TexasTiger 12,947 Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 State GOP goes outside the U.S. to hire top aide Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer Thursday, June 14, 2007 The California Republican Party has decided no American is qualified to take one of its most crucial positions -- state deputy political director -- and has hired a Canadian for the job through a coveted H-1B visa, a program favored by Silicon Valley tech firms that is under fire for displacing skilled American workers. Christopher Matthews, 35, a Canadian citizen, has worked for the state GOP as a campaign consultant since 2004. But he recently was hired as full-time deputy political director, with responsibility for handling campaign operations and information technology for the country's largest state Republican Party operation, California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring confirmed in a telephone interview this week. In the nation's most populous state -- which has produced a roster of nationally known veteran political consultants -- "it's insulting but also embarrassing ... to bring people from the outside who don't know the difference between Lodi and Lancaster ... and who can't even vote," said Karen Hanretty, a political commentator and former state GOP party spokeswoman. U.S. Department of Labor records show the state Republican Party applied for an H-1B visa to fill the job of "political consultant" and was granted a visa labor certification in March 2007. The three-year H-1B visa does not become valid until Oct. 1, 2007, government records show. Party officials said Matthews has been working in the interim under a "TN" visa -- a renewable one-year special visa for Canadian and Mexican professional workers created under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Matthews was hired by Michael Kamburowski, an Australian citizen who was hired this year as the state GOP's chief operations officer. But neither new official has experience in managing a political campaign in the nation's most populous state -- and as foreign citizens, neither is eligible to vote. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...MNG3DQF4U11.DTL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otterinbham 0 Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 What can I say? They believe in a meritocracy, not just hiring from a limited pool of people because of their "citizenship." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,499 Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 They have a governor from Austria. Why would it surprise anyone that a political director could come from Canada? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM4AU 332 Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 It's California...'nuff said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigeremt 6,642 Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 At least you don't have to worry about the Chinese giving the GOP money like they did for Clinton.. What's your point, TT? I"m sure the Dems have their own French/Mexicam/Venezuela/Canada/Cuba/Iran/Syrian connections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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