The San Diego Young Republicans with Cynthia Kaui #1 (Ep 568)

The San Diego Young Republicans Inaugural Podcast with Host Chairwoman Cynthia Kaui

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Hi, everyone, Welcome to theSan Diego Young Republicans podcast. I'm Cynthia
Cowie and I'm the president and chairwomanof San Diego Young Republicans at San Diego
Young Republicans dot org and I amvery excited to kick off our podcast.
We are going to be releasing episodesevery month, once a month, and

(00:22):
I'm also just very grateful and wantto give a shout out to our sponsor
the reason why we have this podcast, and that's IQ podcast and Brett Davis.
Without their generosity, we would notbe able to be able to do
this and be able to have theplatform that we are, So just wanted
to give a shout to IQ Podcastsand Brett Davis. So we have a
lot in store. You know,when we relaunched back in March twenty twenty

(00:46):
three, there was a lot ofdifferent ideas that we had at the forefront
and what the mission of our organizationis and what exactly we wanted to accomplish.
And one of those things that wason our bucket list and one of
those things we want to do wasa podcast. So I just think it's
a beautiful thing that this is somethingthat is coming to fruition, and we're
very excited for all the different topicsthat we're going to be discussing this election

(01:07):
cycle, along with all the differentguests and candidates will be interviewing. So
definitely just stay tuned every month forus SO. To kick it off,
I thought it'd be great to beable to share more about what exactly is
San Diego Young Republicans. Maybe you'veheard about us in the news, maybe
you've seen us on social media becausewe have a lot of fun content and
memes that we share, and thenalso we are very active in the political

(01:32):
process. We attend different political eventsaround the county. So just want to
give a backdrop and just share alittle bit about organization in case you did
not know about us SO San DiegoYoung Republicans. We are a county wide
organization. We are for the peoplethat are from the ages of eighteen to
forty years old, and we caterto those that are young conservatives, registered

(01:55):
Republicans, even those that are noprior preference, that lean center right,
are more in the middle, andthen also you know those that are really
strong conservative as well. We areaffiliated with a statewide Young Republican organization called
California Young Republican Federation. We alsoare affiliate with a national organization called Young

(02:17):
Republican National So similar to how there'sthe San Diego County Republican Party and then
the California Republican Party and the RepublicanNational Committee, Young Republicans has a similar
assimilation and organization in that regard.So I am the president chairwoman of the
county wide organization in San Diego,California. And when we relaunched in March,

(02:40):
we had about fourteen members and nowas it stands about thirteen months later,
we've had an increase of more thansix hundred percent. We are now
almost or I think now even we'vepassed more than one hundred members. So
that includes again those that are inthe ages of eighteen to forty years old.
We also offer a student member membership, so we are very you know,

(03:01):
grateful for all of our college membersbecause you know, irregardless of where
you are in life, we dohave those that are in college and also
after college. In addition, weactually bipopular demand. We have a silver
membership for even those that want tosupport and become a member those that are
outside of the age range. Butthe difference is they don't have voting rights

(03:23):
when the board does, you know, endorsements, and then also for the
board elections that occur every two years. I'm also very appreciative of all the
growth that's happened. This would nothave been possible without all of my board
members. So I actually have youknow, a huge like stack of leadership
involved. I have a couple vicepresidents, one that handles the external internal

(03:45):
affairs. I have a press secretary, a membership director, a finance director.
I also do have a creative director, a volunteer director, and then
also I have a couple programming directorsthat run all of our events that we
have every month. So some ofthe events that we've been able to put
on have ranged from both social andpolitical events. And the vision that I

(04:11):
had is San Diego County has youknow, hundreds of different people in the
county, but anyone that knows SanDiego, there's multiple cities within and it
can get confusing for people that don'tknow because within the county there's the city
of San Diego, there's also likethe city chul Vista in Sanidas, there's
del Mar. There's also Carlsbad,and you name it. There is about

