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2022 Monthly Messages from Marilyn

December 2022 SCRWC Annual Report - 2022 The Sussex County Republican Women’s Club has had a very busy and successful year. We have a total of 94 Regular and 37 Associate members. In April, we hosted our “Don’t Be Lonesome Tonight” dance and fundraiser which had been delayed due to the pandemic.  It was very successful with 150 in attendance.  Bob Lougheed and the Memphis Mafia had most of us dancing the night away.  Thankfully no one broke anything.  Senator Wilson held 2 live auctions.  One for a 2-hour cocktail cruise for four on a sailboat and the other for one week at a 2-bedroom beach condo.  Thanks to our fundraiser extraordinaire, George Chambers, we had these and many other outstanding silent auction and raffle prizes to include 10-$100 gift cards for So Del restaurants and many other items. We have had lots of exposure with press releases.  Denise Perez has filed a write up of every event we’ve had all year.  This has given us coverage in the local papers as well as publicity. We continue doing our new member orientations in conjunction with the Seaford Republican Women’s Club.  We include a structure of the Republican Party when we do those as many new members who are new to DE as well as many who have been here do not understand what the party structure looks like.  Our next orientation is January 21st. Our website team led by Carolyn Grob has done an outstanding job keeping our site up to date with the latest information.  We also launched a section dedicated to Legislative activities.  Kathy Enedy has done an wonderful job highlighting bills of import.  They are featured on the site with a synopsis of the content and a recommendation.  In addition to the excellent information about pending legislation, Senator Richardson has contributed information on how to testify before legislative committees and how to write letters or emails to legislators and editors.  All of this and more can be found at http://scrwc.net/.  As we track the traffic to our site, we find that there has been a steady increase in unique as well as repeat users.  We have invited any club with a website and interest in legislation to link our page to their websites. Our Legislative Committee Chair, Michele Forzley is launching a Legislative Internship and is seeking to engage adults and students who have an interest in learning about the legislative process to work with her.  They will review legislation pending in Dover and assist with distilling them into clear, understandable language for consumption by the general public.  These will feed into our website’s Legislative Updates page. We hosted each of our local as well as statewide candidates at our meetings this year to make sure our members were informed about their platforms.  A number of our members volunteered to assist with their campaigns hopefully making another DFRW Diamond Award a slam dunk. The SCRWC celebrated its 70th Anniversary with an outstanding party.  Jane Thompson and her committee orchestrated a phenomenal evening. The party was a throwback to our founding year of 1952.  The menu was typically ‘50’s as was the music.  We were joined by many of our local Representatives and Senators and were honored to receive proclamations from the Delaware House and Senate.  We also made contributions to each statewide, local and row office candidate.  I’m very proud to report that our contributions totaled $14,100.  We continued with our MELP project by providing Spanish to English Dictionaries to the students at Phillip Showell Elementary School in Selbyville.  This year we added 2 books on Civics to each classroom.  We have recently decided that we will begin a new initiative.  Next month we will have a representative from the Sussex Pregnancy Center join us.  We will be discussing ways in which we can support them with needed items for their moms and babies. I am very proud to tell you about an honor recently bestowed upon one our members.  Ruth Briggs King, the only Republican woman in the Delaware General Assembly, was featured in Elysian Magazine.  Ruth is listed as “One of the Women Who Inspire Us” by The National Foundation for Women Legislators. Plans for next year include another April Fundraiser which we hope will be as successful as our 2022 event.  We will also be convening a “working group” to review our mission and the programs that support it.  We will be determining numeric goals for member recruitment, diamond award hours, website traffic and fundraising.  We will report these metrics to the membership each month listing the actual vs projected.  As, Carly Fiorini says, “The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight.”  We will evaluate missed as well as achieved goals so we will know where we are related to where we want to be.  Essentially, we are moving to a “business model” which I don’t think has been done before.  We want to be the Elon Musk of the NFRW!   Marilyn Booker, Chair Sussex County Republican Committee ​

