Jason Clark Runs for Bay Area Vice Chair

By Roger Riffenburgh

Jason Clark, a longtime Republican volunteer leader, former San Francisco Republican Party chair, Trump Administration appointee, and the current Bay Area Republican Vice Chair by appointment, is running to be elected to the post.  He says, “I’m looking forward to empowering our volunteers and inspiring them to lead into the 2024 elections.”

Clark was appointed vice chair when the 2022 primary campaign was already underway.  He supported volunteers, candidates, and county party leaders by connecting them with training, tools, and other resources.  He also represented the Bay Area on the CAGOP board of directors.

Jason Clark’s campaign theme “Empower. Inspire. Lead.” encompasses his goals for the upcoming term.  He says he will work to empower volunteers to organize effectively, candidates to access the data and tools they need, and county committees to get out the vote.  He wants to inspire good candidates to run, local donors to invest in Bay Area Republican efforts, Republican voters to vote early and regularly, and grassroots volunteers to make a difference.  He will lead by speaking up for Bay Area Republicans at state board meetings, developing outreach initiatives, training volunteers, using data to our advantage, and ensuring that every vote counts.

Jason Clark was originally elected as Bay Area Vice Chair in 2019.  He left mid-year when he was appointed to serve in the Trump Administration in Washington, D.C.  He worked as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  He currently works as a litigation attorney at a San Francisco law firm, where manages a team of attorneys.

A native of California, Jason Clark earned a Political Science degree at UC Berkeley, where he was a Regents’ Scholar and a member of the Cal Band (he played trumpet).  He subsequently earned a JD degree at the University of San Francisco School of Law and became a practicing attorney.

Jason has been active in Republican politics for over 15 years.  He served on the boards of the San Francisco Young Republicans and the SF Log Cabin Republicans and was the Chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans of California.  He ran for Assembly District 17 in 2012, running far ahead of Republican registration.

He served as General Counsel and First Vice Chair of the San Francisco Republican Party before becoming county Chair in 2016.  As SF Chair, Jason raised over $150,000, recruited over a dozen candidates, and spent more than 1000 volunteer hours working for local candidates.

He has made many media appearances representing the Party, including with Fox Business Channel, Fox News, and various Bay Area stations.

The Regional Vice Chair represents the region on the California Republican Party Board of Directors and provides leadership and support to the region’s Republican county committees.  The Bay Area region consists of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Marin Counties.  It is a volunteer position.  The new vice chair will be elected by convention delegates at the regional meeting in Sacramento on Saturday morning, March 11.

Jason says he “looks forward to working with all of you to build a stronger Republican Party in the Bay Area.”  You can find out more on his campaign website at www.jason4vicechair.com.

New Faces Bring New Energy To Assembly GOP Caucus

The 2022 election saw eight new Republicans elected to the California State Assembly.  This diverse crop of new Republican office holders brings new perspectives and new energy to the California GOP Assembly Caucus.

 

In California’s foothills, former Rocklin Mayor Joe Patterson succeeds Assemblyman Kevin Kiley who successfully ran for Congress.  Patterson served as the executive director of the Lincoln Club of Northern California before launching his career in electoral politics by running for Rocklin City Council.

 

 

Josh Hoover defeated powerful Sacramento Democrat Ken Cooley, who had served as the Assembly Rules Committee Chair, by less than 1% of the vote.  Hoover previously worked as chief of staff for Assemblyman Kevin Kiley. He was elected to his local school board in 2018 with the support of Grow Elect, an organization that supports Latino Republicans.

 

 

In the Central Valley, Sergeant Juan Alanis of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s department brings law enforcement experience and perspective to the California State Assembly.  Alanis also served as a School Resource Officer and has worked closely with education leaders in his community to help keep schools safe.

 

 

Former Assembly chief of staff Greg Wallis returned his Inland Empire district back to the Republican column by winning one of the closest elections this cycle.  His margin of victory was just 75 votes!  Active in his community, he has volunteered in his church, youth sports and the local Young Republicans.

 

 

After a previous run for state assembly, former prosecutor Bill Essayli was recruited to run for an open Riverside County assembly seat created by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.  Essayli also worked in private law practice and chaired the CAGOP rules committee.  He is the only person of Muslim faith serving in the California State Assembly.

 

 

Westminster Mayor Tri Ta was elected to the state assembly after a long career of service to his community. He immigrated to the United States with his family from Saigon, Vietnam and eventually ran for Westminster City Council.  While in local office, he fought to help small businesses in his community who were threatened by forced closures during the pandemic.

 

 

Kate Sanchez prevailed in an “all Republican” runoff in this Riverside-Orange County district.  She previously worked with the California Policy Center and as executive director of the California Women’s Leadership Association.  She is a graduate of the Marian Bergeson Excellence in Public Service Series.

 

 

Two years ago, experienced businesswoman and Newport Beach Mayor Diane Dixon came up short in her race for California State Assembly.  This time, in a newly drawn district, she won with over 56% of the vote.  She is the immediate past President of the Association of California Cities-Orange County.  Her 40 year business career includes extensive service as a senior executive for a Fortune 300 company including responsibility for global and financial communications, marketing and corporate philanthropy.

 

The California Republican Party volunteers, donors, staff and leadership can be proud of the work to elect these capable and qualified leaders to serve the people of California.