Whatcom County Republicans elected new leaders to guide the party's activities over the next two years.

Turnout for the Saturday, Dec. 8, elections was unprecedented, said Luanne Van Werven, who just stepped down as county chairwoman. Charlie Crabtree was elected the new chairman by the 105 precinct committee officers who participated in the election, Van Werven said. He was unopposed.

Crabtree just completed a term as state committeeman for the county Republicans. He attended the Republican National Convention in August and served on the county districting committee in 2011, which redrew the County Council and Port of Bellingham district boundaries based on the 2010 census.

According to county Republican bylaws, top leadership must include a man and a woman. So the vice chair, fittingly, is Eileen Sobjack, past president of the Washington Federation of Republican Women.

Van Werven is state committeewoman. Greg Brown, a vocal Republican activist, was elected state committeeman.

Terry Cox was re-elected party treasurer and J.R. Johnson is the new secretary. All officers serve two-year terms.

With the flush of the 2012 campaigns fading away, county Republicans are getting down to more of the nuts and bolts of their work. Next on their to-do list, Crabtree said, is preparing for their biggest annual fundraiser, the Lincoln Day Dinner, Feb. 16 at Best Western Plus, Lakeway Inn & Conference Center. For details about the dinner, call Crabtree at 360-393-2794.

The spelling of Eileen Sobjack's name was corrected Dec. 12, 2012.

Reach RALPH SCHWARTZ at ralph.schwartz@bellinghamherald.com or call 360-715-2289. Read the Politics Blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/politics.