Recall that back on December 19, 2009, current HCRP Chair Jared Woodfill had gotten his name in the paper by stating that by the middle of January, the HCRP would open an Eastside office in an effort to bring conservative Hispanic voters into the party. No one seemed to believe that would actually happen (other than me) and a suggestion was put forth which led to the creation of the black box with red type counter you see every time you visit Big Jolly Politics. Just for fun, I sometimes put the counter information on Facebook.
Obviously, there wasn’t an office open in mid-January. I wrote about it again at the 40 day mark and “Jennifer” left a comment indicating that Chairman Woodfill had told the Village Republican Women the day before (Wednesday, 1/27/10) that he would be signing a lease for an office on Friday, 1/29/10. That gave me hope that I was right to say that I believe Chairman Woodfill.
Another month went by and the candidates for chair all gave a “closing statement” for publication. In his “closing statement”, Chairman Woodfill said this:
Second, we must attract new voters. We must grow in communities that have not traditionally voted Republican. This means reaching out to the fastest growing minority community in the country, Hispanics. Thanks to the generosity and hard work of so many, we now have a permanent Republican headquarters on the Eastside of town (Broadway St.). This office will provide services to the Hispanic community. Next month this office will feature a series of seminars that assist individuals who want to start small businesses, complete tax returns and learn English. The courses will take place at the office and be taught by successful business people, accountants and teachers.
I published that on February 27th. It sounded great, didn’t it? After eight years in office, Chairman Woodfill was finally going to reach out to Hispanics, a group that at one time voted in large numbers for Republicans. Notice his definitive words: “we now have”. Not “we are going to have”. Not “we are planning”. Nope. Clearly, he said “we now have”.
Really? We do? Where is it?
I happen to know Broadway St. very well. It is a short street, starting on the north side where Navigation and Harrisburg end, stretching south to Hobby Airport. So I took a drive last Friday, up and down Broadway St. Know what I found?
Nothing.
I decided to call the HCRP this morning and get the phone number. Margie was filling in for the receptionist, Alicia Flores. She didn’t know anything about an Eastside office but promised to call me back after “the man who would know” got off the phone. Okay, I gave her my number and waited. She must have gotten busy, so I called back about an hour later. This time, the “man who would know” was off the phone, so she put me on hold while she asked. Several minutes later she came back on the line and told me that this was a new office and phones hadn’t been installed yet.
Heh. Right.
Just to make sure, I scanned back through all of the Chairman’s email blasts since the first of the year. Sure enough, no mention of the new Eastside office. If there is one thing I’ve learned about the Chairman over the last couple of years, it is that if there is any news that might be close to being news, an email blast will hit my inbox.
Remember what Chairman Woodfill said in his “closing statement”:
Next month this office will feature a series of seminars that assist individuals who want to start small businesses, complete tax returns and learn English.
Well, I suppose that could happen. There are, after all, two days left in the month.
100 days and counting.
But only a week until early voting starts. Click here to read a strategic plan that will help stage a comeback in Harris County for Republicans.
UPDATE 3/30/10 8:15 am
Jared Woodfill confirmed that a lease has been signed and that the HCRP is currently working on getting phone lines, furniture, fax, etc. I knew that Mr. Woodfill would not be lying about this and think that he simply underestimated the time it takes to open a new office. Regardless of which man wins the runoff, it is clear that Mr. Woodfill is trying to be responsive to the grassroots of the party.