The House of Delegates and Senate today appointed Mims to replace Justice Barbara Keenan, who was appointed to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals by the U.S. Senate last week. Mims had been tapped as the leading candidate to take Keenan’s seat before the vote Wednesday.
Mims is only the second Virginian to serve in the General Assembly, as Attorney General and on the Supreme Court. Mims served as Attorney General until January, filling the seat when Bob McDonnell resigned the office to campaign full time for governor. He had served as deputy attorney general under McDonnell and represented Loudoun in the House of Delegates from 1992 to 1997 and the Senate from 1998 to 2005. He became the Deputy Attorney General in January 2006.
Bill Mims lived just 4 doors down from me right here in Sterling while he was our Senator to the General Assembly and a nicer guy you can’t find. He followed his good friend Bob McDonnell down to Richmond in 2006 after McDonnell was elected Attorney General and served as AG himself, as stated above, when McDonnell resigned to pursue the governorship. It’s such a pleasant surprise to see that he was appointed to Virginia’s high court and I’m 100% confident that he’ll do a fantastic job.
Congrats, Bill! I’m looking forward to hearing more about you over these next 12 years that you’ll be on the bench.
(Thanks, much, to The Loudoun Scoop for keeping we Loudouners informed!)
Gun ownership in the United States is on the rise and that trend has been particularly steep in the past 18 months or so. A large component of that rise consists of women who recognize that the right to self defense requires the knowledge and proper equipment to actually do so when required. Our friends at G3Security Group, Inc. understand that and they want to help make that effort straightforward, focused – and fun! So coming up on Sunday, April 11th they’re offering a Ladies Only Basic Gun Class, as noted over at Ask Miss A.com:
More and more women want to protect themselves. G3Security Group in Sterling, Virginia is having a Ladies Only Basic Gun Class on Sunday, April 11th from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. ”The Basics” are classes for beginners, people who have shot before but never received any training, and others who just need a refresher. These classes have around 4-8 people and have alot of personal time with student and instructor. The courses cost $160.00, but mention “Miss A” and only pay $135. Range time and fees are extra and booked at a later date.
I’ve been giving some consideration to a number of issues, lately, that have taken quite a bit of time to think through. Of recent interest has been the election of a Chairman to the LCRC, said election having been concluded this past Saturday. Throughout the process I was bothered by something regarding the whole procedure and I think it’s time that I speak out on it and that I call upon my fellow members of the LCRC to consider as well.
The LCRC is not the only organization I hold membership in. Most notably, I am a member of the Knights of Columbus (a Knight of the 4th Order, for any fellow Knights who read this) but I am also a card-carrying member of the NRA. And ISSA, a security association of IT professionals. And an alumni member of Delta Tau Delta. All of these organizations have “command” hierarchies with varying levels of leadership, locally and nationally. And every one of them draws the leadership from the membership ranks, elected by the membership.
The LCRC, for some reason, is required to throw open the election of its leader to allow participation by any member of the general public who claims to be a Republican and who signs a pledge that they’ll support whatever candidate we nominate for the general elections. Here’s some interesting math from the party canvass this past Saturday: 970 people dropped by to vote in the canvass. Somewhere around 200 people actually joined the committee. In short, roughly 4 of every 5 people who voted in the election to decide who will lead the LCRC chose not to become a member in the organization for which they had a hand in choosing the leadership.
My KofC Council has about 385 Knights. Our parish – the church to which the Council is attached – is comprised of about 1600 families. I’ll give you a huge benefit of the doubt and say that only half of the families have men over 18 in them that are eligible to be Knights. That’s still 800 men of the parish of which slightly less than half are Knights. When it comes time to elect our Grand Knight to lead our Council, we do not solicit votes from the men of the parish who are not Knights.
ISSA does not ask the general population who should be the President of the organization. They ask the members and only the members decide. The NRA welcomes anyone who wishes to join to our ranks. But we don’t ask non-members who the Chairman should be. That decision is restricted to people who hold membership. Delts don’t hold open elections to determine who’s going to be the fraternity’s President, locally or nationally. Delts elect their own.
It’s not just organizations that do this, it’s probably every election in which you’ve ever participated. When the Governor’s race was being decided last November, citizens of Ohio didn’t go to the polls. No resident of Georgia cast a vote deciding between Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds. It worked the same way the closer to home you got. My friend who lives in Arlington didn’t even know who Tag Greason was, let alone got to vote for him for Delegate of the 32nd House District. That decision was reserved to residents of this District.
There’s a simple reason these organizations and localities don’t permit votes by people outside their membership: it is the members who will be led by the person elected and who will benefit from or suffer from their leadership. It is the membership who must give their consent to be governed, as it were, by the winner of the election. What makes the selection of a leader valid, in my eyes, is that decision and the consequences – good or ill – are borne by the people who were involved in the decision.
