I sat down recently with NY College Republican chair Mike Ventre recently, to discuss the CRs and his current campaign to becomes regional chair for the Northeast. Mike is one of a handfull of young reformers in New York who, besides being something New York desperately needs, inspires me every bit as much as cats like Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio do. I’m happy to endorse him as CRNC Northeast Regional Chair…
What brought you to the College Republicans in the first place?
I was brought to the College Republicans in one of my first days while at college. I went to the University at Albany and all the groups on campus came out to showcase what they did. I found the CR table and went straight to it. Ever since then I have been heavily involved with the organization. My closest friends have all been CRs, my best memories have been with them, and all the opportunities I have now are because of this amazing organizations.
What does the North-east regional chair do?
The Northeast Regional Chair is in charge of overseeing the College Republican National Committee’s Northeast region. These are the federations from the District of Columbia up to Maine. It would be my job to make sure that all of those states are in good condition and do no fall into disrepair. Often in the College Republicans we see a state do really well to only have it fall apart the next year. I want to make sure that stops. We have an amazing area, and there is no reason why our states should not be in good condition.
Why should the CRs elect you?
The CRs should elect me because I have the necessary experience and discipline to do this job. I am now serving out my second term as Chairman of the New York Federation of College Republicans. During this time my team has been able to achieve a great many things. We have raised thousands of dollars in our on going efforts to making sure we are fiscally sound. We have a website for all New Yorkers to go to see who their leaders are, how the organization works, and how to contact chapters. We have a new constitution which replaced our terribly worded old one. Our chapters are united in their effort towards promoting the NYCRs and have created a network in which to work in. Our state has been called on several occasions one of the best in the country and I am very proud to have the team that I have behind me. I want to bring the success of our state to the entirety of our region.
There’s a rumoured New England/Mid Atlantic divide in the NorthEast region. How can you help bridge that if elected?
When I first began learning about the CRNC, how it functions, and our region I was told that there was in fact a deep divide between New England and the Mid Atlantic. This is something that I would like to change. We are living in a time where the worst thing we, as Republicans, can do to each other is fight with each other. We must represent a united front come November and show people that we have what it takes to successfully run this country. Bridging this divide is quite simple, all that you need is communication. In New York, when I took up my post, there was a divide between those schools that voted for me, and those that didn’t. I went out of my way to speak with those schools who did not vote for me, I got to know them better, and they became quite active with the NYCRs. Now some of these chapters are the best in our state, and I am quite close with their chapter chairs. Should I win I will promote communication among the various states, make sure that we are constantly in contact with all of them. I will visit their state chairman when I can, and make sure that the Northeast will be a united front come November. We may not deliver many states to Governor Romney, but we will make it our duty to deliver to him a majority in the House and Senate.
What other changes can you bring to the office?
The changes I would like to bring are quite simple. To build on the communication I stressed above, monthly conference calls must be had to make sure that we continue the dialogue to insure the success of our region. I also would like to implement a retreat among the various states so that we can all meet up together physically and strengthen our bonds. I have had a lot of success with this in New York, and I know it will work in the Northeast. We live in one of the most compact areas of the country, it does not take long to get to the major cities from anywhere in our region and there is no reason why we should not meet.
The Right Hook 