Kings County Republican dinner celebrates Reagan’s legacy

Former President Ronald Reagan,who would have turned 100 years old this past February, was theinspiration for those who gathered at the King’s County RepublicanParty’s annual Abraham Lincoln dinner last Thursday at the ElCaribe.

The event, which attracted 450attendees, included speakers who attested to Reagan’s politicallegacy. George L. Clark, Jr. — Brooklyn’s Republicancounty leader in the ’70s and early ’80s, as well as the keypromoter behind Brooklyn’s endorsement of Ronald Reagan in the 1976and 1980 presidential races — shared stories about Reagan withCraig Eaton, the chairman of the Brooklyn RepublicanParty.

The keynote speech by AriFleischer, the former White House Press Secretary under PresidentGeorge W. Bush, was one of the highlights of the evening, accordingto Eaton.

“He traveled with the presidentduring his tenure, and it was great to hear the stories he sharedwith us [about] working with President Bush,” Eatonsaid.

Many localpoliticians and activists were honored at the affair, includingCongressmember Michael Grimm;Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis; Michael S.Robinson, the Businessman of the Year and presidentand CEO of New York Staffing Services; Matthew Daus, the Attorney of the Year and former head ofthe New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission;Mary Rubino, theBusinesswoman of theYear and president of Trans Express; andFrank and Lois Voyticky, whoreceived the Lifetime Achievement Award for theircontributions as civic leaders, Republican state committee members,and political activists.

Eaton was verypleased with the substantial turnout for the event, and said hehopes that it will lead to continued progress for the BrooklynGOP.

“[Thursday] night,we were proud to have one of our most diverse dinners in history,and that diversity further strengthens the need to reach out toeach and every corner of this county to get people involved in theRepublican Party,” Eaton said. “The great success oflast night’s dinner truly proves the strength of the RepublicanParty in Brooklyn and the need for the two-partysystem.”