By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
Though the persuasion skills employed at a neighborhood presidential caucus might be as much in play as in a vigorous discussion of Torah, observant Jewish Republicans who like to do both may not have such an opportunity this coming Saturday. The Republican caucus, which after the cancellation of the state’s primary election due to budget concerns is set to be held on the morning of March 3. It will be the only opportunity for Washington’s GOP members to have a say on which of the four remaining candidates becomes the nominee.
For many Jews, their commitment to Shabbat observance means they will be left out of the process. Kirby Wilbur, chairman of the state GOP, said it was an innocent oversight.
“All I can do is apologize to every Jewish Republican out there,” he said. “Our committee’s been talking about the caucuses since fall because we got the RNC rules. They have a schedule for the primaries. We had to schedule a date to work with them.”
At this point, Wilbur said it was too late to make any changes. The party chose the date so it would be close to the March 6 Super Tuesday primary, in which 10 states are holding primaries or caucuses.
Wilbur added that since he has been chairing the party the caucuses have always been held on Saturday — in part to follow the Democrats’ caucuses, which have been held on Saturdays for at least the past decade as well. The Democratic caucus will be held on Sunday, April 15 this year.
The state Democratic party’s 2008 county conventions were originally scheduled for the first night of Passover. A petition that garnered 800 signatures convinced the party to change the date.
Wilbur said he has only heard from two people upset about the scheduling, and that was even after he addressed a meeting of the Republican Jewish Committee in January.
“None of them brought it up,” he said.
Dan Sytman, who works for attorney general Rob McKenna and is a founder of the state’s RJC chapter, said he would consider walking from his home to the caucus site to participate so he could keep Shabbat. A friend who participated in 2008 said he didn’t have any trouble.
“He said they were very accommodating,” Sytman said. “He didn’t have to write down anything.”
Sytman lives on Mercer Island, however. Voters who live in Seattle’s Seward Park neighborhood, which has a large observant population, will find that their caucus location is more than a mile outside of the eruv.
Because the attorney general’s office doesn’t get involved in the caucus system — that work falls to the secretary of state or the parties themselves — Sytman said he didn’t have any regulatory authority, but that he would work with party leaders for the next presidential election to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“I don’t think it was on people’s radar screens,” Sytman said. “I think one reason why it may be coming to more attention now is because of how hotly contested the presidential race is.”
Wilbur said the scheduling was simply made out of ignorance.
“No excuse. Just an explanation. We will learn from this,” he said. “All I can do is apologize. I will do my best to rectify it in the future.”
He also said he welcomed complaints about the timing of the caucus so he could have documentation that the scheduling is an issue and should be changed by his board in the future.
“Republicans are resistant to change,” he said. “That cliché is true.”