In case you haven't heard, former Governor Jim Gilmore won the U.S. Senate nomination today at the Republican Party of Virginia's state convention. Later in the day, Delegate Jeff Frederick was elected the party's new state chairman. Their opponents were, respectively, Delegate Bob Marshall and former Lieutenant Governor John Hager.I spent most of my hours in the convention hall taking videos of the proceedings (lots of speeches, mostly exhortations to the party faithful to work hard to elect John McCain and defeat Mark Warner in November).
Setting aside the video camera for a few minutes, I took some snapshots of the political activists gathered in the Richmond Convention Center. Here are a few that survived the odd lighting:
The stage is set ...
RPV Chairman John Hager smiles before the day's events begin
Fifth Congressional District Chairman Tucker Watkins, Rachel Schoenewald of Albemarle County, and blogger Shaun Kenney of Fluvanna County
Former Governor Jim Gilmore (right) poses for a photograph with a delegate
Convention delegates Si Snow and Carl Jackson of Alexandria, with Jeff Miller of Arlington County
Vern McKinley, a candidate for Congress in the 10th District, with his son, Ruben
Convention delegate Helen Blackwell and her husband, Morton, Virginia's national GOP committeeman
VCU student and convention delegate from the City of Richmond, Steven C. Latimer
Arlington School Board Member Dave Foster, a potential candidate for state Attorney General, with his wife, Martha, and Albemarle County's Bernie Greer (noted right-to-left)
Convention delegates from the City of Charlottesville: Buddy Weber, Will Mauldin, Bill Ways, and Blair Hawkins (noted left-to-right)
Young Hager supporters wait for their time to demonstrate
The exhibit area, from above
A bird's-eye view of the convention floor
State Senator Ken Cuccinelli, a candidate for Attorney General in 2009
Virginia Attorney General (and 2009 gubernatorial candidate) Bob McDonnell
RPV Communications Director Josh Noland
Delegate Chris Saxman, no doubt thinking about the Senate nomination that could have been his (and smiling through it all)
John Hager deserves our sincere gratitude for his decades long support of Republicans and his service to Virginia in both Republican and Democratic administrations.
ReplyDeleteThe election of Jeff Frederick by such a landslide (turned to acclamation on the motion by John Hager) shows that the Republican Party members are eager to move forward and distance the Virginia GOP from the Bush years.
It will take more than a new Chairman. We can't sit at home and take a, "Let Jeff do it" attitude. We all must recruit new members, citizens who love LIBERTY and want a return to Constitution based government, and rebuild our local precinct organizations from the ground, upwards.
As this Convention passes into history, my lasting memory will be how the current RPVA staff intentionally worked against Jeff Frederick and Bob Marshall, when they should have been held to a much higher standard of impartiality and professionalism. I will not forget how, when I visited the Obenshain Center in Richmond to help with Convention preparations that I found no Marshall or Frederick materials being included in the bags to be given to delegates who paid the $35 fee, even though materials from their opponents were being placed in the bags. When I went to use the Men's room, I found the only Jeff Frederick sign in the building, on the toilet.
Every one of the outgoing RPVA staff needs to resign. Jeff Frederick needs to be sure that he will have a professional staff that will treat all competitors for nominations with the same courtesy and fairness.
Bob McDonnell looks like a ghost.
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