As Chairman of the Roanoke City Republican Committee, I am often asked to explain or apologize for RCRC member Matt Colt Hall’s latest unhelpfulness. Because this most recent one is public (https://bit.ly/2S59OJT), my response ought to be public as well.
First of all, Matt Colt Hall does not speak for the RCRC or anyone other than himself.
Secondly, the first portion of his article was a half-truth that obscured certain nefarious motives but not in a way that is likely to materially prejudice anyone outside of the Virginia CRs.
Thirdly, it is the last portion of his article that I feel obliged to clean up.
In his article on the “6th District College Republican Representative Debacle,” Hall claims that “political neophyte John Massoud has organized a resistance movement against Chairwoman Britt.” This is a near slanderous misrepresentation and an unseasoned party officer would be preparing a lawsuit about now.
If you don’t know John Massoud, you should first understand that he was one of the hardest working volunteers for Team Cline, having knocked on as many as 650 doors for Ben Cline in 2018. That’s quite a bit more than most Cline volunteers, and about 650 more than Mr. Hall knocked himself, I’m told. Regardless, any insinuation that Mr. Massoud is something other than a hardworking and loyal, conservative Republican is categorically false.
Also, Mr. Walsh (the deposed CR (College Republican) representative to the 6th District Committee) did not ask Massoud to come to his defense. Rather, the members of the 6th District Committee asked Massoud to come to Walsh’s defense. These members include Ken Adams, Jeff Mayfield, Dan Cullers, Craig Storrs, former Speaker of the House Vance Wilkins, and several others from across the Republican spectrum.
Members of the Committee came to Massoud because Chair Jennifer Brown was out of town on vacation. Given her absence, it fell to Vice Chair Massoud to assemble a team including 28 of the 32 voting members of the Committee. Each member of this team signed a letter merely asking why Mr. Walsh was fired from his post. (Incidentally, this team also included Dan Johnson, who was Hall’s candidate for YR (Young Republican) Representative to the 6th District Committee.)
The letter was primarily written by a committee including Dan Cullers, Doc Troxel, and Massoud. Several others collaborated and contributed to the letter, including Jeff Adams, Craig Storrs, Vance Wilkins, and Jeff Mayfield.
John Massoud is hardly a political neophyte. Massoud has been continuously working in Virginia Republican (and conservative) politics for nearly 40 years, including two runs for the House of Delegates, current service on the Strasburg town council, and too many party offices to mention. People that know politics know that Massoud has been active longer than Matt Colt Hall has been alive.
Finally, if you think this letter to the CR chair was “creepy” or “bullying” you may want to consider finding a safe space outside of politics. Creepy bullying happens in Virginia Republican politics. But this ain’t it. The bottom line on all this is: regardless of the machinations that led up to the CRs abruptly changing representatives to the 6th District Committee, Vice Chair John Massoud (in the Chair’s absence and silence) quickly assembled a broad coalition of Republicans to simply ask for an explanation and thoughtful reconsideration. That’s leadership and transparency. It’s also competence and experience.
