Before this past First Friday Happy Hour, we arranged for Herman Cain to meet with reporters and bloggers to talk about his future plans.  The Las Vegas Sun published their interview online, read it here:  http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/may/09/entrepreneur-herman-cain/

If you missed May’s First Friday Happy Hour, you missed one heckuva great one.

The afternoon started off with a private newsmaker briefing with presidential exploratory candidate Herman Cain in his suite at the Wynn where, fresh off his boffo performance at the presidential candidate debate the night before in South Carolina, he broke the news that he would be making his formal announcement of his official presidential campaign on May 21st at high noon in Atlanta Georgia.

Cain also said he believed Las Vegas was a more-than-appropriate venue for a future Republican National Convention, including for his re-election bid in 2016 should he win the GOP nomination next year and go on to beat Barack Obama.

We then all went to Stoney’s for happy hour where a hundred or so people were lined up outside before the doors even opened. And yes, the first 100 through the door quickly scarfed up all 100 copies of Grover Noquist’s book, “Leave us Alone.”

KXNT’s Alan Stock opened up the evening’s program by introducing a special guest who popped in for a visit, Republican Congressman Joe Heck. Heck was followed by the Tax Slayer himself, Mr. Norquist, who invited the crowd to attend the Conservative Leadership Conference in Las Vegas this July which will include the next Republican presidential candidates’ debate.

Next, I had the privilege of introducing state Sen. Greg Brower, a GOP candidate for the upcoming special election in CD2, who flew all the way down from Reno just to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge with Grover Norquist, me and 400 of our closest friends as witnesses.

All of which was just the warm-up act for Mr. Cain, who fired up the crowd while firing at Barack Obama and the Democrats (metaphorically speaking, of course!).

The man is just an awesome public speaker, an original tea party supporter and great American success story and conservative. Folks were lined up six deep waiting to get his autograph and picture with him after his remarks.

How are we ever gonna top this month’s First Friday Happy Hour next month?

Herman Cain

Potential Republican Presidential Candidate and winner of last night’s debate in South Carolina according to the Frank Luntz focus group. Also…

Grover Norquist

President of Americans for Tax Reform, who will be giving out a free copy of his book, “Leave Us Alone” to the first 100 people through the door. And…

Greg Brower

Republican state senator from Reno and candidate for the 2nd congressional district special election, who will make a special announcement! Plus…

JOIN US FOR A TOAST TO THE UNITED STATES
MILITARY & NAVY SEAL TEAM 6!

May’s First Friday Happy Hour in will truly be a 2 for 1 special!  Not only will Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain be our VIP guest, but in addition, we were just informed that Taxpayer Champion Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform will be flying in to join us!  Friday, May 6th, 5-7pm at Stoney’s Rockin Country.

First Friday Happy Hour is thrilled to welcome and feature Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain as our VIP guest for May. 

Mr. Cain is a columnist, businessman, political activist, and radio talk-show host from Georgia.  He is best known as the former chairman and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza.  He is a former deputy chairman (1992–94) and chairman (1995–96) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. 

In January 2011, Cain announced he had formed an exploratory committee for a potential candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012.

First Friday Happy Hour will be Friday, May 6 – as always at Stoney’s Rockin Country in Las Vegas from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Free parking, no cover charge and 2-1 drinks. First Friday is co-sponsored by conservative talk-show host Alan Stock and KXNT 100.5 FM/840 AM.

April’s First Friday with VIP guest, Tom Tancredo, was a big hit!  Thanks to all who attended, and a special thanks to our April Sponsor, Steve Nohrden Live!  Steve Nohrden Live is a real estate radio show on KXNT every Sunday from 3 to 5pm.

Our First Friday happy hour VIP guest of honor for April 2011 will be former Colorado congressman and anti-illegal immigration champion Tom Tancredo.

The grandson of Italian Immigrants, Tancredo was born in North Denver, Colorado. He is a solid fiscal and social conservative, with a lifetime 99% voting rating from the American Conservative Union. He has been active in conservative politics for over forty years since his days as a member of the College Republicans and Young Americans for Freedom at the University of Northern Colorado.

In 1976, while teaching civics at Drake Junior High, Tom was elected to the state legislature, and re-elected in 1978 and 1980. His first proposal was a bill limiting the number of bills any legislator could introduce. He was a leader in the conservative freshman class that won the abolition of the state’s sales tax on food and utilities, the abolition of the state’s inheritance tax, and the abolition of the auto safety inspection sticker tax.

In 1981, Tom resigned his seat in the legislature to accept an appointment in the Reagan administration. He served as the Secretary of Education’s Regional Representative – where he cut the Regional Office of the US Department of Education from 222 employees down to 60 – and was re-appointed by President Bush. His tenure was marked by a running battle with the teacher’s unions and Congresswoman Pat Schroeder.

In May, 1993 Tom accepted the presidency of the Independence Institute, a conservative, public policy research organization in Golden, Colorado. During his tenure, Tom was a leading spokesman for initiatives ranging from term limits to school choice and parent’s rights.

