Report From the Field: Local Candidates Advance Republican Agenda

The CRP effort to elect fiscally responsible Republican candidates in local office continues to pay dividends. Aaron Klein and Scott Leslie were elected to the Sierra Joint Community College District in 2004 on a reform platform. The college district apparently had a strong "spending mindset," with four straight years of operating budget deficits.

After the election of Klein and Leslie, the board began a new direction. Taking decisive action, a board majority indicated that their highest priority was a balanced budget. The result was a spending freeze, and the achievement of the college’s first balanced budget in four years, without raising taxes. Every year since, the budget has been balanced and the college has grown its reserves to be prepared for the next economic downturn. Republican ideas work in local government!