Today, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber held an extraordinary press conference. The presser was originally publicized as an opportunity to shed light on the new allegations of wrongdoing by his fiancée Cylvia Hayes.

Instead, the governor dodged the most important issues regarding Hayes, her consulting work, and allegations of influence peddling in the governor’s office. Less than 20 minutes into the press conference, Kitzhaber stormed out, leaving many questions unanswered.

While Oregonians are left in the dark about relationships between Hayes, her clients, the governor, and his policies, Multnomah County Republicans urge a careful review of legislation promoted by Hayes and her clients.

Multnomah County Republican Chair Eric Fruits has a suggestion for the Oregon House and Senate leaders: "Salem should shelve any legislation that has any connection to Cylvia Hayes, her consulting firm, or her clients until the Ethics Commission and FBI investigations are completed. It’s a simple matter of transparency and good government that crosses all party lines. Oregon taxpayers cannot afford to pay for any more special deals tainted by the possibility of corruption."

Vice Chair James Buchal was harsher, suggesting that "In any state where all government accountability was not crippled by decades of control by the same criminal gang, indictments would already have been issued."

That's right, we were excited to announce this week that our Lincoln Day Dinner is set! It will be held February 15, 2014 and will feature keynote speaker Rafael Cruz. Click on the Calendar link above, or click here to be directed to the event for ticket info!

The Multnomah County GOP is helping to organize a Veterans appreciation event for the movie 'Lone Survivor'. An MCRP member has offered over two dozen tickets and we've added to that amount to reach 40 tickets to be given FREE to Veterans to come see this movie. We encourage others to join us as well on Sunday, January 12th, 2014, 3:30pm show at the Regal Cinemas theater on 166th & Division in Portland.

The movie is based on true events that occurred to a team of Navy SEALs and other military personnel during Operation Red Wings in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2005. As the movie title suggests, only one (Marcus Luttrell) of the original four SEALs returned alive, and this movie tells the story of that fateful mission and events surrounding it.

Here at Multnomah County Republican Headquarters, we caught wind of Governor Kitzhaber's press conference scheduled for this morning where he's expected to announce his intentions to run for an unprecedented fourth term. While we applaud the call to public service and honor anyone willing to step up, we think it's about time he return to the private sector. After all, term limits should have kicked in, except for the loophole that the law only covers consecutive terms.

In any event, we welcome Kitzhaber into the race, which finds a strong Republican challenger who's already been campaigning for many months - Rep. Dennis Richardson is giving him a run for his money by citing math, facts and credible budget predictions (none of which are strong suits for Kitzhaber). You can find out more about Dennis at his website by clicking here.

In case you were wondering, here's a list of "accomplishments" just from Kitz's third term. If you agree that this hit parade leaves a lot to be desired, we invite you to check out the Republican alternative.

On this day 150 years ago, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on the afternoon of Thursday November 19th, 1863 at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetary in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. The speech was just over two minutes long and reiterated the principles of human equality as espoused in the Declaration of Independence.

Senator Ted Cruz, Remembering the 150th Anniversary of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

A townhall style discussion was held at the University of Portland's Chiles Center on Thursday September 19th 2013, with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and UP political science professors Gary Malecha and William Curtis. The professors and several students asked questions to Thomas while an audience of 1,200 people listened intently.

Justice Thomas stated he came from humble beginnings and relayed a childhood of adversity living in Georgia in the 1950's & 60's and the daily positive message and insisting that "we were equal" from Irish Catholic nun teachers during elementary school. He relayed stories of growing up in the South and the turbulence of the 1960's, the Civil Rights era and remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. being assassinated and how that event affected him, and being kicked out of the home by his grandfather after quitting the seminary.

Actor Joseph Phillips gave the speech "Race in America" at PSU College Republicans/Young Conservative of Oregon on Friday October 25th, 2013. Joseph's speech was about how the African American community conducts itself, the hyper sensitivity of anything that could be construed as racism or a racist act. He discussed and gave suggestions as to how Republicans can be more aware of that sensitivity, be more aware of what is going on in the African American community and how to conduct themselves regarding race relations and their needs. He elaborated on the psychology that the African American community has a strong "survival" instinct and is always on guard to what might threaten their survival as a community, and racism or racist acts are perceived as threats to their survival. The same is felt when there are discussions of welfare reform or attempts to reduce waste, fraud or abuse in the different welfare programs. Rather insightful.

You may know Joseph from his regular acting appearances on The Cosby Show and General Hospital and guest appearances on other TV shows, and he has been in several movies. He occasionally travels the US and speaks on college campuses and foundations and has also taught acting workshops. Mr. Phillips had a weekly column "The Way I see It" for 8 years that appeared in over 30 publications across the country and was a regular on a few radio shows. Joseph has also been on several Republican steering committees and boards of directors. He is also a small business owner of Daddy J's WingShack in Encino California. Being a black conservative in hollywood/los angeles is no easy task, but he stays true to his principals and values. Joseph is married and has 3 children.
josephcphillips.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joseph-C-Phillips/43029507373
daddyjswingshack.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Daddy-Js-WingShack/251905991557030

We thank these two organizations for inviting Joseph to portland to give his speech and insights.

Portland State College Republicans
https://www.facebook.com/PortlandStateCRs

Young Conservatives of Oregon
https://www.facebook.com/YoungConservativesofOregon

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