November 2022 WHAT’S AT STAKE! Greetings, fellow Republicans,    We’re one week away and counting.     If you are as concerned about the direction our state has taken recently as I am, you must vote!  There is no doubt that the Democrats in Delaware have moved more and more to the progressive left.  In fact, 10 of them have been endorsed by the Delaware Democratic Socialists of America.  Who are they?  I think the name says it all!     If Delaware continues with one-party rule, you can expect that there will be more and more bills that try to circumvent the U.S. and Delaware Constitutions submitted and passed in Dover.  Our children will be subjected to more sexualization and age-inappropriate content.  The government will continue to insert itself into our families and undermine parent-child relationships and trust.  The 2nd Amendment as written is at risk.     I’m not trying to vilify all Democrats. Certainly, there are moderates among them with whom we can negotiate and work.  I am just sounding the alarm that if we allow the status quo, the progressives in the party who are gaining in numbers, will take it as a mandate to continue their activities and get even more outrageous in their legislative agenda.   We have an excellent slate of candidates both statewide and local.  Some of these are novice candidates who have been very quick to learn the political ropes.  Some have run before.  Statewide we have Lee Murphy for US Congress, Julianne Murray for DE Attorney General, Greg Coverdale for State Treasurer, and Janice Lorrah, for Auditor of Accounts.  Each of these is far more qualified for the positions they seek than their opponents.    In Sussex County, Jeff Hilovsky in our new RD 4, Dallas Wingate in RD 20, and Carl Phelps in RD 14 have worked very hard and deserve our support.  Certainly, our incumbents with opponents deserve our backing as well.  In the General Assembly these incumbents have opponents: SD 18 - Dave Wilson, SD 41- Bryant Richardson, RD 39 - Danny Short, and RD 41- Rich Collins.  Our two County Councilmen who are on the ballot, CC 4 – Doug Hudson and CC 5- John Rieley are being challenged. Finally, Robert Lee, our Sheriff, has a rival for that office.   I’m so proud of the efforts Republicans have put forth during this election cycle.  We’ve had Republican volunteers work as Checker-Challengers during early voting for the Primary, the General and on Primary Election Day.  We also have quite a few who are working the polls as Checker-Challengers next Tuesday, for the General Election.  Republicans are also working as Poll Workers for the Department of Elections during Early Voting and on Election Day.    We’ve written letters to the editor in support of our candidates and dropped literature and waved signs and knocked on doors.  We’ve placed signs in our yards and on the various roadways throughout the county.   Let’s not forget the financial support we’ve given candidates and the party!   We will be joining the meetings at the Department of Elections to observe the opening and processing of Absentee Ballots, making certain that these ballots meet the criteria set in Delaware Code.   We will continue making Get Out the Vote calls at the Sussex GOP office, 131 E. Market St. in Georgetown, every day between now and 6 PM on November 8th.  If you are able, please contact Lewis Briggs II at: lewis@cooperealty.com.  Please put “PHONE BANK” in the subject line.     All these efforts are extremely important but they are not the only things to be done.  EVERY Republican MUST vote by November 8th at 8 PM.  Please make sure that you encourage your Republican family members, friends and persuadable Independents and Democrats to vote.  Offer to drive those who are not planning to vote to the polls.   I look forward to November 9th for a number of reasons but most of all to be able to write to you about how the Red Wave came to our shores and washed over Delaware.   Marilyn Booker, Chair Sussex County Republican Committee ​

Special Messages from Marilyn

November 7 - Fentanyl poisoning of our state

Good evening, fellow Republicans, This Tuesday we are looking forward to a Red Wave. We’ve been hearing about it for months now. Let’s hope this wave comes to our shores and washes across our state. I have attached a video that you should find not only interesting but scary. (You may need to copy and paste the url into your browser.). It discusses the fentanyl poisonings that are plaguing our country. As you know this is directly related to our open border. Delaware has been particularly hard hit. Please pass this along to your lists. We must sound the alarm and make our fellow citizens aware. Sometimes I feel as though we think that just because we are small and live in this wonderful area we are immune to these types of catastrophes. Sadly, that’s not so. Click to Download 3671617720474272599delaware_overdose.mp4 0 bytes Finally, instead of our regular Region Meeting on 11/14, we will be having a pizza party. We want to thank everyone for all the hard work they’ve done over this election period. Anyone who has worked as a checker-challenger, absentee ballot observer, made phone calls, canvassed, sign waved, addressed envelopes, or worked as a greeter at the polls is invited. Please pass this invitation to anyone who may not receive this message. In order to be certain we have enough food, please RSVP by Sunday, 11/13 to: SussexGop@protonmail.com. Put PIZZA in the subject line. Please pray and encourage your Republican friends and family members to vote. We must get every Republican to the polls to vote. Marilyn Booker, Chair Sussex County Republican Committee

