In this December newsletter

• Notable Announcements
• A Message from the Chairwoman
• Christmas/Hanukkah party set for December 11
• Democrat Rep. Brenda Lawrence “Votes for Us” in Washington
• COBO Hall Ballot Count Observed
• Profile: Max Wiener:  From Youth Leader to Mentor
• Membership Update
• Reminder About Membership
• Trending News Links

In this December newsletter

• Notable Announcements
• A Message from the Chairwoman
• Christmas/Hanukkah party set for December 11
• Democrat Rep. Brenda Lawrence “Votes for Us” in Washington
• COBO Hall Ballot Count Observed
• Profile: Max Wiener:  From Youth Leader to Mentor
• Membership Update
• Reminder About Membership
• Trending News Links

Notable Announcements

• December 2-10:  HAPPY HANUKKAH
• December 6: Farmington Area Republicans (FAR) meeting at FH City Hall at 7 p.m. will feature Professor David Dulio of the Political Science Department at Oakland University to recap the 2018 election results
• December 8:  Michigan Trump Republicans “Baby It’s Cold Outside” party held at Sylvan Lake Community Center; register here
• December 10: Oakland County Republican Party Executive Committee meeting at Commissioner’s Auditorium (1200 North Telegraph Road)  to elect new leadership for a two year term
• December 11: 14th District Christmas/Hanukkah Party and Giving Back to Homeless Veterans will be at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club; see article below and or register here  https://14thgivingback.eventbrite.com/
• December 17:  Oakland County Young Republicans Christmas Party at the Community House in Birmingham starting at 7 p.m.  No charge to attend, but event is partnering with Grace Centers of Hope.  Shawn Steele suggests bringing toilet paper to support that group. Cocktail attire.  Sponsorship opportunities available: call Shawn at 248-978-6120 to sponsor or for more details.
• December 25: MERRY CHRISTMAS
• January 22:  14th District regular meeting starts with networking and order off the menu dinner at  6:00 p.m. and the business portion starting at 7 p.m. at Kerby’s Coney Island, 25050 Northwestern Highway, Southfield NOTE DATE CHANGE DUE TO HOLIDAYS
• February 7: County Conventions to elect delegates to the MRP State Convention
• February 22-23:  MRP State Convention (Lansing) to elect a new 14th District Republican Committee, State Committee members and District Officers

A Message from the Chairwoman

Dear 14th District Executive Committee Members, and fellow Republicans;

Like many, I was completely depressed and dumbfounded by the November general election results.  Below is a sarcastic, yet too close to home for comfort, social media post just after the results were known:

“Congratulations Michigan.  We are now a pot smoking, gerrymandered, register to vote on election day, sanctuary and trending socialist state.  Buckle up. We voted for this, now deal with it……..”

Extreme?  Perhaps. Close to home.  Yes.

Two election takeaways:

• We were targeted. Democrats focused on the states/areas that turned red in 2016: Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and Orange County (CA). The Dems focused in attempt to win back the U.S. HOUSE. The “blue wave” hit Michigan.  We should be grateful that Republicans maintained a majority in each chamber of the MIchigan legislature.   We easily could have lost both. Our new legislative leaders in MI, Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield (R - District 107) and Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R - District 16), will hopefully lead thoughtful conservative legislation to offset the expected liberal agenda of Governor Elect Whitmer.
• Our statewide candidates were behind by hundreds of thousands of votes just in southeast Michigan. That is nearly an impossible hole to dig out from for any candidate.  The Oakland County, in particular, was hit hard.  New leadership will lead us into the 2020 election cycle to ensure re-election of President Trump.  Wayne County needs work too. Change is in the air - as the saying goes, “doing the same thing and expecting different results” got us nowhere.

In case you missed it, the Detroit News produced an interactive map that shows the unfortunate details of the recent Governor’s election.  Please check it out here. 

The Main Stream Media (MSM) would have everyone believe that President Trump had an awful mid-term election result.  That is just not true at all.  Check out this table which summarizes seats gained or lost over the decades:

Trump (as of this newsletter) “lost” 39 House seats and WON 3 new additional Senate seats in his first mid-term election. Obama LOST 63 House seats and LOST 6 Senate seats in his first mid-term election.  You’ll never see this if you only watch MSNBC or the other MSM outlets.

