A Conversation with Lisa James

Lisa James has extensive experience in politics.  Click here for a copy of her bio.  Here's a link to her website.

Why are you running?

I am running because I have a passion, some might call it an addiction, to Republican politics.  I started working for Republicans as a teenager in Illinois.  Some positions have been paid, most have been as a volunteer.  I truly feel the serving as Chairman is the next step in that service.  I feel that '08 brings a great opportunity to unite our Party, to involve more Republicans in the process and to make a great impact on all races--from the court house to the White House.  I also chose to run because the people I have worked with over the years have asked me to do so--people from all levels of our Party--including grassroots volunteers, precinct committeeman, legislative district chairs, county chairs, legislators and members of the congressional delegation.

What are you going to do to change the party?

I want the Party to be a place where we practice Reagan's 11th Commandment and welcome Republicans to enthusiastically support their candidates.  We are the Party of freedom, the party of smaller government, the party of responsibility, the party of individual rights, the party of life, the Party of lower taxes, the Party everyone should want to come home to.  I would propose a two way street for communications--asking for input from all levels of our Republican family.  I would also propose that we increase our volunteer trainings, increase outreach to the rural counties, step up candidate recruitment and trainings, enhance our research and focus on raising the much needed dollars for '08 in '07 to limit our competition with our own candidates.

How are you going to treat the moderates?

We need to realize that we are never going to agree on 100% of the issues, 100% of the time with 100% of the people.  What need to focus on bringing more people into the Party to achieve success in November.  Everyone deserves a seat at the table.  I am about as conservative as one can get--however, I understand that tearing people down does not want to make the join our family--listening and communicating in a positive way will lead us down a road together and will assure Victory in '08 and beyond.

Why is there such a disconnect between the establishment conservatives and the non establishment conservatives?

I think many of the "non-establishment" conservatives have great relationships with members of the "establishment" conservatives.  While I welcome and am truly humbled to have the support of the Delegation, I am equally humbled and appreciative of the support I have received from hundreds of grassroots conservatives.  I look forward to building and using a bridge between all levels of elected officials and those who work at the volunteer level. 

Will the delegation back you?

Yes, the delegation will support me and I will call on them.  They are vital to our fundraising success.  They do inspire volunteers--anyone who was at the State Party at midnight the Friday before the election saw John Shadegg welcoming volunteers and rallying them for final 72 hours.   Many of them stopped by the various Victory offices and led walks and phone banks last fall.  I am excited about what we can do together.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.  Good luck on Saturday. 

Thanks Greg.

Comments

[Tim]

After the hit pieces and opposition research on Randy Pullen, Lisa actually said "I want the Party to be a place where we practice Reagan's 11th Commandment"?

Wow... Chutzpah...

[ArizonaCountryBoy]

Lisa didn't start that fight, Nathan did. I doubt Nathan got her 'permission' to post that letter nor did anyone else. Lisa can only be held accountable for her actions, not her supporters.

I think Nathan went too far in his accusations but this is a heated race and mud has been slung in both directions.

[Cant Say Enough]

Didnt Randy lose elections badly to both Skip Rimsza and Phil Gordon? Is that the kind of leadership we want in the party? And if the rumor about Randy bringing in Phil Mason as Exec Dir has any truth to it we are doomed.

[Tim]

Constantin Querard? Phil Mason? Lisa James? Colette Rosati? Man, its tough to keep track of all the "rumored" Executive Directors that have been floated out there to try and scare voters away from Pullen. How about we let Randy conduct a search AFTER he wins like everyone else does?

[Ann]

Many of the "hit pieces and opposition research" came not from James supporters but from conservative blogs. I first saw the WISH list donation on AZ Conservative! It was part of a "hit piece" against Republicans who have given to the WISH list and named all sorts of names... so I went to the link to see for myself. Other Republicans have been publicly called out for their donation but Mrs. Pullen gets a mulligan? It was in 2003, long after the inception of this organization, long after the publicity around its pro-choice purpose. But, Mr. Pullen was running for Mayor and needed the pro-choice R’s to help him overtake the liberal majority in many parts of Phoenix. Draw your own conclusion. This is not about pro-life vs. pro-choice, it is about the demand of some that a candidate (or those that support the candidate) must adhere to all things conservative according to their specific set of standards.