October 2022 Greetings, fellow Republicans!   After an outstanding win before the Superior Court on Friday, we capped off the week with the Delaware Freedom Festival!  If you missed it, you missed out.  Our speakers were great!  Steve Moore was excellent on Friday evening and again on Saturday morning.  Lt. Col Oliver North held a captive audience at the Festival and thrilled the attendees at the cocktail party Saturday evening.  Doug Collins wowed the audience at the Festival with his very upbeat message.  He was encouraging about November but cautioned the audience that we can’t be complacent and we must help our candidates and GOTV (get out the vote)!   I realize this is a long message but please be patient and read through the entire message.  We’re down to the wire and we need each of you to put on your activist hat and sign up to take action!   Here are some opportunities to assist our candidates:   Checker Challenger Training (C-C):  We will hold this in person training at Old Paths Church of Christ, 18295 Redden Road on October 13th and October 17th at 6 PM and again on October 22nd at 10 AM.  You only need to attend one session.  If you wish to take this training, you can just show up and sign in.  Please bring your personal calendar with you as you will have the opportunity to sign up to work at the polls after the class.    If you have taken this training already, you need not take it again.  However, you must send an email with your schedule time and location preference.  In addition, I need to send you an authorization form.  FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION YOU ARE WORKING ON BEHALF OF THE PARTY AND YOUR AUTHORIZATION MUST HAVE MY SIGNATURE ON IT.  Send an email to:  http://sussexgop@protonmail.com with: C-C SCHEDULE in the subject line.  Include the location and time(s) you wish to work in the body of the email.  To work on General Election Day just let us know where and when.  We can have only one person at a time for each Election District.  Note that some locations serve more than one Election District so it is possible to have two or more people at one location each observing a different Election District.                                                                          Early Voting starts on October 28th at the same five locations used for the Primary Election in September.   Millville Community Center: 32517 Dukes Drive, Millville DE 19967 Lewes Fire Department Station #2: 32198 Janice Rd, Lewes DE 19958 Laurel Fire Hall: 205 W. 10th St, Laurel DE 19956 Dept of Elections-Warehouse (Georgetown): 542 South Bedford St, Georgetown DE 19947 Dept of Elections-Warehouse (Seaford): 200 Allen St, Seaford DE 19973 The dates and times are as follows:                   Friday, October 28th                         11 AM – 7 PM                   Saturday, October 29th                  11 AM – 7PM                   Sunday, October 30th                     11 AM – 7 PM                   Monday, October 31st                   11AM – 7 PM                   Tuesday, November 1st.                            11 AM – 7 PM                   Wednesday, November 2nd     7 AM – 7 PM                   Thursday, November 3rd              7 AM – 7 PM                   Friday, November 4th                      7 AM – 7 PM                   Saturday, November 5th               7 AM – 7 PM                   Sunday, November 6th                  7 AM – 7 PM   On the General Election Day, the polls are open from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM.  Please go to:  https://elections.delaware.gov/information/elections/votinglocations.shtml to see the locations for General Election Day.   Checker Challenger Training – Ballot Watcher:  These volunteers attend the Sussex County Department of Elections meetings at 119 N. Race Street in Georgetown when the absentee ballots are processed and scanned.  You will learn what constitutes a valid ballot and observe the scanning.  We will do this training via ZOOM.  If you are interested in taking this training, you must send an email to:  http://sussexgop@protonmail.com.  Please put BALLOT WATCHER in the subject line.    The meetings during which the Absentee Ballots are being processed and scanned are as follows:   November 4th - 10 AM & 3 PM November 5th – 11 AM & 8:30 PM November 6th – 11 AM & 2 PM & 8:30 PM November 7th – 10 AM & 3 PM  November 8th – 6 PM   These meetings convene and reconvene as necessary to complete the processing of ballots that have arrived at the Department of Elections.   PHONE BANKING:   We will be phone banking at the office beginning Monday, October 17th right through Election Day.  We’ll provide you with a script and information about each of our candidates as well as their opponents.  We will make our calls beginning at 6:30 PM until 9 PM each Monday through Friday and on Saturday’s from 10 AM to 5:30 PM.  We will not make calls on Sunday’s.  We can accommodate 15 people at a time in the office.   We would prefer that calls be made from the office at 131 E Market Street in Georgetown so we can manage the lists.  We don’t want to have multiple people calling the same person.  If this happens, it will likely annoy them – the last thing we want to do!  If you cannot make it to the office and are willing to assist, we need you to be able to report which people you contacted after each time you make calls.  You will need to make a notation on a list and scan and email it to:  http://sussexgop@protonmail.com.  Please put RESULTS in the subject line.   If you are willing to help out with this very important task, please send an email to:  http://sussexgop@protonmail.comwith PHONE BANKING in the subject line.   Thanks for reading this.  Now, please get ready to take action and ride the RED WAVE to keep Sussex Red!   Marilyn Booker, Chair Sussex County Republican Committee

A Special Message from Marilyn

Good evening, Fellow Republicans! I wanted to share with you a letter to the editor that I wrote in response to the Sussex County Democratic Committee’s ad that ran in the Cape Gazette about a week ago. I have submitted it to the Cape Gazette but of course I’m not certain they will publish it. In the event that any of your friends or family accuse Republicans of “suppressing” the vote or taking away a women’s right to choose, here is the truth about how these issues were decided and most importantly, by whom! Dear editor, I realize that it is the “silly” season and that political ads generally go to hyperbole, but I felt that it is important to clear up a few misstatements in an ad paid for by the Sussex County Democratic Committee. The ad takes issue with the fact that the Delaware Superior Court found that circumventing the State Constitution by allowing Mail-In Voting and Same Day Registration, passed by the Democrat majority during this last session, were unconstitutional. This is the same Constitution that these elected officials take an oath to uphold. The SCDC places the upholding of the State Constitution at the feet of the Republicans. To make this an emotional issue, the SCDC states that the Republicans are “suppressing the vote.” No, the Republicans are just doing what Speaker of the House, Pete Schwartzkopf advised, “If you don’t like it, get a lawyer and sue.” We didn’t, we did, and the Delaware Constitution and citizens won! The ad also states that “they” took away a women’s right to control her own body. I just want to remind them that the Supreme Court overturned a decision that many legal scholars believe was wrongly decided. Even Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the icon of women’s rights, agreed that the Roe vs Wade decision was wrongly decided. There will still be plenty of abortions performed in Delaware and in this country – not to worry. The only change is that the parameters will be determined by the states. The inaccurate and overheated statement that a women’s right to choose has been taken away is just false. Certainly, there are different ways at looking at each of these issues. However, if there is to be some type of agreement across party lines, falsehoods such as these, are just wrong and certainly dampen the possibility of a civil discourse.

