Educating And Organizing Women In Pinellas County

GOP Activists Among Women In Pinellas County

While Democrats claim to be the party for empowering women, Republican women may have something to say about this, particularly in Pinellas County. On Saturday morning, September 24th, the Tarpon Springs Republican Club hosted a “Women Engagement Coffee” at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art on the campus of St. Petersburg College in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

According to organizer Pam McAloon, “The purpose is to bring women together. We are 53.3% of the electorate. We’re going to be discussing issues such as why we need to elect a Republican president, the nuts and bolts of what is happening in our communities, Pinellas County government, and we will also be comparing/contrasting conservatism versus progressivism. It’s an educational conference. No fund raising is involved.”

This was the third of a series of coffees for women throughout the county, having met earlier at the Belleair Golf Club, and the St. Petersburg Community Church. More are planned.

The concept is simple, by educating Republican women, they can become ambassadors for the party and discuss political issues, and influence voters.

Speakers this day included:

Charlotte Smith – Executive Director at the Republican Party of Pinellas County – who opened the meeting and welcomed the thirty women in attendance.

Angela Baptiste of Tarpon Springs who enumerated the reasons “Why we need a GOP President.” During her session, she stressed how the November presidential election will affect the makeup of the Supreme Court for years to come.

Seminole Mayor Leslie Waters described the structure and organization of the Florida state government, clearly describing the cast of characters and the issues to be brought before voters in November.

Barbara Lee Haselden, Republican activist who is perhaps best known for helping to stop the light-rail initiative in Pinellas County, gave a talk on “Being Held Hostage by Progressives” in Pinellas County. During her session, she described the tactics used by progressive Democrats to infiltrate local government and promote “Regionalism.”

Pam McAloon concluded the meeting with a talk on the differences between conservatism and progressivism.

Attendees were also provided with considerable documentation in support of the speeches, as well as promotional items to support Republican campaigns.

McAloon, who is the Secretary of the Pinellas County Republican Executive Party, described the mood of the women in the county going into the presidential election, “I think they are more enthusiastic about our Republican nominee, and I really believe it is really positive for the most part, from what I’m seeing, but we still have undecideds.”

As an observer, I found the talks stimulating in such a way as it reminded me of my civics classes when I was back in school. The ladies should be applauded for their efforts for trying to raise the consciousness of how our government works. They served much more than coffee that day, they served a vital educational need.

Keep the Faith!