One of the 14th District’s best “new” traditions is our annual Christmas/Hanukkah party.  Already in its fourth year, this year on December 11 we’ll enjoy the fabulous Grosse Pointe Yacht Club as the host venue.  In prior years, the event enjoyed venues throughout the District: Mexican Town, Detroit, and last year Royal Oak. Special thanks for the fabulous Carol Foster and the Fundraising Committee for pulling this all together.

In prior years, this event was a fundraiser for the District.  However, this year we decided to make this a “giving back to the homeless veterans event”.  Through a thoughtful suggestion from Linda Stulberg (Farmington Hills), we selected the VOA, Volunteers of America , of Detroit, particularly their Detroit shelter that focuses on homeless veterans.  A list of items to donate or bring to the December 11 event is in the article below. Thank you for considering a donation of items from this list.

See you there!

It’s a joyous time of year!   Enjoy time with your family and friends.  Nothing is more precious!

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Janine Kateff

14th District Chairwoman

email - [email protected]

Like our Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mi14gop

Website - 14cd.com

twitter -  https://twitter.com/

586 917 6118

Christmas-Hanukkah Party set for December 11

Register, donate or become a sponsor here, right now: https://14thgivingback.eventbrite.com/

The 4th Annual, 14th District Christmas/Hanukkah Celebration will be held Tuesday, December 11 from 7 to 11 p.m. at the beautiful Grosse Pointe Yacht Club (located at 788 Lake Shore Drive, Grosse Pointe Shores, MI 48236).

JOIN US FOR SOME FESTIVE FUN WITH FRIENDS. Register here: https://14thgivingback.eventbrite.com

2018 Theme: “Giving Back to the Homeless Veterans” to make sure they have a truly warm holiday season via the VOA, Volunteers of America shelter for homeless veterans.

The VOA Detroit shelter is our designated charity for this year's holiday party.  Carol Foster, Fundraiser Chair, is working with fellow 14th District Republican, Linda Stulberg and Terry Poplawski who are coordinating the items for donation.

“Friends have already donated coats, hats, gloves, socks and scarves,” said Stulberg.  “Any and all contributions of new, full size-comforters, twin XL sheet sets, pillow cases and towels (neutral colors) would be greatly appreciated. The VOA bundles the new items to the vets when they transition to independent living”.

Bring your donations to the December 11 event.  Questions about donations - email [email protected] or [email protected]

Looking for good pricing for the above items? Take advantage of the Kohls Black Friday deals here.

For more information about the VOA, please go to their website at https://www.voami.org/

The event will feature a spectacular dinner (vegetarian or Kosher available upon request), live music and cash bar.  Business attire is the dress code - no jeans please.  Questions? Contact Carol Foster at [email protected]

Celebration pictures will be posted to Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mi14gop!

Democrat Rep. Brenda Lawrence “Votes for Us” in Washington

Your Democratic 14th Congressional District U.S. Representative Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) has been busy in Washington, D.C.  Here is a recap of several of her recent and shocking votes.   Her role in supporting the Democrat Party line, obstructing President Trump and not really looking out for our Michigan values can be seen very clearly.   

Her votes often are like this:  think of a logical idea/opinion and then vote the opposite way.   After considering her positions, please feel free to call her office at 202-225-5802:

• HB 6729 passed 297 to 124 with Lawrence voting AGAINST.  This allows nonprofits to share financial information about believed money laundering or human trafficking without being subject to civil lawsuits if that violates someone’s privacy.  Democrat’s cards are shown yet again.
• HB 5420 passed 394 to 15 with Lawrence voting FOR.  This funded the acquisition of 89 acres to expand the FDR National Historic Site.  Easy to predict this one----Lawrence likes to spend other people’s money.
• HB 6760 passed 220 to 191 with Lawrence voting AGAINST.  This would make permanent certain tax provisions enacted in the 2017 tax cut, including reductions in individual tax rate cuts.  Under the law as passed, these tax cuts expire in 2025. Once again, a Democrat vote is EZ to predict. Dems dislike tax cuts.

COBO Hall Absentee Ballot Count Observed

In the 2016 Presidential election, Michigan Conservative Coalition recruited a team of about 30 volunteers to observe the absentee ballot count at COBO Hall in Detroit.  That team felt it played a critical role and, perhaps, made a difference to maintain Trump’s narrow vote margin in Michigan.