September 2022 Greetings, fellow Republicans,  The summer is almost gone.  We are almost into what some call the “locals’ season."  The children are back in school, thank goodness. No remote learning this year!  It is also time really get serious about the elections.  We can’t stress enough the importance of the elections this year. Early voting has started and it’s time to get out and vote.  In Sussex County we have two county-wide races.  Everyone who goes to the polls in Sussex County will find a primary for Register of Wills, and one for Recorder of Deeds. Your choices for Register of Wills include Ellen Magee, the incumbent, Candice Green Wilkinson and Greg Fuller.  The Recorder of Deeds race finds Incumbent Scott Dailey being challenged by Alexandra Reed Baker. If you live in RD 36, there is a primary between Incumbent Bryan Shupe and challenger Patrick Smith.  In our new Representative District, 4 Bradley Layfied and Jeff Hilovsky are each seeking this seat. County Council District 5 finds a contest between incumbent John Rieley and Keller Hopkins. I encourage you to read up on the candidates and use your precious vote wisely.  There’s a lot at stake in these races. There are 5 voting locations in Sussex County for early voting and 10 days to vote.  Early voting began on August 31st.  The locations in Sussex County are: Millville Community Center: 32517 Dukes Drive, Millville DE 19967 Lewes Fire Department Station #2: 32198 Janice Rd, Lewes DE 19958 Laurel Fire Hall: 205 W. 10th St, Laurel DE 19956 Dept of Elections-Warehouse (Georgetown): 542 South Bedford St, Georgetown DE 19947 Dept of Elections-Warehouse (Seaford): 200 Allen St, Seaford DE 19973 Know that for Early Voting, you can vote at any of these locations.  On Primary Election Day, you must vote in your designated election district. The schedule is as follows: Date / Time Wed, Aug 31, 2022: 11AM - 7PM Thu, Sep 1, 2022: 11AM - 7PM Fri, Sep 2, 2022: 11AM - 7PM Sat, Sep 3, 2022: 11AM - 7PM Tue, Sep 6, 2022: 11AM - 7PM Wed, Sep 7, 2022: 7AM - 7PM Thu, Sep 8, 2022: 7AM - 7PM Fri, Sep 9, 2022: 7AM - 7PM Sat, Sep 10, 2022:  7AM - 7PM Sun, Sep 11, 2022: 7AM - 7PM Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their party (and their candidates)!  If you ever took personal use typing, you probably remember this phrase.  (The additions in the parentheses are mine!). However, the sentiment remains current. We have candidates who are in need of volunteers to assist with canvassing.  For those of you who have taken the EDC//Volunteer Training class, now is the time to exercise what I hoped you learned.  Contact the candidates you wish to support and offer to help canvass with them.  If you need information on getting in contact with a particular candidate or candidates, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with the campaign or the candidate.  The statewide candidates should be part of your discussion when you speak with voters.  As a reminder these are Lee Murphy for U.S. Congress, Julianne Murray for Attorney General, Greg Coverdale for State Treasurer, and Janet Lorrah for Auditor of Accounts.  Each of these candidates is eminently qualified for the jobs they seek. Finally we are still looking for volunteers for the Delaware Freedom Festival.  Please consider helping with the Festival on October 8th.  We are looking for assistance with directing parking, checking in people who have purchased tickets in advance and selling tickets to those paying at the gate.   We also need Event Ambassadors to check with the vendors during the day and make certain they have what they need or if they have any questions.  We need people to work as closers to make sure that all the trash is in the containers and that we turn Hudson Fields back as we found it. Please contact me if you are able to volunteer - 410-925-2200.  Leave a voicemail and I will get back with you shortly or send me an email: mbooker3@icloud.com. Marilyn Booker, Chair Sussex County Republican Committee

August 2022 Greetings fellow Republicans, Sorry for the delay in getting this out.  Things have been extremely busy working with candidates and finalizing plans for our Delaware Freedom Festival on October 7th and 8th.  I hope to see all of you at the Rusty Rudder on the evening of October 7th for our banquet featuring Stephen Moore, President Trump’s Senior Economic Advisor and at the Festival on October 8th at Hudson Fields.  We have an outstanding lineup of fun family events for the children as well as speakers for us political junkies.  The children will enjoy the petting zoo and pony rides as well as police K-9 demonstrations.  There will be a photo booth with lots of “props” to dress up for fun or funny pictures.   The speaker lineup includes nationally-known and local pundits.  Stephen Moore will make an encore appearance.  He will be joined by LtCol Oliver North, Doug Collins, former GA Congressman, and John Mac Isaac, the computer repair shop owner who had Hunter Biden’s laptop.  Jeff Hague of DSSA, Nandi Randolph of DFPC, Abraxas Hudson of the Delaware Medical Freedom Alliance, and Larry Mayo of the Institute on the Constitution are some of the local speakers.  In addition, a number of our candidates will take the stage.     This is an event not to be missed.  For more details and to purchase tickets see:  https://sussexgop.org/2022-delaware-freedom-festival/   We are only 15 days away from early Primary voting in Delaware.  We are also only 28 days away from in-person Primary voting.  There are a number of primaries in which you can vote.  I have listed them in alphabetical order.   Representative District 4: (new District)           Jeff Hilovsky Bradley Layfield       Representative District 36: Bryan Shupe (incumbent) Patrick Smith   Countywide:         Register of Wills: Greg Fuller Ellen Magee (incumbent) Candace Green Wilkenson Recorder of Deeds: Alexandra Reed Baker Scott Dailey (incumbent) County Council District 5: Keller Hopkins John Rieley (incumbent) It is important that we review the candidates and their qualifications.  Some of the questions I ask myself when making these decisions are:  What is the candidate’s experience? Is the candidate’s experience either in the same field or similar to the office they seek?  What type of person are they?   If they are to run a department, have they ever managed personnel before? Will they have the best interest of the citizens as their priority or their donors?     Within the past week or two you should have received a new voter polling place card.  Please examine it carefully.  Look at each field to be sure each is accurate.  With the redistricting, your poll location may have changed.  Review the political party listed.  I have had a couple of people who say they are Republicans who had Democrat listed as their party.  When investigating this with the Department of Elections, we found that the voter was correct and the Department of Elections had made an error.  They were quick to correct it but better to have it corrected now rather than on Election Day.   Remember, Republicans who don’t vote elect Democrats.  Let’s ride the RED WAVE together.   Marilyn Booker Chair Sussex County Republican Committee

