Guest Post: Moss victory gives local Tea Party a municipal beachhead

By John Fredericks

Could Va. Beach become the new Tea Party poster child for local government reform?

John Moss, the conservative councilman-elect who just toppled the entire Va. Beach power broker establishment in one fell swoop on Nov. 8, thinks so.

And according to Hampton Roads Tea Party Chairman David Donis, he may be onto something.

Donis, who is committed to bringing the core Tea Party political philosophy of less government and lower taxes to the local level across the region, believes that Va. Beach could soon serve as the municipal governance model for the commonwealth.

To accomplish this, they’ll need to gain a majority – six council members out of 11. Helping to elect Moss gave them a foothold they want to turn into a groundswell.

At present they count two Va. Beach Council members as their own: Moss and veteran Bill DeSteph, who was the lone elected official to endorse Moss over establishment candidate Dennis Free, appointed incumbent Prescott Sherrod and long shot Mike Makela.

Moss’ upset victory has fueled their vision, catapulted their enthusiasm and cemented their resolve. Outspent by a combined six to one and politically outgunned at every turn, Moss, who earned the local Tea Party’s endorsement after knocking it out of the park in their first candidates’ forum, masterfully galvanized grassroots conservative support with the use of an enormous volunteer ground game and a savvy social media campaign.

But it was the surprise support Moss induced from many Va. Beach business leaders that ultimately turned the election. Moss and his Tea Party enthusiasts tapped into the main vein of local merchant discontent by turning the election into a referendum on rejecting a heavy-handed city council that they claim practiced economic cronyism and picked winners and losers in the marketplace. Moss promised a level playing field. His message resonated – to the tune of 29,000 votes — a 37 percent majority in a four-way race.

This is significant because Moss’ victory gives disaffected potential business donors tangible evidence the local Tea Party coalition can actually elect candidates. Some will invest money in a cause, but a contribution list grows exponentially when you get results and win races the pundit class labeled as hopeless.

Fresh off their maiden municipal victory — with the wind at their back and a burgeoning database of loyalists at their disposal — the stage is now set for the next round of Va. Beach elections. The Hampton Roads Tea Party, now fully vested in the city, is determined to prove Moss’ election was not an anomaly.

The newly inspired “coalition of the willing,” as Moss coins it, has their eyes on winning at least two additional seats in Nov. 2012. Five council seats will be on the ballot. They’ll need to win four to seize majority control.

“It will depend on our ability to recruit viable candidates who can effectively carry our message of fiscal conservatism and limited government to the taxpayers who ultimately pay the bills,” Moss said. “The power of ideas is the glue that binds us together. The next election will be about the purpose of government.”

Still in it’s infancy, the Tea Party is most associated with state and federal issues. They demonstrated their muscle in 2010 by helping elect a Republican majority to the U.S House of Representatives. But most Tea Party activists have eschewed the mundane zoning and other nondescript policy decisions that often dominate municipal and county government.

Don’t tell that to Donis, though. He sees gaining control of a major southern city as the launching pad for a national Tea Party movement at the local level.

Donis maintains that a sea change in Va. Beach could become the rallying cry for Tea Party chapters throughout the country to focus their resources on electing local council members who share their philosophy from coast to coast.

This could put Va. Beach politics on the state and national radar screen come next year.

It all started with John Moss trumping the institution.

It could all end with Moss plus five.

John Fredericks is a former Editorial Page Editor at The Daily Press. Email John at [email protected]

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