RPV in Crisis: Due process and rule of law ignored in removal of 5th CD Chair Jon Berkley

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Last weekend’s Republican Party of Virginia State Central Committee meeting may have set a dangerous precedent for the future of the party by ignoring the rule of law and due process. New RPV Chairman John Whitbeck had just finished giving a speech calling for unity and then moved on to preside over the removal of 5th Congressional District Chairman Jon Berkley despite being advised that Mr. Berkley had properly fulfilled his duties as district chair and that the procedure to remove him was illegal.

Ousted Chair Jon Berkley’s overwhelming support from 5th Congressional District leadership

By Lynn R. Mitchell

On Saturday, January 24, 2015, the Virginia Republican State Central Committee took a secret vote to remove 5th Congressional District Chairman Jon Berkley for being a “non-functioning” chairman despite the fact the vote was an illegal maneuver and not in compliance with the Party Plan.

Interestingly, Berkley had the support of most in leadership in the 5th District but their requests for him to remain were overruled by those from outside the District. (That sounds very much like an overreaching federal government.)

Chairman Berkley has served for less than a year. During that tumultuous time when he has continually been challenged and undermined by those who lost the election that put him in the position, he took a District with $45 in its account and over $800 in outstanding bills and, by holding fundraisers and working steadily the past nine months, now has $10,000 in the District’s checking account. But that’s not all he has accomplished. In a post on Facebook, he noted his District also gave Congressman Robert Hurt over 60% of the vote for the first time ever and had more polls manned than any District in the state.

It is interesting the first point of business for newly-appointed State Chairman John Whitbeck was the illegal removal of a district chair and, even though he was shown the error in the maneuvering, he refused to correct the issue. This occurred immediately after 1st Congressional District Chairman Eric Herr declared on Facebook that he promised to form a third party is either Jeb Bush or Mitt Romney won the 2016 Republican nomination for president (see Herr threatens to form 3rd party if Jeb or Mitt get 2016 nod).

The following endorsements are from 5th Congressional District leadership. For more background about this issue, see RPV in Crisis: How is a chairman ‘non-functioning’ when he raises $10,000 for a bankrupt unit? and  Doom for Virginia Republicans by Bill Wheaton.

RPV in Crisis: How is a chairman ‘non-functioning’ when he raises $10,000 for a bankrupt unit?

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Jon Berkley has served as chairman of the 5th Congressional District for less than a year. During that tumultuous time when he has continually been challenged and undermined by those who lost the election that put him in the position, he took a District with $45 in its account and over $800 in outstanding bills and, by holding fundraisers and working steadily the past nine months, now has $10,000 in the District’s checking account. But that’s not all he has accomplished.

On Saturday he was illegally removed by the Republican Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee by a secret vote.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from all of us at LynnRMitchell.com

The reason for the season….

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.” Luke 2:8-20

The true meaning of Christmas … a time for the Christian world to pause and celebrate the birth of the son of God.

As 2014 comes to a close, we are thankful for a successful year and especially for our readers who contribute and share the posts we publish at LynnRMitchell.com.

It is a time to remember those who have special meaning in our lives. We are grateful to have our core group of contributors –Kurt, David, Daniel, and Lynn — working together as each brings a unique perspective that is shared in our writings:

Campbell County GOP appeal results

Rick Sincere provided an update to the Campbell County appeal that took place Saturday:

Meeting in Moneta today, the Fifth Congressional District Republican Committee voted to sustain an appeal of the results of the Campbell County GOP mass meeting. The appeal was lodged formally by former Campbell County GOP chairman Les Williams. The Fifth District committee narrowly split in its decision granting that the appeal — which alleged four major violations of party rules and parliamentary procedure — by a vote of 17-16 (chairman William Stanley abstaining on all votes).

 

Campbell County 3: Background on what led to appeal to be heard Saturday

By Bill Wheaton
Campbell County Republican Committee

TO: (5th District committee members)
FROM: Bill Wheaton, Nominations Committee Chairman

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT THE CAMPBELL COUNTY MASS MEETING

You have likely heard much about what happened here in Campbell County through emails and social media. Most of what you have been hearing is either false or greatly distorted. As Paul Harvey used to say, here is the “rest of the story.”

Campbell County 2: Refusing to concede a loss

By Bill Wheaton
The New Lynchburg Ledger, May 2014

In my column last month, I wrote about how we mustered local forces to take control of the Campbell County Republican Party back from the hands of the extremists.

Campbell County 1: What really happened at the 2014 Republican mass meeting?

By Bill Wheaton
The New Lynchburg Ledger, April 2014

The Republicans lost Virginia last fall because they nominated the wrong person for governor. Over the past decade, Virginia has become much more liberal politically and a Republican-like Cuccinelli never had a chance.

The nominee should have been Lt. Governor Bill Bolling who came to an agreement with Bob McDonnell four ago that McDonnell would run in 2009 and Bolling in 2013. Bolling would have been much less of a lightning rod than Cuccinelli and would have had a much better chance of winning.

So what happened?