June 2022 Greetings, Fellow Republicans! We just completed our State Convention and it was a wonderful time.  We started off the event with the awards banquet on Friday night.  I was very humbled to receive the Chairman’s Award as “Republican of the Year.”  This honor is reflective of the excellent team with whom I have the pleasure and privilege to work.  One of these is Sherry Long who very deservedly won the Peg Hood Award as the Sussex County Volunteer of the Year.  Hope Whaley won Republican of the Month for May.  Benjamin Parsons, Chair of the Sussex Teenage Republicans, was named Young Republican of the Year for Sussex County. The program included Nick Adams, author and political commentator, who spoke to the attendees.  It was very heart-warming to hear an immigrant to our country speak so lovingly and eloquently about America and its citizens.  As a bonus, Mr. Adams spoke again at the convention on Saturday. ​Joanne W. Young was our featured speaker on Saturday.  Ms. Young is an expert in election law and spoke to the assemblage about the upcoming elections and election integrity. ​After hearing from our excellent speakers, we got down to business.  Each Region Caucus heard from  and endorsed our statewide candidates.  We are very fortunate to have an excellent contestant for each of the four statewide offices in contention this year. U.S. Congress Lee Murphy is taking on Lisa Blunt Rochester for U.S. Congress.  A native Delawarean, Lee has had a multi-faceted career as a teacher, coach, railroad worker and actor.  This has given him a varied and rich perspective on life and our country.  Lee is focusing on protecting the citizens from this escalating crime and transparency in government. ​During her 3 terms, Ms. Rochester has voted almost 100% of the time with Nancy Pelosi.  I don’t believe that any Delawarean thinks we should be represented by the likes of a mini-Nancy Pelosi.  However, it appears that based on Ms. Rochester’s voting record, we are. Attorney General Julianne Murray, an experienced trial lawyer and supporter of the police, is our candidate for Attorney General.  Julianne has shown that she is not shy about taking on the status quo.  In 2020, she sued Governor Carney when he attempted to place a moratorium on short term rentals.  The case never went to trial as the Governor reversed his decree. Kathy Jennings, our current Attorney General, is the same type of progressive attorney that we are seeing liberal cities like San Francisco attempt to recall.  She ignores the sentencing guidelines in the law and is more interested in going after law enforcement than criminals. Treasurer Our candidate for Treasurer is Greg Coverdale.  He is a very impressive gentleman with outstanding credentials.  He holds an MBA from DSU and certifications in 4 different finance-related areas from the Wharton School at U Penn and the Kennedy School at Harvard.  He is currently providing financial advice to DE-based military members and their families. Greg’s opponent is Colleen Davis.  A licensed Physician’s Assistant, Ms. Davis has been anything but impressive in her role as the top money-watcher for the state.  In this position, she sits on a number of boards.  Reviewing the minutes of these meetings, it appears that Ms. Davis is not always present and if she is, her contributions to the proceedings are non-existent or minimal. State Auditor Janice Lorrah is an attorney who filed suit against Governor Carney over the mask mandates in schools.  Before the judge ruled, the Governor’s attorney announced that the mask mandates would be lifted the following day.  In addition to her law degree, Ms. Lorrah holds a certification in forensic accounting which certainly qualifies her to evaluate the government’s fiscal accountability and the performance of public programs. Her opponent, Kathleen McGuiness, is currently under indictment for five counts including felony theft and intimidation.  The Grand Jury in Kent County re-indicted McGuiness after the state’s case was re-entered in Kent County earlier this week after her attorney argued that the AG erroneously filed the original suit in New Castle County.  Those charges were dropped and re-entered in Kent County, the location of the state capitol. So, we have a very qualified slate of candidates who are running against opponents who are either not reflecting the values and needs of the citizens of Delaware or are not qualified to hold the positions they are in.  WE MUST BREAK THE ONE-PARTY RULE IN DELAWARE.  This is our year and we are in an ideal position to be able to win these seats if we volunteer for these campaigns, show up on election day, and encourage others to do the same. ​Finally, the Delaware State Republican Committee in collaboration with our Republican elected officials, candidates, and Regional Committees unveiled The Rescue Delaware Plan.  The Plan outlines major policy areas where reform is most needed.  You can find it at https://delawaregop.com/the-rescue-delaware-plan/.  Please take some time to read it.  This document is our commitment to you and all the citizens of Delaware to work toward the improvements that are necessary to RESCUE DELAWARE. Marilyn Booker, Chair Sussex County Republican Committee

