The Settlement Project Strategy Roundtable – Seal Beach
SEAL BEACH, CA — On March 14, 2026, The Settlement Project (SP) convened a strategic roundtable discussion in Seal Beach on how to win 2026 campaigns committed to the ideals of freedom, faith and family. 28 invited guests attended, including some of LA’s most prominent organization leaders, engaged citizens, and local political candidates, including incumbents.
The forum followed on from SP’s December conference in San Leandro, also seeking integration between principled ideals and electoral strategy for conservative candidates.
Core Objectives and Electoral Context
Each participant spoke on Faith and Family Issues in the context of their races and the 2026 election landscape. The meeting served the need to form cohesive coalitions to for supporting one another, and for developing strategies for successful campaigns. Candidates and social leaders addressed the harm coming from destructive ideologies that flow through so many public institutions. Those gathered forged deeper connections and commitments for mutual support. Key areas of concern included:
Parental Rights: Addressing sexualized and racialist curricula in schools.
Public Safety: Supporting the constitutional liberty and security of local communities.
Ideological Critique: Evaluating the influence of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Gender, and Ideology within the “wokeism” apparatus.
Settlement Project founder Frank Kaufmann offered an informal-style keynote talk, in which he outlined a five-point framework for conservative candidates working in an increasingly information-saturated environment.
1. The Causality of Goodness
Public service is rooted in the truth that “being good is the path to a rich and rewarding life.” He emphasized that a commitment to genuine goodness naturally creates a life surrounded by heroes and people of beauty and valor.
2. Discernment in the Lives of Public Servants
All constructive lives come with a natural shadow unique to each serving profession. For example:
Police must balance community safety with human compassion while dealing with criminality.
Lawyers must balance the pursuit of justice with seeking the best outcome for a client.
Politicians face the tension between idealism on the one hand with the pragmatic need for re-election on the other.
Some form of spiritual or religious regimen in needed to provide a compass for these delicate points of discernment.
3. Asymmetry in Politics
The political Left has a short-term advantage when seeking office because of two aspects of Leftist belief: 1. The view that acquiring power by any means is a form of virtue, not moral turpitude. And 2. The Left appeals to the “base” half of human desires like wanting free stuff, or affirmation and legitimizing anti-social and criminal life and behavior.
Conservative leaders, however are tasked with an extra step, namely of activating the deeper light of being human; the inner push that delights in noble purpose, achievement, and excellence. Conservatives have the added burden to make that case, and help people away from the lazier path that seeks easy life and selfish gain for themselves or their tribe.
4. A “North Star” Strategy
To combat “information suffocation,” candidates should resist rapid, finger-in-the-wind calculation when speaking on “wedge issues.” Instead, honorable leaders should forge a simple, clear, core values matrix; their own respective North Star that informs all policy positions naturally. By grounding responses in core virtues (e.g., the sanctity of life for abortion, or the respect for law for immigration etc.), candidates can remain consistent and accessible without becoming bogged down in complicated challenges and media demands.
5. A Harmonized Pair of Serving
The final word described the dual role of political leadership: caring for the needs of the constituency while simultaneously leading them toward higher aspirations. The work of the statesman is to create social environments where individuals and families do not merely enjoy safety and stability, but also are places where people create and thrive.
The roundtable concluded with a renewed commitment among the 28 attendees to serve, and to lift people and families up from harmful policy and divisive ideologies. The event underscored The Settlement Project’s mission to provide both the educational resources and strategic support to help candidates championing freedom, faith and family in 2026.
Presentation videos will be posted on The Settlement Project YouTube Channel shortly. Don’t forget to subscribe for more updates from The Settlement Project.