Local Conservatives Seek Seats on Republican Committee

A woman who led the effort to get the initiative on the November ballot and was an is seeking a seat on the Republican Party Central County Committee.

Murrieta resident Diana Serafin, who has been a fixture at Murrieta City Hall and was seen manning tables around town to gather signatures for the petition to have the red-light cameras removed, seeks election to the central committee for the 67th Assembly District.

The committee is comprised of six Republican representatives from each district in the county, and is charged with setting the direction and mission for the party countywide.

There are nine candidates vying for six seats. During the June 5 primary election, Republican voters are set to choose who will represent them.

"My thing is I'm worried about our children and grandchildren's future and the direction the Republican party is going," Serafin told Patch.

She said she supports "getting rid of the (red-light) cameras because it is another tax on us."

Serafin endorsed candidates for the 42nd Congressional seat and for the 67th state Assembly seat.

"I have walked over 9,000 homes supporting Clay Thibodeau and Melissa Melendez for the 67th," Serafin said.

"They are the most conservative," Serafin said.

"We need to go back to our roots and endorse more conservative candidates to get away from the incumbents and get away from the corruption in Washington and Sacramento.

"We need to protect our freedoms for our children and grandchildren."

Serafin said she regularly does voter registration drives, which she said she knows is important to the Republican Party in Riverside County.

Seeking a committee seat alongside Serafin is Murrieta resident Francis Burns, also a fixture at Murrieta City Hall.

Burns, a teacher, said he understands the central committee has two main functions: to expand its membership base and to vet and endorse local candidates who are consistent with the philosophy of the party.

"The reason I am seeking it is because I feel like a lot of our representatives have forgotten that their No. 1 function is to uphold our Republican form of government. Its function is to preserve our liberties," Burns said. "I want to be on the central committee because I want to advocate that position again."

Other candidates include Murrieta City Councilman and former Mayor, Randon Lane, who is running as an incumbent.

"I am Republican, I have been a supporter of Republican values and I believe there needs to be strong leadership in the Republican party," said Lane, whose two-year term on the 66th District committee ends in December.

Lane's involvement with the Republican party has included serving as local director for Meg Whitman's 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

"I have been involved in the Republican party here and I want to continue serving in that capacity," Lane said.

The other six candidates are: Scott Mann, a Menifee Union School District board member; Steve Rawlings, a Murrieta business owner; Harvey Ryan, a Lake Elsinore business owner; Robert Seibert, an engineering consultant who resides in Murrieta; Richard Avila of Hemet; John Burnett of Riverside; and John Ingram of Murrieta.

Redistricting has shuffled boundaries, separating Murrieta from most of Temecula. Therefore those who have served on the central committee from Temecula, such as Patrice Lynes and Adele Harrison, must instead run to serve for the 75th District, which stretches into San Diego County.