​MAY 2022 Greetings, fellow Republicans, COMPLACENCY? APATHY? C-O-M-P-L-A-C-E-N-C-Y What does it mean? Dictionary.com defines complacency as “a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.” A-P-A-T-H-Y What does it mean? Lack of interest, or concern, indifference – Merriam-Webster If you’re wondering just what this has to do with anything, let me assure you, this is not meant to be a spelling or vocabulary lesson. This is meant to be a reminder to each of us to consider what “complacency” and “apathy” mean and how these traits affect election outcomes. As an example, on November 3, 2020, I was the Representative District Chair in the 38th RD.  Sporting my hot pink “Women for Trump” tee shirt on that Election Day, I stopped at Hocker’s for gas so I would be able to make the rounds of the polling places in my district.  While I was waiting for my tank to fill, I noticed two pick-up trucks in the next bay each sporting MAGA bumper stickers.  Knowing that the owners were “friendlies” I approached the vehicle owners who were chatting with each other.  Feeling rather excited about the election, I asked them, “Have you voted yet?”  I was surprised when each of them told me that, “No,” they hadn’t voted, and they weren’t planning to do so because after all, “He’s gonna win anyway!” Well, we all know how that worked out! If you expect that the status quo will remain in place, sadly, you are mistaken.  Who would ever have thought that statues honoring our founding fathers would be desecrated and removed from the public square by far left-wing politicians?  Who would ever believe that murderers would be released without punishment back into society by progressive DA’s backed by George Soros?  Did you ever think that children would be made to feel embarrassed and shamed at school because they are white, have English as their primary language, and their parents are married?  Did you ever in your wildest nightmares think that the White House would have the effrontery to suggest a Disinformation Governance Board? First Amendment anyone? And the list goes on. Apathy and complacency among voters are the enemies of successful elections. Indifference or support of the “status quo” among voters are some of the attitudes that have lost elections in the past and have left us with the mess we are experiencing today.  Considering the state of our state and the state of the nation, are these acceptable?  I don’t know anyone who is happy, and in my heart, I know we can do better.  If we support the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; if we expect that our children will receive and education and not an indoctrination; if we expect our elected officials to be accountable to “We the People;” we must participate in the political process.  Recently, one of my favorite quotes is, “If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools” Plato. Folks, it appears we are there! We are at the beginnings of the summer season. The days will be longer and warmer. Let’s prepare for a very exciting, active campaign season in which we have volunteers in every neighborhood speaking to their neighbors about our candidates, Republican values, and how these are important to our freedoms. I’m requesting that each of you take the Organized Voter Registration certification the Department of Elections offers. You can find the schedule of the online or in-person trainings here:  https://elections.delaware.gov/voter/trainingschedule.shtml  When you determine which class you would like to take, contact Rebecca Argo at the Department of Elections.  Her number is: (302) 739-4498. We need to be certain that every freedom-loving Delawarean is registered to vote. When you are canvassing in your Election Districts, make sure you take some Voter Registration applications with you.  Voters may register, change their party affiliations, and update any other information on this form. I am once again asking for you to volunteer.  If you’re not sure what you want to do or what volunteer opportunities are available, check out the “Volunteer Application here:  https://sussexgop.org/volunteer-portal/.  For those who are unsure of what you’d like to do, we are providing trainings and workshops.  Election District Committeeman/woman and volunteer training is available on May 3rd at 6 PM. We are repeating this session on May10th and 17th.  We will be meeting at the GOP office 131 E. Market Street in Georgetown.  If you wish to participate in one of these sessions, please register here: https://sussexgop.org/2022-edc-training/ Finally, we are looking for volunteers to man the GOP Office.  As the election season heats up, we will need more staff to answer the phone, greet visitors, hand out candidate literature and campaign signs.  Training for this position will be 6 PM on May 4th at the GOP office.  You can register here:  Sussex GOP Office Training – Sussex GOP. Know that we have amazing opportunities in our county and country this year and we should all be excited.  We are counting on each of you to step up and take action!  VOLUNTEER! “Let’s do something small to change something big!” Marilyn Booker President

April 2022 ​Greetings, What a beautiful day!  It looks as though Spring may finally be here!  Personally, I'm tired of the cold, rainy weather. I realize this monthly message is late but I wanted to give you an overview of how we did with our major fundraiser, “Don’t Be Lonesome Tonight.”  I won’t go into exact figures here. Nancy will do that at our next meeting.  However, I can tell you that we are not very far from the $16,800 figure I mentioned to you earlier this year.  You should recall that that this figure represents the amount we would need in order to provide the maximum contribution to each of our candidates.   To say that our event was successful would be a major understatement! None of the above would have been possible without the hard work of our Fundraising Committee headed by Adrienne Ponzini.  The rest of her team included Carole Andrejko, Debra Czajkowski, Liz Messick, Karen Rabik, Christina Fantino, Connie Higgins, Carolyn Grob, Sherry Long, Geri Airey, Cathy Watts, Denise Perez, and Nancy Burdette.  We even had some help from the husbands - Eddie Ponzini, Dennis Booker, Ken Andrejko.  Finally, a major shout out to George Chambers who “shook enough trees” so that the donations and auction items he got for us covered all of our expenses leaving the rest of the money collected for tickets, etc as profit. Many of our members generously donated items for the silent auction and we had two very generous donations that our friend Senator Willson auctioned off.  His contribution was the entertainment of watching him up those bids! So did everyone enjoy themselves? Absolutely! We've gotten rave reviews from practically everyone!  We’ve been asked to do this again every year.  Those of us who attended had an excellent time.  Even Elvis told me he and his band had a blast!  Because we are women of action, we are already thinking about next year.  So enough of that fun and down to business.  Please give some consideration to the following.  The DFRW is in need of a Secretary and an Assistant Treasurer.  They are also without a 2nd Vice President.  The position must be filled by someone from either the SCRWC or the Seaford Republican Women’s Club. The people filling these positions sit on the DFRW Board of Directions.  May each of you and your families have a blessed Easter. Marilyn Booker President  April 2022

MARCH 2022

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Greetings Fellow Republicans:

 

Since the 2020 Election, many Delaware voters have asked what the Republican Party is doing to ascertain whether any irregularities took place here, and, more importantly, what the Party is doing to make sure that no irregularities take place in future elections. Two weeks ago, Republican Party Chair Jane Brady addressed these very questions during one of her information-packed Call-to-Action zoom calls. I wanted to take this opportunity to share the information she imparted, especially for those who may have missed this important session.

