The Lincoln County Republican Committee (LCRC) turned to the serious work of winning in the 2014 election at their meeting in Wiscasset on December 11. Following a sumptuous potlock dinner, they heard from newly named state GOP staffers Joe Turcotte, field director and Ashley Sampson, financial executive. They represent an effort to put a larger permanent infrastructure in place to challenge the state Democrats' ground game. They also represent the infusion of young people at the state level, both being recent college graduates.

Turcotte said his first charge was to work on rebuilding town committees. He has started speaking at GOP meetings around the state and has prepared a guide book for use by town committees. Strong town committees, he said, can provide a strong Republican presence in their communities and help elect local candidates, as well as statewide and national candidates. This emphasis is especially important for the upcoming 2014 elections.

Turcotte is also involved with the Maine State GOP youth initiative, #GEN207, which to date is active in 10 Maine colleges. #GEN207 is offering competitive academic internships open to college students and hosting open forums.

Ashley Sampson said her job involves three main tasks: meeting with major donors, direct mail and the “Count ME In” program, which looks for grassroots support. Another fundraiser, she said, is the ads that are included in the state convention program. Michael Coleman is currently soliciting ads. Ad deadline is March 15. For more information, contact convention2014@maine.rr.com. The 2014 state convention will be held in Bangor in April.

Les Fossel of Alna, running for State Senate District 13, outlined what he has been doing to promote his candidacy. No stranger to state politics, Fossel said he would be employing a wide variety of tactics to reach voters, including knocking on every door in the district. In response to what he said is the misinformation being distributed in support of Sen. Chris Johnson, the Democrat incumbent, Fossel said he would lay out the facts for voters.

In other business, Katie Winchenbach, Waldoboro town chairman, spoke of the hard work being done by her committee. She said they have been successfully raising funds throughout the year. And she was particularly proud of the work they've done and are doing to help get Republicans into local offices.

Stuart Smith, LCRC chairman, reiterated the importance of strong town committees. He noted that, because of the recent bylaws changes, many town committees can have added representation on the Lincoln County Committee. In the past, all towns could have up to four representatives: the town chairman, the financial chairman and two additional elected representatives. Under the bylaw changes, he said, towns can have additional representation based on the voter turnout in each town. Towns just need to elect these representatives and advise the LCRC secretary of their names. Smith can supply the number of allowed additional representatives.

Smith said that the biennial town caucus is coming up and that the State GOP will be distributing caucus materials in the near future. As a convenient forum for Lincoln County towns to caucus, he said that the LCRC would be hosting a county meeting on Saturday, Feb. 22, planned for the Great Salt Bay school in Damariscotta. Towns, however, have the option to caucus on their own.

The next LCRC meeting will be held Tuesday, Jan. 7 in Waldoboro. Note the change to Tuesday from the regular Wednesday. The guest speaker will be J. D. Harmon, well-known Maine writer and speaker.

For more information, email Smith at stuart@sequinsoftware.com.