What is the County Central Committee?

The County Central Committee is the board of directors for the county party. The Central Committee is supposed to craft a vision for the county, set a mission, set goals for the party and for officeholders, craft a platform of policies they intend to implement, and disclose the values and beliefs of Republicans in the County. The Party provides infrastructure for Republican candidates and provides venues and literature to help get the word out and helps to get out the vote.

Leadership of the party is to ensure a fair and level playing field for all candidates up to the primary election. The county party should not interfere before the primary election other than to rate candidates and insist upon lively and rigorous debates. County parties should not endorse in contested races. County parties should favor no candidates prior to the primary and all Republican candidates should be invited to all Republican events prior to the primary election.

County Central Committee members are organizers of their precincts. They are responsible for expanding the party and promoting the party in their neighborhood. The County Central Committee should plan a County Republican Convention every two years. County Central Committee members determine the ethics of the local party and are charged with penalizing Republicans that get out of line. The party can use the threat of censure and not endorsing candidates and officeholders to hold them accountable to the party platform.

The County Central Committee is the foundation of the party and if it is poorly constructed you will see a lack of passion for the party.

County Central Committee members are expected to do work by making calls, attend functions, display Republican yard signs in their yard, and even go door to door to deliver literature. County Central Committee may appoint deputy Central Committee members to help with the workload. Members are not allowed by law to delegate all their responsibilities to the executive committee. County Central Committee members have a fiduciary responsibility to the party which entails members to act in the best interest of the party.

What is the ORSCC?

You're not alone if you do not know what the ORSCC (Ohio Republican State Central Committee) is. Unfortunately, over 73% of Ohioans do not understand what the ORSCC is and what it does, and its relationship to the Ohio Republican Party (ORP). This is a failure of Party leaders to educate the public on how party politics work.

The ORSCC compromises 33 men and 33 women - one each for each of Ohio's 33 Senate Districts.

The ORSCC is the board of directors of the ORP - just like the board of directors of a company. If you are a registered Republican, you are a shareholder of the ORP and are entitled to elect a representative to sit on the board of directors. The ORSCC does not run the day-to-day operations of the ORP. Instead, they hire staff to run the day-to-day operations of the ORP. Similarly, a County Central Committee is the board of directors for the County Party. However, unlike the State Party, the County Party elects an executive committee typically from its members that do the bulk of the day-to-day work for the County Party.

• Plan a State Convention every two years.

• Develop a Vision, Goals, Priorities, and Platform for the Party to approve at the State Convention.

• Review and make suggested changes to the bylaws for approval the State Convention.

• Hire a CEO to manage ORP activities and review their performance.

• Develop a Quarterly budget for the Party.

• Develop an organizational chart and Job descriptions with the CEO - for staff members, employees, and contractors.

• Serve on the Standing Committees of the Central Committee.

• Provide Candidate Services to Republican candidates - Coordinate with County Parties.

• Receive and communicate feedback from your district.

• Identify underperforming county parties and assist with education and party resources.

• Raise funds for the party.

• Attend County Central Committee meetings in your district.

What are the Responsibilities of a State Central Committee Member?

How does the ORSCC work?

The Ohio Revised Code (ORC) is the codification of laws that govern Ohioans. These laws determine how major and minor parties operate. For example, the ORC calls for the formation of County and State Central Committees. While the law does govern what these political parties can and cannot do - they left the operation of the parties up to themselves. According to Ohio Law, Parties must adopt bylaws that are the legal framework of the parties' procedures. Poorly written bylaws harm the Party and deteriorate confidence in party leadership. If party leaders do not follow the party bylaws, passion and expectations are diminished.