By Clyde Noel

Town Crier Correspondent

SPARC (South Peninsula Republican Coalition) is organizing in the South Peninsula with a mission to get out the Republican vote in the next election.

Last month, more than 80 members of SPARC met with Shawn Steel, chairman of the California Republican Party, to find out how the party is organizing for the gubernatorial election in two years.

Duffy Price, Los Altos Hills resident and SPARC president, said the meeting was a “rah rah” for the Republican party, and an opportunity to get together with other Republicans and coalesce the right and left party wings.

Shawn Steel, a lawyer from Los Angeles, was elected chairman of the state’s Republican Party at this year’s spring convention. He’s been involved with conservative causes and candidates since Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign in 1964.

“We have to reform and rehabilitate the Republican Party,” Steel said. “We need to professionalize the party with paid leadership and extend the party base by honoring ethnic leaders.”

Steel said 90 percent of Republican candidates at conventions are white. “There are more than 1 million Filipinos in California, and they all vote Democratic,” he said. “The party has to start cozying up to Latinos and Asians to expand the party base.”

Speculating on the upcoming governor’s race, Steel said Gray Davis is very vulnerable. Presently, there isn’t an official party position to recommend opposition for Davis.

“Richard Riordan is putting together an exploratory committee to run for governor and will let us know in August,” Steel said. “Right now we have Bill Jones, with fire in his belly, announcing to run, along with Bill Simon, a businessman. No matter who runs we have to get behind the candidate to oust Gray Davis.”

Steel is looking toward a 10-year plan for the resurgence of the Republican Party.

“Democrats do a fine job all year round, and they know how to handle the absentee ballot,” Steel said. “There is no such thing as a non-partisan election. The Democrats do what they can in those elections to influence them. Finally, we need to sacrifice and stop arguing about all the old debates.”

SPARC’s mission is to support the overall goals of the GOP and to maintain its position as a Republican grass-roots volunteer political organization, and to refrain from confrontations over divisive issues.

Present officers and directors are: Price, president; Lou Backer, vice president; Paul Nyberg, 2nd vice president; Sid Hubbard, secretary; and Dick Hasenpflug, treasurer.