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| Just one-third of the FCRC convention participants shown in this photo! |
Though the election between two strong candidates was very close, the race was never bitter. As soon as Jay McConville was announced the winner, Matt Ames announced he would continue to serve as FCRC's first Vice-Chair for Operations alongside Jay. We are fortunate to have a great captain and co-captain, along with 9 strong magisterial district chairmen and hundreds of precinct captains, Republican women's club members, etc. ready to equip thousands of grassroots activists throughout the county and lead Republicans to victory this year.
Clearly, Republicans in Fairfax County are stronger and more united than they have been in a long time. But does our representation on the State Central Committee reflect this same unity and dynamism? What part have the incumbents played in building the Fairfax County GOP to this point? Do the State Central members outside Northern Virginia hear from the 11th District representatives what has worked so well at the grassroots level in Fairfax, and what the state party can do differently to enable NoVA Republicans to do even better? These are important questions we need to be asking as we decide who should represent the 11th District on the Republican Party of Virginia's governing board for the next 4 years.
Lillian,
ReplyDeleteAs a candidate you should be able to report facts:
A) Matt is not continuing as 1st Vice of Operations because there is no such position. He has agreed to serve as 1st Vice Chairman of the FCRC. Second, it is not a position of "co-captain." There is one Chairman, and his leadership team, period.
B) There weren't 800 delegates, there were closer to 600 delegates. This information was reported by the Convention Chairman.
C) You ask what the "incumbents" have done and I agree I don't know the answer but the better question is: What have you done to grow the GOP in Fairfax County besides being a precinct captain? And, are you supporting throwing all incumbents out of office or who have you endorsed?
Thank you.
So much for representing your constituents. A post made on March 25th and we are still waiting for answers to the questions posed.
ReplyDeleteThe questions were already answered on this website. If you can't find them on your own, look here http://votevogl.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html and here http://votevogl.blogspot.com/2012/03/spotlight-on-prince-william-county.html.
ReplyDeleteSo you've only endorsed Bob Patten?
ReplyDeleteWhat about Delegate, Presidential Elector and Chairman candidates?
Yes. I do not like the practice of horse-trading endorsements, for two reasons:
ReplyDelete1. I trust Republican activists to make up their own minds based on careful consideration of the candidates. I see my leadership roles in the party as helping to *organize* activists so we can be effective in the common cause of electing Republicans to public office. I don't see my leadership role as telling the volunteers and members I've recruited how to think or vote.
2. I have seen that it is common practice that endorsements are secretly made based on the trading of political favors. I have often heard people privately tell me that they had to endorse someone or couldn't endorse someone because someone else in the local party did them a favor or might undermine them. So I've come to be very skeptical about the value of these endorsements.
Despite my reservations about endorsements, I decided it was worthwhile to endorse Bob Patten for a number of reasons:
* I believe as a matter of principle that Prince William County should have representation on the State Central Committee,
* I am very impressed with Bob's activism, commitment to the party, and political judgment, and
* Bob isn't well known in Fairfax, while I am, so I think my endorsement is valuable to help him raise his profile in this part of the 11th District.
I am also willing to discuss my thoughts and preferences about the various candidates on a person-to-person level. I find that sharing these thoughts in private conversations lends itself to more honest discussion than do public endorsements.