San Bernardino County Republican Party Must Return to Normalcy

January 2025 begins a new four-year term for the San Bernardino County Republican Party and the previous administration did not do much to help grow the party in Sacramento or Washington DC compared to Riverside County. The Phil Cothran Sr. administration led to a death of the grassroots and a sharp rise of the corporatist faction looking to sell the brand name of the party and use the preferential fundraising treatment that political parties have. The County Party did raise money, but the money was only earmarked for their preferential candidates and did not help the grassroots of the organization.

Our party still has a lingering debt with Phil Cothran Sr. largely due to a failed fundraising event in 2022. The party abandoned GOTV where there was no organized precinct walking effort to promote the party ticket unlike previous years. Voters were angry that the headquarters in Ontario was not staffed, phones were never answered, and the majority faction could care less. Candidates from both factions in the party were left to neglect such as Nick Wilson and Upland Councilman Carlos Garcia for their races for State Assembly and State Senate.

Treasurer Robert Rego and Chairman Phil Cothran are two peas in a pod where they were more worried about keeping the status quo instead of growing the San Bernardino County Republicans. They wanted to tar and feather the people who challenge their orthodoxy instead of using the money they helped to fundraise from their donors to help make Sacramento less toxic. Over 110 thousand dollars was spent to challenge another Republican Mark Gibboney in the Cucamonga Water District board race that covered both Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga because they wanted more of their allies such as the daughter of the mayor of Fontana to replace the people who challenge them. Good money wasted that could have been used in State Senate District 29 or Assembly District 53 to have a party mailer or more canvassers to reach out to the communities.

The county party is now literally a smoke-filled room of people tied to other politicians, and they do not want the little people in. When Riverside County is likely to gain two Republican state legislators in Assembly District 36 and 58, San Bernardino County is not making any progress. The next administration needs to start rebuilding the organization from deep neglect where it’s only an organization in paper only. We need to start paying Phil Cothran Sr back, we need to start raising money for a permanent staff member and raise money for a serious 2026 GOTV campaign since the governor race is going to be an open seat election. No longer is the time for us to abdicate ground to the Democratic Party like how Phil Cothran Sr. gave away Assembly District 50 to the Democrats with his DINO buddy Adam Perez in Fontana.

If you are part of the grassroots of the Republican Party, you are invited to participate in organizations such as the San Bernardino County Patriots and the California Republican Assembly. You are wanted in those organizations, and it is time to bring the fight so we can be unified. Without money and the grassroots together, our success will be a hurdle.

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