Primary v convention 2016: Practical, logistical concerns for Fairfax County Republicans

By Matthew C. Ames
Chairman, Fairfax County Republican Committee
Guest Post

My concerns are based entirely on practical considerations arising out of Fairfax County’s size and past practice, and are not intended to address the advantages or disadvantages of conventions vs. primaries.  I have a number of questions regarding the practical effects in Fairfax County if the SCC chooses a convention, which as far as I know have not been addressed.  In this regard, I believe my perspective differs from that of most of your correspondents on this issue.

Here is a summary of my letter [included below]:

• With over 700,000 registered voters and 238 precincts, Fairfax County represents one in seven Virginia voters.
• Because of our size, we have developed practices in the past that would need to be substantially altered if the RPV moves its convention to mid-March.
• Any method adopted by the RPV must be able to accommodate both the largest and the smallest units.
• We have historically held our County convention to elect the County chairman and conduct other party business in late March, which gives us about 90 days to plan and organize the convention after the holidays.
• Holding the RPV Convention on March 19 will force us to move our convention to mid- to late-February, and cut our planning time in half, unless we start during the holidays.
• We have a general election on November 3.  We cannot afford any distractions before then, and because of Virginia’s unique election cycle, the only down time our volunteers will have is between Election Day and New Year’s.
• It seems likely that interest in the process, and therefore in our convention, will be much higher than in other years.  I have seen no estimates of how many delegates are likely to attend our County convention under the March 19 convention proposal.  Without knowing that number, the FCRC cannot plan appropriately.  Without knowing that number with some degree of certainty, I think it would be irresponsible for the State Central Committee to approve a mid-March convention process.
• If the potential number of delegates to our convention is large enough – in excess of 2500 or 3000 — there may not be a venue in the County that is large enough to accommodate our convention.  The Patriot Center at George Mason University is unlikely to be an option, if only for reasons of cost.
• As far as I know, RPV has not taken any of these concerns into consideration at this point.

Letter to John Whitbeck, Chairman, Republican Party of Virginia

Guevara wins Sully primary, moves on to November

By Daniel P. Cortez

John Guevara, the 15-year army veteran, IT professional, Home Owner Association president, former Boy Scout leader, and longtime Sully resident pulled out a squeaker of a primary election victory Saturday in Northern Virginia.

Guevara was supported by Republican Party of Virginia Chairman John Whitbeck who clearly is trying to revitalize Republicans, knows victories of substance will continue to elude them without a better connection to the minority community.  Now they have another one in Guevara, a legitimate proud American veteran businessman who happens to be of Hispanic descent.

Sully supervisor contest illustrates ‘the man in the arena’

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The campaign for the Republican nomination for Sully District supervisor in Fairfax County was held Saturday, resulting in a low turnout that saw the winner garner 478 votes. Congratulations to John Guerava who now moves on to the general election against Democratic candidate Kathy Smith.

Thank you to Brian Schoeneman and John Litzenberger and all candidates who step into the arena. For those who do not make it, remember that you play an important part in the political process. We appreciate your service. You are the man in the arena….

Two-faced Stewart

By Tito A. Munoz
Guest Post

The most predictable trait of Prince William County Chairman Corey Stewart is his ability to do or say anything to win an election. He says one thing to some people, and says or does another thing among others. Stewart has primary opposition now and both of his faces are making grand appearances.

Stewart with one face miraculously admitted he was mistaken to oppose the changes on a Racial Profiling Law the county implemented in 2007. “I was wrong,” he said at a recent candidates’ debate. One week later the second face of Corey Stewart appeared when Stewart sent a flier to voters promoting his 2007 campaign against illegal immigrants as an accomplishment rather than a mistake. I received mine last Friday.

Brian Schoeneman leads Sully candidates in fundraising quarter

By Lynn R. Mitchell

This week’s release of campaign finance reports confirmed that Fairfax County Sully District Republican candidate Brian Schoeneman was the top fundraiser during the quarter that ended March 31 (see Schoeneman ends fundraising quarter with 85% from small donors).

The Schoeneman campaign actually released its numbers on April 1 but results from the other two Republican candidates were unknown until this week when reports showed Brian led not only his fellow Republican candidates but also the Democratic candidate (see Schoeneman leads money race in Republican contest for Fairfax seat):

Corey Stewart … “I was wrong back then”

By Tito A. Munoz
Guest Post

“I was wrong back then with regard to the modification of the policy,” Stewart said acknowledging his opposition to the modification of his Illegal Immigration policy was a mistake. These were the words of Chairman Corey Stewart during the April 11^th Republican Prince William County Chairman Candidate’s Debate (see video above).

Schoeneman ends fundraising quarter with 85% from small donors

Brian Schoeneman and Delegate Dave Albo

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Brian Schoeneman’s first quarter fundraising numbers reflect a strong grassroots system with more than 85 percent of contributions from small donors for his Fairfax County Sully supervisor race. Final filing with the State Board of Elections will be April 15 but here are the unofficial results of the period covering January 1 through March 31, 2015, as provided on April 2 by the Schoeneman campaign:

• 161 unique donors $100 and under
• 188 unique donors total
• 85.6% of contributions were of $100 or less
• Average donation was approximately $46.53
• Total raised: $26,871.38
• Cash-on-hand: $12,585.47

Who’s best for Republican outreach, Guevara or Schoeneman, in the Sully District?

