Ted Cruz photo

Cruz Campaign Press Release - Cruz for President Announces California Leadership Team

January 22, 2016


118 California Leaders Join Chairman Ron Nehring

Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher and Tom McClintock, Assemblymembers Matthew Harper and Shannon Grove, former California Republican Chairman Michael Schroeder, former legislator Ray Haynes and legal scholar John Eastman join in backing Cruz

HOUSTON, Texas – Presidential candidate Ted Cruz today named 118 members of his California Leadership Team.

"We have assembled a powerful team in California from the Oregon border to San Diego, and from the Pacific to the Sierra Nevada and I'm thankful for Ron Nehring's leadership of these courageous conservatives," said Cruz. "They have the commitment, experience, and insight to win and I look forward to working with them towards victory."

Former California Republican Party Chairman Michael Schroeder and former California legislator Ray Haynes will serve as California Co-Chairs of the Ted Cruz for President campaign. The campaign additionally announced the endorsements of Assemblymembers Shannon Grove of Bakersfield and Matthew Harper of Orange County together with former Chapman University Law School Dean John C. Eastman. Los Angeles investor Dan Palmer will serve as California state co-chair.

The endorsements of Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher and Tom McClintock were recently announced.

What they're saying:

"Conservative leaders trusted by the grassroots of our party are uniting behind Ted Cruz for President as we build the campaign organization to win the June 7th primary here in California. Our state will send the largest delegation to the Republican National Convention and our mission is for that delegation to be a Cruz delegation," said California campaign chairman Ron Nehring, who served as Chairman of the California Republican Party from 2007 to 2011 and as the party's 2014 nominee for Lt. Governor.

"Ted Cruz is the generational principled conservative we have been waiting for since Ronald Reagan. A Republican will win the presidency in this election. As conservatives this is our opportunity to make a difference and make sure that president does the right thing because he is grounded in our values," said campaign co-chair Michael Schroeder, who served as Chairman of the California Republican Party from 1997 to 1999.

"I support Senator Cruz because he proves his conservative bona fides every day he serves the people of this country. We don't have to wonder if we will get the real thing with Senator Cruz, he shows all of us he is the real thing with every word he says and every action he takes," said former legislator Ray Haynes, who served in the California legislature from 1993 to 2007.

"I have listened to each of the candidates and reviewed their records and Senator Cruz is the clear choice for President. He is qualified, conservative, articulate, and has a Reagan-like ability to lead. I look forward to being a part of the grassroots movement for Senator Cruz here in California," said Assemblyman Matthew Harper.

"To me, the most important job the President of the United States has is to protect our God-given rights, hallowed in the Declaration of Independence and enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Ted Cruz understands this. Our founders pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to those ideals. Most Americans, and all who wear the uniform, make that same pledge – to safeguard and keep those sacred rights unsullied by human hands. We expect the same from our president. I trust Ted Cruz to protect and defend America's freedom, borders, and way of life from all who wish us harm, foreign, or domestic. That is why I support Ted Cruz for President without hesitation or reservation," said Assemblymember Shannon Grove.

"I wholeheartedly endorse Ted Cruz for President. I've known Ted for 20 years, dating to our time as co-clerks for Judge Michael Luttig on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Virginia, and then at the Supreme Court of the United States, where he clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist while I was clerking for Justice Clarence Thomas. He was then, and is still, a strong, principled, constitutional conservative. This man has the ability to win both the nomination and against whomever the Democrats put up in November, and by so doing pick up where Ronald Reagan left off in restoring limited, constitutional government to our land," said John former Chapman University School of Law Dean John Eastman.

Ted Cruz for President California Leadership Team

Ron Nehring – State Chairman

Michael Schroeder – State Co-Chairman

Ray Haynes – State Co-Chairman

Dan Palmer – State Co-Chairman

Jason Scalese – State Director

Congressional and Legislative Endorsements

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher

Congressman Tom McClintock

Assemblyman Matthew Harper

Assemblywoman Shannon Grove

Regional Chairs

Tom Canaday – Bay Area Regional Co-Chair

Mark Meuser – Bay Area Regional Co-Chair

Paul Bruno – Central Coast Regional Chair

Susan Abbott – Central Valley Regional Co-Chair

James Luellen – Central Valley Regional Co-Chair

Brian Raymond – Central Valley Regional Co-Chair

Gina Wallace – Central Valley Regional Co-Chair

Julia Flora DiBernardo – Inland Empire Regional Chair

Gary Aminoff – Los Angeles Regional Co-Chair

Maureen Johnson – Los Angeles Regional Co-Chair

John Hughes – Northern California Regional Co-Chair

Steve Thompson – Northern California Regional Co-Chair

Pamela Silleman – Northwest Regional Chair

Michael McClellan – Orange County Finance Chair

Alexandria Coronado – Orange County Regional Co-Chair

Branton Nestor – Orange County Regional Co-Chair

Camille Hald – Sacramento and Gold Country Regional Co-Chair

Tom Hudson – Sacramento and Gold Country Regional Co-Chair

Sheryl Rosander – San Diego Regional Co-Chair

Lee De Meo – San Diego Regional Co-Chair

Dave Candlish – San Fernando Valley Regional Co-Chair

Bradly Gerber – San Fernando Valley Regional Co-Chair

Coalition Chairs

James Jenkins – African-Americans for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair

Marie Stroughter – African-Americans for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair / Social Media Director

