Delegate Jeff Frederick, 52nd District, was the guest speaker at MCRW’s March 18th meeting. “It’s a pivotal time in Virginia for our party,” said Frederick, the owner of a small IT consulting business who is running for the Chairmanship of the Republican Party of Virginia against incumbent Chairman John Hager. “We’re one election away from losing all our majority.”
“We’re just three seats away from losing the majority in the House of Delegates. We lost four seats last November. Three seats is not a very high threshold,” Frederick added.
Frederick noted that a Democrat majority will redraw the districts to benefit themselves.
“All that work we’ve put out in winning the majority, so we can govern, will go away,“ said Frederick. “We’ll lose 20% more of our seats.”
“This year and next we’ll face some of the toughest elections in our history. Our party cannot afford to have any more losses,” he said. “Our ideas win nothing if we don’t win the right to govern with our ideas.
“I’m also running because I know how to win,” said Frederick, citing his 59% vote in a Democrat area. “I don’t compromise my values. I keep the promises I made to them [the voters].”“The problem that I have with the Republican Party is that the voters don’t necessarily trust us. In order to get winning again, we must get organized as a party. The Democrats have been doing a very good job of convincing the voters that they will do a center-right job also. We must be a party that stands for real change, not just to accumulate power.”
“I’m optimistic about our future if we can take advantage of what is before us. When we win, it’s because we win from the grassroots up. Not from the top down. Our strength will come from strong unit committees.”
“We need a party that will lead the charge against Democrats. Imagine a Republican Party that starts wining again. It can happen. We need to, as Ronald Reagan said, ‘Lead boldly.’"
“When I ran for office in 2003, I promised that I would not ever vote to raise your taxes and I’ve kept that promise. Why in the world should government think that it should be able to increase its spending at a faster rate than your income is increasing for you and your family?”“No body thinks that we’re getting our money’s worth with anything the government does. I think we have a higher obligation to make sure that not just every dollar but every penny is spent well.”
“It’s going to take a purpose-driven chairman to unify us in Virginia,” said Anne Farmer. “You have my vote,” she added.
Fredericks has said that as chairman he would refrain from getting involved in nomination contests - taking sides in a primary, for example. He promises to support all Republicans and work to make sure Republican nominees get elected, a position which does not sit well with those who feel the first priority of a Chairman should be incumbent protection - in the nominating process as well as the general election.
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