The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, turned Kim Shultz of Lake Stevens into a Republican Party activist.
“I felt I really needed to get involved, because it concerns me a lot who’s in power,” he said.
It has led him to New York City and this week’s Republican National Convention, where on Wednesday he will help nominate President George W. Bush for a second term.
“The war on terror is probably the most important issue in this election,” Shultz said. “He’s done a great job with that.”
Washington is sending 79 delegates and alternates, including six from Snohomish County and one from Island County. They include Shultz, Mary Jane Aurdal, Tim Eyman, Frauna Hoglund, Jerry Miller, Evelyn Spencer and Dorothy Zimmerman.
This is the first Republican Party convention in New York, and the memory of Sept. 11 will be emotional for those at the event. Each area delegate plans to escape the deluge of political activities for a few quiet moments at ground zero.
Security is on many of their minds; not an attack by terrorists, but verbal muggings by protesters.
“We’re all wondering how obnoxious will protesters be. Are we talking bottles and eggs, or just yelling and screaming,” Eyman said.
The anticipated anger upsets Aurdal.
“There has to be a unity and coming together,” Aurdal said. “We are all Americans. When 9-11 happened, we came together. I would hope it doesn’t take another calamity like that to make us realize who we are.”
TIM EYMAN
Eyman, 38, of Mukilteo, better known as a professional propagator of initiatives than as a party player, is attending his second consecutive national convention as an alternate delegate.
“For someone who is a political junkie, this is like going to Mecca,” gushed the father of two children. “It’ll be remarkably interesting.”
One of the highlights for him will be hearing Sen. Zell Miller, the Georgia Democrat who is bucking his party in favor of the incumbent president. “He’s thoroughly a Joe Six-Pack speaker, enormously interesting and fun,” Eyman said.
As one might guess, the only issue on Eyman’s mind is taxes. It defines his being and his allegiances. “Taxes need to be lowered. Bush is a tax-cutter. (Sen. John) Kerry is a tax-raiser,” he said.
Eyman, the sponsor of several tax-cutting initiatives in this state, said he was disappointed that during Bush’s first term “tax cuts weren’t even bigger. The best thing the president can do in the second term is to cut taxes even more.”
MARY JANE AURDAL
Aurdal, 63, of Clinton, is a party stalwart who edits the Washington Republican Women’s newsletter. This is her first convention.
“I did not aspire for anything like this,” she said. “This is a unique opportunity to meet the president and shake his hand.”
The one-time Democrat and former owner of Paco’s Press in Lynnwood praised Bush’s tax cuts and said she hoped he can succeed in making them permanent in a second term.
While she disagreed with the president’s proposed amnesty for illegal immigrants, an idea that went nowhere during his first term, she’s been pleased with his leadership on national security.
“I want the terrorists totally rooted out. I really don’t want my 10 grandchildren to go to war and be threatened in their own home,” Aurdal said. “President Bush has kept terrorists from our soil. He took the fight against terrorists right back to their doorstep, and that’s why America is as safe as it is.”
FRAUNA HOGLUND
Hoglund, 65, of Everett, one of the most visible Republican leaders in Snohomish County, is making her first trip to a national convention.
“I’m excited to be there to nominate our wonderful president for re-election,” said Hoglund, chairwoman of the county’s Republican Party.
The disappointment of Bush’s first term, she said, was that not enough effort was put into his “Compassion Across America” program, which aimed to boost community service. During the convention, she plans to take time out to volunteer at a nonprofit agency in the city as part of the program.
Otherwise, she said, the first term has offered a bounty of successes, including tax cuts – “I’m very pleased he’s giving back some of our money” – and stronger national security. His health care reforms move the nation toward giving people greater control of pensions and insurance, Hoglund said.
“With another four years, people will really like what his agenda is and the vision he has for our country,” she said.
KIM SHULTZ
Shultz, 32, is married and a full-time student pursing a career in law enforcement. He is an Army veteran and a member of the Army National Guard.
An alternate delegate, he wants to hear talk of how the administration will lower taxes and reduce government spending, two of the pillars of his Republicanism.
Bush’s tax cuts in the first term “were a good start,” he said, “but I don’t think he went far enough.” He wants them made permanent in the second term.
If there is a blemish on the Bush record, Shultz said it is the issue of immigration. He said the president showed “courage” in raising the issue, but proposing amnesty was wrong.
Shultz praises the president most strongly for not wavering on national security. “If you’re not on the side of building our defenses up and fighting the war on terror, then you’re on the wrong side of the fence,” he said.
EVELYN SPENCER
Spencer, 66, of Everett, serves on the executive board of the Snohomish County Republican Party. She went to the last two national conventions, but this is her first as a delegate. She attended Bush’s inauguration, and she’s ready to cast a vote to give him a second term.
Her convention schedule is filling up. She plans a visit to ground zero, a workshop with first lady Laura Bush and a community service activity as part of the “Compassion Across America” initiative.
Addressing Bush’s tenure, she said she didn’t like the amnesty idea for illegal immigrants. She hopes in the second term he’ll work to preserve the tax cuts and be a stronger leader on education without increasing federal involvement in schools.
“What has pleased me about the first term is his leadership and most specifically in the war on terror,” Spencer said. The war “was difficult for him, but it was something that had to be done.”
DOROTHY ZIMMERMAN
Zimmerman, 70, of Mukilteo, an alternate delegate, is a fixture in county and state Republican activities. This is her third convention, but the first in which she can vote.
“The whole experience is what I’m looking forward to,” she said.
Zimmerman said a predicted fight on the tenets of the platform opposing abortion and same-sex marriage may not materialize.
“I think everybody has bigger issues than any one social issue. National defense, bringing the economy back and dealing with medical care are probably more important,” she said.
Bush did well to deal with prescription drugs and protecting retirement monies to veterans in the first term, she said. Now, she wants him to address spousal benefits for veterans and tort reform. “I totally believe in George Bush,” she said.
JERRY MILLER
Miller, 70, of Mill Creek, covered the 1964 Republican convention as a reporter. He went to the conventions in 1976 and 2000 as an activist. This, his fourth, is the first time as a full-fledged delegate.
“I always wanted to be a delegate. It gives a person a concrete feeling of being a part of the selection process,” said Miller, host and executive producer of Republican Radio and former chairman of the King County and Snohomish County Republican parties.
Bush, he said, has provided outstanding leadership in a time of crisis. The disappointment since 2000, he said, is the “huge overbudget expenditures that he approved and Congress passed.”
In the second term, he looks for change. “Reducing the cost of government will be a hallmark of his administration,” Miller said.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@ heraldnet.com
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