(04:33):
more than like five, I thinkabout like ten municipalities that exist within.
So one of the things that Iset forth with the Vision as the president
and chairwoman was to ensure that wehave monthly programs every month and every part
of the county. So we havebasically covered every part of the county over

(04:53):
the past thirteen months. And thismonth we're going to be in East County.
So our next event is actually comingup soon. Let me pull up
the graphic here, So it's calledSibson Civility and it's our Happy Hour with
East County elected officials. So whenwe did a membership survey you know,
about the year, like around Christmastime, actually the happy Hours with the

(05:15):
elected officials was actually our most popularevent. And I think that's in part
because we have memberships and we haveyou know, young conservatives and people that
are starving for a community. Andthe cool thing about this kind of event
is it's an opportunity for those toget involved in the political process, to
be able to rub shoulders and meetall these different elective officials, business owners

(05:38):
and community leaders, and more importantlybeing able to meet like minded people within
the same age range. So forthis event. It's going to be on
Monday, April twenty second, fromfive point thirty to seven pm. It's
going to be at Junction fifty twolocated at nine six two to one Mission
Gorge Road, Sweet one oh oneand Santi California. And the elected officials

(06:01):
that we have invited and have beenconfirmed to speak to. All of our
attendees include Andrew Hayes, which isthe Lakeside School Board President, Councilman Dustin
Trotter or the City of Santee,Sasha Reva, who is the youngest elected
official in San Diego County and shesits as a Lakeside Community Planning Group member.

(06:24):
Then we have Councilwoman Michelle Mitchell fromthe City of alcoholm And we're actually
going to be having welcome remarks fromMayor John Minto, who is the mayor
of Santee because we will be hostingit in a city. So I'm very
excited. Like I said, it'syou know, our most popular event when
we did a membership survey, Sowhenever we do these kinds of events,

(06:46):
I get so excited because you know, along with all these elected officials that
are here, we also have severalpolitical candidates running for office and other elected
officials that show up to support.Addition to that, every single event that
we've done every every month, wealways have you know, brand new faces
and that makes me super excited becauseespecially what's going on with the political climate,

(07:08):
there is just so much going on. I remember, you know,
starving for friendship and whatnot after Igraduated college, because sometimes it can be
a little bit awkward when you're tryingto make friends after college because there's just
limited social opportunities that you have tostep off your cofort zone a little bit
more to develop a social circle.So I really value everything that we're building

(07:30):
here for San Diego Young Republicans.I always look forward to these events.
I love being, you know,with together with our board, being at
the forefront to be able to createfun programming every month. But along with
this too, we have some otherevents coming up in store or planning,
you know, several flagship events,and you know, we're really looking forward
to everything going on. Our biggestupdate that you know, I'm also excited

(07:54):
to share is San die Young Republicansis going to be issuing official endorsements for
the general election and then moving forward, San Diego Young Republicans will be issuing
in official endorsements for the primary electionsmoving forward. So anyone that's running for
a political office for the November twentytwenty four general election, they can go
to our website, San Diego YoungRepublicans dot Org to fill out our endorsement

(08:18):
questionnaire. We will be endorsing registeredRepublican candidates running for Congress, for State
Assembly, for State Senate, forplanning groups. We're also going to be
taking stances on valle initiatives statewide,along with any local measures that are going
on within the county and with allthe different cities across the county as well.

(08:39):
In addition to that, even thosethat are registered Republicans running in those
nonpartisan races such as mayor's, citycouncils, school boards, and things of
that nature, if you're a registeredRepublican, we definitely want to be able
to see what we can do tosupport you if you choose to seek out
our endorsement. So again, ifyou're running for political office, go to

(09:01):
San Diego Young Republicans dot org forthe endorsement questionnaire. The do Today is
actually coming up on Sunday, Apriltwenty eighth, and you have until ten
am to fill it out. Soagain Sunday, April twenty eighth, ten
am to fill out the endorsement questionnaireif you're wrinning for a political office and
you want to seek out our endorsement. So something that I also want to