Led by co-founder Marian Sheridan (West Bloomfield), MCC was committed to field a 2018 vote observation team, too.  Many team members were repeat volunteers, so the team knew what to expect. It would be a long day.  Most of the volunteers had completed BOTH the MIGOP training (online or in person) AND attended supplemental MCC training held on several nights before November 6.  These folks were trained up on how to be an effective observer!

MCC fielded a team of about 45 volunteers to observe at COBO Hall.  Smaller teams were fielded in Southfield (that team included 14th District Executive Committee member Eugene Greenstein) and Pontiac.

The COBO volunteers car pooled leaving the Walled Lake/Commerce area at 5:45 a.m.  Coffee was required! The ballot counting started at about 7 a.m.  

After a volunteer signed into COBO, they could not return if they left the building for any reason.  No cell phones were allowed in.

The last volunteers exited COBO at about 11:30 p.m.  Observers mostly stand/walk, so this was a LONG DAY.

The COBO Hall area had about 130 count tables were about 530 precincts were counted.

Working with a MIGOP legal team, also on site, the count irregularities were duly reported to the appropriate supervisors, etc.

It is safe to say that Broward County, Florida is not the only place with “voting issues”.  Florida just happened to have close races, unlike Michigan.

Anyone who closely tracked election results noted that Wayne County unofficial results were not posted until about 24 to 36 hours after the other counties.  So the Secretary of State’s election page results had in its tiny fine print “82 of 83 counties reporting”. That one not reporting county was Wayne County.

“MCC is committed to fielding a COBO vote oversight team in 2020” said Sheridan.  “Between now and then, we will attempt to meet with Wayne County vote process leaders to address the issues we noted.  All Michiganders should be very concerned about vote integrity, especially in Wayne County.”

The three locations that MCC targeted are all in the 14th Congressional District. Vote integrity needs to start at home.

Profile: Max Wiener: From Youth Leader to Mentor

Oakland County’s venerable, 96-year-old Cranbrook School served as the crucible that got Max Andrew Wiener into politics.

“I was always conservatively inclined,” he said, “but it was being challenged by an admittedly liberal faculty that really made me conservative.  When I was challenged about ideas such as taxation I took it upon myself to research. The more I studied up on the issues, the more conservative I became.”

Wiener continued:  “I studied philosophy. I started reading up on enlightenment thinking. Finally, the straw that broke the camel’s back, while discussing regulation in history class, my professor called me a fascist for opposing over taxation.  I responded that he was being absurd by attacking me instead of the actual policy we were discussing. He told me to ‘go start a young fascist club’ (this was 10th grade I believe).”

“A week later I had gotten in touch with the Teenage Republicans and started a chapter.”

“At first we had just random meetings, but I had two fortuitous encounters. One, I got the information for a national Teenage Republican convention in Washington D.C., which I attended as one of two people from Michigan. The second event included a speech by Al Gore.  At the Al Gore speech I met a mentor, John Bowker, who was very active in the Republican Party. John was and is an incredibly caring and thoughtful man, who was thrilled to see my (and the club’s) interest. He then helped to connect us with various events, meetings and groups.”  

“I organized regular speeches by Rep. Joe Knollenberg for our history classes, we had regular events across the state, we had groups attending state committee meetings, Mackinac conventions, etc.  I found myself volunteering on numerous campaigns. In fact, I was very passionate about the John McCain presidential campaign, after having been in a 10- student, hour-long meeting with him in Washington long before he ever announced his candidacy.

Wiener is a child of immigrants.  His parents immigrated to Canada from Austria, and he was born outside of Toronto. His father worked his way up through MAGNA International, and was eventually leading a factory outside of Toronto.  

“The business he was leading was far more competitive than a business in Michigan,” Wiener said. “That Michigan business (Auto Anodics Inc.) was on the cusp of closing and  made an offer to my father, which he then parlayed into an ownership-buyout opportunity.”

“My family again moved, this time to Michigan. We still had no family and knew no one here, but took the opportunity that no country can offer better than the U.S.A.”

Wiener’s  childhood was entwined with the family business.  “I spent as much time at the factory as I did at school,” he said.  “I watched my father work around the clock. My mother was in the business as well, and if there was a snow day and school was cancelled, and people didn't show up to work, that’s where I was.”