Considering that another site has had 18 different posts about the chairmanship and every one with an obvious leaning to the Pullen side, even going as far as posting a link to his site on their side bar, it's a good thing someone is paying attention and bringing light to some issues. If there has been anything posted by James supporters, at least what I’ve seen, it is always in defense and as a response to some distorted attempt to discredit Lisa in an effort to make Randy look better.

From the first time any mention of Len Munsil appeared as a possible candidate there have been attacks (so much so that they have had to be moderated and removed) made toward anyone who would run against Randy, even if it is only from a select few. Those few have made it their purpose to paint Lisa with the McCain brush and discount her long standing work and success. Their rancorous rhetoric has made for some interesting threads but never have they been able to discount, with fact based evidence, Lisa's ability to do this job and do it in such a way that makes her the best choice. Always the McCain thing... or the ’06 election results even if Lisa wasn’t a part of the campaign,… or the mods on her web-site despite some mods on Randy's... or WISH list supporters on her web site despite Katherine Pullen's $1,000 donation and Mr. Cavanaugh of AZ Right to Life being one of Lisa's supporters and on her site!

Unless you have had the opportunity to work with Lisa it is hard to imagine such a dynamic and effective personality. The work she has done is not only quantitative in the measure of dollars, elections, etc... It is qualitative. She is a builder, a thinker, a doer, someone not content to have the job and the title and shake the hands of the little people.

Trent Franks has endorsed Lisa while NOT supporting Sen. McCain. I doubt Mr. Franks is too worried about upsetting McCain if he were to buck what is believed to be his choice for chair. Could it be he just knows them both and understands what it takes to do the job that is needed and realizes Lisa is best for the here and now? Len Munsil has endorsed Lisa, since when is he an establishment guy?

Lisa has been around for a long time but because she is about the work and not self-promotion she doesn’t have the name recognition among some that Randy might. Also, she has never been a candidate for public office where name recognition is key. But then again,..... Considering his election results, maybe that wasn’t such a positive opportunity.

[Jim]

Tim! Ha! Maybe its because Randy has made numerous promises to numerous people that he will support them for positions and jobs if elected. Haha- if he is elected, he is going to have a firestorm on his hands, and alot of explaining to do to those faithful thinking that they will be on his payroll soon. But Constantin or Phil? The fact that there names are even out there is reason enough for concern.

[Elinor Hathaway]

The wheels in the Republican party haven't given the rest of us much of a choice. Both Ms. James and Mr. Pullen are ultra conservatives in spite of the ignominious failure of the far right wing to win votes in the 2006 election.
The Republican party needs to start developing some candidates who will attract independent voters. Matt Salmon ran a terrible campaign when he ran for governor and yet he was named party chairman. The Republican party in Arizona needs a good dose of realism. Their brand of politics suffered a big defeat in 2006 but, apparently, they didn't learn a thing.

[Travis]

I couldn't be more pleased with the way Lisa James has conducted this campaign. She has asked for votes and made sure that there was follow up with her supporters. I have recieved several mailings from her and her supporters with ample reasons given to elect her. There is not a single sentence in her or her supporters mailings or writings that have been persoanlly disparaging toward her opponent. There have been facts that have been brought to light, but the conclusions are left to the voters. Even Nathan Sproul's sharing of Randy's emails was simply giving us all a look into the mind actions of Mr. Pullen. It was enlightening. This is a great state. Let the debate be great, but let it also be dignified.

[Tim]

Rarely does a post leave me speechless, but Travis' world of reality has done so... So I shall make no comment...

