'Not your father's Republican'.Byline: David Steves The Register-Guard From the South Jersey town of Abescon, it's a two-hour drive up the Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway is a 172.4-mile (277-km) limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York state line at Montvale, New Jersey, to Cape May at the southern tip of the state. Its name refers to the state nickname, the "Garden State". to reach Manhattan. For Abescon native Bob Avery, the trip to this week's Republican National Convention in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of won't be so simple. Just out of high school in 1972, Avery was building a Harley Davidson motorcycle from spare parts Spare parts, also referred to as Service Parts is a term used to indicate extra parts available and in proximity to the mechanical item, such as a automobile, boat, engine, for which they might be used. Spare parts are also called “spares. in his kitchen, working at a concrete block plant and supporting Democrat George McGovern George Stanley McGovern, (born July 19, 1922) is a former United States Representative, Senator, and Democratic presidential nominee. McGovern lost the 1972 presidential election in a landslide to incumbent Richard Nixon. for president. Now 49 and a resident of Junction City Junction City, city (1990 pop. 20,604), seat of Geary co., NE Kans., at the confluence of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers; inc. 1859. The rail, trade, and processing center of an agricultural and dairy area, it grew as the supply point for nearby Fort Riley, , he's still a motorcycle enthusiast. But he's far from the same antiwar an·ti·war adj. Opposed to war or to a particular war: antiwar protests; an antiwar candidate. Democrat he was three decades ago. Besides working full time as a Republican campaign consultant, Avery is chairman of the Lane County Republican Party and one of four Lane County residents serving as delegates or alternates at the Republican National Convention. He freely acknowledges that his high-school buddies from Abescon and the bikers he used to ride with would be surprised to know that a motorhead and self-described former "hippie kid" is now a player with the GOP. "I'm not your father's Republican," he said with a hearty chuckle. After spending early adulthood as a Democrat, Avery found himself drawn to Ronald Reagan's free-enterprise, limited-government Repub- licanism. By the time of Reagan's presidency in the 1980s, Avery was a New Jersey insurance broker active with the local chamber of commerce. By 1991, he was fed up with the yuppie lifestyle. A high-school friend living in Klamath Falls Klamath Falls, city (1990 pop. 17,737), seat of Klamath co., SW Oreg., at the southern tip of Upper Klamath Lake; inc. 1905. It is the processing and distribution center of a lumber, livestock, and farm area. had convinced him to move out to Oregon and join a new venture producing T-shirts with Christian messages in Junction City. "I took my watch off, let my hair grow and let my beard grow," Avery said. Avery got involved with the biker club "Cruizers for Christ" and the motorcycle lobbying group, ABATE, which stands for A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments. Avery says a meeting with Jim Welsh, R-Elmira, in the 1990s proved a political turning point for him. Avery was part of a group of bikers lobbying against the state's mandatory helmet law. At the time, Avery didn't think of the Republican Party as an organization that could represent his interests. "At that point, for me, the only guys who were working for freedom were ABATE or the NRA NRA (National Rifle Association of America) organization that encourages sharpshooting and use of firearms for hunting. [Am. Pop. Culture: NCE, 1895] See : Hunting ," he said. Soon he found himself entering the world of grass-roots Republican Party politics in Lane County. Avery became a precinct committee person and a vice chairman of the party at the county level. He experienced the frustration of trying to get fellow Republicans excited about fielding candidates and trying to win elections in one of the state's most heavily Democratic counties. In 1999, after his T-shirt business closed, Avery went to work as a legislative aide for Welsh in his Salem office. In 2001, Avery became Lane County Republican Party chairman. He made it a top priority to work for Republican election wins, even if that meant helping candidates who did not meet every litmus test litmus test n. A test for chemical acidity or basicity using litmus paper. held up by the conservatives who played the most active role in party politics. Although he is a self-described conservative Christian, that's not how Avery describes his political point of view. "I'm a grass-roots guy who cares about winning elections. We can never legislate if we can never win," he said. Kevin Mannix Kevin Mannix is a politician, business attorney, and former chairman of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Oregon. Mannix has served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, as a Democrat and, later, a Republican. , chairman of the Oregon Republican Party The Oregon Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Oregon. The first state party convention was held in Salem on April 21, 1859, and its first nominee for Congress, Portland attorney David Logan, came within sixteen votes of being elected. and a fellow delegate to the convention, said Avery's friendly style, booming laugh and ability to work as easily with bikers as with political campaign consultants should serve him well as he networks with fellow convention delegates from across the country in the coming days. "He's a very open and genial person, someone that you're very comfortable talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to ," Mannix said. "You want to help the party? You want to help get Republicans elected? That's all right with him." LANE COUNTY CONTINGENT The Lane County residents in Oregon's delegation to this week's Republican National Convention: Congressional candidate Jim Feldkamp, Eugene Bob Avery, Junction City Susy Rice Aguilar, Eugene (alternate) Jeff Osanka, Arlington (alternate) CAPTION(S): Bob Avery, county Republican Party chairman and Oregon delegate, calls himself a "grass-roots guy who cares about winning elections." |
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