Republican chair to be featured speaker at library program

Republican chair to be featured speaker at library program

LUDINGTON — Sheila Genter, chair of the Mason County Republican Party, will speak on the topic, “What’s Ahead for the Republican Party” during the next segment of the Mason County District Library’s series Cairns & Beacons: Finding Our Way in a Post-Pandemic World, on Thursday, Feb. 1 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.  The program is held in partnership with Abondia Center and partner libraries throughout Michigan. The presentation is free and available on Zoom from anywhere, and in person at Ludington branch library, 217 E Ludington Ave.

Genter currently is serving her third year as chair of the Mason County Republican Committee. Genter stated she became involved in politics following the outcome of the 2020 election.

“I started attending local GOP meetings in 2021, mostly observing and figuring out how people’s voices were being heard,” Genter said.  “In January 2022, I was nominated and elected to the chair position, which was quite a learning experience. I also became a precinct delegate in 2022.: In 2023, she was re-elected chair.

She stated that her parents were Democrats, but noted it wasn’t the kind of family that talked about politics at the dinner table and she respected her parents.

It was during her career, especially in the later years, as a supervisor for Michigan Department of Corrections, that Genter said she started paying attention to budget cuts, reduction in workforce per the ratio of supervised offenders and related matters. “Our policies all stated that the number one priority for field agents was public safety yet we didn’t have adequate resources to help us accomplish this,” she said.

“It wasn’t until the outcome of the 2020 election that I became fully awakened. My values and beliefs are conservative, in that I believe in liberty, economic prosperity, individual freedom, rights and responsibilities as defended and supported in our US Constitution.”

For more information click here and for those wanting to attend online, via Zoom, click here.

On Tuesday, March 5, Cairns & Beacons will host “What’s Ahead for the Democratic Party?” This presentation will be held on a Tuesday, rather than the series’ regular day, Thursday.