Redlands Tea Party Patriots Tout Straw Poll 7p Thursday at Mill Creek Cattle Co

Members of the Redlands Tea Party Patriots are preparing for a straw poll event Thursday evening in Mentone, in advance of the June 5 primary election.

The event is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 31 in Diamond Jim's Banquet Hall at Mill Creek Cattle Company. Redlands Tea Party members are invited to vote in the straw poll. The event is open to the public.

A straw poll is "an unofficial ballot conducted as a test of opinion," according to Oxford American Dictionaries.

The Redlands Tea Party straw poll is "mostly for fun," Redlands Tea Party member Annie Rumary said in an email. "It obviously has no 'binding' strength. But for the conservative candidates that win, there are bragging rights and reassurance that the public sees what they are offering as a positive solution to where we are."

Several candidates in locally relevant races have been invited to speak, Rumary said. The event will also feature primary ballot proposition education and a tax reform tutorial, according to organizers.

The event is "a fun way to get our membership together and focus efforts before next Tuesday's primary," Rumary said. "It also helps us understand where our membership is as it regards candidates for those in our area and surrounding areas."

Straw poll ballots will be handed out to all Redlands Tea Party members at the start of the meeting, Rumary said. Membership will be checked through the group's email list, which numbers more than 1,200, "to ensure it is in fact our members who have a voice in this vote," Rumary said.

"Members will be encouraged to vote for their favorite candidates, regardless of district," Rumary said. "We will count the ballots that night and announce the results prior to the end of the meeting."

According to organizers, candidates for elective office who may attend and speak Thursday night include:

Jim Bagley, candidate for San Bernardino County supervisor, 3rd District

Dennis Jackson, candidate for U.S. Senate

Gregg Imus, candidate for U.S. Congress, 8th District

Bill Jensen, candidate for U.S. Congress, 8th District

Jeane Ensley, candidate for State Assembly, 47th District

Lane Schneider, candidate for Central Committee, 3rd District

David Rempel, candidate for Central Committee, 3rd District

Mike Rossiter – candidate for Central Committee, 5th District

Mill Creek Cattle Company is at 1874 Mentone Blvd.

For more information about the Redlands Tea Party, visit www.redlandsteaparty.com.