Saul Anuzis

Saulius "Saul" Anuzis (b. March 6, 1959) is an American Politician from the U.S. State of Michigan and is the current Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.

Early life

Anuzis was born in Detroit, Michigan to Lithuanian immigrants, Ceslovas and Elena Anuzis. He attended Bishop Borgess High School and later studied Economics at the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus. His senior year he was elected President of the Student Government and also was one of the founders and first Chairman of the UM-D College Republican club on campus. His parents and paternal grandparents, Ignas and Elena Anuzis, received the Righteous Among the Nations award from Israel's national Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, for helping three young girls escape from a Jewish ghetto and make their way from Lithuania to Estonia during World War II. One of those girls, now grown, nominated them for the award. Anuzis is married to Lina (née Alksninis) and they have four sons, Matas, Tadas, Vytis, and Marius.

Politics

In 1980, Anuzis was elected as the youngest delegate to the Republican National Convention held in Detroit. After attending President Reagan's first inaugural he was elected Third Vice Chair of the MRSC. Anuzis also served six years as a member of the MRSC and two terms as a Congressional District Chairman.

Anuzis managed Dick Posthumus' first U.S. Senate race in 1982 and then worked closely with Posthumus throughout his career in Michigan politics. During that time, Anuzis worked for the House Republican Campaign Committee, the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, and as Chief of Staff to then Majority Leader Posthumus.

In 1990, Anuzis took a break from politics to focus on his family and business interests. He and partner Bruce Yuille founded Coast to Coast Telecommunications that year. They later sold that business in 2000/1 when Anuzis and Yuille then co-founded Quick Connect USA.

Republican State Chair

On February 5, 2005, Anuzis was elected Chairman of the Michigan Republican State Committee (MRSC). Despite heavy statewide election losses for Republicans in 2006, Saul was re-elected to a second term as Chairman with a unanimous vote at the Republican State Convention on February 10, 2007 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

2006

In August, 2006, Anuzis took a dig at Michigan's 13th District State Senate candidate Andy Levin, son of Sandy Levin a Democratic U.S. Representative of Michigan by welcoming the former AFL-CIO official to Michigan after living for years in Washington D.C. Anuzis pointed out that Levin just recently purchased a home in Bloomfield Hills after using his father's Royal Oak address to establish residency before the filing deadline. Saul showed up with a welcome basket, complete with maps of the senate district, samples of Michigan products, and other choice items. Saul walked in and left the basket on the kitchen table.

"I want to be the first to welcome Andy to Michigan," said Anuzis. "He's been gone a long time so I included a map of the district to make sure he doesn't get lost. I wouldn't want him confusing Woodward Avenue with Pennsylvania Avenue or the Clinton River with Hillary Clinton."

Democrats claimed it was unfair and some said he was trespassing. Anuzis simply wanted to use some political fun to point out Levin was a political opportunist. Republican candidate for the 13th District State Senate, John Pappageorge defeated Andy Levin in the 2006 elections on November 7th. Andy Levin is also the nephew of U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI). [http://www.humanevents.com/rightangle/index.php?id=15774&title=sander_levin_s_son_is_mia_in_michigan&tb=1&c=1] [http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2006/08/articles_of_int_16.html]

2007

On May 3, 2007, Anuzis was criticized by the Michigan Democratic Party for associating with the Michigan State University chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, which was cited, by opinion, as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Of the student leader, Kyle Bristow, Anuzis said, "This is exactly the type of young kid we want out there." The group is accused by the SPLC of being racist and sexist. Anuzis also said “I’ve known Kyle for years and I can tell you I have never heard him say a racist or bigoted or sexist thing ever.” [http://www.michigandems.com/050307prs.html]

On May 16, 2007 Anuzis called for banning U.S. Representative from Texas, Ron Paul from further Republican primary debates after the congressman made a comment on blowback from US foreign policy and 9/11. [ [http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=6527695 Our Apologies ] ] While this assertion was also made in the 9/11 Commission Report and by CIA specialists on bin Laden, the comments provoked controversy from some who interpreted Paul's remarks to be critical of America. The Michigan GOP Headquarters was overwhelmed by the volume of phones and emails received in protest because of Anuzis' petition against Ron Paul's inclusion in the debates. This caused them to resort to shutting down their phones, taking their "contact us" form and phone number off their website, and callers leaving messages until Anuzis' voicemail and Blackberry were full. An unofficial petition to ensure Paul appears in future debates garnered more than 12,000 signatures, the official petition garnered more than 7,000 signatures, while Anuzis' petition had 14 when he decided to withdraw it. [ [http://dailypaul.com/node/159 Petition Withdrawn! | Ron Paul for President 2008 - Ron Paul Revolution ] ]

Personal life

Anuzis is a former member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He was also a Gubernatorial Appointee to the Michigan Jobs Commission and the Michigan Export Development Authority. He is a Scout Master of local Boy Scout Troop 100 (comprising Lithuanian scouts), and is actively involved in several Lithuanian-American organizations and serves on several non-profit boards. He currently serves as Honorary Consul to Michigan for the Republic of Lithuania. Anuzis and his family reside in Eaton County.

References

External links

* [http://www.migop.org/leadership/chair.asp Saul Anuzis bio at MIGOP official site]
* [http://migop.blogs.com MIGOP daily newsfeed]
* [http://www.vitaedesigns.com/avenue/righteous/anuzis.html Anuzis family rescue story]