Annual Meeting & Elections:
On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, the Brooklyn Young Republican Club had our Annual Meeting & Elections for the BKYR Executive Board and Board of Directors. Let us welcome and congratulate our 2020-2021 Executive Board!
Executive Board:
- Joel Acevedo, President (2nd Term)
- Andrew J. Windsor, Vice President (2nd Term)
- Joseph Gomez, Secretary (1st Term)
Board of Directors:
- Jordan Cruger
- Joshua Ferraiuolo
- Jonathan Judge
- Alexandra Sherer
One write-in vote was submitted for “Ron Konkoma” for the position of Treasurer. It was determined by the Chair of the Election Committee at the annual meeting that Mr. Konkoma was not qualified for either office having not satisfied the meeting attendance and membership requirements in the bylaws, specifically that Mr. Konkoma is not and has never been a member of the Club. Nevertheless, Mr. Konkoma only received one vote, and would not have reached the threshold of votes required to take office even if the candidate were deemed qualified for office.
One write-in vote was submitted for “Nicole Liebman” for the positions of Treasurer and Board of Director. It was determined by the Chair of the Election Committee at the annual meeting that Ms. Liebman was not qualified for either office, having not satisfied the meeting attendance and membership requirements for office in the bylaws, specifically that Ms. Liebman did not attend fifty percent of Club meetings in the calendar year. Nevertheless, Ms. Liebman only received one vote, and would not have reached the threshold of votes required to take office even if the candidate were deemed qualified for office.
One write-in vote was submitted for “Jason Loughran” for the position of Treasurer and the candidate was elected to the position of Treasurer by write-in having received the majority of votes. It was determined by the Chair of the Election Committee at the annual meeting that Mr. Loughran was qualified for office having satisfied the meeting attendance and membership requirements in the bylaws. At the annual meeting, Mr. Loughran accepted this position pending confirmation that it was not a conflict of interest with his employment. He has since then declined the position due to a conflict of interest.
Recap of 2020 Thus Far
BKYR Civic Republican Caucus:
Established by the Board of Directors on June 10, 2020, the BKYR Civic Republican Caucus met Wednesday, July 15, 2020, Chair of the Civic Republican Caucus, Jonathan Judge, hosted a successful inaugural meeting of the Caucus. The Caucus was established to propose, discuss, achieve consensus, and approve proposed Civic Republican-oriented policy positions from members, guest speakers, and others.
The purposes of the Civic Republican Caucus are:
a) to educate people about civic republicanism as a political philosophy;
b) to foster discussion about how it can be practiced within the Republican Party, in politics generally, and most importantly within policymaking; and
c) to advance the adoption of civic republicanism, wherever necessary and appropriate, within the Club, the Republican Party at the local, state and national levels, and within politics and policymaking generally.
The next meeting of the Brooklyn Young Republican Civic Republican Caucus will be held Monday, August 10. Please sign up here for an invite:
Policy Committee
The Brooklyn Young Republican Club established a Policy Committee, co-chaired by Felicia Kalan and Eric Butkiewicz. The Committee has met twice, in the months of April and June, and is currently working on policy proposals to present to the membership of the club:
“Creation of a Policy Committee; Purposes; A standing Policy Committee (the “Committee”) shall be constituted to review all Club business concerning matters of public and party policy in order to prepare informed recommendations to the Board of Directors and/or to the Club membership, as appropriate, before further consideration is made. The Committee shall also prepare an annual agenda (the “Agenda”) of priority issues and initiatives for the Club to undertake. The Agenda shall be prepared and submitted for consideration by the Club membership no later than April 30th of each year.” (Resolution #2-2020)
The next meeting of the Brooklyn Young Republican Policy Committee will be held Wednesday, August 19. Any members wishing to join email us at info@brooklynyr.com for an invite.
2020 Events & News
January 2020, Out of Many, One: Advancing Equity and Justice for All | BKYR Meeting: The Brooklyn Young Republican Club had an awesome 2020 kick-off at the January meeting and heard from our Community Advocates Panel.
