Upcoming Dates to Remember

Dec. 5 - NWARW Regular Meeting, 2012 Officer Installation Dec. 9 - NWARW Executive Cmte. Meeting at Melinda Fields home Dec. 13 - Travis County Republican Party Christmas Party and Exec. Cmte. Meeting Dec. 15 - Candidate Filing Period Ends Dec. 25 - Christmas! January 9, 2012 - First NWARW Regular Meeting of the Year!

Inside This Issue

Upcoming Dates to Remember Roland Sledge at Dec. 5 Meeting Donate to SafePlace in December Letter from the President Update on Redistricting NWARW Officers 2012 Seeking Committee Chairs for 2012

Coming in January

Roland Sledge, Candidate for Texas Railroad Commission, to address NWARW in December
Continuing our series of visits from candidates for the Texas Railroad Commission, Roland Sledge will address the NW Austin Republican Women in December. Roland Sledge is a Republican candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission seat being vacated by Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones. Sledge has 35 years of experience as an oil and gas attorney, including: Attorney for The Federal Power Commission (currently referred to as FERC) Assistant to the Chairman of the Power Commission Assistant General Counsel, American Gas Association General Counsel of Torch Energy Advisors, Inc. Vice President, Legal, VAALCO Energy, Inc. After serving at the Federal Power Commission and American Gas Association, Sledge entered the private sector in Houston and began a 19-year career as General Counsel of Torch Energy Advisors. As General Counsel, Sledge managed the purchase of over $3 billion of oil and gas assets and interests in over 8,000 onshore and offshore wells, 1,200 of which were operated by Torch. Sledge currently serves as Vice President, Legal, for VAALCO Energy, Inc., a NYSE Houston-based company engaged in acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude and natural gas including acreage in Gabon, Angola, West Africa and Texas. Sledge will bring his extensive industry experience to the Railroad Commission to combat the Obama Administrations continued attempts to usurp the authority of the RRC through the EPA and its ever growing myriad of job-killing regulations, rules and laws. Sledge has no desire to seek higher office, and if elected, will end his oil and gas career as a Railroad Commissioner. A sixth-generation Texan, Sledge came by his conservative beliefs very early in life. In 1962, Sledges father, along with other Houston conservatives, persuaded a large group of conservative Houston Democrats to join the Republican Party, helping lay the foundation for a viable Republican Party in the state. His father was a close friend and fundraiser to conservative icon U.S. Senator John Tower, raised over $500,000 for Republican Presidential Nominee Barry Goldwater in 1964, and served as an alternate delegate from Texas to the Republican National Convention. Sledge served in the Texas Air National Guard and United States Army Reserves, graduated from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 1972. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Houston and attend St. Marks Episcopal Church, where he has been a member since 1951.

Caring for America: Donate to SafePlace at December Meetings

Every year, NW Austin Republican Women collects new and gently used toys for SafePlace, a center in Austin dedicated to helping victims of sexual and domestic violence. We do this in conjunction with Purple Santa, a project of the local chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. We will be taking collections at our November 7 and December 5 meetings. Please see the corrected list below for donation suggestions. CHRISTMAS 2011 WISH LIST:

Below is a list of suggested holiday items you can donate. Please leave gifts unwrapped. The donation of wrapping paper and tape are greatly appreciated! Also, please include batteries with gifts that need them.

Gifts for Children

Art supplies of all kinds Batteries- AA, AAA, C, 9V Board games Non-violent video games Books New toy cars/trucks Gift cards New DVDs New clothes in season New dolls (various ethnicities) New toddler manipulative (blocks, etc) Non-violent action figures Science/craft kits/play dough/clay Sports equipment/balls ***Please no toy guns/Knives/Swords***

Gifts for Teens, Women/Men

Books - fiction a non-fiction Stereos/CD players MP3 players DVD players CDs and DVDs Cameras Gift certificates (i.e., pedicures, dinners, etc.) Perfume/bath and body products Jewelry/watches New clothes in season Gift Cards for groceries Nightgowns/robes Purses/wallets, Date books/planners Gift cards to department stores

Letter from the President

Christmas has hit at my house full-force; our tree is up and twinkling with lights, the stockings are hung, and my kitchen counter is almost daily splattered with flecks of dough from making cookies. It isnt hard to feel how blessed we are, and to want to share it with others. There are a lot of ways to help those who are less fortunate this Christmas season; one big way would be to bring an item or two for the Purple Santa drive at our Monday, December 5 meeting (see the note in this newsletter). If you miss that chance, Id like to recommend taking a look at the For the City Networks list of charitable organizations and specific needs - they range from sponsoring foster families, volunteering at holiday parties, helping the homeless, and so many other opportunities. You can check that out online: http://forthecity.org/connect In November, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Texas Federation of Republican Women convention in Fort Worth, with fellow NW Austin Republican Women Susan Friedrich, Joyce Melugin, Kathie Holliman, and Cassie Daniel. We heard from a lot of candidates, met a lot of great women, and indulged in some Republican shopping. The best thing, though, was getting to hear what other clubs are up to around our great state. I came back with a lot of ideas for growing our club in 2012, and all of us came back freshly motivated and excited for the upcoming election year. If you havent yet had a chance to get involved at the statewide level for TFRW, youll have a great chance this coming February. Go ahead and save the date for February 4, 2012, for TFRWs Leadership Day in Austin. The theme is Leadership Skills Survival Camp, and this will be an excellent opportunity to find out how to put your personal skills to use in helping to grow the Republican Party. Its also a chance to get to know women from outside our club who are involved in Republican Womens clubs around our state. I hope some of you will consider attending, whether youre new to our club or youve been around for awhile. I will not be able to join you for our January meeting, but I hope youll plan to be there. Monday, January 9, our club will welcome Gregory Parker; Mr. Parker is currently serving as county commissioner in Comal County, and he has announced plans to run for the Railroad Commission. Were learning so much about the oil and gas industry in Texas, and Mr. Parker offers yet another perspective. Hes written a book, Global Warming...Really? I hope youll plan on coming in January to hear from this candidate, and bring a friend or two (or more!).

