On Ethics and Effectiveness #2

Do you remember the sadly short-lived campaign of Michelle Weslander Quaid in the 2022 Primary Election?

Ms. Weslander Quaid boldly entered the race for US Congress as a Conservative Independent, challenging Democrat Salud Carbajal. Carbajal had remained unopposed by a Republican candidate until the final day of candidate filing, when Dr. Brad Allen emerged literally at the eleventh hour to run (did he run?), supported by the SB GOP.

Ms. Weslander Quaid relates her experience with the leadership of the GOP in her blog post “Santa Barbara County Election Insights” posted February 15th. Apparently, Ms. Quaid felt compelled to share her experience with the local GOP upon hearing of the Unite2Win805 slate “endorsement” charade. She writes,

”In a desperate attempt to hold on to power after repeatedly failing their base, the SB GOP CC leadership has gone so far as to endorse themselves for office and send out voter slates encouraging you to vote for them to remain in office. 

Thankfully, they are being challenged by people who genuinely uphold Republican values and want to turn things around; some are incumbents, while others never considered running for party office before but feel compelled to do so now because of their great concern for our country and the recognition that the GOP has been corrupted. They want to reform their party and save the country. If you are a registered Republican, you should seriously consider these candidates for SB GOP CC.”

The post is quite interesting to read, especially because it highlights the Chair's influence over the voters' choices. This power was similarly wielded against two highly credible District 3 Republicans, who had considerable name recognition, when they sought to run for the District 3 Supervisor seat. They were strongly discouraged from running and did not. However, Frank Troise received full support from Chairwoman McGinnis and endorsement from the Central Committee.

And, don’t worry about Michelle - she and her husband, Michael English, are true patriots intensely focused on Election Integrity on behalf of our county and our country.