January 2026 Newsletter 
Next Speaker Luncheon
As the U.S. Department of Transportation announces consequences for California’s failure to enforce English language requirements for truck drivers, the state’s trucking industry finds itself at a critical crossroads. Already burdened by some of the highest operating costs in the nation, aggressive emissions mandates, and Assembly Bill 5—which reclassified thousands of independent owner-operators as employees—California’s trucking sector has been pushed to the brink. The result has been a wave of bankruptcies, uncertainty surrounding diesel big-rig phaseout rules, rising shipping costs, and growing concern about disruptions to the supply chain that ultimately drive up prices for consumers.
Few people understand these challenges more intimately than Donna Pullan. For more than 25 years, her husband, Brent, has operated as an independent owner-operator, while Donna has managed the business behind the wheel—overseeing insurance, regulatory compliance, operational planning, and marketing. Through this hands-on experience, Donna has lived the realities behind the headlines: trucking firms going under, companies stuck in regulatory limbo, and policies that ripple far beyond the industry itself.
As a small business owner and founder of Legacy Photos and Stories, Donna brings a grounded, real-world perspective to today’s discussion. She will offer a practical overview of the current state of California’s trucking industry, explain why it is vital to the state’s economy, and highlight how policy decisions made in Sacramento and Washington ultimately affect every consumer who depends on goods moving safely and efficiently across California’s roads.
Important Notice: The Country Club is renovating the ballroom, so our meeting from January through March will be at the McInnis Golf Club, 350 Smith Ranch Road, San Rafael. Our lunch prices will not change. $35/members | $40/guests.
Menu: Grilled salmon with mango papaya salsa. Vegetarian option: Pesto cheese tortellini with a creamy pesto sauce. Dessert: Brownie Delight with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Vegetarian request must be made at registration.
Registration below or: Call Heather at 415-949-0723 or email [email protected] with name, guests' names and your contact information.
President's Report
Dear Members,
Can you believe a whole year has already passed and we are now entering 2026—an election year that may be even more important than 2024. President Trump has gotten off the ground running, but it will take at least four years to undo the damage done by the Biden administration. It will even take longer than that if Democrats win control of the House or the Senate. They will do everything in their power to stop the progress he is working to achieve.
Governor Newsom has already tried to influence the 2026 elections through a special election that gerrymandered California districts to prevent Republicans from being re-elected. Because of this, we must be prepared to write postcards, make phone calls, and walk precincts—even in other districts or states if necessary. This year we will provide information on ballot propositions and as many state candidates as possible so you can decide for yourself what and who you want to support. We will also host other great speakers to help keep us informed.
On the positive side, Governor Newsom has withdrawn the lawsuit he filed after federal funding for the high-speed rail project was cut off. He has admitted that no rail has been laid, and now that $4 billion can be redirected toward repairing our roads. The State Auditor has found that Newsom has squandered tens of billions of taxpayer dollars—fraud on a scale worse than what we have seen in Minnesota. Another major issue is that one-third of community college applications in California are reportedly fake and used for financial aid fraud. Following Congressman Kevin Kiley’s letter to the Secretary of Education, the Department is now implementing new identity-verification requirements. Indictments may soon be heading Governor Newsom’s way.
Do not forget that our meeting place for January, February and March will be at the Club Restaurant at McInnis Park in San Rafael on the 2nd Tuesday of those months until Marin Country Club’s remodeling is finished. See you soon!
Morgan Kelley,
Welcome New Members
New Year's Greetings and Membership Goals for 2026: A Star-Spangled Year Ahead
Happy New Year to our Golden Gate Republican Women! The year 2026 is shaping up to be a truly star-spangled banner year as our country prepares to mark its 250th anniversary. We are filled with excitement for all the memorable celebrations that President Trump and our community are planning to honor this remarkable milestone in our nation’s history.
Membership Growth and New Year's Resolutions
As we welcome the new year, it is traditional to set resolutions. We encourage
each of you to make it a personal goal in 2026 to recruit at least one new member to our group. To support your efforts and help expand our organization, we will be rolling out some enjoyable incentives throughout the year. If you have not yet renewed your own membership, please do, so you do not miss a single moment with the Golden Gate Republican Women. You can renew online by logging on to our website as a member and then clicking on "member dues." Or you can write a check and mail it to P.O. Box 330, Novato CA 94948.
A Quick Look Back at an Inspiring Way to End 2025!
This year, I had the chance to attend Turning Point USA’s America Fest in Phoenix, Arizona. It was an incredible experience, bringing together people of all ages who share a common enthusiasm and love for our country. I enjoyed meeting, talking to, and listening to some of the leaders in our movement. One of the highlights was connecting with Scott Pressler (@thepersistence on social media). For those who don’t know him, Scott played a major role in flipping Pennsylvania red for Trump in 2024 by his dedicated efforts—he helped register more GOP voters than Democrats and got them to the polls. He’ll soon be coming to California to support our Voter ID initiative, which is really exciting! We’re discussing the possibility of having him at our February meeting to share ways we can contribute to this effort—stay tuned for updates!
And Finally Let’s Send Some Special Birthday Wishes to our January Ladies!
Patricia Amster 1/1
Mary Raub 1/1
Pamela Rolf 1/1
Jody Bushton 1/2
Diane Tallen 1/7
Bonnie Padrick 1/11
Donna Pullan 1/14
Diana Guinard 1/16
Tirrell Graham 1/21
Sophie Fleming 1/25
Barbara Howey 1/28
Laura Schwarzenberg 1/31
Denise Regin, Membership Chair
Education
As we contemplate spreading our conservative values and taking positive action steps as we enter 2026, we can individually and collectively work to improve education for our children in a number of ways as follows:
1. Read A is for Average by our recent speaker Gus Mattammal who is running for CA State Superintendent of Public Instructions and then get together with a couple of friends to implement some of this book’s ideas for improving CA K-12 education. You can also get nvolved to help Gus with his current campaign www.gusforca.com .
2. Get involved with TPUSA (www.tpusa.com) whose mission is to: “build the most organized, active and powerful conservative grassroots activist network on high school and college campuses across the country.” The organization supports free markets, freedom and limited government. You can join the movement, send contributions to the organization, sponsor their events and activities, help start new TPUSA chapters, and encourage high school and college students to start or get involved with a TPUSA chapter. “We are Charlie Kirk.”
3. Check out www.tuttletwins.com to see how your family and other young people (from toddler through teenage years) can learn a conservative perspective from these books and magazines. They use simple language to explain important lessons such as personal responsibility, freedom, individual rights, free markets, civics, American history, economics and money.
In Case You Missed It
What a wonderful festive day we all enjoyed. Beautiful outfits worn by all. Creative items to purchase. Singing carols and a great lunch with champagne and mimosas. (Although hard-core women that we are, most of us preferred our
And we raised even more money this year than we did last year. Thank you to all you elves for participating.
Joyce Thornton and Morgan Kelley,
News You Can Use
In a 52-page decision handed down on December 22, Judge Roger Benitez ruled that parents have a constitutional right to know if their child may be transgender and that California public schools cannot in any way prevent employees from notifying parents. In a separate order, he barred them from violating that right.
The injunction bans any public school employee from misleading parents about their child’s gender presentation at school, such as by using different pronouns or names with a parent than the student uses at school. The ruling also bars employees from calling students by names or pronouns that don’t match their legal ones if their parents object. Of course, California is appealing the decision.
Read more here
