CFCR Leadership Submits Unity Proposal to CCR

Last year, a faction split off from the California College Republicans (CCR) due to a disputed Board election and ideological differences. This group formed a new organization named the California Federation of College Republicans (CFCR). In July, CCR held a unity election with CFCR at the encouragement of California Republican Party (CAGOP) officials. Unfortunately, some of CFCR refused to cooperate at the time, and reneged on a signed unity agreement. Several individual CFCR chapters participated though, and our Board is now a proud mixture of CFCR and CCR. 

On Sunday, November 29th, the remaining CFCR leadership decided to accept our calls for unity, saying:  “We extend to you our open arms and open hearts, and hope that you find the faith within yourselves to embrace us and move forward as one.” 

Since this statement and our acceptance of their willingness to unite, CFCR submitted their proposal for a second unity election. Their suggestions read:

1. The new organization would either be named the California Federation of College Republicans or a name not currently in use; the new board would be free to choose either of these two options.
2. The election would be organized by a planning committee of four individuals from CCR and CFCR, with a credentials process and audit to be agreed upon by both CCR and CFCR.
3. A third party professional presiding officer would be hired and jointly selected by CCR and CFCR to ensure the transparency and legitimacy of the election.
4. Each audited and vetted chapter, whether CCR, CFCR, or dual chartered, would receive a single vote.
5. The positions open for the election would be: chair, co-chair, secretary, treasurer, and regional vice chair (with one RVC each for the Northern, Bay Area, Central Valley, Central Coast, Los Angeles, Southern, and San Diego regions)
6. Each position would be elected by whichever candidate secures the vote of the majority of credentialed clubs, with the least vote-getting candidates eliminated in successive rounds of voting if no majority is reached.
7. Following the election, the newly elected officers will adopt a set of governing documents and decide upon the newly unified group’s name …. 

We are so happy to receive an official proposal from CFCR, and we 100% accept the idea of another unity election. However, we trust that as the larger and original, 57 year-old, College Republican organization in California — with alumni like Kevin McCarthy, Shawn Steel, Ben Shapiro, Fred Whitaker, Konstantinos Roditis, and more — our merged organization will continue under the name California College Republicans. This is non-negotiable, and the only rational choice given the historic nature of the name.
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While we understand that members of CFCR do not wish to see their year of hard work disappear or seemingly admit defeat by adopting CCR's name, there is no good basis for any name other than CCR. To acknowledge their name and efforts, though, we are prepared to let them add a section to CCR's historical archive on our website dedicated to CFCR. We hope this will help them feel their accomplishments still matter and are recognized for posterity.

We also submit that the position of Executive Director or Chief of Staff shall be another position open for election, and that every chapter shall have proportional delegates and voting power based on the number of members in each club. This is the system CCR and CFCR has always used, and we see no reason to change the rules for a new election to potentially benefit one side over the other.

We are in the process of scheduling a meeting with the remaining CFCR leadership to set these terms in stone, and we trust that they will agree with our reasonable requests. We look forward to welcoming CFCR into the California College Republicans organization, and with our renewed strength and unity, we hope to last another 57 years.

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