QCRC 1st Vice President Rich Ulery (center), Lacey Nagao and her son (left), and Charlotte Perez (right)
The Quail Creek Republican Club (QCRC) had its first meeting in the ever-so-important 2024 election year on Jan. 19 in the Ocotillo and Mesquite Rooms in the Kino Conference Center. First Vice President Rich Ulery substituted for our traveling president Pat Colburn and welcomed distinguished guests and new QCRC members. The club has an exciting, educational, and fun year planned throughout 2024, with candidate introductions, dynamic speakers, and social events scheduled throughout the year.
Rich welcomed and introduced the first speaker, Rene Lopez, a Republican candidate for the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). Mr. Lopez discussed the critical role the ACC plays in regulating utility rates throughout Arizona and the importance of securing conservative Republican majorities on the five-member commission. Three seats are up for election this year. Mr. Lopez is a native Arizonan, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and a former city councilman for the City of Chandler.
Following Lopez’s presentation, Sahuarita Town Councilwoman Diane Priolo installed the 2024 officers of the QCRC board by administering the oath of office. Three board members were unable to attend and will be installed at the February QCRC meeting.
Being in a retirement community, many members of our club don’t often have an opportunity to hear from conservative young people. So, it was a privilege to welcome two individuals from the Arizona Young Republicans organization who traveled from the Phoenix area and Tucson to address our QC Republican Club. Charlotte Perez, chairwoman of Arizona Young Republicans (AYR), and Lacey Nagao, Southwest Regional AYR director, gave an enthusiastic presentation about the organization and its growth over the past few years. Young people are gravitating to conservative principles and the Republican Party as they grow increasingly concerned about the economy, their ability to buy homes, and the immigration crisis at the southern border. Lacey Nagao, who also serves as regional manager for Turning Point Action (TPA), the political action arm of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA, specifically stressed that young men are especially becoming more conservative. She also reviewed TPA strategies in place to influence and win the 2024 elections.
Rich presented each of the speakers with a Quail Creek Republican Club Challenge Coin as a thank-you for their presentations.
The next meeting of the Quail Creek Republican Club will be on Friday morning, Feb. 16, when we will welcome Sahuarita Town Councilwoman and candidate for re-election Diane Priolo; Lea Marquez Peterson, Arizona Corporation Commissioner and candidate for re-election who also serves as co-vice chair of the Water Committee and on the nuclear power subcommittee for the National Association of Regulated Utility Commissioners; and Kathy Bernier, Wisconsin State Director of Keep Our Republic, who will talk about her experience as an election official and legislator during the 2020 elections.
Join the Quail Creek Republican Club. You’ll be among the most educated and informed voters in Southern Arizona. Check us out at www.quailcreekrepublicans.com.