Turning Point USA and the stuff they do. What are you hearing from students on those campuses? What is the most important thing? Is it these table topic issues of inflation and the cost of college? Or is it something else?

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: Well, I hear from both sides a lot of opinions. Every day, I'd say the top three just off the top of my head would definitely be the housing thing was actually surprising to me. When I first went on a campus, I did not think that they would care about that. And for the most part, I was right. Like there are very into the social issues, but definitely the expenses of college was one thing. I actually noticed that on a lot of campuses, especially in Oregon, one of the big issues is clean energy and keeping our forests clean, which was really refreshing because I feel like that's something that I can kind of meet in the middle with both sides on. And so that was refreshing. That's one that I actually created an event to kind of rebuttal that. I did a Plant a Wildflower Save America event. I've done it several times.

I did at Oregon State and Portland State, and it went really well and students were very, very engaged with that. But yeah, those are definitely the issues that I see a lot. Healthcare gets presented to me, but not by the right. That's usually the left that I always wanna kind of, you know, talk to me about healthcare and what I'm doing, what I'm doing to help them, you know, and it's that mindset I see a lot of, what I'm doing to help them. And that's one I don't usually really engage with because they just want us to give them free money usually. So it just depends on the different student groups, but those are probably the main ones that I'd say.

Calvin Bennett: Okay, Alex, moving over to you, what messaging are you seeing that is working with our peers, with people? You've been doing a ton of different, you've been on congressional races, you're in the Young Republicans. What messaging are you seeing that is actually effective in having young people actually show up to vote, or show up to go door knock? What is getting people out there to do what is needed to be done?

Alex Lopez: Yeah, well, no, that's a really good question. I think for younger voters, it's a matter of getting them there, right? And what's weird is, and what I can't wrap my head around is in Oregon, it is so easy to vote.

It comes in the mail, you just fill it out, you send it right back out, or you can drive down the street, you put it in a drop box. So, I have a really good friend who just does not, he talks about politics all the time, but he told me the other day, I've never voted. I said, man, it's been three election cycles, what do you mean you've never voted? You love to talk about this, you love to engage, why don't you vote?

And he said because it doesn't count. And I feel like we do, everyone voting matters. And if we could get enough young people to actually show up and care about voting and the process, it would just pay dividends for the party. And I think with the Young Republicans, it's a really good way to engage young people on social media.

I know Rilie talked a little bit about it on college campuses, but I mean, we have to go out the source directly, whether that's TikTok, whether that's Instagram, and just meeting or podcasting, right? I'm sure everybody on this stage listens to podcasts all the time, but we have to just go right to the source and start telling these young people that every vote counts and every vote matters. I know Senator McLane was talking about that one precinct in Salem, and it really does come down to that. I've worked on some really tight, tight campaigns, and if you can just get enough of those ballots in the box, and it's easy, right?

I mean, it shows up in the mail, and you just fill it out, it takes 10 minutes, and you can just put it right back in the mail. So I think going to the source and trying to get as many young people as we can.

Calvin Bennett: Thank you for that, Alex. Tanner, moving over to you. How do we balance national messaging and the Trump administration and what they're doing with Oregon-specific issues in getting our young people to show up and vote? Is there a balance? Is it just going all in on what's going on the national level, or do we separate ourselves a little bit?

Tanner Elliott: That's a good question. Well, if there's anything that Donald Trump taught us this last election cycle is, just be authentic. What goes on in the national level, it's obviously going to impact what happens in Oregon. Democrats are going to message it, Trump, Trump, Trump, no matter, I mean, Portland could burn to the ground and the Democrats are going to blame.

It already has in 2020, but Democrats are going to blame Donald Trump for their failure in leadership. But there's no running away from it, even if we tried to. So what you do is double down.

You have to embrace it because they're going to hit you on it anyways. The Trump message is, to me, it's about putting this country first, putting the American people first. And I think that as Republicans in Oregon, I think we should talk about putting Oregonians first.

