A few months ago, I accepted the post of Finance Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. I’d like to share a little bit about why I accepted that position, and the Fred Malek Blog gives me a good opportunity to do so.

I believe very strongly in the importance of the Republican Party of Virginia, because I believe that Virginia is a crucial state for Republican Presidential candidates. If Republicans cannot win Virginia, then we cannot win the Presidency. To keep Virginia in the (political) Red, we absolutely have to rebuild our Party here in Virginia in order to give it the structure and leadership it needs to make our case to the people of the Commonwealth.

While then-RPV Chairman Ed Gillespie initially persuaded me to take this role, the people I have watched since then have only strengthened my resolve and my enthusiasm. The competence and dedication of other leaders in our Party has been impressive - from Lt. Gov Bill Bolling and Attorney General Bob McDonnell, to the members of the Central Committee and the District Chairs, to my Finance Co-Chair Lisa Gable and the many others who have stepped forward to help.

While Ed Gillespie’s resignation to become Counselor to the President seemed like a loss, I now believe we are in best shape ever due to the impressive leadership of the aforementioned people, and two other important people:

• Former Lt. Gov. John Hager, who was elected RPV Chair, is a dedicated public servant. He resigned his position as Assistant Secretary of Education to take on the RPV Chair position where he will work full time without pay. That kind of dedication, combined with his leadership and competence will show great results for the RPV.
• Charlie Judd is an exceptional Executive Director, with the experience, judgment, and staff to run one of the finest state political organizations in the country.

So where do we go with this tremendous team?

1. Our first priority is this Fall’s State Assembly and Senate races, where Democrats are making a full on assault to achieve majority in one or both of these chambers.
2. This must be followed by attention to Congressional, Senate, and Presidential races in 2008.

This team, led by John Hager, has the ability to make the Party of Lincoln the majority party in Virginia for years to come. I’m excited to be a part of this, and excited to keep Virginia in the Republican column for a long, long time.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 11:15 am and is filed under Fred Malek, Republican Party, Virginia Republican Party, politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.