Of every 5 people who voted last Saturday, only 1 will be required to live with the results. The rest went home and will basically forget all about it. The specific results of this specific election are beside the point; what matters is that people who are not members of the Committee are being allowed to decide who the leader of the people who are members of the Committee will be. While it’s plain this didn’t happen in this past election, it is painfully obvious that this situation lends itself to a result where literally all of the people who chose to become members could vote for a particular candidate for the Chairman and that candidate could still lose. For the following 2 years, the members of the Committee would belong to an organization chaired by someone that the majority of their membership did not want. I fail to understand how anyone could describe that situation as small-d “democratic.”
I believe the process should be changed. Rather than elect a Chairman in an open election, the party should undertake that task as the first order of business after the membership has been decided. There was a deadline date for people to file to become members of the Committee and for people to run for Chairman. That should continue. But rather than allow all comers to participate in the voting for the Chairman, only those people who filed valid applications for membership (and whose applications have been verified as valid) should be allowed to cast their vote. This could be accomplished at the first meeting of the Committee if a special election event is undesirable for whatever reason. Or, we could hold an election just as we did this past Saturday but only members of the Committee would be allowed.
I’m sure there will be those who would call such a change “non-inclusive” and suggest that keeping this process open, as it is today, is a benefit. I see no advantage to allowing people who will not be subject to the consequences of their decision to participate in deciding the leadership of a political party, perhaps even especially at this local level. As for “inclusiveness,” is it too much to ask a person who wants to have a say in who the leader of the LCRC will be that they actually join up? I think not. I believe changing our process to see to it that a Chairman is elected by the majority of the membership will result in a stronger, more unified Committee.
Loudoun County Republicans voted in great numbers today at the Loudoun County Republican Party Canvass held at Belmont Ridge Middle School. The Loudoun County Republican Committee (LCRC) order of business for the day was the election of Mark Sell as the Committee’s Chair for the next two years.
“I am pleased to announce Mark Sell as the next Chairman of the LCRC,” Outgoing Chairman Glen Caroline reported. “The LCRC is united behind Mark Sell and we remain focused on the 2010 Congressional election and the extremely important 2011 Loudoun County races. The almost 1,000 voters in today’s party canvass is a strong indication that the Republican Party continues to surge in Loudon County.”
LCRC Chairman Mark Sell noted, “Today’s canvass for Loudoun County Republican Committee Chairman was a tremendous victory for our Party and for the conservative principles and committed base that are the source of our strength. The robust turnout, the exceptional enthusiasm for our cause it represented, and the unity and comity that were evident even in the midst of a competitive campaign are already building a powerful surge of momentum for Republican wins in 2010, 2011, 2012 and beyond.”
My congratulations to Mark Sell for his victory.
My applause also for Candace Strother in her efforts to win the election. We need good people to stand forth and put those efforts forward to continue our path as an energetic, dynamic force in American politics. It is my hope that we can count on her again down the road.
Finally, my heartfelt thanks to former Chairman Glen Caroline. We accomplished much in his 2 years of tenure at the helm and it was done at a very critical time for the Commonwealth and the nation. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors.
For now, let us see what the new Chairman has in mind for the next 2 years.
It’s decision time, fellow Loudoun Republicans. Head over to the party canvass at Belmont Ridge Middle School from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm to cast your vote. Bring your photo ID with you, sign the pledge, cast your vote, and be on your way. It’ll take 15 minutes and the future of the LCRC depends on what we decide today.
I’m voting for Candace Stother and I’m asking that you come and join me. We’re at a crucial stage in our county, our state, and our country. The decision we make today will affect our responses for the next 2 years and there’s some serious action taking place during that time period. Candace Strother is the leader we need in the months and years ahead. Come cast your ballot for Candace Strother for Chairman.
We are down to the wire on the decision regarding the chairmanship of the LCRC. Throughout the campaign, Candace has spoken of her experience and vision. As the party canvass arrives, I wanted to give her the chance to speak to you, the readership at HoodaThunk? directly and, utilizing the best our technology has to offer, in her own voice. Ladies & gentlemen, Candace Strother:
As we approach the party canvass this Saturday its important to keep firmly in mind the ramifications of the decision we Loudoun Republicans face. This is not a matter of simple popularity, it’s a matter of selecting as our Chairman for the next 2 years the individual with the necessary skills and experience to effectively lead us in the public debate and public struggle to elect our candidates to office. It’s about electing a Chairman who displays the vision and capability to increase the public awareness – nationally and locally – of the effectiveness of Republican ideas and the accomplishments of Republican elected officials.
The decision before us comes down to which of these two candidates, Candace Strother or Mark Sell, best meets these requirements. It’s instructive to look not only at their words but their actions. Please recall that I’ve already stated this isn’t about conservative values. Both candidates are solidly conservative and suggestions to the contrary should not be taken seriously. I’ve already written about Candace Strothers’s qualifications and you should take a moment to have a look at that post if you’ve not already done so. Let’s look further.