 

Chair Brady has been working on election integrity issues since 2019.  While she and her team have found no definitive proof of some of the more egregious activities that have been making headlines in other states, she did uncover several gaps and issues surrounding voting integrity that should be addressed here in Delaware.  What follows is a summary both of what has been done and what is ongoing to address these and to mitigate concerns about upcoming elections. The action items she discussed can be broken out into five categories, and for many of these initiatives we need your involvement to help get them to the finish line.

 

 1.    Legislative efforts    

Voter ID—in-person voting.  Delaware does not have a voter ID law.  Even though voters are asked for  their ID at polling stations, it is in fact not required by law, though we think it should be. Republicans  have therefore proposed a bill, HB 187 to address this.  The bill would require voters to fill out a provisional ballot if ID is not shown.

Action:  Thank Republican legislators for proposing this law. 

Note:  You can find all the relevant contact information for legislators here.

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 Voter ID—absentee ballots. Republican legislators have also introduced a bill to require ID for absentee  ballots, HB 189. This bill is currently stuck in the House Administration Committee.  

Action:  Write to members of this committee to have it released for a vote.

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Fraudulent voting.  After investigation, some fraudulent votes have indeed been found in Delaware.  That said, Chair Brady can't corroborate specific Patriots for Delaware claims of nursing home fraud or dead people  voting, as these data have not been shared. Regardless, Republican legislators have proposed a bill that would make it a felony to vote when you're not entitled to do so in an election: HB 188.  This bill is currently stuck in the House Administration Committee.

Action: Write to members of this committee to have it released for a vote. 

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2.  Voter roll cleanup efforts  

In random samplings of voter roll data, Chair Brady found several anomalies.  She believes that up to 12-15% of the DE voter rolls are inaccurate.  Inaccurate voter rolls violate the strict requirements set forth in the Federal Voting Rights Act and in the Constitution.  To fix this, Republicans proposed Senate Concurrent Resolution 47, which advocated for the creation of a Registered Voter List Improvement Task group, which would have looked at ways to  clean people from our lists.  Unfortunately, this was defeated. 

Action: Chair Brady is currently stepping up her efforts to work directly with the Department of Elections remedy the issue.

 

3.  Redistricting issues. 

 The law says that when redistricting occurs there is a threshold of + or – 5% of the population in a District.  Because the Democrats are in the majority, they get to set the new districts for both the House and the Senate. The result is that district populations are roughly 5% higher for Republicans and 5% lower for Democrats.  This means that Republican legislators represent larger groups of  voters than do Democrat legislators, which is not ideal. In an effort to even the scales, Republicans introduced bill HB  236, which proposes a fresh approach to reapportionment. This approach is described in a paper by three Carnegie Mellon University professors entitled: “A Partisan Districting Protocol with Provably Nonpartisan Outcomes.” This bill is waiting for a committee hearing.
 

4.  Court remedies

Jane Brady, in her capacity as a citizen and lawyer (not in her capacity as DE GOP Chair) has filed a lawsuit  challenging early voting and permanent absentee ballot laws in Delaware. Her springboard is the DE Constitution and Title 15, which dictates clear rules for early voting and absentee ballots, which current laws, she argues, are clearly violating.  

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5.    Grass roots efforts—increasing volunteer poll workers/challengers. 

For 2022, the DE GOP must take an all hands-on-deck approach to the voting process.  We need all  concerned citizens to volunteer as poll checker/challengers to serve as the eyes and ears of the party on the ground.  We will be providing training to volunteers later in the year so that, on the day of the election, they will be ready to communicate issues in real time across all DE polling locations. The Party will also have a team of attorneys trained and able to give guidance to these volunteers  and party members on voting issues at the polls. 

Action:  Volunteer to be a Checker/Challenger to observe the processes at polling places and report any irregularities. Contact: SussexGOP@protonmail.com to volunteer.

 

                                   

Marilyn Booker

President     

February 2022 GREETINGS Fellow Republicans, So here we are in the middle of the winter doldrums. We've had much more snow than I like and it's COLD! However, the snow will soon be gone, the temperatures will soon rise, and we will soon shed our long underwear for shorts! I'm very excited about the potential we have here in beautiful Sussex County during the mid-term election. We have a new Representative District (RD4) which was relocated down here from blue New Castle. It was held by a disgraced Democrat who had to resign due to a couple of little shop-lifting incidents. This means that we get to elect a Republican and add another member to the House caucus while subtracting a Democrat from the other side. We get to narrow the margin! That a sensational opportunity! We will have some work to do to make certain that we hold on to the Senate seat SD 6 as Senator Lopez is not seeking re-election. With the right tactics and enthusiasm, I'm certain we will prevail. We have scheduled a Volunteer Orientation for February 26, 2022 at Old Paths Church of Christ in Georgetown.  At 1:00 we will gather to discuss the structure of the Delaware Republican Party and the various opportunities to volunteer to assist us in reaching our goals. Please RSVP by February 23rd to SussexGOP@protonmail.com. I look forward to seeing each of you there. It's going to be a fun and informative meeting. Marilyn Booker President February 2022

December 2021/ January 2022

SUSSEX COUNTY REPUBLICAN WOMEN’S CLUB ANNUAL REPORT 2021
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The Sussex County Republican Women’s Club has had a very busy and successful year.

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ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
  • The SCRWC qualified for a Diamond Award again this year,
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ADMERICANISM AND CARING FOR AMERICA

  • Supported Wreaths Across America by purchasing 3 wreaths to be laid at the Veterans’ Cemetery in Millsboro during the service in December.

  • We donated a “Heroes’ Flag” which was placed at the Georgetown Circle for Memorial Day in recognition our member Gale White who served a as a nurse in the U.S. Air Force. 