In August, 1998 Tom won the Republican Primary in a five way race for the 6th Congressional District of Colorado. During his ten years in Congress Tom became universally recognized by both sides of the issue as the most vocal opponent of illegal immigration in Washington.

Tancredo sought the 2008 Republican nomination for President of the United States with the intention of forcing the immigration issue into the debate, and in 2010 ran for Colorado governor as an independent candidate.

Tom has founded two not-for-profit (501c) education organizations the Rocky Mountain Institute and the American Legacy Alliance. He speaks frequently on cable news, talk radio, and on college campuses. His first book, In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America’s Border and Security, was published in 2006. He and his wife, Jackie, have been married for 33 years. They have two sons and five grandchildren.

Our first First Friday candidate forum last night drew a larger than usual crowd and was very successful.

Hat’s off to the three Democrat candidates who agreed to appear at what is well-known as a conservative/libertarian enclave: Larry Brown, Chris Giunchiliani and Steve Ross. We also very much appreciate the participation of Victor Chaltiel (R), Carolyn Goodman (I) and George Harris (R).

It was also great having Jon Ralston (a former First Friday speaker), Mayor Oscar Goodman (another former First Friday speaker), former Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt and Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon in the audience with us.

The Las Vegas Sun has a full story on forum here.

There were no big surprises, although I found it interesting that Mr. Ross, a longtime and big time union leader, defied the teachers union by declaring support for school vouchers. That takes stones.

On the other hand I was rather disappointed that Carolyn Goodman, the founder of an elite private school in Clark County, said, rightfully, that “Our public school system is the worst in the nation,” but opposes private school choice for low and middle income parents who can’t afford the tuition at schools like hers.

“Vouchers fix nothing,” Mrs. Goodman declared.

Really? How do we know? We haven’t tried them here. On the other hand, where they HAVE been tried, they’ve been EXTREMELY successful. I need to get her a copy of “Waiting for Superman.”

Chris G, a former teachers union official, naturally said she, too, opposes school vouchers, but did make an excellent point in noting that “Education is not the mayor’s job; it’s everybody’s job.”

All in all, a good event. Drink flowed; no blood was spilled. Folks had a good time and learned a little more about the candidates, one of whom is likely to become the next mayor of Las Vegas. Thanks to everyone who came out.

Oh, and put April 1st on your calendar now. That’s our next First Friday Happy Hour…and our special VIP guest speaker will be former congressman, former Colorado candidate for governor, and nationally-recognized (and sometimes reviled) anti-illegal immigration champion Tom Tancredo. Be there….or be talked about!

Don’t miss tomorrow’s First Friday Happy Hour featuring our first ever First Friday candidate forum featuring all six of the top candidates vying for Las Vegas mayor: Carolyn Goodman, Chris Giunchigliani, Larry Brown, Victor Chaltiel, Steve Ross and George Harris.

As always, First Friday will be co-sponsored by our friends at KXNT 100.5 FM/840 AM, which will be broadcasting live from Stoney’s from 3:00 – 7:00 pm. Which means the doors will open early for this one, so get there early to avoid the expected long line to get in.

DOORS & BAR OPEN AT 3:00 PM THIS MONTH ONLY! Be there…or be talked about.

Join Us this Friday for our first-ever First Friday candidates’ forum featuring the top six candidates running for mayor of Las Vegas!

If you’ve never been to one of Citizen Outreach’s monthly First Friday Happy Hour events, this is the month to finally stop putting it off and join us. We’ll be hosting our first ever candidates’ forum featuring the six leading candidates running for mayor of Las Vegas.

The six candidates who have confirmed their participation are Carolyn Goodman, Chris Giunchigliani, Larry Brown, Victor Chaltiel, Steve Ross and George Harris.

As the program this month will be a little different from our usual event featuring just one VIP speaker, here are some additional details:

• The media has been invited to attend and cover the event.
• KXNT 100.5 FM/840 AM will be broadcasting Alan Stock’s show live from the event from 3-7 pm.
• The doors will open to the public at 4:30 pm. We expect a larger than usual crowd, so you may want to get there early if you can.
• Candidates have been invited to mix and mingle with guests before and after the forum itself.
• Supporters are welcome to bring and distribute campaign literature.
• The forum itself will run from 5:30 – 6:30 pm
• Alan Stock will be moderating the discussion from the stage and I will ask some questions from the floor.
• This will be a forum, not a debate or town hall. Questions will be asked by the moderators. If you have a question you’d like to be considered, please email it to chuck@citizenoutreach.com
• Audience members will be allowed to participate verbally as APPROPRIATE after and between answers; however, we request that common courtesy and good manners be observed while the candidates are speaking.

This ought to be a very entertaining, informative and fun First Friday Happy Hour event. We hope you’ll join us and take the opportunity to meet and speak directly with the six candidates most likely to fill the shoes of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. 

As usual, guests receive 2-1 happy hour drink special, courtesy of Stoney’s. 

And as we always say, be there…or be talked about!