Spotlight on Prince William County

In 2010, when Republican Keith Fimian fell less than 1,000 votes short of unseating Gerry Connolly (one of the closest races in the nation!), Prince William County voters played a large part in selecting the 11th District's nominee and almost electing him to Congress.

2012 is shaping up to be a tougher year for the Prince William County Republicans. Redistricting has completely changed the parts of of Prince William County that are or are not in the 11th District.

The Virginia Senate lines drawn last year also carved up the county in such a way that, even though 57% of votes cast in Prince William were for Republicans in 2011, only 40% of Prince William County's Virginia Senators are Republican. The Prince William County Republican Committee passed a resolution last November asking the Republicans in the legislature to give them relief from this situation in the Congressional redistricting, which was completely ignored. Prince William continues to be split between 3 congressional districts, though many residents were shifted to a different district.

One of the 11th District candidates for State Central Committee this year is a magisterial district chairman from Prince William County: Bob Patten. I have gotten to know Bob on the campaign trail over the past couple of months, and we share the goals of refocusing the State Central Committee on winning elections and growing the party, and truly representing the views of Republican activists in the 11th District instead of our own private agendas. I also agree that Prince William County Republicans deserve representation on the State Central Committee. So I hope you'll join me in supporting Bob.

Remember, you get to vote for 3 people in the State Central race. In fact, because of the procedure set up by the incumbents, it is important to select three people when you cast your first ballot. Selecting only one or two will only ensure that there will need to be multiple rounds of ballots and drag the convention out all afternoon.

If you're not yet registered to vote in the 11th District convention, Prince William County and Fairfax City residents can still register through March 31. (Click here for more information about how to register.) Unfortunately, the deadline has already passed for Fairfax County residents, but you can still help by leaving an endorsement message, donating to the campaign, or volunteering to help hand out stickers and flyers at the Fairfax County Republican Committee convention at West Springfield HS the morning of March 24.

FAQ: What Does the State Central Committee Do?

Several people have asked me, "What does State Central Committee do? How often does it meet? And why is it important?" All excellent questions! Here are your answers:

Licia Ronzulli, representing Italy in the European Parliament,
gets a little help with voting. I don't plan on bringing kids
to State Central meetings, but I do find this photo adorable.

How often? State Central Committee regularly meets four times a year, and calls special additional sessions when needed. So this is not a commitment that interferes with working or family life, or even with being actively involved in precinct-level political activity.

What does it do? State Central Committee makes decisions for the Republican Party of Virginia, statewide. Chief among these is choosing between primaries and conventions as the method for nominating statewide candidates (President, Senator, Governor, Lt. Gov., and Attorney General). State Central can amend the "Party Plan," which is like the bylaws of the Republican Party of Virginia, and controls much of what local units like the Fairfax County Republican Committee can and cannot do. They approve the annual budget for the state party, which means they have an important role to play in how the RPV raises money and how it is spent.

State Central representatives also sit on their own Congressional District committees. These committees choose between primaries and conventions for their own congressional district's nominations, and they determine the rules for their own party conventions (i.e. the May 19 convention at Oakton HS for the 11th District). They also play an important role in supporting Republican candidates with fundraising and grassroots assistance at the congressional district level.

Why is it important? The choice between holding a primary and a convention often makes or breaks certain candidates where the Republican nomination is contested. Conventions tend to favor candidates who have been involved in Virginia GOP politics for a long time, or who provoke enough intense feelings from a certain group of voters to inspire them to navigate the complex process and spend a day in Richmond voting. (As you can imagine, they also favor candidates who live closer to Richmond.) Primaries favor candidates who have the organizational capacity to reach out to a broad base of voters throughout the state, including voters who want to have a say in the nominating process but aren't willing or able to give up an entire Saturday to do that.

Other rules set by the State Central Committee can critically impact elections in Virginia, and local party operations. For instance, State Central has the power to make the changes I've suggested in recent posts: providing statewide online registration and allowing sensible proxy voting for conventions. State Central also plays an important role in defining the Republican "brand" in Virginia.