Community Advocates Panel
- Jason Loughran, Associate Director of Special Programs & Initiatives at Department of Veterans Affairs, speaking on Veterans Outreach;
- Felicia Kalan, Founder of Elevate Her Consulting, a freelancing collective that supports moms in finding remote work with a mission to end the gender-based wage gap, speaking on Women’s Empowerment;
- Anthony J. Finkel, Founder of DPH Property Maintenance Service, a company that addresses a need in his community for high-quality, low-cost property maintenance services, speaking on Entrepreneurship;
- Devin Balkind, President of the Sahana Software Foundation, a nonprofit organization that produces the world’s most popular open source information management system for disaster relief and humanitarian aid, speaking on Clean & Transparent Government.
February 2020, Black History Month: Advancing Black Equity Panel: The Brooklyn Young Republican Club celebrated Black History Month with a panel on equity for Black Americans, moderated by NY1’s Errol Louis, discussing issues and solutions needed to advance Black equity in Brooklyn and beyond.
Advancing Black Equity Panel:
- Jineea Butler, 2020 NY14 GOP Congressional Candidate
- Dr. Janice Johnson Dias, Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- Anthony Beckford, President of Black Lives Matter Brooklyn
March 2020, Women’s History Month: Advancing HerStory Panel: The Brooklyn Young Republican Club celebrated Women’s History Month with a panel on the role of Women in the Republican Party and America, moderated by Republican Women for Progress Co-founder, Meghan Milloy.
Advancing HerStory Panel:
- Meghan Milloy, Co-Founder of Republican Women for Progress.
- Shoshana Weissmann, Director of Digital Media at R Street Institute.
- Alexandra Sherer, Republican District Leader & State Committeewoman, A.D. 74
- Sarah Quinlan, Conservative Contributor at Arc Digital
March 2020, Vice President Andrew Windsor served as Acting President while President Joel Acevedo was activated with the Army National Guard: Over the last few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has tragically affected tens of thousands of lives. One governmental response, activation of the New York State Army National Guard, sent Brooklyn Young Republican President Joel Acevedo on New York State’s COVID-19 Response Mission. In that time, as listed below, the club readjusted execution of the 2020 Strategic Plan under Acting President Andrew Windsor, and members took it upon themselves to lead COVID-19 relief in their own communities.
April 2020, Creation of BKYR Policy Committee: The Brooklyn Young Republican Club established a Policy Committee, co-chaired by Felicia Kalan and Eric Butkiewicz. The Committee has met twice, in the months of April and June, and are currently working on policy proposals to present to the membership of the club.
June 2020, Instagram Interview with former NYU College Republican President, Kristen Gourrier: The conversation revolved around race relations in the Republican Party and America. A recording of the conversation can be found on the Club’s Instagram page: @BrooklynYR
June 2020, Creation of BKYR Civic Republican Caucus: This is a caucus within the Brooklyn Young Republican Club for all interested members and others who desire to learn more about civic republicanism, and wish to influence policy and Republican politics on the premise of achieving liberty as non-domination for everyone.
June 2020, Membership Meeting & Trivia: Club member Joseph Gomez, prior to being elected Secretary, hosted a trivia night on New York State politics, where Club members caught up with each other and competed for a $20 Amazon Gift Card.
Campaigns You May Be Interested In
Lastly, the Brooklyn Young Republican Club would like to promote the following Brooklyn GOP candidates. This is not an endorsement, as these candidates have not gone through our endorsement process; the Brooklyn Young Republican Club has not endorsed any candidate for any election in 2020, even staying neutral in primaries. However, now that the primary season is over, we believe that many of our members would be interested in volunteering for the following Brooklyn GOP candidates:
Nicole Malliotakis, Congress District 11
Vito Bruno, NYS Senate District 22
Michael Tannousis, Assembly District 64
To volunteer and help these candidates win election SIGN UP HERE:
Looking Forward
We look forward to seeing you at our future events! Our next club meeting for members will be Wednesday, August 26, and you will be notified in advance when the date approaches.
With liberty and justice for all,
BROOKLYN YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB
