Leon County Republican State Committeeman and RPOF Treasurer Jeff Howell will be the Featured Speaker at the monthly luncheon meeting of the Capital City Republican Club.  Howell will speak on the state of current politics as well as the condition of the Republican Party on the local, state, and national level.  The meeting will be held at the Capital City Country Club on Wednesday, June 1, 2016.  Lunch begins at 11:45 a.m. and the meeting will start promptly at noon.

Rep. Alan Williams is term limited in the Florida House of Representatives. It is important that we elect someone to replace him that will bring fresh ideas to the people of District 8. I believe that there is someone who is a good fit to do just that. In this edition of the Candidate Spotlight, we highlight a bright young man who is working to represent District 8 in the Florida House of Representatives. Meet Marquise McMiller. 

Marquise is a rising start in Florida politics. He is an alumnus of Florida A&M University and has served in the Student Senate there. Since 2011, Marquise has served in the Florida National Guard. Marquise has several core issues that he wants to highlight when he gets to Tallahassee. He wants to focus on economic development in his district, saying that economic development is the vehicle that drives success. District 8 would benefit greatly from economic development and Marquise wants to work to bring it to them. Another issue that concerns Marquise is education. Marquise believe that education is the key for anyone looking to improve their lives. He wants to improve education standards in the state so that children from all backgrounds have a chance to succeed in life.

Marquise McMiller is someone who could do just right by District 8 in the Florida House of Representatives. He has what it takes to bring change to that area and be an asset to those in those communities. I would encourage you all to meet with Marquise and show your support.

In the third installment of our Candidate Spotlight series, let’s focus on the city level. Many of you know of the trials we have gone through with the City Commission tax increases. There are not enough common sense people on the commission who represent all of Tallahassee. But there is someone who wants to see that change and is our focus here. Meet Gloria Pugh.

Gloria Pugh is “not your typical wanna-be politician.” Pugh is a successful businesswoman, the CEO and Co-Owner of AMWAT Moving Warehouse and Storage with her husband Dean. Now, she is throwing her hat in the political ring, running for Tallahassee City Commission, Seat 1. Pugh comments “As a resident of Tallahassee since 1988 and an employer since 1997, my personal and professional commitments have always been to improve economic vitality, culture and arts, human services, and public safety.” Pugh wants to give back to a community that has given her so much.

Pugh is a proven leader. Not only does she run a successful business, she serves on the Community Leadership Council on Gun Violence, the Florida Consumer Council, the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, and is an investor partner in the economic development council of Tallahassee-Leon County. Pugh wants to focus also on public safety, saying that if don’t address the problems of public safety, it could jeopardize all the progress the city has made economically.

We need a fresh voice with a new set of ideas on the Tallahassee City Commission. Gloria Pugh would be a great asset to that commission and to the citizens of the City of Tallahassee. Visit her facebook page here and also her website, gloriapugh.com.

Fellow Republicans,

March is an exciting month for us! Not only are we selecting our choice for the Republican nominee for President, but our clubs will be meet with opportunities for you to get involved!

The Leon County Republican Executive Committee will be meeting on Thursday, March 10th at the Tallahassee Center 2nd Floor Conference Room, located at 215 West College Avenue in Tallahassee. The social time begins at 5:30 and our meeting begins at 6:00.

The Tallahassee Republican Women’s Club Federated will be meeting on Monday, March 14th at A La Provence, located at 1415 Timberlane Road in Tallahassee. The meeting will begin at 11:30.

The Capital Young Republicans will be meeting on Monday, March 21st at Versailles Lounge, located at 215 West College Avenue in Tallahassee. The meeting will begin at 6:30.

The Northeast Republican Club will be meeting on Tuesday, March 22nd at Old Town Cafe in Tallahassee. The meeting will begin at 6:00.

Hello all.

It’s 2016! We need your help more than ever to deliver a Republican White House to help Congress. Please consider attending any of the great Leon County Republican Party meetings this month.

The Capital City Republican Club will meet on Wednesday, January 6th at 11:30am. The meeting will take place at the Capital City Country Club.

The Leon County Republican Executive Committee will meet Thursday, January 14th. Social time starts at 5:30pm and the meeting will begin at 6:00pm. The meeting will feature U.S. House Candidate Neal Dunn. The meeting will take place in the 2nd floor of the Tallahassee Center at 215 College Avenue.

The Tallahassee Republican Women’s Club Federated will meet Monday, January 18th at 11:30am. The meeting will take place at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel at 316 West Tennessee Street.

The Capital Young Republicans will meet Monday, January 18th at 6:30pm. The meeting will take place at Versi Lounge at 215 West College Avenue. Check their facebook page for more information.

The Tallahassee Republican Club will meet Monday, January 25th at 5:30pm. The meeting will take place at Mint Lounge at 215 West College Avenue. Check their facebook page for more information.

The Northeast Republican Club will meet Tuesday, January 26th at 6:00pm. The location is to be determined so stay tuned to their facebook page for more information.

Friends,

It is that time of year where we come together to celebrate life, family, and friends. The holidays are upon us! I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the holidays than with coming together with your fellow Republicans.

Join the Leon County Republican Executive Committee on Thursday, December 10th for the REC annual Holiday Reception. It will be held in the 2nd Floor Conference Room at Tallahassee Center, located at 215 West College Avenue. The reception starts at 6pm sharp. For more information, visit the facebook event here.

I invite you all to join us on Thursday and celebrate the holidays! In addition, find out how you can help us make a difference in 2016.

See you there!

Jeff

Republicans in Tallahassee have not had a voice to represent them in the state legislature in quite some time. But all that is about to change as we take a look at the next candidate in our Candidate Spotlight series: Jim Messer, running for the Florida State House of Representatives from District 9.