FAQ: Can I Register or Pay Online for the Convention?

Here's another common question from the campaign trail: can I register for the convention online, or send a credit card payment for my registration fee online?

And again, the answer is NO.

Is this 2012 or 1992? The party plan of the Republican Party of Virginia still does not allow electronic signatures, so we're still stuck with paper forms and paper checks. Not only is this inconvenient for voters who want to register, but it's enormously time consuming for the staff and volunteers who have to enter the information from these forms by hand into databases.

If elected to State Central Committee, one key, common sense reform I will work hard to see adopted is a single, online registration form for all of Virginia. Put in your address, the system automatically figures out which districts you're in, check the boxes for what you want to participate in, enter a credit card, and that's it, you're done. The data and payments automatically get transmitted to the right district chairmen, in electronic form to add to their lists, and that's it, they're done.

Such a simple, cost-effective and time-saving solution. I think we have a right to ask our State Central representatives, "why hasn't the RPV done this yet?"

Until they do, please see the registration guide to make sure you have the opportunity to vote for more forward-looking leadership for our party. There's only about a week left to get the registration forms in the mail, so don't delay!

FAQ: Can I Vote in a Convention by Proxy?

Over the past couple of weeks that I've been running for State Central Committee, I have gotten this question several times: "I will be out of town on May 19. Can I vote by proxy?"

The short answer is, NO. But I don't think the discussion should stop there!

Why can't you vote by proxy? Because the Republican Party of Virginia Plan doesn't permit proxies for participation in conventions or mass meetings.

Who does this impact? A lot of people! First, and most egregiously, it means our servicemen and women who are required to be away from home on the day of a convention are denied the opportunity to have a vote because they are serving our country! It also disenfranchises people who are required to work on the day of the primary (usually a Saturday) or who have religious restrictions on that day. Family obligations also prevent many people from participating, whether it is kids' athletic schedules, the difficulty of bringing young children to a long convention, or out-of-town travel. Health conditions keep yet other people from participating - for instance, I didn't participate in the 2008 state convention in Richmond to select our Senate nominee because I was 39 weeks pregnant. So many of the people who are busy being patriotic Americans, serving our country, raising children, working for a living, etc. are not able to have a voice in these conventions.

Why does RPV not allow proxies? Goodness knows! It may be as simple as inertia, but we should ask State Central to justify (or change!) this rule. It is particularly ironic that the State Central Committee members, who have the power to change the Plan, give themselves the right to vote by proxy at State Central Committee meetings.

What can I do about this? If you don't have a conflict on May 19, please register for the 11th District Convention ASAP using the proper form (remember, Fairfax County forms must be received by March 10, so there isn't much time left to mail it in). Then please vote for me on May 19, because I will be a tireless advocate to reform the RPV to make participation in the party easier, not harder, and that includes pressing to allow proxies at conventions.

If you have a conflict, you can't have an official proxy, but you can urge a Republican friend or two or three to register for the convention and vote for change on May 19. As a matter of fact, you can encourage as many Republican friends as you like to register and participate in this process together. Let's make this Party our party!

Help! How to Complete the Fairfax Convention Filing Forms

Fairfax City and Fairfax County registered voters can start filing now to participate in the upcoming Republican committee and congressional district conventions. But gosh those forms can be confusing!

So here are the Fairfax form completion guides to help you through the process. (Please don't complete the color-coded guide; it won't be accepted as a valid form. Download and print the official form and then use the guide as a reference.)

Jurisdiction	Deadline*	Official form	Form completion guide
Fairfax City	Saturday, March 31, 6:00 p.m.	Download here
Fairfax County	Saturday, March 10, 12:00 noon	Download here	(for help looking up your districts see steps 1 & 2 here)

* NOTE: the form and payment must be received by this time. Postmarks do not count! Mail it in now and you won't have to worry about hand delivery to meet the deadline.

Prince William County voters, we're still waiting to get a copy of your form. As soon as I can I'll provide a guide for you too.