Robert Stryk
Robert Stryk (born Robert Daniel Stryk, 12 November 1975) is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Sonoran Policy Group, LLC a Washington, D.C. based company which represent interests within the U.S. Defense and Intelligence Communities. n 2010, Stryk ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for Mayor of Yountville, California in the Napa Valley. In 2012 Stryk founded the SPG Investment Group which invests in [...]-edge technologies that address the priorities of U.S. National Security interests.
Early life
Stryk was raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. He attended Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix and Arizona State University in Tempe.
Career
Stryk began his political career interning in the Phoenix office of United States Senator John McCain while at Brophy College Prep. Robert attended Arizona State University where he was the Chief of Staff at the ASASU Student Government.
While in college Stryk served with Paul Petersen, the son of Arizona State Senator David Petersen who would later hire Robert to run his campaign for the State Treasurer of Arizona.
Stryk moved to Washington, D.C. in 1996 and worked on the Presidential Campaign of Senator Bob Dole. After the campaign Stryk worked as a Congressional Staffer for Representatives J.D. Hayworth and Jim Kolbe .
In 2000, Stryk served as a consultant for President George W. Bush at the Iowa Straw Poll in Aimes, Iowa.
Stryk went on to manage Voter-Contact and messaging projects for Bush/Cheney 2000, the National Rifle Association and the Republican National Committee.
GOPJOB.COM
In 2001, Stryk co-founded GOPJOB.com with Denise Helm, a Kansas native and a former aide to United States Senator Bob Dole. Senator Dole endorsed GOPJOB.com and his likeness appeared on the companies website and promotional materials.
Sonoran Policy Group, LLC
In 1999 at the age of 24, Stryk founded the Sonoran Policy Group, (SPG) a diverse business organization made of up three distinct business units. SPGDC is a full service government relations, public sector procurement and business advisory business with an emphasis in defense, intelligence and homeland security advocacy. SPG Security Solutions is a multifaceted security, protection and intelligence collection operation. SPG Investment Group is an early stage private equity business which invests in [...]-edge technologies that address the priorities of US national security interests.
Congressional records show that SPG has represented private interests within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Department Of Homeland Security (DHS), National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ,[...] Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Department of Defense. In 2010 Stryk was nominated to the Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) which overseas the U.S. State Departments Arm Trafficking Regulations.(ITAR) [16] Stryk was nominated to the post by Georgia Congressman Lynn Westmoreland.
Mayoral election
In 2010, Stryk ran for Mayor in Yountville, California in Napa County. The county is represented by Democrats on the local, state and federal levels, with Republicans making up 28.4% of Napa's registered voters.
Stryk ran on a platform of change and fighting the corruption within the Yountville Town Government. Stryk received the endorsement of the Napa Sentinel while the Napa Valley Register who initially ran a series of unfavorable stories AbOUT Stryk, later would call him a "Political Maverick”. Stryk lost the election by a wide margin but garnered almost 75% of the registered Republican vote in the Town of Yountville.
Election controversy
Early on in the election the Napa Valley Register ran a series of stories that attacked Stryk as a carpet-bagging “Lobbyist” whose background was not suited for Mayor. It reported that Stryk was in a protracted battle with the Napa Valley Sheriff’s Department after he released an email which showed that a Senior Deputy within the Napa Sheriff’s Department was sending out racist emails from his official Sheriff’s Department email account. The Deputy in question is the son of Napa Democratic Congressman Mike Thompson.
The Napa Sentinel subsequently ran a series of front-page articles highlighting Stryk’s background and his struggle to become Mayor. The paper stated, “…Stryk continues to be the target of well entrenched political powers and is being harassed by big business owners...Stryk is a fighter with an extremely impressive background” The Sentinel went on to endorse Stryk and stated, “The politico’s don’t want Stryk as the Mayor fearing that he could uncover some shady political deals from the Town Hall.”