Next Luncheon

Our February speaker Gloria Romero, Republican Candidate for CA Lt. Governor, chose principle over party and paid the price for it. 

A former Democratic Majority Leader of the California State Senate, she represented working-class communities and built her career fighting for families and accountability—not political insiders. She stood up to the teachers’ unions, fought for school choice, and refused to put political power ahead of parents and kids. Now a Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, campaigning alongside Steve Hilton, Gloria is focused on restoring accountability, common sense, and leadership in California. Since joining the Republican Party, Gloria says she has been warmly embraced, and she believes her story reflects something larger happening across California. As she puts it, “There are a lot of folks ready to come over.” 

Come hear her unapologetic vision for taking our state back from entrenched interests and putting families first. (Watch Gloria’s launch video HERE.)

Register here Or send name(s) and contact info to [email protected] OR call 415-949-0723.

Luncheon Menu: Chicken Toscana, wine mushroom and artichoke hearts sauce. The "vegetarian" choice is Grilled Salmon Salad with mango papaya salsa and greens. Cheesecake for dessert. 

If you want the salmon, please indicate a vegetarian meal during registration.

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It's Time to Party!

Bring your favorite appetizer to share (table ready please) and your drink of choice to Janet & Dick Locke’s beautiful home in Novato from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Bring spouses, relatives, neighbors or friends. Here they will and feel safe to freely discuss whatever topic they wish!

Please RSVP online here or send your RSVP with your email and name(s) of attendees to Morgan Kelley at [email protected] or call 415-710-1694. The exact location of this event will be disclosed upon registration. 

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Check Us Out on Social Media!

Dear Patriots: We are excited to announce that we have officially launched our new social media presence! You can now find and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and community news. Please share with family and friends.  Follow us here:

  - Facebook: Golden Gate Republican women 
  - Instagram: @goldengaterepublicanwomen

We look forward to connecting with you there!

Best regards, Heather Stuckenbroker,

Second Vice President, GGRW

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President's Report

We are so excited to have as our February speaker, Gloria Romero, who was the Democrat Speaker of the CA Senate. In 2010 she changed parties to become a Republican because she no longer agreed with Democrat values.  She just announced a couple of weeks ago (right after we confirmed her as our February Speaker) that she was running on a “ticket” with Steve Hilton for Lt. Governor!  This will be her first speech in our area and we are so thrilled to have her at our next luncheon on February 10th!  This is a do not miss event!

We are also adding events for those of you who can’t make our monthly Tuesday luncheons, or for those who would like more fun things to do.  This month several of us went to Hilltop Theater in Richmond to watch the documentary, Melania, as it wasn’t playing in any theater in Marin. We are also meeting at Trek Winery on February 1st at 12:30 PM for Bingo afternoon!  We will meet there the 1st Sunday afternoon of each month as long as members want to come.  On February 22nd we will have a Trump Victory Party.  Please RSVP on the website to get the address.

I am still working on a trip to Washington DC to tour the White House and the Capitol Building, but not getting any response yet about tickets from our congressman.  

Warmly 

Morgan Kelley, President

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Welcome New Members

Please bring a guest to our February meeting as it will be a great event to invite a friend.  If you aren’t sure if a friend or neighbor is a Republican, but they sound like Republican, please send your friend’s name and address to our President Morgan Kelley at [email protected] and she can look up her or his voter registration.  

We are keeping the luncheon prices at McInnis for February and March at the usual price of $35 for members and $40 for non-members even though our cost is higher.  This is a gift to our members and prospective members until we are back at Marin Country Club in April.  

If you have not renewed, you may do so at our February meeting or online by logging on to our website as a member here and click on “member dues” or write a check and mail it to P.O. Box 330 Novato CA 94948

Feb 1 - Heather Stuckenbroker, Rachel Tucker, Giti Underhill

Feb 2 – Hal Sherley

Feb 3 – Carol Sherley

Feb 9 – Harriet Cohen

Feb 13 – Elise Vitale

Feb 19 – Patricia Rees-Miller

Feb 20 – Marie Lazzari

Feb 21 – Christine Mahas

Feb 25 – Patty Powell, Ingrid Simkins

Feb 27 – Jessica Freilich

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Editor-at-Large: Anne Doherty

Speaking generally about 2026, I'd like to pass on some insights of people I follow, not all of whom are in politics. When I began hearing New Year predictions like these, I felt pretty good about the direction I’m taking my own women’s club in New Mexico.

1.     “2026 is the year the concrete gets poured into the foundation.” It's a year about deciding what gets carried forward.  The real “civil war” was in 2020 and 2021. Then the public, especially Democrats, went into denial about what we’d all been through and how much push-back there would be.  We’re now in a period of recovery.  Republicans may not realize how much they’ve won. They can lose ground if they give up the fight now. This is why it's important to cultivate board members and volunteers now for next year.

2.     “Big technological leaps will ultimately stabilize society, but short term will feel like destabilization.” Technology does not decide the future. It decides whether we have the time to decide the future. It's not the villain. Fear of technology is. It has been my goal that everyone on my board is capable of using our technologies - that they can work the events page on our website, or learn how to send a group text. It’s particularly important as we go forward, in order to attract younger people. They will expect it.