You have a party that has allowed legalized drugs, mass homelessness, that has allowed a rural urban divide to blow up way out of proportion than it should. So my answer to that is, yeah, I think we do need to double down because they're going to hit us anyways on it.

Calvin Bennett: Thank you for that, that's really insightful. Anyone else have anything to add on to that point? I just, I think that's a really interesting question. Alex, since you were working on kind of that national sphere, do you see the same thing or do you double down with Tanner?

Alex Lopez: Yeah, yeah, to an extent. I mean, it's how Tanner was describing it, it's always the same issues. It's a MAGA extremist, it's abortion. And I think we have tried in the past to kind of sidestep or maybe not talk about it as much, but I think we need to just start taking them head on. And we need to be really, really tough, especially on Governor Kotek

I mean, we just, we got to keep driving the message home that the way that you are governing is completely wrong and out of touch with the majority of voters in the state.

Calvin Bennett: 100%. All right, I know we mentioned social media just a second before. I just need to know, is social media actually effective? Because it seems like all the time people are like, oh, social media, let's put everything on Instagram, Facebook and whatnot. Is that really actually reaching young voters? And if so, what is the best way to do it? Is it now switching to things like, what do they use on campus, Is Rilie, yik yak?

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: Yik yak, yes. Yik yak is awesome.

Calvin Bennett: I'm getting too old for this. So what is the answer? How do we progress? How do we make sure that if social media is the answer, how do we take over on social media? What are the ways we do it? And Rilie, can I open up with you on that one, or unless anyone else wants to hop in?

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: Yeah, so I feel like this is actually a really strong point for Turning Point. We really utilized those proving wrongs with Charlie Kirk, and we got to do one of those at Oregon State University last semester in October. And it was an honor to have him in election season.

That's not normal in a blue state. So it was an honor. But we really, really pinpoint on having those videos out there and constantly posting them. Like when Charlie came out, I still, months later, I still post the videos of him being on campus. And I will kind of promote that Ducks versus Beavers thing. And I'll be like, oh, look at Charlie at OSU.

Like, oh, does anyone from U of O want to see him on your campus? And it really, really engages that, because it builds that. I mean, the young people are very competitive. Like, I feel like my generation is very competitive. Like, we want to be the best. We want that attention. And so when I utilize social media and utilize that, that competition, it really benefits. And personally, I have each of my individual chapters have an Instagram account. So Oregon State runs theirs, Portland State runs theirs. Some of them I help them out on.

You know, I oversee everything so everything's appropriate. But it's really, really helpful because they're able to showcase their individual chapters and kind of reach out to those student groups. Like, Oregon State is very different than my Western Oregon group. Those are two different schools.

They're very different. And so their Instagrams reflect that. And then I have my Turning Point USA Cascade account, because I'm called the Cascade Territory. And I have that where I post everything. And I see a lot of engagement, a lot of it's non-followers.

And you know, I'll look at my percentages. And I feel like Turning Point, like we have expectations every week. I am at least making two posts a week. I am always have a story up every day.

I always try to take, we're required to take multiple pictures on campus every day. And so I'm always utilizing that. And I get a lot of student engagements. I get a lot of DMs, which is really nice. Because you know, the students come to me instead of me going and getting yelled at before I find them. It's always refreshing.

But yeah, no, Turning Point, that's a big strong suit for us. Is we just, we find those people. And sometimes I'll check who likes the different videos of like Charlie Kirk going to OSU. And I'll reach out to those students that were like, no, boo, go ducks.

And then I'll reach out to them like, hey, do you want to get involved and bring Charlie to your campus? Like I said before, and it really is beneficial. And I believe that social media is a great way to reach the our Age group.

Calvin Bennett: Does anyone else have anything to add on the topic of social media? Alex, is that you?

Alex Lopez: Yeah, I think so. And it's kind of a mixed bag too, right? Like for me, podcasting, you've kind of noticed a theme here. We've got two podcasts going on downstairs in the next turn. And I think we have to lean into that. And social media is very important too, for spreading that out to people who directly aren't listening to those podcasts.

