Reform Party
of Arizona
Press Release October 21, 2001


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Pima County Chairman Elected

The Pima County Chapter of the Reform Party of Arizona met Saturday, October 20 in Tucson and elected Ryan Gauger as County Chairman. Mr. Gauger was nominated by Bob Connery, the former Chairman of the Reform Party of Pima County, who stepped down in order to run for public office. Mr. Connery stated that he was pleased to see younger members of the RPA moving into leadership positions, and pledged his continuing support to the Reform party. Mr. Connery volunteered to serve as Vice-Chairman, and was unanimously elected to that position.

Ryan Gauger joined the Reform party in 2000, campaigned for Pat Buchanan, and represented Arizona CD 5 at the July 2001 National convention of the Reform Party USA in Nashville. After his election as Chairman, he said "We Reformers need to run candidates for the state legislature and Congress to put the Reform Party on the voters' radar as an active third party in Arizona. Look to the newly apportioned congressional districts for incumbent-free elections, tight races, and Reformers. Now is the time for political action and leadership."

Bob Connery was a volunteer for United We Stand, supporting Ross Perot's 1992 presidential election bid, and and was a founding member of the Reform party of Arizona, supporting Ross Perot's 1996 presidential election bid. He has previously served as Chairman of Pima County Chapter of the Reform Party of Arizona. He has also been a candidate for public office, when in 1998 he ran for Congress from Arizona's CD 5. After his election as Vice Chairman, he said "We need to all come together as Americans to save our Republic for future generations. Time is running out - the Reform Party represents the best hope for securing the future."

Gerry Moan, National Chairman of the Reform Party USA, also attended the meeting. He addressed the meeting, saying "We need to be in this for the long haul. We can't expect to win our first election. We need to run local candidates in order to develop the membership and credibility that we need."

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Weyrich, Chairman of the Reform Party of Arizona. Dr. Weyrich discussed how the Reform Party of Arizona can obtain ballot access and run candidates. Under state law, the Reform Party needs 2/3 of 1% voter registration in order to gain ballot access. statewide. That amounts to 14,664 registered voters. The Reform party of Arizona presently has 1,514 registered voters, but in the last election, the Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan won 12,373 votes in Arizona. "If all of the people who voted for our candidate in 2000 would register as RPA, we would be nearly over the top," Dr. Weyrich said.

State Chairman Dr. Weyrich is planning to visit with each of the counties in Arizona in the upcoming weeks in order to prepare the Reform Party of Arizona for next year's election cycle. The Yavapai County Chapter of the Reform Party of Arizona will hold a meeting in Saturday, October 27. The meeting location is PETE'S FAMILY RESTURANT, 1355 Iron Springs Road, Prescott. Meetings have previously been held in Yuma and Maricopa Counties; meetings for the remaining counties are in the planning stages.

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Contact the Reform Party of Arizona

Telephone: (480) 600-7695
e-Mail: weyrich_comp@yahoo.com
Arizona web site: http://www.RPAZ.us
RPUSA web site: http://www.ReformPartyUSA.org
Mail: PO Box 5782, Scottsdale, AZ 85261-5782

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