  • Paid tribute to our member veterans at our November luncheon meeting.  Veterans Senator Bryant Richardson and candidate for Register of Wills in Sussex County, Greg Fuller participated as well as 9 of our members.  Four of these were our Voting Members and 7 were Associate Members. Each was asked to name which branch of the service they were in; their dates of service; where they were stationed and what their jobs were. 

  • We donated money to the Salvation Army for their Christmas Stocking project. 

  • We donated items requested to Home of the Brave.

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LITERACY – DICTIONARY PROJECT

  • On February 4th, we donated Webster's Dictionaries and Spanish/English Dictionaries to 204 3RD graders at Laurel Elementary. Each received an English Dictionary and 70 of those also received a Spanish/English Dictionary to assist with translation. The SCRWC Dictionary Project Delivery team was Carole Andrejko, Lisa Briggs, Priscilla Clark, and Gale White.

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CIVIC EDUCATION – PRESIDENT’S MONTHLY MESSAGE

  • We added a feature to our website to include a message each month that addresses some issue effecting Delaware and/or Sussex County.  To date we have addressed government overreach with mandates, Constitution Day, CRT and the Heritage Action for America Panel Discussion.  Our November message discussed the decennial redistricting process and how Sussex was treated unfairly with the Senate reapportionment.

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FUNDRAISING

  • Although we were unable to have the large fundraiser we were planning, we were still able to raise some money with “mini-auctions” and raffles at our meetings.  We have rescheduled our “Don’t Be Lonesome Tonight” Elvis party for April, 2022.

 
LEGISLATION

  • We initiated a Legislative Committee this year.  Their mission is to follow legislation and notify our members of the hot button legislative issues, encouraging them to make their voices heard either in opposition or in favor.  This group has also been attempting to consult with our Republican caucus to address the issues with which they believe they need assistance.  The committee members have made phone calls, written emails and letters to local papers, our U.S. Senators and Congresswoman, and the General Assembly.

 

MEMBERSHIP

  •  Between November 1, 2020 and October 31, 2021, we have grown our membership by 6%.  As of November 1, 2020 we had 91 members and 33 associates.  Between that date and December 8th, grew our membership to 101 members and 26 associates. 

  • We held a very successful Club Orientation with the Seaford Club in March of this year.  

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PROGRAM

  • We have welcomed Julianne Murray to speak on Election Integrity, Mary McCrossan to describe the latest initiatives by the RNC, and Jane Brady who spoke to the Redistricting process.  Michael Vincent, President of the Sussex County Council, spoke about Sussex County issues and Rob Crocker, DE GOP Field Director, explained the Neighborhood Team Leader Program.  Anthony Delcollo, the Legal Counsel to the Republican Senate Caucus, described the reapportionment process to the membership and returned this month to explain how we in Sussex County were disenfranchised by the proposed Senate redistricting map.

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SCHOLARSHIP

  • We granted scholarships to two young conservative women and hosted them and their parents at our June meeting.  Our 1st place recipient received $2500 and 2nd place got $1500.  We were unable to have our usual December silent auction due to the pandemic.  We reached out to some party members for donations as well as had “mini-auctions” at each meeting to raise the money we needed.  The Scholarship Auction we held on December 8th was very successful.  We will find out how much we made at the January.

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WEBSITE

  • Our website has been updated and enhanced.  We have taken the development and maintenance in-house and now we are able to add functions that we haven’t had in the past.  We are showing pictures of our events and updating them frequently.  Our Web Administrator, Carolyn Grob has learned design by reviewing the websites of some of our sister federated clubs across the country.  We were fortunate enough to have some assistance from a friend of Senator Pettyjohn.  Carolyn has put our membership application on the website so prospective members can complete it online, print it and pay their dues by credit card online.

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PLANS FOR 2022

In 2022, we plan to continue the programs/projects we began and enhance them as we can.

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  • Achievement Awards – Earn a Diamond Award from the NFRW again. 

  • Americanism Caring for America – We will participate in each of the events from last year and look for others to include this year. 

  • Literacy – Dictionary Project – we have budgeted for this expense again.  In addition, as part of MELP, we will investigate purchasing Children’s books that promote civics and the Constitution to donate to a group on need.     We will continue to post a President’s monthly message addressing current topics on our website. 

  • Our Fundraiser in April is going to be huge.  There will be lots of silent auction items and raffles.  Bob Lougheed’s Elvis impersonation is excellent and we hope to raise enough money to be able to contribute the maximum allowable amount to candidates as we have in the past.

  • We are making inroads with our caucus.  Last year we spent a lot of time asking what we could do to support their efforts in Dover.  Recently, we are being asked by them to write letters to address important issues.  In the coming year we will make certain that they are aware that we can muster people to testify in Dover when they need us to.   We are receiving applications for new members on our website and the traffic has picked up immensely.  We have a goal of increasing our membership by 20% this year.  

  • We are co-hosting another Member Orientation with the Seaford Republican Women’s Club on January 22nd.  

  • Our treasurer, Nancy Burdette and Web Administrator, Carolyn Grob are working to be able to take reservations for meetings. 

  • We will be working with the Sussex County Republican Committee to co-sponsor a debate between Chuck Welch and Julianne Murray in March or April.  In addition, we will host candidates who wish to speak to our members at our meetings. 

  • We will offer scholarships as we have in the past.  We will continue to fund these with money we collect in the Red Cups at our meetings and the Silent Auction we will hold again in December.

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