Peter Kuo – Asian-Americans for Cruz Coalition Chair

Dave Bartels – Ballot Access Coalition Co-Chair

Mark Meuser – Ballot Access Coalition Co-Chair

Gina Wallace – Educators for Cruz Coalition Chair

Gina Gleason – Faith and Religious Liberty Coalition Chair

Kim Short – Faith and Religious Liberty Coalition Fresno Regional Chair

Stuart Weil – Jewish Coalition for Cruz Co-Chair

Dayna Titus – Jewish Coalition for Cruz Co-Chair

Hector Raul Gastelum – Latinos for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair

Edward Ruiz – Latinos for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair

Angel Cardenas – Millennials for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair

Branton Nestor – Millennials for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair

Julia DiBernardo – Millennials for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair

Andres Saks – Millennials for Cruz Coalition Bay Area Regional Chair

Ashley Estebo – Millennials for Cruz Coalition Central Coast Regional Chair

Jeremiah Folia – Millennials for Cruz Coalition Central Valley Regional Chair

Viraktep Ath – Millennials for Cruz Coalition Inland Empire Regional Chair

Sara Tavakoli – Millennials for Cruz Coalition Los Angeles Regional Chair

Nick Gallo – Millennials for Cruz Coalition Orange County Regional Chair

Nikita Kostyuk – Millennials for Cruz Coalition Sacramento Regional Chair

Ashley Muntz – Millennials for Cruz Coalition San Diego Regional Chair

Sara Blicharz – Pro-Life for Cruz Coalition Chair

Lisa Harden – Pro-Life for Cruz Coalition Los Angeles Regional Chair

Alan Hall – Pro-Life for Cruz Coalition Bay Area Regional Chair

Earl De Vries – Second Amendment for Cruz Coalition Chair

Glenn Gelineau – Tea Party for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair

Kelly Hubbard – Tea Party for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair

Robert Linderman – Tea Party for Cruz Coalition Central Valley Regional Chair

Kathy Ponce – Tea Party for Cruz Coalition Inland Empire Regional Chair

Lee De Meo – Tea Party for Cruz Coalition San Diego Regional Chair

Diego Rebollar – Teens for Ted Coalition Chair

Michael Ciccerone – Veterans for Cruz Coalition Chair

Marshall Roe – Veterans for Cruz Coalition Los Angeles Regional Chair

Sherry Hodges – Women for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair

Elsie Gufler – Women for Cruz Coalition Co-Chair

Sub-Regional Chairs

William Schmidt – Los Angeles County South Bay Sub-Regional Co-Chair

Kurt Schroeder – Los Angeles County South Bay Sub-Regional Co-Chair

Gwendolyn Sims – Los Angeles Congressional District 25 Regional District Chair

Ryan Bent – North Orange County Sub-Regional Chair

Cari Swan – Orange County South Coastal Sub-Regional Co-Chair

Carol Woodworth – Orange County South Coastal Sub-Regional Co-Chair

Darcy Karhoff – Orange County South Coastal Sub-Regional Co-Chair

Jennifer Shawver – Orange County Stanton City Sub-Regional Chair

Michael Ciccerone – South Orange County Sub-Regional Chair

Nick Wilson – South/Central Orange County Sub-Regional Chair

County Chairs

Karan Healy – Alameda County Co-Chair

Rob Maffit – Alameda County Co-Chair

Steve Thompson – Butte County Chair

Cheryl Byl – Contra Costa County Co-Chair

Lisa Disbrow – Contra Costa County Co-Chair

Edward Ruiz – Contra Costa County Co-Chair

Kimberly Castro – Fresno County Co-Chair

Martha Kistler – Fresno County Co-Chair

David Dhillon – Imperial County Chair

Jeffery Gallagher – Kern County Chair

Maureen Johnson – Los Angeles County Co-Chair

Angela Lyons – Marin County Co-Chair

Donna Pfeiff – Marin County Co-Chair

Derek Anderson – Napa County Co-Chair

Elizabeth King – Napa County Co-Chair

Marleia Sire – Napa County Co-Chair

Cyndy Taylor – Placer County Chair

Pamela McDonald – Sacramento County Co-Chair

James Ricketts – Sacramento County Co-Chair

Peter Hernandez – San Benito County Co-Chair

Karina Hernandez – San Benito County Co-Chair

Kathy Ponce – San Bernardino County Co-Chair

Earl De Vries – San Bernardino County Co-Chair

Maureen Downey – San Francisco County Chair

John Morley – San Joaquin County Co-Chair

Alma Morley – San Joaquin County Co-Chair

John Oehlert – San Mateo County Co-Chair

Glenn Gelineau – San Mateo County Co-Chair

Steve Thomas – Santa Barbara County Chair

Ed Riffle – Santa Clara County Chair

Lynn Mackay – Solano County Chair

Daniel Thomas de la Torre – Sonoma County Chair

Joseph Day – Stanislaus County Chair

Scotia Alves – Ventura County Chair

Local Chairs

Ashley Evaro – Millennials for Cruz Biola Campus Chair

Nina Davar – Aliso Viejo City Co-Captain

Mike Munzing – Aliso Viejo City Co-Captain

Viet Hoang – Anaheim City Co-Captain

Tom Pollitt – Costa Mesa City Captain

David Pruyne – Fountain Valley City Captain

Wendy Arnold – La Habra City Captain

Patricia Evans – Los Alamitos City Captain

Anita Boyd – Newport Beach City Co-Captain

Rosita Brown – Newport Beach City Co-Captain

Roberta Turbow – Rancho Santa Margarita City Captain

Shane Campbell – Valencia City Captain

Mariah Boland – Visalia City Captain

*Public offices held are included for identification purposes only.

Ted Cruz, Cruz Campaign Press Release - Cruz for President Announces California Leadership Team Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/315307

Simple Search of Our Archives