Salem County Convention Goes To Mehta And The Process Was Fair

Rik Mehta

What does a political junkie do on a beautiful Sunday afternoon? In my case I decided to drive 17 miles south of my home to Sakima Country Club to observe the Salem County GOP convention (and visit with many longtime Salem County friends).

I really wanted to observe a convention in a county where I haven’t done any work and have no clients. I wanted to see if there was anything to the argument that the “establishment” is pushing hard for a candidate.

What I witnessed was a completely fair, open process.

Both Hirsh Singh and Rik Mehta worked the room, both were cordial to everyone, including me. Natalie Rivera was there, she worked the room, perhaps not as aggressively as Singh and Mehta, but she put in the effort.

The rules were simple. Incumbents got to speak first, which made sense, it got CD2 and President out of the way quickly. Candidates were given five minutes to speak. The order for the Senate race was the order in which the candidates signed in.

First up, Congressman Jeff Van Drew spoke for President Trump as the President did send a letter to the county party informing them he would like the opportunity to take part in the process to win the organization’s slogan.

After speaking on behalf of the President Van Drew spoke for himself. I have to be honest, every time I hear him speak he sounds more and more like he’s been a Republican all along. No doubt he’s more conservative than the last Republican to hold the seat.

Then came the Senate candidates. First up was Rivera, then Singh and Mehta went last. Tricia Flanagan was invited, but wasn’t there.

Committee members voted by secret ballot. According to the rules a candidate needed a majority to win on the first ballot. The first round of voting was 18 Mehta, 13 Singh and five votes for Rivera. That put Mehta one shy of a majority so they went to a second round between the top two vote getters. Both Mehta and Singh did work the room in an attempt to secure additional votes for round 2. The tally was 21 Mehta and 15 for Singh. Candidates and one member of campaign staff were allowed to observe the vote count.

That’s it. A straightforward process with no way for anyone from the “establishment” to influence the results.

Kudos to Salem County GOP Chairwoman Linda DuBois for running a fair and open process and a huge thank you to the person who baked the chocolate chip cookies, they were awesome.

Good job candidates – you kept things professional.

The award for longest drive for someone who didn’t have to be there goes to Jack Ciattarelli. The guy is everywhere!

Finally, while Salem has no line, winning the convention gives Mehta the organization’s slogan, his 12th convention win and he regains the momentum going into this week’s contests.