MCRC Press Release

“We are the party of Abraham Lincoln and our party has a place for everyone” GOP Chairman Robert Kerns said.

The Montgomery County Republican Committee (MCRC) held its first Community Leadership Breakfast and DiversiTea July 24 at the Doubletree Suites in Plymouth Meeting. MCRC Vice Chair Sharon Thomas, Mayor of Pottstown, organized the gathering, attended by over 75 Republican elected officials, business owners and community activists of various ethnic and religious backgrounds to assess the current state of the GOP in Montgomery County.

“A meeting like this is imperative in building community interaction and outreach. Our party is at its best when engaging in inclusive strategies, and we will forge that path in the current MCRC administration,” said Thomas.

A number of elected officials joined the discussion, including State Representative Jay Moyer (70th), County Commissioner Bruce Castor and County Treasurer Garrett Page. Several Republican candidates attended as well - Congressional candidates Craig Williams (7th) and Marina Kats (13th), State Senate candidate Marc Perry (7th), and PA House of Representatives candidates Todd Stephens (151st), and Lynne Lechter (149th), as well as representatives for several other incumbents and challengers.

Kats recounted her struggles in coming to the U.S. not knowing how to speak English and working her way through college and law school. “It is because of the Republican Party that I was able to come to America with nothing and become a successful business woman,” Kats explained.

The discussion included a panel of GOP leaders including Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Bob Kerns, founder and executive director of Korean American Senior Services of Pennsylvania and longtime Republican Imja Choi, Page and New Majority Council President Pam Levy. Discussion questions included community involvement, recruiting minority candidates and the role of the Republican Party in minority communities.

The breakfast was organized by Thomas in conjunction with the New Majority Council, a state-wide group aimed at welcoming minorities into the Republican Party and supporting a wide variety of candidates. Kerns charged Thomas, an African American businesswoman, with rejuvenating the party’s focus on Montgomery County’s growing minority communities. The duo was elected as to two-year terms as chair and vice chair of the 834-member organization on May 8.

Kerns responded to a question posed by attendee and former Register of Wills Ron Holt concerning the role of party leadership in community building: “Today we brought people from many different communities that may have never met before. That is our job – what we provide is a basis for putting together groups, programs and processes that will eventually germinate into initiatives that create better communities in Montgomery County,” the GOP chairman stated.

“Many minority voters have told me they feel that the Republican Party isn’t in touch with them. We are going to prove to them that we are. We are the party of Abraham Lincoln and our party has a place for everyone,” Kerns concluded.