John Allard was the featured speaker in January.

On 2/5/2011 – the SPRWF invited the AD-04 Candidates to their luncheon to speak.

Mike O’Connor arrived and camped himself at the table I was sitting at.

Rob Matthews arrived a bit later and sat at the table next to where I was.

Beth Gaines arrived about 15 minutes late. Her staff (Christina and Andre) were there early handing out flyers and they brought some yard signs with them. (More on that later)

Beth Spoke First – her speech was generic, but two key items. 1. She referenced her record as a businesswoman – a direct response to the contraversy of last week. 2. She talked a lot about being a mother of 6. That could have been due to the audience – but I think it may be more due to the perception that she was trying to distance herself from being a “stay at home mom…”

Beth was received politely.

Rob Matthews spoke next and was terribly nervous behind the microphone. He spoke of Ronald Reagan and his personal core convictions – again, I was impressed by his sincerety. The problem was that he came across as being in over his head for the job he was seeking…

Mike O’Connor actually gave the best speech, while Matthews was by far the most sincere, O’Connor is a brainiac that spoke about a ton of policy.

Both Matthews and O’Connor stayed for at least an hour – both paid for lunch. Beth Gaines was present in the room for about 8 minutes (I looked at my phone).

Cheryl Bly-Chester stopped by before the event and dropped off some flyers.

I will have a separate analysis of each flyer forthcoming…

P.S. – those signs? Three of Allard’s signs were taken, none of Gaines’.