(09:26):
share that I wanted to bring outthe forefront. Along with the political climate
going on and all the growth thatsanyo young Republicans has, there's actually just
in general have been a positive trendfor Republicans overall across the state and the
county. So I actually have pulledup a press release from the California Republican
Party. They released it that voterregistration numbers increased again. So this is

(09:54):
the second consecutive report, and thisis a little bit old from March first,
but it's still pretty relevant because thisis only about a month ago.
But this is the second consecutive reportthat shows Republicans adding while Democrats and no
Prior Preference lose voters. So intotal, since October third, Republicans have
gained one hundred and two hundred,two hundred and ten new voters while Democrats

(10:16):
lost sixty eight thousand, three hundredand twenty four voters, so that's incredible.
So basically, Republicans added fifty fivethousand, six hundred and twenty one
new voters, and again Democrats lostthirty eight thousand, one hundred and six
and no Prior Preference lost twenty twothousand, five hundred sixty six voters.

(10:39):
So essentially, Republicans actually made gainsin every single congressional and legislative district while
gaining in all fifty eight Californian counties. So that's a really big deal.
Makes me super happy for everything that'sgoing on for the conservative movement and for
Republicans, And I definitely want togive a shot to all of the Republican
leaders, those in the grass rootsthat have helped make this happen. And

(11:01):
I also think that Cindia Young Republicansis doing our part to be able to,
you know, contribute to this aswell. Over the past year,
and I can definitely tell you thatwe've had experiences where we've had people that
are disillusioned with the Democrat Party andare really looking forward to something that's different
and definitely a party where we focuson economic opportunity, where we focus on

(11:24):
freedom, where we focus on housing, affordability, where we focus on public
safety, where we focus on puttingour protectors first in fire and in law
enforcement as well. You know,another thing that you know I would like
to discuss too is some of theissues that a lot of what I believe

(11:48):
young Republicans are concerned about. Thefirst that I believe are the top issues
that young Republicans care about is theability to afford their first home. So
for me, as someone that's amillennial, and we do have members that
are millennials and gen zs, wheneverduring my free time, whenever, whatever

(12:11):
free time I have, I liketo go and just house shop and just
kind of like window shop, LikeI like to help shop. I like
to go on Zillow, I liketo go on Redfin and just kind of
like, look at all the coolhouses. Recording this in CORNAA would be
super cool to buy a house inCornado by the forever home there. But
when I like compare myself even tolike when my parents who worked really hard

(12:35):
to be able to buy homes inSan Diego, I genuinely as someone that
works very hard, that works alot of hours, that does her due
diligence and saves up it can stilltake, you know, a lot longer
than like the people that have comebefore me to be able to save up
and afford their first home. Iactually and then you know, I actually
think that could be an area ofopportunity for Republicans to be able to own

(12:58):
that narrative and to be able toshare different ways on how we can make
housing accessible, housing that's more affordable. There is definitely some start differences for
Democrats and Republicans how to approach thisissue, but I also think it's an
issue that Democrats care about too,especially those that believe in the pursuit of
the American dream. The ability foryou to be able to have your first

(13:22):
home is sequential because it gives youthe chance to be able to own something,
something that's in your name, theability to have generational wealth, the
ability to pass something down to yourfuture children, especially if you'll also want
to create passive income like these arejust different avenues on where I think Republicans
have a chance to be able tostep up, to be able to share

(13:46):
how we could be the solution.And I know for a fact that's something
that's an issue that's always at theforefront for young Republicans and conservatives in the
county, the state, and thenalso the country. I also think public
safety, crime and homelessess. Homelessnessare huge issues too. Homelessness is something
that I think we'll be talking aboutfor a very long time. But I

(14:09):
think that there's a lot of youknow, good marrors in Sandy County.
You are doing great job. I'mdefinitely the Chiliston mirror at John McCann has
been leading the forefront on this alland I know that other conservative mirrors have
also been doing well across the county. And definitely making sure that we are
providing resources for our law enforcement andour firefighters are something I think is important

