Politics 101: What's the Orange County Republican Executive Committee (and how you can join)

October 14, 2:36 PMOrlando Republican ExaminerBlas Padrino

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Contrary to common belief, the Republican Party is the ultimate grassroots organization, and it all begins at the county level. Here’s how it works:
Every county in the state of Florida is divided into voting precincts. Each precinct is simply a geographic area that contains anywhere between 1,000 and 5,000 registered voters served by a polling place. Republican voters in each precinct elect a Precinct Committeeman and a Precinct Committeewoman for every 1,000 voters or fraction thereof. For example, if a precinct contains 3,000 registered voters, it elects three Committeemen and three Committeewomen. Their election takes place in the same year as the presidential elections. These individuals, elected at the precinct level, become members of the County’s Executive Committee and serve for a period of four years. Members of the State Legislature whose districts fall within the county are also ex-officio members of the committee for the duration of their terms. Each county also elects an at-large State Committeeman and State Committeewoman, who must be elected as precinct committeeman or committeewoman in order to qualify.
At the first meeting after the election, the committee members elect officers to serve for a two year period, including a Chairman, Vice-chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. The Chairman, State Committeeman and State Committeewoman automatically become members of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), which is the statewide arm of the party. With the exception of a handful of State Party members selected by the Governor (if he or she happens to be Republican) and the Republican members of the State Legislature, the state party organization is composed of the three above mentioned delegates from each Florida county. The RPOF then selects a Chairperson, a National Committeeman and a National Committeewoman, who join three similarly elected persons from each State to make up the Republican National Committee (RNC), which is the Party’s governing body. In this fashion, power in the Republican Party moves from the bottom up, and not the other way around.
But, is there a way to become a part of the Party’s organization without having to wait until the next Presidential election? The answer is yes.
Most precincts have vacancies, either because a current member resigns or moves to a different precinct or because there are more committee posts allotted to a precinct than there are candidates for the positions. If there is a vacancy in a precinct, it may be filled by the Executive Committee by way of election. The candidate must be a registered Republican and live in the precinct where the vacancy exists. If a plurality of the current committee membership present at a meeting votes to approve, the candidate becomes a member for the remaining of the term in which the vacancy occurred.
NEXT WEEK: What are the functions of the Orange County Executive Committee.
(Above right: OCREC chairman Lew Oliver. Photo Blas Padrino).