My first Republican convention was in 1993, as a young campaign volunteer. George Allen was nominated for Governor and went on to win that year. His campaign called it the largest political convention in the history of the free world. As a pre-teen, it was exciting to see the direct relationship between my civic volunteerism, the actions of the delegates, and the outcome of the nominating convention.
Why participate?
Since that first state convention, I have learned some more important lessons:
- There are those who love liberty, and those who will tolerate slavery in exchange for the promise of security.
- There are those who view power as a tool to be used in service to principle, and there are those who view principle as a tool to be used to advance their own power and privilege.
- There is never a moment when liberty has been finally secured and when the principles that undergird it are sufficiently established.
The implications of these lessons are clear: those who love liberty must defend and advance conservative principles at every level of civic involvement, or it will be lost for future generations.
There are all kinds of opportunities to protect and promote what makes America great: in business, in the nonprofit sector, in elected public service, and in elected partisan office.
In 2012, I was elected by grassroots Republicans at the 10th District convention to represent them as a member of the State Central Committee, which is the governing body of the Republican Party of Virginia.
I ran for several reasons:
- To unify the Republican Party of Virginia around shared conservative principles. I believe in the Republican creed. I believe in our Constitution, which is increasingly attacked and ignored by liberal Democrats. I believe in the rule of law, that the rights of law-abiding citizens to own and use firearms should not be infringed, that the lives of the most vulnerable among us should be protected by law, and that a culture of dependence on entitlement programs and big government regulation is the greatest enemy of liberty.
- To build and grow the Republican Party at every level in the 10th district and beyond. I talk to people all the time who want to keep more of what they earn, who are frustrated with the control an impersonal government bureaucracy exerts on their lives, and who worry that their children have less opportunity than they did. They may never have participated in partisan activity but they share our values and we need to welcome new voters and new communities of voters into our party.
- To promote honesty, transparency, and fair play within the Republican Party of Virginia. I believe that Republicans should choose Republican nominees and that those who are elected to lead this party should support its nominees. The GOP belongs to grassroots Republicans and you have the right to know how you are being represented. That’s why I’ve always reported on state central committee meetings and asked for your input on the issues we consider.
I am pleased with the things we have accomplished in the last several years.
- We protected the Commonwealth from much of Terry McAuliffe’s liberal agenda by retaining control of the Virginia House of Delegates & Senate.
- We ended abusive slating, which allowed a small group of people – often non-Republicans – to deny Republican activists the opportunity to choose their party’s leaders and nominees.
- We have grown the grassroots Republican Party as conservatives have taken ownership of our party to advance Republican principles.
Together with a team including two other proven conservative Republican leaders, I am running again to represent you on the State Central Committee of the Republican party of Virginia. We bring diverse backgrounds and experiences to our activism. Andrew Nicholson is the outgoing chairman of the Clarke County Republican committee. John Guevara, from Fairfax, is an Army veteran, and former GOP nominee for the Board of Supervisors. I make my home in Loudoun County, where I work full time for a life-affirming nonprofit, and volunteer in a number of conservative Republican roles. We are united by shared principles, love of liberty, and commitment to use our time, talent, and energy to preserve liberty and advance those principles.
How to Participate
Just as we elect individuals to public office, we also elect representatives to party office. It’s easy to participate.
Delegates from each of the 8 county and city Republican committees in the 10th district represent other Republicans at conventions that choose Republican leaders this year. You can file with your local Republican committee to be a delegate to the 10th district convention on April 16th. Each committee has a different filing deadline. Clarke County’s deadline has already passed but all the others are still coming up (with Fairfax and Prince William being THIS Saturday).
At the 10th district convention, the delegates will choose 3 representatives to the State Central Committee and 3 delegates and 3 alternates to the Republican National Convention. These individuals will have short and long-term influence over the direction of our party and the choice of its nominees.
In a Republic, those who participate have the power to decide who will represent us. May we all choose wisely.