3.     “In 2026, there will be cultural shifts that restore meaning to the general public.”The rise in Turning Point USA is an example of that. So our club help found a TPUSA at our local community college.

4.     “Millennials and Gen Z’s have begun to take back their lives from the Boomers.”  When entire generations feel like their futures have been robbed by a system, they rebel against that system. We are being haunted by the ghost of systems that died in 2020, but refused to leave the room. This is why so many young people don't trust the Republican party, even if they have strong Republican values. Even Boomers feel that we’ve all been robbed by the system. This is why it is suddenly hard to get volunteers even from amongst my own members at times.

5.     "Whenever freedom from oppression and tyranny arise, it feels like instability.” As said above, the Civil War was over in 2021.  Since Trump's election, we are being asked to dissolve illusions that appeared in 2020, and we demand accountability. People are experiencing a “unreality fatigue.” Setting the “gender war” aside, from A.I. to processed food, what is real is hard to determine any more. Boomers in power, especially those with unresolved trauma, are responsible for planting these delusions, in part because they have been so vulnerable to narcissism that they needed to control the narrative. This means that in blue states, Trump Derangement Syndrome will last a few more years. It also means our elder members may feel equally disrupted by forward thinking in our own party.

6.     “Although traditional values make a comeback, spiritual insight without structure can also feel destabilizing." Spirituality needs discipline to thrive. Without grounding, insight and sensitivity turn into overwhelm. This means members may feel confused about spirituality even as they rediscover it. Across faiths and beliefs, we need to welcome members’ spiritual explorations without judgment.

7.     “2026 is not just a revolution; it’s a verdict.” It's a charge against emptiness. It's a resistance against paradigms that no longer work. Therefore, the more welcoming, open and authentic we become, the more young members we will attract.

8.     “Traditional career paths have destabilized.” This means that most people will be afraid of losing money, and young people won't feel like they can commit to their community.  So our job is to make them feel welcome and heard, and to acknowledge their struggles are real.

9.     “2026 is about mind liberation, the breaking of thought prisons.” We have been living with endless recycled language, and no actual experience behind it. People will be asking, "Was this created by someone who understands what it means to be human?" The answer to instability is authenticity.  So we must laugh. Laugh at ourselves and acknowledge our own confusion and struggles. In comedy, truth and authenticity are what makes a joke funny. The more we laugh, the more grounded we become.

10.  “As we see a pushback against power structures, we will either see anarchy or we’ll see movements that are rooted in shared values.” This is why it's important that we learn to live with Democrats and that we don't attack them. We need to be pointing out shared values to win people to our side.

Some of this is heady stuff, I know, but the good news is we’ve won - so long as we continue to act like it. If you think back to VE Day or VJ Day, things didn’t just magically fall into place. The Allies had to stay focused and firm. Communists from the 1930s ducked their heads down and bided their time before popping back up. Our recent struggles aren’t over, but if we keep at it, common sense will reign for the next 80 years or so.

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In Case You Missed It

If you missed our January luncheon speaker, Donna Pullan, who spoke about “Why Trucking Policy Disrupts Everyday Life”, you missed a very informative talk.  She and her husband Brent, have operated as an independent owner-operators

 As Donna says, “Every item on every shelf is brought to you by a truck”.  Trucking has certainly been in the news lately with several deadly big-rig accidents caused by illegal immigrant truck drivers who couldn’t speak or read English. But of course that didn’t stop them from getting a California commercial driver’s license (CDL) allowing them to drive an 80,000 lb. vehicle.  Her story of her husband passing weigh stations with trucks pulled into the station even though the sign read “Closed” is a prime example of just the number of those drivers that can’t read a simple word of English.  

Donna went on to explain the costs of operating an independent trucking business: Diesel fuel that costs $500 to fill the tank of a truck that gets 5 miles/gallon, not to mention the cost of tires, permits, and insurance. If these costs weren’t enough, add in new CA emission mandates which require retrofitting trucks (that sometimes cause the truck to catch fire) at a cost that is close to that of buying a new truck. This goes a long way to explaining why costs here in CA keep rising.

Donna also left us with tips as to how to proceed when driving on a freeway with tons of big rigs.  

1.  When getting on a freeway on ramp, get up to speed quickly.  It takes a loaded semi about 525 feet to come to a complete stop under ideal conditions so get going.

2.  When driving alongside of a semi, don’t match his speed, get by him as he likely can’t see you in his blind spot.  If you can’t see his rear-view mirrors -he can’t see you.

3.  Don’t cut off a big rig, either pass and give him plenty of room and then move over to his lane or fall behind and move over.  

Many people who got to hear Donna’s talk, remarked that they didn’t initially appreciate a speech on trucks, but left with more information that they truly appreciated

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News You Can Use

Apropos of our January luncheon topic, this article appeared in the new California Post.  Trump's EPA wants to slam the brakes on the costly emissions standards that CA wants to impose on thousands of trucks traveling into the state, on grounds that the regulations violate the interstate commerce rules. Says EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, "Affordable trucks are ital for keeping food and goods moving and prices low for families." Read more here, and subscribe today to the California Post!

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Just for Laughs

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