When you can capture a clip or a moment and go viral, so to speak, that is what our generation, when we're just sitting there scrolling, we're seeing those clips that are so good. Because everybody here has a very short attention span. And that's just how it is. And that's the new form of media. And the thing that's so interesting about podcasts, I was telling Senator McLane, Governor Newsom is doing one now. Governor Beshear from Kentucky is doing one now. So the Democrats are starting to try to figure it out, because Trump utilized that as such a great weapon in the election to reach voters that he'd never be able to reach unless he went on these podcasts and broken into these new audiences. So I think it is incredibly important and to be able to go on those apps like TikTok and stuff and clip those up and just get it out there.

Calvin Bennett: Awesome. Tanner, do you want to add anything, or Catherine, before we move on to other stuff?

Tanner Elliott: Yeah, I think social media is incredibly impactful. And just all the analytics you can do with it, you can target certain audiences with certain demographics. So it is an extremely important tool, and it will be for every election cycle from now on.

Calvin Bennett: Awesome. Thank you. All right, this one's for you, Catherine. What is the key to building sustainable, energized, grassroots operations where you can really go in the trenches, we're hitting the doors, it is ground to pound, and really reaching out to the people where they're at? How do you do that, and how do you make sure that we have big groups of Young Republicans statewide doing that?

Catherine Whiteford: Yeah, so I actually also ran for the state house in 2022 in a very competitive Republican primary, came in second out of three candidates in that race, and we knocked 22,000 doors, primarily with Young Republican volunteers who helped knock those doors, including myself. So I think the big thing, I think we have to start with the fact that a lot of these people have never, I'm from an area where you don't want to knock a door, because I'm from Texas originally. I don't know, I feel like just growing up, somebody's going to have a gun when you knock on their door.

So that's just kind of been how I looked at it before, but for some people, it's very intimidating to ever knock on a door, just the concept of it. But making that fun, I think, is the key to it, and making it something where we're going to be able to hang out with a bunch of friends, and once we're done, we're going to grab some beers afterwards and hang out after we hit the doors. So I think building that camaraderie, that community within the Young Republican group first is the main thing, because nobody's really going to want to knock doors if they don't know each other first. So I think that building that sense of community before you even ask for them to volunteer, I think is the biggest thing. And so I think the other thing is appreciation, because I feel like we can run people ragged if we ask them every single weekend to be out knocking doors, and so making sure that people are fed, and making sure that if the Young Republican Club is hosting a door knocking deployment, making sure that you're paying for the first round of beers at the end of the night, I think that those are really key points. But also, I would write thank you notes to my volunteers, like hand-written thank you notes, just explaining, like, hey, I really appreciate you spending your Saturday to be knocking doors for me. But I think that that also could translate to if you're knocking for a national deployment or something like that, that personal touch, I think, is really important.

Just sending out an email and expecting for people to want to sign up to go and knock doors, you're not gonna, you're gonna get maybe a couple of people who are like your die hard volunteers, but for the most part, it's that personal ask, that personal appeal as to why it's important to be going out and knocking those doors. What is the, what are the, I guess, what are the reasons for this race? Why is it so important? And so being in a swing state like North Carolina, you've got a super majority that right now, we're actually one seat away from having a super majority because we actually lost a Republican state house seat in the Charlotte suburbs. And so, I mean, that could have easily been a couple of door knocking deployments that could have kept that race and we would have had a super majority, but unfortunately we don't.

So now, this coming cycle, that's gonna be the thing that we need to talk about is that, hey, if we had spent a little bit more time here, that's the difference, because we have a Democrat governor, so not having that super majority is kind of kicking us in the butt right now. So those are the types of things, like what is the why? Why should I care about this particular race, but also again, making it fun? We, especially with national deployments that we do, we try to make it fun. So we try to do a reception the night before for everybody that's coming in, especially for the out of state folks. If there's whoever we're knocking for, making sure that they're there to be able to hang out and personally talk to the volunteers, and so that they actually like the person and get to know them and have a little bit of something about them, some connection. If they're out of state, it's kind of hard to sell somebody you've never met. And so having that beforehand is really valuable, and then having the ability to go out and knock doors and believe in that person, because you've had the chance to chat with them. And then obviously, pairing with people who are gonna be potentially your new best friend.

