Friday, July 29, 2005
Jerry Schwab of Oxford : Resident Named CYR Chairman
By: Leda Quirke
VoicesNews.com
July 29, 2005
OXFORD - At the age of 25, Jerry Schwab has achieved more than many men twice his age.
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He is executive director of the Oxford Ambulance Association. He is vice chairman of the Board of Education and a member of both the Oxford Republican Town Committee and the Republican State Central Committee.
Lately, he has been serving as moderator at town meetings as well.
Recently he added another achievement to his growing resume. He was voted unanimously to the position of chairman of the Connecticut Young Republicans.
The CYR is an organization of between 200 and 300 Republican men and women between the ages of 18 and 40, many of whom also are members of Young Republican Clubs in their own municipalities.
The function of the CYR is primarily to support the Republican party in its election campaigns.
Mr. Schwab said he first became involved in a local Young Republican Club at the urging of Robert DeBisschop, a Republican and fellow school board member who has held many offices in town over the last several decades.
Mr. Schwab said many seasoned Republicans, like Mr. DeBisschop, were members of Young Republican Clubs at one time.
"I've always been interested in politics," said Mr. Schwab when asked why he decided to get actively involved with a political party.
He said the inclination was heightened after he was elected to the school board two years ago. It was over the last two years that he learned how much municipalities are impacted by the state, especially with respect to special education, economics and binding arbitration.
"That's what sparked my interest in becoming involved," he said.
In his role as chairman of the CYR, Mr. Schwab said he will have an opportunity to promote the party's philosophy, help in elections and educate younger people about the process.
Mr. Schwab said he intends call meetings monthly and to initiate campaigns to increase membership.
Toward that end, he said he would contact every town committee chairman in the state and urge them to appoint representatives so at all Connecticut towns are represented.
For those towns which don't have Young Republican Clubs, he said he would provide information on how to create them.
Moreover, he said he would try to network with college-age Republicans at colleges and universities that have political clubs.
Ideally, he would like to enlist five vice chairmen for the CYR, one from each Congressional district.
Young people can really make a difference in the political world, Mr. Schwab noted.
"Typically younger people have more free time to put into grass roots campaigning. They don't have as many family commitments," he said.
Mr. Schwab said the CYR, under his leadership, will most likely focus first on two or three municipal elections and then gear up for next year's gubernatorial contest.
As for long-range political goals, Mr. Schwab said he would wait and see where the road takes him. He said he definitely might consider running for state representative some day.
"I wouldn't rule anything out," he said.
For now, however, he is focusing on making a decision on whether or not to run for reelection to the school board or some other local office.
Also, he will represent the state in the Young Republicans National Federation Convention in Las Vegas, scheduled July 6-10.
VoicesNews.com
July 29, 2005
OXFORD - At the age of 25, Jerry Schwab has achieved more than many men twice his age.
Advertisement
He is executive director of the Oxford Ambulance Association. He is vice chairman of the Board of Education and a member of both the Oxford Republican Town Committee and the Republican State Central Committee.
Lately, he has been serving as moderator at town meetings as well.
Recently he added another achievement to his growing resume. He was voted unanimously to the position of chairman of the Connecticut Young Republicans.
The CYR is an organization of between 200 and 300 Republican men and women between the ages of 18 and 40, many of whom also are members of Young Republican Clubs in their own municipalities.
The function of the CYR is primarily to support the Republican party in its election campaigns.
Mr. Schwab said he first became involved in a local Young Republican Club at the urging of Robert DeBisschop, a Republican and fellow school board member who has held many offices in town over the last several decades.
Mr. Schwab said many seasoned Republicans, like Mr. DeBisschop, were members of Young Republican Clubs at one time.
"I've always been interested in politics," said Mr. Schwab when asked why he decided to get actively involved with a political party.
He said the inclination was heightened after he was elected to the school board two years ago. It was over the last two years that he learned how much municipalities are impacted by the state, especially with respect to special education, economics and binding arbitration.
"That's what sparked my interest in becoming involved," he said.
In his role as chairman of the CYR, Mr. Schwab said he will have an opportunity to promote the party's philosophy, help in elections and educate younger people about the process.
Mr. Schwab said he intends call meetings monthly and to initiate campaigns to increase membership.
Toward that end, he said he would contact every town committee chairman in the state and urge them to appoint representatives so at all Connecticut towns are represented.
For those towns which don't have Young Republican Clubs, he said he would provide information on how to create them.
Moreover, he said he would try to network with college-age Republicans at colleges and universities that have political clubs.
Ideally, he would like to enlist five vice chairmen for the CYR, one from each Congressional district.
Young people can really make a difference in the political world, Mr. Schwab noted.
"Typically younger people have more free time to put into grass roots campaigning. They don't have as many family commitments," he said.
Mr. Schwab said the CYR, under his leadership, will most likely focus first on two or three municipal elections and then gear up for next year's gubernatorial contest.
As for long-range political goals, Mr. Schwab said he would wait and see where the road takes him. He said he definitely might consider running for state representative some day.
"I wouldn't rule anything out," he said.
For now, however, he is focusing on making a decision on whether or not to run for reelection to the school board or some other local office.
Also, he will represent the state in the Young Republicans National Federation Convention in Las Vegas, scheduled July 6-10.
# posted by YR Blog Administrator @ 4:06 PM 
