Belknap County Republicans in the Citizen

We got a little boost from the Citizen today - we thank them very much.  If you are visiting because of the article, let us know (FrankTilton@gmail.com, Belknap County Republican Chair).

Here are some excerpts:

Politics in New Hampshire are on fire in the wake of the Jan. 8 presidential primary and Republicans in Gilford and the rest of the Lakes Region are taking a technological approach to kick-start their party.

Gilford Republican Chair Skip Murphy recently created two websites to meet this goal.

"We just want to try and drag Republicans into the 21st century," said Murphy.

As Murphy pointed out, most people today seek out their information through the Internet, which includes information about their local political parties.

"At our last meeting we finally agreed to bite the bullet and get (the website) established," said Rep. Frank Tilton, R-Laconia, chair of the Belknap County Republicans.

The Gilford Republicans' site, GilfordGOP.org, and the Belknap County Republicans' site, BelknapCountyRepublicans.org [This one! -Skip], have been in operation for a few weeks and are now really starting to pick up some steam.

Murphy, who is the webmaster behind these two technological creations, hopes to build the sites into powerhouses that are home to everything from meeting information to news about the republican party and videos of party speakers and other events.

More than that, Tilton said what the websites do is really provide a way to bring some local attention to serious state issues.

One of those issues that Tilton says could use some daylight is the state spending. With a 17.5 percent increase, Tilton said it is time for people to get involved statewide.

"It's one more forum (we can use)," said Tilton.

With local elections coming up in March and state elections following in November, these new sites will play a particularly important role.

Murphy says he hopes to have the sites set up in such a way that, while not endorsing a candidate specifically, they would let people know about each candidate and who is running for what, both at the state and local levels.

The other benefit the party is hoping to attain is increased participation within the localized party. Tilton explained that about 10 years ago the local town committees for the party really went dormant

"We are making an effort to really activate town committees (again)," said Tilton.

Murphy said that at the last Gilford Republicans meeting only six people attended.

"Now we have to do more of a push to get more people active. I see (the sites) as a way to boost Republicanism," said Murphy. "We have good ideas, we just need to get them out there."

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This Thursday the Gilford Republicans will hold a meeting at the Gilford Town Hall. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and feature guest speaker Fergus Cullen, chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party.

Er, not so much....that was our LAST meeting - it has already happened!!.  To see what did transpire, click here and see!
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The New Hampshire Republican Party also has a website, www.nhgop.org.