So that's the huge reason as to why, and then having that fun afterwards. I will say to, and I don't know if this is necessarily directly at grassroots per se, but one of the things that was super valuable that we did in North Carolina is we did targeted voter, like we did targeted texting to using GOP Data Center, and we would text, especially if we're trying to recruit in a specific area, we went and targeted ages 21 to 35. Our age group in Young Republicans is 18 to 40, but generally people between 18 and 21 are gonna be more involved in the College Republicans just generally, and then people between 35 and 40 are probably well established into having families and not necessarily as interested. So if you're spending money to send out a text, 21 to 35 is probably that sweet spot. And I mean, it's about three cents per text, or if you wanted to add an image, just a little bit more.

But I mean, that is really well worth the investment. And so that was something that we did a lot while I was a state chair. And so one of our chapters, we had 15 people show up that had never been to a GOP function ever in their entire life just because we sent them a text. And they said, I've never been reached out to, I didn't even know how to get involved in the Republican Party, but I got this text, so I'm here. And so a lot of those people ended up becoming the new board for that local chapter and got extremely engaged.

But we were that first contact. So if you're trying to recruit more young people, a lot of these GOP functions, we're kind of seeing the same exact people over and over again, we're not expanding our pool. So that's really the way to kind of try to engage these people who you've never met, and especially in these more rural areas, where maybe they are just, what do they call it, rotting in front of your TV and don't actually wanna go out, get them where they're at, which is at home and on their phone. And generally people look at a text a lot more than they would look at a mailer and definitely not a phone call. I will not answer a phone call that I don't recognize. And so that's kind of where people are at is texting. So that's, we found that really, really beneficial.

Calvin Bennett: Awesome, thank you for that. Oh, thank you, Lynn. All right guys, kind of acting as a closing statement. I'll let whoever wants to go first go. But what policy area or issue got you invested in getting off your couch and going and joining the Young Republicans or Turning Point and being active in the party? What was one thing just so that the audience knows what is getting people excited and getting people out? So anyone wanna share what theirs was?

Rilie Ashby-Anderton: I'll go. Mine was when I was 16 years old during 2020. I'm sure you can guess what happened that year. But it was the division. I saw the division and I said, no. I said, not in my home, not in my state and not in my country. And so at 16 years old, I decided that I was gonna be a politician when I grew up. And I didn't know how real that was going to be for me now working in politics. But I noticed that even when I'm on campus, like I make it a goal to get to know my students individually and shout out, I have two of them here today actually as interns, Nico Di’Piazza and Olivia Augustus, sorry, Nico, but you're that, but I am very, very proud of them.

And I made it a goal to get to know them. And they, you know, every one on campus, including myself, like division is one of the reasons why they speak up so much is they don't like how much hate there is. And both sides use that word. So we have to hold each other accountable, but yeah.

Alex Lopez: Awesome. All right. Yeah. Well, for me, I've always been involved. And I'm looking at you Margie, sorry. But when I was eight years old, my dad dragged me out to knock doors in Clackamas County for then Senator Gordon Smith and John McCain when he was running for president. But I was still young and I still didn't really know all the issues quite yet.

So 2016 rolls around. I'm, you know, let's see, I was 15 years old at the time. And for me, it was a sense of pride. Growing up, it just didn't feel like America was on top. It felt like we were lagging behind, behind an administration that just was not doing anything for us and making it worse quite frankly. And I wanted to see America get back on top. And I wanted to see us be number one again. And that's when I jumped on the Trump train way back when I was 15.

