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Roy H. Park, Jr. was named Republican of the Year Saturday at the Tompkins County Republican Committee annual dinner.  100 local Republicans gathered at the Lakewatch Inn to honor Park, raise money and enjoy the dinner and fellowship.  'Politics Is Local', was the theme for the evening, stressed by Park and speakers Lansing Councilman Ed laVigne, County Legislator Mike Sigler, NYS Senator James Seward, and keynote speaker Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response Director / Fire Coordinator Lee Shurtleff.

"Everything in politics should be local," says Tompkins County Republican Committee James Drader.  "When we get right down to it this is what really matters: our home and our families and where we live and how we are affected in our daily lives.  More-so than ever, in the economic times that we face now, due to the national politics it's made it even tougher to govern in a small county.  We have one city surrounded by nine towns.  It used to be that the nine towns were very Republican. They had Republican majorities.  It's not that way any more, so local is the best way if you want to change your everyday life.  Local politics."

 


The award was presented by Sigler, who was running for State Assembly when he first met Park in 2002.  After Sigler lost that race Park hired him, and has been supportive in subsequent races for County Legislature.  Sigler spoke of how Park helped introduce him to local Republicans, and said Park's book should be required reading in every MBA and Political Science class.

"I could see how politics could bind people of all different backgrounds," Sigler said.  "How people with a common belief, not on every issue, but in a way life can work together to achieve common goals.  For me Mr. Park has never shied away from supporting my political ambitions or from supporting the best of the Republican Party.  He's never too busy to support our candidates and advance conservative principals in a town that is, quite frankly, not always welcoming to those ideas."

Park has a B.A.in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from the Johnson School of Management.  He is President and CEO of Park Outdoor Advertising, and President of the Triad Foundation.


"I'm honored to be named Republican of the Year.  There are so few of us in Tompkins County I think any Republican has a good crack at receiving this honor," he joked.

Park said that Tompkins County is the only 'shining light' in New York State except for New York City. He noted that the recession that came after 9/11 remains today. He said that capitalism represents principals of fairness and justice, and that he is unhappy with the direction the government is going in.  He said he worries about the future for large corporations and small businesses.

"When half the people get the idea that you do not have to work because the other half are going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work for somebody else because somebody else is going to take what they worked for, that, my dear friends, is the end of any nation," he said.  "You cannot multiply growth by dividing it."

Taxing and spending less and the 'Politics Is Local' theme threaded through the entire evening.  Senator James L. Seward spoke about the year's accomplishments in Albany, including tax reductions, an extension of the tax cap, and a new property tax rebate program, then encouraged local candidates to go door to door to meet voters.


"This is a local election year," he continued. "When you talk about politics it all starts at this grass roots level.  The best way to win an election, particularly at the local level is to knock on doors and talk to voters one on one. Nothing beats that.  It takes a lot of time, but nothing beats that approach."

Shurtleff also spoke of local politics, stressing that turning out the voters means the difference between winning or losing, even for Republicans in the predominantly Democratic Tompkins County.

"We've had a lot of successes and a few bitter losses," he said.  "But throughout all of that we've learned a lot of lessons.  I want to build on what Mike Sigler, Jim Seward and Mr. Park has talked about tonight, about how to strengthen our Republican Party.  One question you might have is how do you win an election, especially in Tompkins County?"

He said it comes down to numbers, which he said means getting your voters to come to the polls, especially in local election years.  He said that the number of registered voters is up, but disillusioned younger voters don't tend to come to the poll.  He urged candidates to know who their voters are, learn what they're thinking, and to do the work to contact them and urge to vote.

"When it comes to our local party," Shurtleff argued, "we need to focus on our communities and our quality of life that our supervisors and county legislators have a great hand in providing.  We need to prioritize the policies and services that make us feel safe in our homes and on our highways.  Our ability to do that is tied to a strong economy that encourages and supports creation and sustaining good paying jobs."

Drader says that he is optimistic about Republican candidates' chances this year, though he noted that the political demographics of Tompkins County make winning an uphill battle for local Republicans.

"We're always optimistic," he says.  "We think that our policies are what would be best for Tompkins County."

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