(14:31):
for young Republicans. We have alot of young conservatives that where college might
not be like the right avenue forthem, but they want to pursue,
you know, trade school, Theywant to own their own business, they
want to be able to freelance anddo other things as well. So anything
that supports economic freedom, limited government, you know, the ability to have
low taxes is something that I thinkyoung Republicans care a lot about. I

(14:54):
definitely wanted to just kind of concludewith some final things, Like I said,
san Diegogano Republicans. We've been busyfor the past thirteen months. We
have our next event coming up,but in the past we've done a lot
of other fun events. We've doneanything that's super casual, like going hiking,
like actually us went the march.We hiked and Powie went to Potato

(15:18):
chip Rock, which is like aSan Diego icon, so we went hiking
there. We got to hang outwith the Deputy Mayor of Poway right after
and go get you know, foodafter. We've also had a great partnership
with San Diego County gun Owners anddid a couple of shooting socials, which
is definitely one of our more popularevents that we've done as well. And

(15:39):
we've also have gone like my favoriteevent was actually we went to do karaoke,
so that was a lot of fun. And you know, another fun
thing that Young Republicans brings is theability to have friends from across the state,
across the country. So we're veryfortunate to be able to have a
lot of like collaboration with several YoungRepublican workingzations across the state, namely Orange

(16:02):
County Young Republicans, So we alwayshave San Dieo Young Republican members going to
their events. OSI War always hasevents with us too, so it's just
like a lot of fun. We'relooking forward to potentially working together when the
election cycle picks up. But that'sjust a little snippet of what San Diego
Republicans can offer. So, ifall of this sounds great and you want

(16:26):
to be able to be a partof the movement, support the organization.
The best way to do that isif any of this resonates with you at
all, you're between the ages ofeighteen to forty, membership is fifty dollars
a year, and you can signup to do that at San Diego Young
Republicans dot org. If you area college student and that fifty dollars sounds

(16:47):
like a lot, we actually havean option where you can do a monthly
subscription, so for a cup ofcoffee for five dollars a month, you
get actually signed to be a member. And if all this resonates with you,
but maybe you're outside the age range, perfectly, okay, we have
a silver membership, so you willbe an honorary member of San Diego Young
Republicans, with the exception of nothaving voting rights for our board elections and

(17:11):
endorsements. That's fifty dollars a year, so similar to the regular membership,
and something that we also recently launchis a sustaining membership, So you give
a once annual, once annual donationof eighty five dollars a year, and
our three sustaining members right now isactually myself, Cynthia Cowie, the company

(17:33):
win Next, and then also JeffRedondo. And with this sustaining membership,
you have the opportunity to be ableto contribute to San Diego Young Republicans on
an annual basis. You help withbeing able to provide resources, so when
we do volunteer deployments for our endorsedcandidates, when we do these fun events
and programs, which is what reallydrives our membership. With just a small

(17:57):
contribution of eighty five dollars a year, that's accounting for revenue that we can
count on on an annual basis tokeep the funds going for our organization and
just keep it going. Lastly,like I said, we have a lot
of fun and flagship events coming up. We are looking for events sponsorships.
So if all that sounds cool andyou want to be able to support to

(18:18):
hey, Pulp make our events soundgreat again. Just going to stand Negong
Republicans dot org and just contact us. My email is SDYR president gmail dot
com. Love to be able toconnect with you and just talk and share
more about all the fun things thatwe have going on. But until then,
stay tuned for our next episode.If there's like other things that you

(18:41):
want me to talk about for thepodcast, I am all ears, so
just let me know. When wefinish endorsements this month, I definitely have
a plan to interview some of ourendorsed candidates who are up for it.
I definitely would love to be ableto just ask some questions, in particular,
whe are their plans to be ableto help the youth county, in
the state, and in the country. If there's specific topics you want me

(19:06):
to discuss, whether that's you knowabout the youth, whether that's you know
where I do a deep dive onspecific things going on across the county,
any current events, I'm all earswould love to be able to hear your
suggestions. But until then, staytuned. We'll be doing the San Diego
Republicans podcast once a month, sojust stay tuned for the next episode.

(19:27):
Have a good one.