Jim Messer grew up in Tallahassee, graduating from Lincoln High School. From there he went on to attain an economics degree from Washington & Lee University in 1984. He then spent six years as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army before being honorably discharged as a Captain in 1990. He went on to get his law degree from Mercer University, graduating in 1993. Jim is married to his beautiful wife, Laurye, and they have three children. He practices law in the state of Florida, is a Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, and is a partner with the law firm of Fonvielle, Lewis, Foote, and Messer.

Jim believes we must bring our economic dollars and invest in Tallahassee through economic development. On his website, he states “More investment means opportunity and hope for all of us, from the most affluent to the least among us.” That is certainly correct. Jim recognizes that children are the key to our future; to foster their interests we need to help our teachers. Jim advocates for a properly funded education system to help our teachers and students have the resources needed for success. Many of us here are state employees. Jim is dedicated to helping us be more successful as well. Jim is a guy who will stand up for us here, and not the special interests at the Capitol.

You have an opportunity to help Jim’s campaign. Leon County State Committeewoman Cynthia Henderson is hosting a fundraiser for Jim. The event will be at the Edison Restaurant at 470 Suwannee Street in Tallahassee from 6pm to 7pm. This is right before the Leon County GOP Debate Watch Party at the same place. Please stop by and get to know a great man and help his campaign.

Check out what the Republican clubs around the area are doing this month!

The Capital City Republican Club will meet on Wednesday, November 4th at 11:30am. Their meetings take place at the Capital City Country Club, located at 1601 Golf Terrace Drive in Tallahassee.

Join us as our Republican Presidential candidates continue to discuss the important issues affecting our country. The Leon GOP Presidential Debate Watch Party takes place on Tuesday, November 10th at 7pm. It will be held at The Edison Restaurant, located at 470 Suwannee Street in Tallahassee, also known as Cascades Park. For more information, please visit the Facebook page.

The Leon County Republican Executive Committee will be heading to Orlando to the Sunshine Summit in lieu of their regular meeting. You should too! For more information on the Sunshine Summit, please click here.

Come see what the future of the Republican Party looks like as the Capital Young Republicans hold their monthly meeting. They will meet on Monday, November 16th at 6:30pm at Mint Lounge on College Avenue.

The Tallahassee Republican Club will meet on Monday, November 23rd at 6:00pm, also at Mint Lounge on College Avenue. If you are worried about what is happening with the future of the City of Tallahassee, this club is for you.

The Northside Republican Club will be meeting on Tuesday, November 24th at 6:00pm. There meetings take place at Northside Pies, located at 1355 Market Street.

Interested in helping the party grow? One way to do that is by coming to the Republican Diversity Coalition meeting! It will be held Monday, November 30th at 6:30pm at Mint Lounge on College Avenue.

There are many ways to get involved with Republican issues in Leon County. I hope to see you at one of our meetings as we prepared to turn Leon County and Florida red!

Dear Fellow Republicans,

As we gear up for the 2016 elections, it is important to know who the candidates are and what they are running for. That is why I will begin profiling candidates for the 2016 races on this website, in a series called Candidate Spotlight. My first article will feature a candidate running for Leon County Commission District 2, Manny Joanos.

Manny Joanos is no stranger to the County Commission. He once sat on that commission from 1990 to 1998, serving as Chairman twice. Manny has also served on several boards around the area, including the Leon County Research and Development Authority and the Florida Associations of Counties Trust. Many of you may know Manny from eating at Manny’s restaurant until it closed in 2003. Currently, Manny is the Divisional Director of Food Service, Purchasing, and Energy at Leon County Schools where he has worked to bring down costs to taxpayers by doing innovative things, such as switching the school buses in the county to compressed natural gas instead of diesel.

Manny announced that he is running for the Leon County Commission back on October 14^th in front of a crowd of supporters at Bruster’s Ice Cream. He is running on a platform of bringing economic prosperity back to Leon County through creating jobs and encouraging businesses to grow in areas of the county that need revitalizing, particular in the district he is running in. He is a fiscal conservative that wants to help Leon County thrive
.

Like Manny Joanos, there are many other great Republican candidates running for office in 2016. We will highlight more of those candidates in the weeks and months to come, in the Candidate Spotlight.

Dear Fellow Republicans,

I want to let you know of an exciting event coming up here in Florida. The Republican Party of Florida has announced a two day extravaganza known as the Sunshine Summit. Republicans from across the state will converge on Orlando, Florida starting on November 12^th.

Presidential candidates running to be our nominee in 2016 will be in attendance throughout the weekend at the Rosen Shingle Creek, giving us the chance to meet them and hear their ideas on how to bring America back after eight years of President Obama. They will give speeches and you will have the chance to attend a break out session with your favorite candidate. 10 candidates have confirmed thus far: Gov. Jeb Bush, Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Rick Santorum, and Donald Trump.

You will also have the opportunity to meet with Republican candidates running for the U.S. Senate. Elected state officials will be there as well to let you know how we are keeping Florida on track. If you attended Presidency 5 in 2012, you know that it will be a great time with good people.

The action gets started the night before the summit on Thursday, November 12^th as we host the RPOF Statesman’s Dinner with Vice President Dick Cheney at the Disney Contemporary Resort.

The Sunshine Summit runs from November 12^th through November 14^th. Tickets are on sale now at this link. You can buy a 2 day pass for just $200 or a 3 day pass for $300. You can also buy tickets for the Statesman’s Dinner itself for $150. Hotel reservations can be made here

I hope that you will all join us as we come together to advance the Republican cause and take back the White House in 2016. For more information, please visit www.sunshinesummit.gop.