Michele Samuelson NWARWPresident, 2011-2012 TFRWSD 14 District Director, 2012-2013

Update on Redistricting, from the Republican Party of Texas - Statement from Chairman Steve Munisteri
"We believe it is an important principle of the Republican Party that the judicial branch of government should not use its authority to legislate, rather than undertake its constitutional duty of applying and interpreting the law." "It is clear to me that two of the three judges on the San Antonio federal panel have attempted to usurp the legitimate authority of the Legislature to create redistricting maps by deciding to replace the constitutional legislative duty with their own political agenda. The federal panel has created districts as they see fit, rather than the elected representatives of the people. This action becomes clearer when you look at the redrawn maps, and observe radically altered boundary lines for districts which were devoid of any controversy to all political observers, prior to the actions of the federal panel. Also, the presumably main argument offered by liberal Democrat groups' arguments who brought the suit, was that their challenge to the redistricting map was to protect the rights of Hispanics. This argument has been undermined by the fact that the federal panel altered the legislative-drawn district lines so radically, that it has discouraged a Republican Hispanic, Aaron Pena to choose retirement rather than run for re-election." "The Court also seems to fail to take into account the fact that more Hispanics have been elected statewide on the Republican ticket than on the Democratic ticket. In the 2010 election, the RPT helped elect five new Republicans of Hispanic descent to the State House, two new Republicans of African-American descent to the State House, and two new Republicans of Hispanic descent to the U.S. Congress. If you add the two new Republican Hispanic Congressmen to the number of already existing Democratic incumbents of Hispanic descent, and combined the further anticipated wins by Hispanics under the legislatively-drawn map - this would yield a Congressional delegation whose percentage of Hispanic Congressmen would approximate the percentage of eligible voters of Hispanic descent in Texas." "The bottom line is that it appears to us as if political considerations overrode legal considerations, with the maps handed down by the two judges in San Antonio. The Republican Party of Texas will not stand by idly and allow this to occur. Consequently, the Party is advocating a three-prong strategy to either prevent this injustice from occurring, or to undo the damage done by the court through legitimate legislative means." "First, the Party strongly supports Attorney General Abbott's motion for a stay filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. We are particularly grateful to the Attorney General for tailoring the relief sought in such a way, so as to preserve the original primary date for officeholders and races not affected by the contested redistricting maps. This will allow the RPT to select its delegates and alternates to the Republican State Convention in a timely fashion, and will also allow the Party to comply with the Texas Election Code, which requires us to have a State Convention in June or July." "Second, the Party supports the Attorney General's efforts to obtain a favorable final ruling from the Washington D.C. federal panel. As a safeguard and backup strategy, I will be asking the State Republican Executive Committee (which meets this weekend in Austin on Saturday, December 2nd) to pass a resolution authorizing the State Chairman to request that each of our legislative candidates pledge to support a new redistricting effort in the next session of the legislature, in the event that the maps drawn by the Legislature are not enacted by the courts. The resolution will also request the SREC to grant the State Chairman the authority on behalf of the Party, to request in such an event, that the Speaker, Lieutenant Governor and Governor , all support the efforts to lead a new redistricting effort in the 83rd Legislative Session. If granted the authority by the SREC, I will also instruct the RPT political staff to begin preparing a legislative lobbying blitz to push for redistricting at the next session." "Finally, if the legislative maps are not upheld prior to the next election, the Party will redirect resources toward swing districts under the court panel's maps, so that we minimize the damage of the Court's map and increase our chances of having a Legislature favorable to appropriate redistricting in 2013."

Interested in joining the Northwest Austin Republican Women? Women AND men are welcome!
Dues are: $24 for Active Membership $12 for Associate Membership $36 for Supporting Membership Your dues may be paid at the check-in table at one of our meetings, or by sending a check payable to NWARW PAC C/O Susan Friedrich, 10504 Painted Valley Cove, Austin, TX 78759-5524

NWARW Officers 2012 Michele Samuelson, President Cassie Daniel, Vice President Jennifer Stratton, 1st VP/Membership Joyce Melugin, 2nd VP/Programs Rhonda Murphy, Recording Secretary Cherri Spradling, Corresponding Secretary Susan Friedrich, Treasurer/PAC Treasurer NWARW Committee Chairmen 2012 Chris Sale, Chaplain Cassie Daniel, Fundraising Murlene Johnston, Legislative Elaine Lehmann, Hospitality Carolyn Isbell, Historian Carol Gontko, Telephone We are still seeking chairmen for Awards, Campaign Activities, By-Laws, Outreach, and Caring for America