“I watched the business first hand, how the corrupt union leadership bled the business. I had my first union grievance filed against me when I was around 8 years old.  But I also saw how if you are willing to give it your all, you can always succeed and you can make it through any hardship. As an example, our biggest customer went bankrupt. I watched my parents up at night trying to figure out payroll, but they persevered.”

Wiener holds a bachelor’s degree in applied science and engineering, specifically material and metallurgical engineering, from the University of Toronto

After graduating, Wiener came home and learned his father was diagnosed with cancer. He  had to step back from the business. So Wiener took over. Since he knew he would be

staying in the United States, he started working towards permanent residence and citizenship.

“The U.S. immigration system is ludicrous,” Wiener said. “The entire debate is focused on illegals, but the actual system is cumbersome and restrictive to the people we should be after.  I had a dreadful time and had to jump through numerous hurdles to actually get in. I finally did get my citizenship just before the 2016 election.

“I admit, the 2016 election was something I didn't fully wrap my head around. I am a principled conservative. Donald Trump really deeply bothered me as a candidate.  I thought, for one, he was unelectable and would cost us not only the election, but would compromise the philosophical values of the party. So I started attending meetings again to try to engage during the primary.”

“Needless to say I was shocked by the 2016 results and, while I was intrigued, I definitely didn't feel the impetus to get terribly engaged.  What really got me to jump back into politics full force was that a friend from my Teenage Republican days got me in touch with (U.S. Senate candidate) John James.  And in him I saw a candidate I could really believe in. So, by getting engaged with his Senate campaign, I just started getting more and more involved with various aspects of the Michigan GOP.”

Auto Anodics Inc. remains very much a family business, Wiener said. His father has recovered and both his parents, Max and Elisabeth, remain active and involved. Wiener serves as general manager.

“The business has subsequently expanded with a Canadian facility  — Advanced Finishing Technologies — and we started an additional operation in Michigan last year, Robo Buff Inc.,” Wiener said. “The business is in metal finishing, specifically anodizing of aluminum and chrome flashing of stainless steel. Our product lines are automotive trim, supplying all of the major original equipment manufacturers (Ford, GM, FCA, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Daimler, BMW, Mazda, Navistar).  The products are things like luggage roof rails, window trim, side steps, door sills, bumpers, wheels, etc.”

Wiener, 36, lives in Grosse Pointe Park with his wife, Michelle. They have a young son and daughter.

“The biggest thing that motivates me and the biggest goal I would say I have with the party is youth engagement,” Wiener said.  “I was lucky enough to have a mentor that I happened upon. And that experience was incredible, having someone who cares, helps you ease in, but also, is more interested in seeing you as a mind that wants to be challenged and engaged is incredible.”

“Too often I've felt the party sees me purely as a checkbook to solicit donations.  I want to be engaged, I want to discuss and flesh out ideas. I also want a sense of community.  We need to be able to discuss ideas, learn from mistakes and work through our concerns. Our party needs to be a big tent and it needs to be welcoming.  It needs to see individuals and appreciate them, to build bonds of shared values and friendship instead of just being cogs.

“I am sorry to say this, but our biggest weakness as a party is an age gap. If you go to the meetings I'm definitely an odd man out at 36.  I really like the people in our party in the 14th District. We have nice people who have been warm and inviting, but if we don't figure out a way to reach out and engage more young people and broaden the active membership, we aren't being nearly as effective as we need to be.  

“I think mentoring is the key to youth engagement.  If we can get experienced people to humanize our ideals to young people we can make a big difference.”

Membership Update

The 14th District is active like never before.  One demonstration of that is our dues paying membership keeps growing!   In the table below, see the complete list of all Executive Committee and other members who have paid these voluntary dues to support activities of the 14th.

As you wind up your 2018 donations, consider making a year end check to fund your 2018 membership dues.  Two easy ways to contribute are detailed in the following article.

Reminder About Membership

Are you a member of the Republican 14th Congressional District?  Or want to join us? You have two options to join or renew your membership:

1. Snail mail your $25 membership check to c/o 14th District Treasurer, 2579 Vanel Court, West Bloomfield, MI. 48324 (checks made payable to the 14th District).
2. Online Renewal  - https://mi14gop.nationbuilder.com/donation.

Your dues and other fundraising activities support Republican candidates and organizations in the 14th Congressional District.

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