But he just had that take America back, right? And that got me a little riled up and wanted me to get back out there. But also at our age, so many people are so hesitant to get involved. They feel like it's not their problem. They're not in their 40s. We'll deal with it when we are 40. But I just wanted to get out there and just start young, trying to make a difference really. Thank you.

Tanner Elliott: For me, it was 2008. Just listening to my parents talk about the Barack Obama, John McCain election. And when we had our class election that fall, I lobbied really hard for John McCain and he won that class election. But yeah, just my parents aren't that political, but just them talking about it.

I've always been interested and I've always just dug in and followed this career path and it's been a fun ride. I would add just to go to the previous question real quick about the grassroots activism. What Oregon needs is not to do the same thing of what we keep doing and keep hoping. We need to start registering voters. We need to start doing community organizing.

Having food bank drives and getting people registered to vote. This is what Democrats do, Rules for Radicals by Alinsky We need to copy their playbook to take our state back. If we keep doing what we're doing and we think if we go, we knock on 25,000 doors, this election cycle and this swing district and think we're going to win, that's not how we're gonna win.

But that work starts in the off years, like right now. And that's something that the Young Republicans of Oregon are beginning to organize activities like that to start. And our focus is getting people registered to vote Republican and Oregon.

Scott Pressler, I don't know if anybody here knows who he is, but he's from Pennsylvania. The guy has worked his ass off and he almost has single handedly changed the state to become a red state. Republicans almost have the voter registration advantage in Pennsylvania now. So I just wanna add when it comes to grassroots activism, my focus and this organization's focus will be getting people registered to vote Republican in Oregon. And that is the beginning foundation to taking our state back. Absolutely.

Catherine Whiteford: Absolutely. Yeah, so for me, as I'm sure some of you guys are the same, but my childhood was primarily listening to my dad, listening to Rush Limbaugh in the background. So that was definitely what I grew up listening to. And my dad's a pastor. So I mean, he's always been generally very knowledgeable about what's going on as far as like political stuff, but he wasn't directly involved. But he was always the person in our family that would tell the rest of the family. And he did his research and said, hey, these are the candidates that you guys should vote for. Made sure that we would vote for every single election, even if it was just for dog catcher that year. And we were out going to the ballot box.

And so I always had at least that, I guess, foundation of that it was important to go out and vote and make your voice heard. But like I said earlier, it wasn't until I had heard Bernie Sanders talking about that free college thing and knowing that I had a lot of friends who were just saddled with this debt. And the thing is that it's not the same as when our parents or grandparents went to college. The interest rates alone make it where it's making it, where you're just always going to be in debt, because you're constantly just paying off the interest. A lot of people are paying 10% or more on their interest for student loans.

That's insane. And so how can we talk about that in a way from a fiscally conservative standpoint to try to address, at least with state colleges, and community colleges, what can we do to address this issue? And so, like I said, my dad told me, stop complaining, go out and be the voice that you want to see. And so I went to my precinct meeting for my local GOP, and I was like, I have this idea on higher education reform.

And they were like, cool, right? This resolution. And they passed this resolution with three other people there. And then I passed the same resolution at my county GOP. And then through getting more involved with the Young Republicans and other stuff, I ended up meeting my state. Well, she was the nominee, the Republican nominee, for the state house district that I was in.

It was a very Republican district. So I mean, it was basically, we all knew that she was going to get elected. And so I stopped her at the polls, and I said, I have this idea on higher ed reform. And she gave me her cell phone number, and she was like, hey, when I get elected, let's talk again. And so she ended up getting elected.

And she ended up writing her first house bill on my idea. And being somebody who was 18 or 19 at the time, and having no previous political experience, I wasn't like I was some political insider, or somebody who knew people, it made me feel like it didn't have to be, quote, someone to make positive change, but you could just be any person. And so that really lit a fire under me. And I was just like, this is what I want to do.

And I want to be able to make a positive change. And so I wish that more people knew that it wasn't, I guess people feel so far removed from the political process and from their elected officials. And a lot of them would love the opportunity to be able to hear the feedback from their constituents, but a lot of people just don't reach out.

