public:cb_mirror:cos_new_jersey_attends_gop_leadership_summit_txt_blogposts_8083
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COS New Jersey Attends GOP Leadership Summit
Our attendance at these events is crucial to educating and informing the public and public officials on Article V.
| Earlier in March, the Convention of States New Jersey team was invited to participate in the NJ GOP Leadership Summit that took place in Atlantic City. The goal is to raise awareness about the Convention of States mission to “build a strong, engaged army of self-governing grassroots activists” and educate the public about the Article V process, while networking with the public and elected officials to garner signatures in support of Convention of States.  COS District Captains Gary Brenner (D40), Michael Osowiecki (D4), and State Videographer Donald MacLeay John Meeks, who is a COS volunteer and former congressional aide, Field Director for a gubernatorial campaign, County Committee member and Municipal Chairman, says, “We met a lot of activists, party, and elected officials from throughout the state. Some had heard of COS, most hadn't… Our attendance at these events is crucial to educating and informing the public and public officials on Article V.” Even though a majority of New Jerseyans have yet to discover Convention of States and the Article V process for proposing amendments to the United States Constitution, interest and support has been invariably high. This only means that momentum for passing the application (Bill ACR73) will increase as awareness spreads. As Gary Brenner, Media Liaison for COS and self-employed home improvement and maintenance contractor, reports, “Of those I spoke with at the event, a little more than half of them were totally unfamiliar with COS before then.” He adds that, “All of them were receptive to learning about COS, and many expressed strong support, including the 18 who signed the petition…and Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips, LD40, [who] visited our table, signed on as a co-sponsor of our resolution [ACR73] the following week.” Of the signers, Joe Miller has become our newest District Captain and another is the Chairwoman of the NJ Federation of Republican Women and the President of the Morris County Women’s Republican Club: Angelique Scholl.  Gary making the COS pitch to attendees A frequent question our COS volunteers hear relates to fears of a “runaway convention.” “This underscores our need to always be ready to discuss such concerns and, perhaps, even preemptively address [them],” notes Gary. Watch him in the video produced by Don MacLeay, from the NJ GOP Summit here. https://youtu.be/rZZXwqweASE Don writes, “This video seeks to examine all the current arguments for and against a convention of states, to propose amendments to the Constitution.” There are also resources available at the Convention of States website titled, “Can We Trust the Constitution? Answering the ‘Runaway Convention’ Myth.” On Convention of States Project’s YouTube Channel, you can watch a video that explains COS and Article V and dispels the “runaway convention” fear, sharing a quote from Constitutional Law Scholar Robert G. Natelson: “There are far more political and legal constraints on a runaway convention than on a runaway Congress.” Finally, our COS New Jersey volunteers were asked about outreach to other organizations to raise awareness for New Jerseyans across the political spectrum. Michael Osowiecki, who is a former account manager at Beasley Media Group in Philadelphia, advised that he “will be reaching out to organizations in my area, like the Camden County Democrat Party and others.” Donald MacLeay, who is the State Videographer for COS New Jersey and an active Tea Party member, thinks that we start with “County Committee members [who] are most open-minded,” and recommends we “look closely at cross-over voters in the state legislatures (i.e. Democrats who voted for the COS application) to develop a strategy for getting more of them on board.” There is no doubt that events such as the GOP Summit are essential to the success of advocating for Convention of States. New Jersey may have a long road ahead in spreading awareness and gaining support, but we also have energetic volunteers like Gary, John, Michael and Don, to help pave the way. |
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| Created: | 2019-03-31 22:19 GMT |
| Updated: | 2019-04-10 03:00 GMT |
| Published: | 2019-04-02 04:00 GMT |
| Converted: | 2025-11-11 11:55 GMT |
| Change Author: | Bridget Page |
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public/cb_mirror/cos_new_jersey_attends_gop_leadership_summit_txt_blogposts_8083.txt · Last modified: 2025/11/11 11:55 by 127.0.0.1