Both candidates recently wrote letters to the editor addressing the impending tax increases by our Board of Supervisors. But while both spoke against the increases, note that Candace Strother took the opportunity to highlight the good work done by the 2 Republican Supervisors where Mark Sell did not. A good Chairman never misses the chance to mention the efforts of GOP elected officials. Especially in the current BoS environment, any good deeds done by Republicans don’t get called out for public notice. The Commitee leadership must take care of that and that appears to be second nature for Candace.
When speaking to the BoS on the same issue, both spoke against the current Democrat majority’s penchant for simply raising taxes at any opportunity. But while Mark Sell’s commentary amounted to pulpit-pounding and railing at an opponent-led Board to not do what Dems seem to always want to do, Candace Strother framed her comments by highlighting the clear direction of the electorate’s feelings on the matter. She made certain to remind the Supervisors of the most recent general election and made a point of highlighting what that meant regarding the Board’s decisions. A good Chairman takes the opportunity to spotlight where our opponents are weak and to hold out their decisions to the public so it’s obvious when they are out of touch with Loudoun’s citizens. Candace recognizes that the commentary by citizens at these public hearings are directed at the public as well as at the Supervisors. Party leaders know to make sure the message gets to both sets of recipients.
I would note that her comments were mentioned in news articles, notably at the Washington Post which is hardly a GOP-sympathetic paper. A good Chairman makes sure the message is worth repeating, even by our opponents.
In this information age, using the same communications approaches used 10 or 15 years ago doesn’t cut it. Social media, dynamic content such as blogs, and the like are no longer luxuries or showy gadgets. They’re requirements for getting the message out and convincing our fellow citizens that our ideas are the best approaches. A good Chairman embraces new approaches and new technology to give themselves and the party they lead the edge in the marketplace of ideas. Candace’s entire effort in running for the chairmanship has demonstrated that she understands this and is comfortably using the tools we’ll need to engage with the electorate both here in Loudoun, in our neighbor counties, and in Virginia as a whole. This is a matter of using the necessary tools to connect and draw strength from our local, state and national fellow Republicans.
Mark Sell is a great guy and a wonderful Republican. It isn’t about whether he’s conservative enough or Republican enough. It’s about whether he’s leader enough and, given his showing thus far when real leadership was called for, the best candidate to lead the LCRC is Candace Strother.
Please join me this Saturday, March 6, at the party canvass. Please join me in electing Candace Strother as Chairman of the LCRC.
Bearing Drift has a terrific guest post up by Duront Walton, Executive Director of the Virginia Telecommunications Industry Association. Mr. Walton addresses an ongoing attempt to keep a Tim Kaine-proposed tax hike on phone services in Virginia (an increase in the tax collected for 911 call center funding, specifically) to funnel funds into a non-related program.
This is a union bill that firefighters have pushed each year to increase state contributions to the “line of duty fund.” The fund, in and of itself, is a very worthy project that makes payments to the families of first responders who are killed or injured in the line of duty. But those covered under the Line of Duty statute include everyone from game wardens to state hazmat teams to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. All of these are noble and important offices, but there is hardly a connection between their job and a 911 communications infrastructure.
No one takes issue with the merits of the fund. Senator Fred Quayle (R-Chesapeake) has introduced a bill that adds this tax onto home security systems each of the past four years. It’s failed every year because the General Assembly didn’t feel there was enough of a nexus between security systems and the fund to link the tax. Quayle refused to carry the bill again for a 5th year. As a tip of the hat to his union buddies, Governor Kaine included the tax in his budget, placed it on all Virginians who have a home or cell phone, and then promptly left town.
The House of Delegates stripped the language out of their proposed budget and killed several bills that proposed to implement this through a change in statute. The Virginia Senate, on the other hand, left it in their budget.
Read the whole, as they say. It’s illuminating and it’s important. It addresses a specific issue but touches on a wider concept: transparency and accountability in our government operations. Taxes, most of all, should be quite up-front about what they are collecting funds for. This is how government expands and creeps into areas no one ever thought it should. As Mr. Walton says, there’s nothing wrong with the fund in question and it addresses a noble purpose. But if it’s something we Virginians think our government should be doing, then let’s do so in the open, not as some back-door parasitic event. I applaud the House removing this from the budget and I hope the Senate can step up to the same commitment to honesty.
Candace Strother is a strong supporter of Virginians’ 2nd Amendment rights. You likely knew that if you know her at all. But did you know she was a competition pistol marksman and appeared in an ad for local gun range Blue Ridge Arsenal?
Come out and cast your vote for Candace Strother for LCRC Chairman on 6 March 2010 at Belmont Ridge Middle School from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm!
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