All they hear is the people that are complaining about something, but not actually providing any insight or ideas and their personal struggles of how the policies are affecting them. So I just wish if all of us and all of the people around us knew that, I think we'd be in a much different community. So that's really what got me involved. And that's why with Young Republicans, I try to make sure that there's at least some component of lobbying your legislators and building that rapport with them and obviously knocking doors and supporting candidates as a part of that, because you can build and foster that relationship through helping them. And that was something that with Congressman Dan Bishop, some of you guys remember him, he had a special election in 2019. And so that was right around the time when I was running for state chair. And so I made it a mission where our Young Republicans were out every single weekend knocking doors in different parts of his congressional district. And we together with the National Young Republicans and the local YRs, we knocked 22,000 doors for him and he won by 4,000 votes in that special election.

And so he was on national television saying to people that the YRs are the reason why I got elected. So, and I consider him a friend to this day. And so I wouldn't have that relationship with him if we hadn't been out there supporting him day in and day out and sweating. So that sweat equity is so important.

So, and we just, you know, the respect is there that wouldn't necessarily be there if we hadn't done that for him. So that's the ways in which you can try to have an influence and be able to then sit down with Congressman Dan Bishop and be like, hey, these are the issues that I would like for you to at least look into because you've built that relationship with them. So that's the reason why I got involved.

Calvin Bennett: Awesome. Well, thank you guys so much. We need to wrap it up. Yep. So thank you guys so much and thank you for your time.

Chair Elliott’s Welcoming Address

Mr. Chairman, Vice Chair Gray, National Committeeman Bennett, Secretary Huwe, Treasurer McHaddad. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, first I'd like to say that I'm humbled and honored to be your next chairman. And I look forward to leading Oregon's comeback with all of you. I'd also like to thank my girlfriend, Maddie, for encouraging me, inspiring me to run this organization. And Calvin for all of the work you did in helping me with my campaign.

Thank you. Chairman Lloyd, I want to say thank you for making this organization become chartered again. And if it wasn't for the work that you did in getting this organization rechartered, we would not all be here today. Thank you for your service, dedication, and commitment to the young Republicans of Oregon and to the Republican Party Board. And I appreciate it if you'd all join me in giving a round of applause to Chairman Lloyd. Thank you. I look around this room and I see future legislators, members of Congress, U.S. senators, future governors, and hey, maybe even a future president. 

Our organization is dedicated and to investing into your success. I want us to be a political powerhouse in this state. I want you to be excited about the future. And I want to see each and every one of you live up to your full potential. America's story was paved by people like us. 21, the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were between the ages of 18 and 40, which is the age range to be a young Republican. It was just a 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson who wrote the most famous words in world history. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

It was young people who sparked the fire of freedom and earned our independence. It was young people who fought in the Civil War to unite a divided country and end the terrible sentence of slavery. It was young pioneers who settled the untamed wilderness of Oregon. It was young people who stormed the beaches of Normandy to free a continent and defeat fascism. It was young people from their blood, sweat, sacrifice, and tears who defied the odds and challenges to create the greatest and most successful country to ever exist. And it is young people like you here today who are going to rise up to the occasion to save Oregon. 

Our organization's motto is very simple. Recruit, train, and elect the next generation Republicans. My priorities for these next two years are to recruit over 100 new members by the end of my first term. 

Help train and prepare our members at want to be candidates themselves, a campaign staffer, a grassroots activist, a staffer in this Oregon capital, or a staffer in Washington, D.C. This may be the most important of my goals. I want us to hold annual funders, and by the end of this year, I want us to raise at least $20,000. And, lastly, I want us to take a full delegation to the National Young Republicans Convention in Nashville this summer. We have 13 delegates positions, and we have as many alternates as we want. 

And, actually, I do have one more. I want to see some of us actually get elected. So let's make that happen. We live in one of the most taxed, oldest, and liberal states in the country. Oregon is in a state of decline. Our businesses are leaving, our people are moving, and our economy is failing. It'd be easy for any of us to move to the free state of Florida and to stand here in the people republic of Oregon. But why do we stay? 