By Daniel P. Cortez

John Whitbeck, the newly elected head of the RPV, has made an unprecedented move “endorsing” and that’s what it is regardless of the language used in his recent statement of support for John Guevara for Supervisor of the Sully District in Fairfax County.

In this, the first genuine move by Whitbeck towards outreach to the minority community for conservatives, he states, “Growing the Republican Party is essential to our winning elections in Northern Virginia.  John Guevara is exactly the kind of Republican we need to accomplish just that. His military and private sector experience in project management makes him uniquely qualified to serve on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.”

Brian Schoeneman endorsed by Steve Hunt

Brian Schoeneman

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Brian Schoeneman, running for the Republican nomination for Sully District supervisor in Fairfax County, received the endorsement of Steve Hunt, Fairfax County Electoral Board Chairman, former State Senate candidate, and former At-Large School Board Member.

Brian noted that “there are few people in Fairfax politics who know me better than Steve — we spent two years in the trenches on the Electoral Board together.”

Del. Dave Albo endorses Brian Schoeneman for Fairfax Sully District supervisor

 

Brian Schoeneman, Dave Albo

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Brian Schoeneman picked up another big endorsement this week when Delegate Dave Albo endorsed him for Fairfax County Sully District supervisor.

Brian Schoeneman for Sully Supervisor released the following:

Brian Schoeneman reception at Capitol Hill Club tonight

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Schoeneman would donate BOS pay increase to 4 community organizations

Brian Schoeneman

By Lynn R. Mitchell

When Fairfax County supervisors voted themselves a pay increase on March 3, Sully District Republican candidate Brian Schoeneman responded:

On March 3, 2015, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to raise their salary from $75,000 to $95,000 a year. As The Washington Post reports, “The increase, which will take effect in January, comes in a tough budget year for Fairfax, where county officials are working to balance a budget after projecting a revenue gap of nearly $90 million”. Read more of The Washington Post’s article here.

At a time when we are cutting services and seeing tax increases through rising property tax assessments, it is hard to justify to the taxpayers in Fairfax County raising Supervisor salaries – especially since the raises have more fiscal impact than just the increased pay itself. There are pension and benefit implications as well.

Elections matter. This was a 6-4 vote, and one additional vote would have been sufficient to block the raise. If I had been on the Board, I would have voted no on this pay increase and it would have failed.

Today Brian announced that if elected to the board he will donate the additional $20,000 pay increase to four Fairfax County community organizations, commenting:

Schoeneman campaign updates

Brian Schoeneman

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Brian Schoeneman, Republican candidate for Sully District’s supervisor seat in Fairfax County, announced an upcoming Campaign Open House and other events as well as a response to a recent supervisor vote.

After supervisors voted for a salary increase earlier this week, Brian responded:

On March 3, 2015, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to raise their salary from $75,000 to $95,000 a year. As The Washington Post reports, “The increase, which will take effect in January, comes in a tough budget year for Fairfax, where county officials are working to balance a budget after projecting a revenue gap of nearly $90 million”. Read more of The Washington Post’s article here.

At a time when we are cutting services and seeing tax increases through rising property tax assessments, it is hard to justify to the taxpayers in Fairfax County raising Supervisor salaries – especially since the raises have more fiscal impact than just the increased pay itself. There are pension and benefit implications as well.

Elections matter. This was a 6-4 vote, and one additional vote would have been sufficient to block the raise. If I had been on the Board, I would have voted no on this pay increase and it would have failed.

Compassionate words and deeds define new conservative leadership

By Daniel P. Cortez

The indefatigable Susan Allen, former First Lady of Virginia, co-hosted an open-to-the-public function this past weekend in Northern Virginia to benefit “Our Military Kids.”  It was a huge success to raise money benefiting our wounded soldiers and, specifically, the children of veterans whose parents face the financial difficulty of being deployed.

I was proud to be a co-sponsor, being a Vietnam veteran and having a military kid myself.  Recently-elected Congresswoman Barbara Comstock was also present to provide her support.

Another gallant cause by the extended Allen family.  And it was a family event as by her side was husband George, the enormously popular former Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator.  And it didn’t hurt to have support of his brother Bruce, president of our beloved Washington Redskins.

Brian Schoeneman’s big campaign kick-off for Fairfax supervisor

By Deborah Bornstein Munoz
Guest Post

Brian Schoeneman kicked off his campaign for Fairfax County Sully District supervisor Tuesday night with a big crowd of supporters at Backyard Grill in Chantilly. Here Brian addresses the crowd while Supervisor Pat Herrity and former school board member Steve Hunt, who have both endorsed him, listen to his remarks. Brian gave an excellent speech about growing business and strengthening the tax base in Sully and, for business owners, it was good to hear he would continue the tradition of a business-friendly board of supervisors since many consider Sully to be the Tysons Corner for site construction products and other industries.