sentences:  Welch became active in politics as a Republican, including serving as treasurer of his local Republican Club, helping organize campaign events for the ticket of William McKinley and Garret A. Hobart during the 1896 presidential campaign, and organizing San Francisco's Dewey Republican Club in 1898.He served in the California Senate from 1901 to 1913.Welch was harbor master for the port of San Francisco from 1903 to 1907.