Amid the cacophony of competing voices seeking to define it, the Oregon Republican Party will convene its biennial convention to retool and refine the document that serves to officially define itself — the ORP Platform. Over two-plus days delegates will examine the existing document to determine which planks need fine-tuning, which should be removed, and whether to add new planks. The document that emerges from the convention will then serve to define the party and unite Oregon's Republican activists and candidates in common cause to elect Republicans to statewide offices for the first time since 1988, as well as additional seats in the Legislature and numerous county, municipal, and special districts around the state.
At its central committee meeting held 17 September, Marion County Republicans selected eleven "bonus" delegates and two alternates who will accompany the regular six members of the delegation to the State Central Committee to the convention to be held 22-24 October in Bend. Bonus delegates are allocated to each county based on the number of voters registered as members of the Republican Party. Bonus delegates do not need to belong to the county Central Committee but usually do since fellow Precinct Committee Persons (PCPs) know them better. This year's delegation departs from the norm in that three of the members were not PCPs at the time they were selected; as part of other business conducted at the meeting each became one through appointment.
This year's delegation includes several who have attended Platform Conventions in the past as well as many attending for the first time: Regular delegation — Kevin Mannix, Chair; Jeff Heyen, Vice-Chair; Kim Brady, David Darnell, Denise Quinn Nanke, Wayne Sellers; Bonus delegates — Daniel Black, Karen Darnell, Jessica Davidson, Davis Dyer, David Gulliver, Andrea Hofmann, Dale Johnson, Becky Mitts, Brad Morrison, Marylin Shannon, Rod Stubbs; Alternates — Karen Franke, Hugh West. Marion County Republican Senator Fred Girod will join the delegation in his capacity as an elected official. This is the first time in recent history that a Marion County Republican elected official has been a delegate to this convention.