Well, I can tell you why today. I stay because I believe in my home, Oregon. Rebecca Franks, who traveled on the Oregon Trail and settled here in Oregon in 1846, had this to say, she made the difficult journey. The trail has been a trial of endurance, but we are not defeated. Our spirits are strong, and with each challenge we find new strength to carry on. Oregon calls us, and we will answer. My fellow young Republicans, let us keep our spirits strong, and let us answer the call to save Oregon. Thank you. I look forward to working with all of you. God bless you. God bless Oregon, and God bless the United States of Oregon. The view here looks bright.

Chair Lloyd’s Farewell Address

I'd like to recognize a few individuals for their outstanding contributions to the Young Republicans that couldn't be here with us, or couldn't be here with us today. 

From the very beginning, Dmitriy Sashchenko has always been intrinsically connected to this organization. He was actually our fourth vote for us to become reorganized. Unfortunately, he couldn't be here with us today. I really appreciate all of his help for this organization. 

The next is Kristina Malimon. She was my very first National Committee woman. And she has been kind of a stalwart of the conservative movement in Oregon as long as she possibly could. She was actually arrested at the J6 event. And she has been given a full Presidential pardon. So that's something that's pretty exciting. 

The next thing is a gentleman named Dennis Porter. Dennis Porter was involved with the young Republicans from the very beginning. He helped reform the organization. He was my national, or he was my vice chairman when we first started. And he was really inspirational to me about how we bring things together and how we look forward to doing this. 

The next is Gabriel Braet. He was the very first Secretary that I can remember in the young Republicans in a phenomenal, phenomenal documentor. 

James Heib was our National Committeeman, our State Treasurer, and Young Republicans greatest patron, as well as being a State Representative. He has always been there to support us, and I'm honored to be his friend. 

Katie Hieb, his wife as well, and she was our National Committeewoman. 

Sarah Phillips has stepped out of the room, but I just want to say that her work has been instrumental to this organization in so many ways, and she's been such a great support for me. 

Lauren Christensen, she was our first communications chair, and she was also the vice chair of the young Republicans, and she was instrumental in doing our legislative visits and getting us closer to getting into the Capitol. So I'm very, very proud to know her. 

Sheri Brady, she is a YRO alum member. We basically created that organization because we wanted to have people who were a little too old to be involved with the young Republicans, but still supported our movement and what we're doing, and everything that she had to do with the young Republicans, she did it to the absolute 10 in the 11th. And I just want to thank all of those that have helped us along the way that I didn't mention. So my friends in the future of Oregon, it has been a great honor to serve you as your chairman. We have always embraced the slogan of recruit, train, and elect, but what that truly has meant to me was to give the young Republicans and the youth of this state a voice. Over my time in office, we have grown this organization into an effective political machine. You have created a space on the state party's executive board. Many of our members have worked within the halls of the state Capitol and worked for elected representatives. 

Every election cycle since my tenure, the young Republicans have run candidates directly or have worked on fellow Republicans' races. We have empowered our members to work and lead within like-minded grassroots organizations and increase that ever-growing influence that we have around the state. More importantly, I feel that we have created a space for young people who stand in the opposition of the status quo of Oregon politics. We have created a place where people can learn skills that they need to be successful in a job, and in an industry that there really isn't a manual for. 

Most of all, we have created a place where we can make friends, where we have made friends that will definitely last us all of our lives. But I think it is just the beginning for the young Republicans of Oregon. As my term comes to a close, I look towards the future with excitement and hope. The young Republicans are stronger now than it's ever been, and this momentum is undeniable. A new generation of leaders is here and will carry our mission forward. And to all those who stepped up today to take the responsibility, never lose sight of why we're here. Never compromise on your principles or the principles of the people you represent. 

Never settle for sitting back idly when we can do more. Oregon's future belongs to those who are bold enough to shape it. I thank you, and God bless you, and God bless Oregon.