Bill Bridwell’s Wednesday report from the Republican convention

We just got back from packing donated food items for shipping to the Red Cross for distribution to displaced families waiting to get back into their homes on the Gulf Coast.

Thousands of Republican volunteers working together sorting, packing and preparing boxes of relief items to be trucked from Minneapolis to New Orleans. The storm was not the full impact that it could have been, but families had to evacuate, and the items we helped ship down will be put to good use.

The floor last night was electric, and all of us have been interviewed numerous times by media from across the nation. Anne Compton from ABC News Radio grabbed me off the floor for the first minute lead in to the nationwide live ABC broadcast. Of course she didn’t tell me until after the fact that I had just been interviewed for an on the scene nationwide broadcast. I’ve been told that I was also covered on national broadcast dancing with Secretary of State Jan Brewer to the event’s warm-up music.

Getting back to the hotel by bus today was very time consuming as McCain and Palin are both here and the protestors, on-lookers and police presence has tripled overnight. We have about one hour to dress up and head to the floor. The activities have been non-stop since Tuesday morning, and we’ve been meeting Republicans from across the nation continuously, discussing the grassroots effort necessary to elect the McCain/Palin ticket.

Everyone was up last night late following election results back home. Congratulations to all the primary victors. Now the real elections start with Republicans facing off against Democrats all across Pinal County in an historic election where Republicans will be in a position to actually be elected based on the new demographics in the County. A contested general election and shared political office status will change Pinal County forever, and, for those of us who have been in the minority for all these years, it’s a time for celebration.

In the process all the citizens of Pinal County will win.

File photo