It seems Loudoun County Republicans have a problem with some Independent candidates who are running for office in November but not all Independent candidates who are challenging Republican candidates.[read_more]
Two days ago we learned that disgraced Supervisor Shawn Williams is circulating petitions to run for Chairman of the Board as an Independent. The next day the Loudoun County Republican Committee sent out a sharp criticism, not of Shawn Williams, but of Steve Simpson, a likely candidate to run for sheriff, as we reported two weeks ago. Huh?
In a sternly worded email to all members of Loudoun County Republican Party Chairman Mike Haynes said,
“For the past few months Steve Simpson has been frequenting Loudoun Republican meetings, attending fundraisers and events and apparently trying to be part of the Republican Party again,” said Haynes. “For him to now be considering a run as an independent is very unfortunate and unacceptable.”
“Four years ago the voters of Loudoun County made a change in the Sheriff’s office and effectively removed Steve Simpson as Sheriff,” said Haynes. “At lease part of the reason for his removal was that a few years earlier he had lost the Republican primary and then ran as an independent. Being a Republican has to mean something and you can’t jump in and out of the Party to further your political career. Loudoun County voters want elected officials to stand for something and not just be in politics for selfish reasons.”
“Steve Simpson is more than welcome in the Party if he is going to support our nominees like he promised to do in writing only a few short weeks ago by signing the Delegate filing form. But if he is going to run for office as an independent we will make every effort to defeat him in November just as we will the Democrat in the race.”
Ok, fine, but what about the guy running as an Independent for Chairman of the Board, a position most people in the county consider to be THE position of leadership in the county? Apparently LCRC is fine with an Independent challenging our candidate for Chairman of the Board but they draw the line at challenging Mike Chapman for Sheriff.
And why the attack on Simpson now when nothing has changed with his candidacy in the last two weeks?
When I spoke with former Sheriff Simpson last night he seemed rather puzzled by the communication from LCRC since he has not declared a run for office and is still gathering signatures for a possible challenge. (Just like Shawn Williams.) Simpson had no idea why Mike Haynes chose to attack him at this time. Nor does anyone else. Sheriff Simpson was also puzzled as to why Mike Haynes has not called him to discuss his possible run against Sheriff Chapman. Simpson went on to say that he is gathering signatures and talking to people, “checking the pulse of the community”. He added that support for his run has been “overwhelmingly positive” from all sectors of the community. Simpson said his phone has rung constantly since the Republican convention with voters and employees of the sheriff’s office urging him to run. People want yard signs, they want to work on his campaign, donate money, all the things it takes to mount a winning campaign.
“The support for my candidacy has been huge.”
When questioned about the Republican party pledge that all delegates made at the recent Republican convention Sheriff Simpson said,
“public safety is bigger than party politics. I care too much about Loudoun county and the safety of the people to stand idly by.”
Since Sheriff Simpson has not declared his candidacy (but is clearly headed that way) he felt LCRC Chairman’s email attacking him was pre-mature.
So why the double standard from LCRC? Why is the party blasting a former Sheriff for his possible run for office and saying nothing about Shawn Williams possible run? Both candidates are doing the exact same thing, circulating petitions with an eye on running for office as Independents. Neither has officially announced a run for office. Sheriff Simpson has an honorable background. He honorably served our county as Sheriff for many years. Shawn William’s background is a disgrace.
However, some people in the Republican party, such as the close supporter of Sheriff Chapman, Brian Reynolds, feel that Williams run for office poses problems for Republicans in Loudoun,
“it puts a lot of people in Loudoun at odds between their dedication to the [GOP] nominee or choosing someone who, while in office, has done a very good job,”
The same can be said about Sheriff Simpson. So why the double standard?
More on the story here.