Jim's comment just seems silly... Rumors of various Executive Directors are just garbage rumors. The fact that they are "out there" is only of concern if you are concerned that James' people start rumors. Otherwise, the names aren't really even out there at all. They're just garbage rumors, so why be concerned?

[Faith]

Elinor makes a good point, which is better illustrated by the GOP-powers-that-be trying to get Len Munsil to run for chair right after suffering a far worse defeat than Salmon did. What does that tell you?

[Jim]

Tim-- whoa man! Cool the personal attacks. I didn't say that you were possibly offered a job too (maybe you think that you have one locked down too). I'm just surmising that it looks like a lot of people have been promised jobs. Constantin already responded on a letter to Greg (posted last week), that he was not considering the post.

But I'm sure that neither Constantin nor Phil would appreciate that you are discounting them as part of garbage rumors.

Both have worked very hard for the party, and very involved in campaigns. And as far as I can tell, neither one of them has contributed any money toward a Democrat, and I can't imagine either one of them ever doing so.

Hopefully, if Randy wins, and one of them were chosen as the Executive Director, they will realize that we all need to work together if we want to try to take back some of our seats from the Democrats, and not support those who are trying to alienate others. If we continue to fracture ourselves, we will lose more races.

[Right4AZ]

I agree with you Travis. Lisa seems to be a rational, reasonable conservative. Maybe it's time for a woman with the skill level of Lisa James, to re-organize our Party. I looked at her website and found her objectives to be well thought out.

[Tim]

Jim, I called the comment "silly"... To which you respond "cool the personal attacks"?

Since when is calling something silly a personal attack?

You are "surmising that a lot of people have been promised jobs" which in and of itself is nothing more than a garbage rumor, so if you're in the business of spreading unsubstantiated rumors, you need thicker skin than "ow, you called me silly"...

[Jamie]

Out of the two candidates Pullen is the only that has stated a plan. Lisa just wants us "to get along" It's funny the only ones that quote the 11th commandment are liberals. I've never heard a true conservative state the 11th commandments as a major goal. The liberals just want us to be quite and to stop fight for what's right. Just because you put a R next to your name it doesn't mean you have the right to spend taxpayer money wrecklessly, it doesn't mean if you think abortions are OK we allow you to kill children, it doesn't mean we will let you give our country away to every illegal alien. An R next to your name doesn't give you the right to walk right over us. Just because you put an R next to your name it doesn't make you RIGHT. Just because you have a R next to your name it doesn't mean I stop having an opinion. I will always stand up for what is Right no matter if you have an R next to your name or not.

[Al of Alnot]

Lisa has my vote and that of many Yumans. ==grin==

Win or lose she still will be a blessing to the Republican Party. This last election went to the Democrats simply because they outworked and outspent us. The buying of mail in votes in the border towns did not help either. But ballot box stuffing still loses to the better prepared and motivated team. We must learn from our mistakes and stay focused on coming back to win.

[BobH]

>I've never heard a true conservative state the 11th commandments as a major goal.

Other, that is, than Ronald Reagan. Although I suspect that he might be considered a liberal by some here.

[Ann]

Jamie,

Lisa has a very clear, workable, and determined plan outlined on her web site. It may be that you are a true blue Pullen fan and have no desire to explore another option. If so at least you care enough to have a voice even if, for this campaign, we disagree. If not, please visit her site (the link is in the original post), look at her plan, and then decide if you think it holds water. Having worked on or closely observed several campaigns, with and without her, the woman knows how to win!

[Jamie]

I have reviewed Lisa Plan. It's the same old junk that all chairman rattle off. Randy plan are plans not goals. Randy want committees that reflect the whole state. Each committee will have representaion from each county and legislative district. The focus will no longer be the congressional delegation but the state as a whole. The congressional delegation have many other national level republican groups to help them. Ourstate party needs to also focus on growing the party keeping our voter regristration edge and electing a strong Republican State Government. We loss seats in the State House and Senate because our state party was to worried about it's congressional delegation.