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The Lewis County Republican Party is under new leadership, and with a new chairman comes a renewed focus on community.
Earlier this month at the Lewis County Republican Party’s July meeting, party leadership selected Greg Rohr to become its newest chairman, taking over for Mitch Townsend, who resigned earlier this year.
Rohr said he hopes he can bring stability to the leadership position that has seen frequent turnover as of late. The party has had five people serve as chair in the last four years.
Rohr’s appointment comes roughly a month after the party announced the resignation of Townsend, who left the party seemingly on good terms. But in his resignation letter, Townsend said he was stepping down after finding his goal of reuniting local Republicans to be unattainable.
Along with stability, Rohr hopes that he, along with other party leaders, can help usher the party into a new area of community involvement and advocating for locals who share common values.
“You can't survive that kind of leadership turnover,” Rohr said. “So I'm hoping to develop an organization that outlasts me, and I think our county is ready for that. Not that it's about me. It's about our Lewis County Republican Party being more deliberative, more intentional about what we're doing and how we go about doing business. And what is our brand? What are we really standing for?”
Rohr is not new to leadership roles with the local party. He served a short stint as vice chair of the party, taking on a temporary leadership role after Winlock Mayor Brandon Svenson stepped down. Rohr said he and his wife, Elizabeth, who serves as the party secretary, have been involved with the local party for about four years.
The two first moved to Lewis County roughly nine years ago after retirement. The two bought land in Ethel and built a new home. They helped their children relocate to the area before becoming involved with the local Republican Party.
While Rohr has been involved, it is his first time in a political leadership role in a permanent capacity, as he hopes to serve out his two-year term as many before have been unable to do.
Rohr said he wasn't involved in political party leadership for most of his life, but he and his wife bring with them the experience of being heavily involved in their church. He sees the move from church leadership to local political leadership as a natural progression, testifying to the importance of his faith in everything he does, including his political involvement.
“I've never been one to separate church and politics,” Rohr said. “To me, you live your life, and it should always be a part, in my belief, should be a part of every decision I make … It's written clearly in my Bible, and that's how I try to live my life.”
The retired teacher also brings the asset of free time and 35 years of professional experience. Originally growing up and living in Pierce County, Rohr spent most of his career as a teacher in the Bethel School District, teaching courses on aerospace composites, materials science, career and technical education, and similar subjects.
His teaching career also involved helping run and organize aerospace composite programs as part of what is now called the Pierce County Skills Center. The work ranged from course planning and building curriculum to coordinating with aerospace industry professionals from companies such as Boeing and Toray that hoped to recruit students.
Rohr describes the experience as one where cooperation, delegation and listening to the experts was important.
“Do I know everything? No. But do I know how to talk to people and ask for their help and do what they tell me, the experts. Yes, I can do that,” Rohr said.
Rohr envisions the local party shifting into a sort of service group. He said the party won't be the kind to bankroll campaigns. He sees a need for the party to shift its mission to supporting community members and political candidates in local elections, an especially relevant point as dozens of local offices on school boards, city councils and other local authorities are up for election this fall starting with the primary on Aug. 5.
“We're never going to have enough money to influence an election one way or another, but what we do have is the hearts and minds of this county; of people who have and hold those same values, and we need to reach out to them and let them know that they're not alone,” Rohr said. “They have a voice. They can help strengthen others or be strengthened on their own, but that's what we're here for. We're not here to dictate to people. We're here to support and help, but we have our values that we will hold fast to, so no compromise on those.”
Other leading members of the party seemingly share a similar vision and, to that end, recently approved a new set of values. Those “pillars,” as Rohr calls them, are family, education, economic opportunity, faith, elections and leadership. They can be explored in more detail on the party's newly revamped website at https://www.lcrpwa.org/.
According to Rohr, the established “pillars” will be used as a sort of pressure gauge to evaluate the health and prosperity of the community and members of the party.
As the party puts a new foot forward with new leadership and a refreshed political platform, it has relocated its monthly meetings from Winlock to the Chehalis area and plans to hold party meetings the first Monday of every month at the old Olympic Elementary School, with the next meeting being held on Monday, Aug. 4.
The party will also have a table at the upcoming Southwest Washington Fair that starts on Tuesday, Aug. 12.
