By: centraljersey.com
One door closes and another opens, and Scott Sipprelle walked through an open door to become the president of the newly formed Lincoln Club, a Republican organization that hopes to make politics more approachable and appealing.
Mr. Sipprelle said his congressional campaign last year influenced him to continue the cause of good government.
"I spent a year of my life and a lot of energy campaigning for a cause, which is to make our politics more efficient, more problem solving and better," he said. "Having expended all that time, energy and resources and made all these great contacts, I was faced with a question – what do you do? I’m not a candidate, I don’t expect to be a candidate again, but how do you continue the cause of good government and problem solving because I think the country and the state are in awful shape."
He had the idea for an independent club working across town and county lines. There was an existing club in Princeton, the Republican Association of Princeton, but it was small and hadn’t seen much growth, he said.
"I didn’t want it to be geographically constrained and I didn’t want to make it just about politics," he said.
Mr. Sipprelle requested to become president of the then Republican Association of Princeton.
"I was very clear I wanted to refashion the organization to be a club that would spread all across central New Jersey, ultimately all of New Jersey, to push for good government."
For Mr. Sipprelle, politics are more than just elections.
"If we’re going to do politics better we need a more engaged citizenry and a more educated citizenry," he said. "The education is about issues and having speakers come to speak on often complex topics to help people understand what the real tradeoffs are. Engagement will highlight heroes in the community, great causes and organizations that are making a difference without public money."
The Lincoln Club will focus on the races its members deem the most important.
"We can take our resources and volunteers there" and being independent allows them to support who they want when they want. "Politics tend to be organized by town or county basis and we’re going to be very unique in the state that we’re not going to be town or county constrained," he said. "There is no bridge between what we do in the real world and what we do in Washington and Trenton."
The club was named for Abraham Lincoln, a Republican. "Lincoln is our greatest American, so why not shoot high?" said Mr. Sipprelle.
Princeton Borough has not seen a Republican on it’s committee in at least 12 years, or as long as Mr. Sipprelle has been in town.
The club is also a way for Mr. Sipprelle to stay in touch with the people who supported him this past November.
"A lot of those campaign supporters who would have drifted away are now back involved in this, it’s a good way to stay connected," he said. "I don’t expect to run for office again, maybe I can have a greater impact from the outside."
The Princeton Borough Republican committee is still active at the hyperlocal level, he said.
Issues will be drawn from statewide members, which currently come from his campaign territory in the 12th district.

