Most of our Texas REP members would like to see a Republican Party of Texas that is more conservation minded. We believe that conservation is conservative. We believe that conservation and sound economics are not mutually exclusive propositions. We believe there are ways to have both a clean environment and a prosperous economy.

Do you wonder how you can have more of an influence on your Republican Party? You vote and donate money, but you're just too busy to get more involved in politics, right? There are ways to help make a difference and still not spend enormous amounts of time or money. Here are a few:

Vote:
The most basic thing you should do is vote. Vote in the General Election November 4.

Party Help:

Election Judge:
One of the quickest ways to help your local Republican party is to volunteer to serve as an Election Judge or Election Clerk. The election judge presides over polling places to ensure ballot security. For the primary election, the county chairperson (with the approval of the county executive committee) appoints all election judges and their alternates. In turn, the election judges recruit and appoint their own clerks for their precincts. The job involves a fair amount of paperwork, but the judge can typically complete it with a couple of hours of preparation and on the day of the election. The county elections department is responsible to train judges. The judge must ensure that the polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day, ensure that all eligible voters are allowed to vote, and complete paperwork prior to delivering the ballots to the county election headquarters. Serving as an election judge makes for a long, tiring day, but the effort will be greatly appreciated by your county party and your job is finished after each election day.

Election Clerk:
Assist the election judge in running the polling place on the day of election. This job typically consists of helping to set up the polling place in the morning and taking it down at the end of the day, verifying that voters are eligible to vote in the precinct, and registering that the voter has voted. Serving as an election clerk is a great way to learn the election process and help our party.

Candidate Help:
Block Walks: Frequently candidates will walk a neighborhood and just meet people. You could host or assist a walk in your neighborhood. This activity usually only takes half a day or a day.

Meet the Candidate Coffees:
Host a get together one evening.

Envelope Stuffing:
You can pick up envelopes, materials, and addresses from campaign headquarters and stuff them in a couple of evenings.

Phone Bank:
You can volunteer for a couple of hours one evening - or several evenings. Early in the cycle, the calls are made to identify your candidate's voters. When early voting starts, the calling shifts to Get Out the Vote (GOTV) for your candidate.

A highlight of the event was the "Green Elephant Award for Citizen Achievement" that REP President Martha Marks gave to Trammell S. Crow of Dallas.

Trammell S. Crow and Martha Marks

Rod Dreher spoke at 2007 Texas Chapter Annual Meeting

Republicans for Environmental Protection Announced Formation of its Texas Chapter

We Republicans for Environmental Protection are proud of our growing numbers in Texas. Increasingly, Republicans here are becoming aware of the risks associated with not protecting clean air and water and our high-quality natural areas -- such as Big Bend and Guadalupe National Parks, Padre Island National Seashore, the Big Thicket National Preserve, and the great state parks, forests, rivers, mountains, and beaches that people visit Texas to enjoy.

Some of REP's most enthusiastic members live in Texas. We welcome other conservation-minded conservatives to join us

Chapter Held Kickoff Meeting in Austin, April 8, 2006

Texas REP members and national staff gathered for the Texas chapter's kickoff meeting in Austin.

Landon Lockett, Carol Lockett, Jeff Sobotka, Chapter Assistance Director
Larry Kanz, Bill Hobson, Policy Director Jim DiPeso, Marilyn Brien, Dr. John Edlin,
Ira Yates, Margie Windrow, Pam Ragon, Ryland Howard, Laura Penn, Jim Penn,
Lenny Nichols, Cheryl Halton, Maureen Walden, Dr. Jim Diamond, Executive Assistant
Ruth Fish, Don Walden, Jack Fairchild, Government Affairs Director David Jenkins,
and President Martha Marks.

Above left to right: State Representative Toby Goodman of Tarrant County spoke about air quality issues. Jim Marston, who heads Environmental Defense' Texas office and serves on the board of the Texas League of Conservation Voters, was the dinner speaker. Maureen and Don Walden, Jeff Sobotka and Cheryl Halton

Don Walden met with Congressman Marchant

Texas REP member Donald Walden met with Congressman Kenny Marchant at a constituents’ roundtable meeting the week of April 10, 2006, at the congressman’s district office in Irving. Walden presented Marchant with a copy of REP’s Congressional Scorecard and talked about the need to strengthen motor vehicle fuel efficiency standards.

REP started to tick in Texas

In January, 2005, REP members around the state came together for a series of small get-acquainted gatherings. National President Martha Marks was present at several of these events. Below are three photos taken during her trip, in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.

Policy Director Jim DiPeso published an op-ed, When Republicans were Green, in the Dallas Morning News.

REP President Martha Marks published an op-ed, How Bush can conserve wildlands heritage, in the Dallas Morning News. She also gave a speech entitled "Debunking the False Dichotomy" to the Dallas Sierra Club.

REP President Martha Marks gave a speech entitled "Is sprawl a conservative issue?" at the Sustainable Dallas conference.

REP Policy Director Jim DiPeso published a letter to the editor, We must kick our Mideast oil habit, in the Dallas Morning News.