Saul Anuzis, Chairman
Michigan Republican Party
Saul Anuzis is not your typical Republican. He is an unabashed Reagan-conservative with strong opinions about the role of government. But he is the son of an autoworker and once joined a union. He rides a Harley Road King, but he leaves the Harley home when he’s campaigning so he can Twitter, Blog and Blackberry on the road. He is a Boy Scoutmaster and a hockey dad. And others describe him as “constantly in-motion”, “whirlwind” and “man with a plan”.
Saul is a true believer in the core principles of Republicanism. They are the reason he became a Republican. He certainly wasn’t born into it. Saul grew up in a working class neighborhood in Detroit. His friends were the kids of other autoworkers. He saw Ronald Reagan speak to those workers with a message of opportunity and American greatness that spoke to him as well. And he knows that until we reach those voters again, Republicans will not win.
Saul attended the University of Michigan, Dearborn, where he studied economics. To help pay his way through college, Saul loaded trucks and was a member of the Teamsters Union. It was in college that he got his first taste of politics. There, he helped found a College Republican chapter and served as Student Government President. In 1980, Anuzis was elected as one of the youngest delegates to the Republican National Convention. He went on to attend President Reagan's first inaugural ceremony that next January. Soon thereafter, he was elected Third Vice Chair of the Michigan Republican Party, and also served two terms as a Congressional District Chairman, precinct delegate and candidate for public office.
Throughout the 1980’s Saul worked in the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate for Senator Dick Posthumus of Grand Rapids. During that time, he helped lead the way to historic gains in the number of Republican seats in the State Senate – a majority that still exists today. Posthumus would eventually become Senate Majority Leader, Lt. Governor and the party’s nominee for Governor in 2002. In 1988, Saul found himself drawn to Jack Kemp’s free market/empowerment philosophy and played a key role in the Michigan effort for Kemp’s Presidential run.
In 1990, Anuzis took a break from politics to focus on his family and business interests. Today, Saul and his business partner own Quick Connect USA, a telecommunications firm providing local, long distance, VOIP, Internet, and data services to residential and small businesses throughout Michigan. Anuzis serves as Chairman of the company but is currently on a leave of absence and maintains no day-to-day responsibilities due to his role with the Republican Party.
In 2005 and again in 2007, Saul was unanimously elected Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. In 2007, he was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Republican National Committee, and, he served on the Committee on Arrangements for the 2008 Republican National Convention. During his time as Michigan Chairman, Saul has actively cultivated relationships with members of the Republican National Committee all across the country. His daily blogs and regular updates are a source of up-to-the-minute information for Michigan activists and national GOP activists as well.
In addition, Saul is a regular contributor to many other right-of-center blogs, and has been recognized by many as one of the most tech-savvy GOP chairmen in the country, leading the way in the use of technology as a tool in political party communications.
Saul is particularly proud of his Lithuanian family's history. His parents and grandparents both received the Righteous Among the Nations award from Israel's National Holocaust Memorial, Yad Vashem, for helping, among others, three young girls escape from a Jewish ghetto during World War II.
After the war, Anuzis’ family came to America, where a priest gave his father a set of 19 books on how to become an electrician, a difficult task for a man who was learning to read and speak English at the same time. His father then spent 32 years as a skilled tradesman and UAW member at the Fleetwood Fisher Body Plant on Fort Street in Detroit.
Anuzis is actively involved in several Lithuanian-American organizations and serves on several non-profit boards. He currently serves as the Republic of Lithuania’s Honorary Consul to Michigan. He was also a Gubernatorial Appointee to the Michigan Jobs Commission and the Michigan Export Development Authority.
Saul has been married for 23 years to Lina (Alksninis) Anuzis. They have four sons. Matas attends Michigan State University, Tadas and Vytis are in high school at Lansing Catholic Central, and Marius attends Resurrection Middle School. The family resides in Lansing, Michigan.
