Will Frank Wagner Disenfranchise Voters in Virginia's 2nd Congressional District?

Sen. Frank Wagner (R-Virginia Beach)

Sen. Frank Wagner is running to be Chairman of the Second District Republican Committee, but will he attempt to win his seat by throwing out the votes of his opponents?

Rumors of a potential “slating” scandal in 2nd District Chairman race have been swirling for some time. Now, Curtis Colgate, who is also running for the seat, has publicly called on Sen. Wagner to disavow the vile tactic and to let everyone’s vote count fairly.

What is “slating”? It is the practice whereby the majority of those in attendance at a county or city mass meeting only “elect” those delegates to a state or district convention who pledge to support a particular candidate. That means that if 500 people sign up to be delegates, and 251 of them happen to be aligned with one candidate, they can choose to not allow the other 249 to even show up at the convention. It is the tactic of thugs and petty tyrants who fear they cannot win an election in a fair contest where everyone’s vote is counted.

In the 2013 Lieutenant Governor’s race, there was a huge firestorm over false rumors that a staffer of one of the candidates had slated in a small unit’s mass meeting. Here, we’re talking about one of the largest units in the state—Virginia Beach—where a slated delegation could literally decide the outcome of the whole Congressional-district-wide election. And, to boot, the allegation is not about a junior staffer, but a senior sitting Virginia Senator.

What makes this potential scandal even more troubling is Sen. Wagner’s ostensible outrage over how our party’s processes may disenfranchise the military. Here, in a process that DOES allow military participation under DOD rules, slating of delegates would be in direct contravention of Sen. Wagner’s stated principles. This is why I and many others in the Republican Party of Virginia sincerely hope these rumors of slating are just that—rumors, and nothing more.

Full text of Curtis Colgate’s press release on this subject is below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jim Hoeft

March 7, 2014
(757) 818-4181

COLGATE CALLS ON WAGNER TO DENOUNCE ‘SLATING’ RUMOR

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Curtis Colgate, candidate for Chairman of the
2nd Congressional District of the Republican Party of Virginia, issued
the following statement regarding a rumor of “slating” delegates to
the 2nd District Convention:

“It has always been my expressed desire not to restrict participation
of individuals or disenfranchise anyone in the political process,”
said Colgate. “Slating, where a simple majority can enact a 100%
outcome, is, by its very nature, restrictive.”

Per the call for the convention the following cities are allotted the
following number of delegates:

· Accomack – 49
· Hampton – 53
· Newport News – 114
· Norfolk – 87
· Northampton – 15
· Virginia Beach – 552

If any of these unit committees should “slate,” then only those
delegates who have committed to support a given candidate are
permitted to attend the convention – which, in essence results in all
of the delegate votes being declared for that given candidate.

The bottom-line with slating: it excludes people who want to participate.

Colgate is calling on his opponent, Sen. Frank Wagner, to also
denounce the rumor and support a process where all qualified delegates
who wish to participate in the 2nd District Convention are able to.

“When all too many voters have become cynical and tired of political
gamesmanship, no candidate should advocate removing a person’s right
to vote through an obscure procedural motion,” said Colgate. “I know
Senator Wagner has been an advocate for more voter participation and I
hope he will join me in putting an end to this rumor.”

Virginia Beach, the largest delegation to the convention, will be
hosting a mass meeting Monday, March 10, 7 pm, at Frank W. Cox High
School, 2425 Shorehaven Dr., Virginia Beach, VA 23454 and selecting
their delegates. The city represents 64 percent of the convention vote
and “slating” would effectively render holding the convention moot,
eliminating the need for votes from other communities, and
disenfranchising the votes of those from Virginia Beach who support
another candidate.

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