Have you ever considered becoming a precinct committee person? A PCP is a precinct’s representative to their county party. A precinct is an area that includes anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand voters. Perhaps you’ve heard us urge you to become a PCP and wondered why it’s a big deal. Well, as you can see in an article on the right, PCPs have been making a big impact for life in the last year.
PCPs are the hands and feet of a major party (you must be a registered Republican or Democrat). If you are a PCP, you can vote on decisions that affect the operations and policies of your county, state, national party, and even beyond the party itself. Here are two recent examples of PCPs making a difference:
1. As a pro-life PCP, you have a significant influence on your party’s policy on abortion, physician-assisted suicide, and other life issues. Last fall, pro-life Republican PCPs ensured that the party’s platform remained pro-life and even added language in support of adoption and rejecting euthanasia (Life in Oregon, Dec. 2017-Jan. 2018).
2. Over the last year, as five pro-life legislators resigned from their positions, Oregon Right to Life PAC worked to identify pro-life replacements. We contacted PCPs in each district to make sure they knew who the pro-life candidates were. The PCPs did the rest by voting to select pro-life replacements.
Without pro-life PCPs, neither of these results would have been possible. The best part is that becoming a PCP is easy! There are two ways:
1. Run as a candidate in this May’s election to become a PCP. This might sound scary, but it’s not! All you have to do is fill out a one-page form and send it to your county elections official. If you don’t know who that is, you can send it to us and we’ll forward it. The form can be found at www.ortlpac.org/PCP. PCP elections are not often competitive and you can vote for yourself, so it’s usually easy to win. The filing deadline to run is March 6.
2. Get appointed by your county party chair. Usually, there are open positions that can be filled by appointment. Again, if you don’t know who to contact, please contact us here.
Lastly, you might be wondering what will be expected of you as a PCP. There are lots of ways to get involved if you are interested, but there is nothing that you’re required to do. Pay attention to notices from your county party about upcoming meetings and we will alert you if your attendance is of critical importance. Please don’t miss this opportunity. You just might be in the right place at the right time to have an impact for life.
