Early last year, Fred Gruber famously called then 7th District Republican Committee Chair Linwood Cobb’s automobile a “big black SUV…[that] looks like a government Nazi car.” (Bearing Drift)
At the time, I couldn’t comprehend Gruber winning in the 7th. But he did fair and square. He got his people to the vote. So, kudos to him.
In order to fund his campaign, Gruber set up the 7th District Victory Fund. In Virginia, folks running for party office do not have to disclose their contributions. Of course, if used for personal matters, it’s considered income to be reported to the IRS and state department of taxation. I presume he has done so.
But back to that car.
Sources from the 7th District Committee and Republican Party of Virginia State Committee state that Mr. Gruber was perplexed upon being elected that there was no expense account for his travel or that a car would not be provided. He legitimately expected, seeing Mr. Cobb’s “car,” that those sorts of trappings naturally came with the office.
Hence, the 7th District Victory Fund continues. But his appeals for donations are a bit unconventional and likely misleading.
In September, Gruber claimed the fund was for party building:
Recently, Gruber writes:
“Where are YOU when we need YOU ? There are 384 LIKE to this Page, and no one – NO ONE – ha contributed to our 7th District Victory Fund. I bust my butt working for you, 12-15 hour days, thousands of miles on my car- AND NOW, I must put MORE of my own money into th 7DVF to py our bil. ARE YOU THERE ? Let me see / hear from you….THANKS!”
It’s an obviously emotional appeal from the chairman of a committee to fund “our” committee efforts.
Coming from the chair, a reasonable person is likely to presume these efforts are for party building or candidate support – not a personal account for the chairman.
While this is perfectly legal (unless any of the money is being used for a political purpose and, in that case, it would need to register as a PAC), going back to yesterday’s post, there are certain things a party chairman should and should not do. Characterizing a fund to be used to build the party when it’s your own personal expense account I’m pretty sure is one of those things not to do.
John Schick, a member of the 7th District Committee, called out Gruber:
“Fred, you asked, so here goes. The ‘bills’ of the 7th Congressional District Committee are the responsibility of the Committee, as is fundraising. As a member of the committee, I must inform you that I am unaware of any Victory Fund with a Culpepper address that is associated with our efforts. Is this a federal PAC? If so, who authorized it? Who is responsible for authorizing disbursements? Have the proper campaign filings been made on this account? Who is responsible for accounting and record keeping? Why has the Committee not received an accounting of these funds? What, specifically, is the purpose of this fund? When may the Committee expect to see financial statements regarding income and disbursements? Why are you soliciting contributions on behalf of the Committee without authorization from same?”
All excellent questions and questions that I have also posed to Gruber. As of this writing, I have yet to hear back from the chairman.
While it’s much too early to tell if there is any legal issue with this fund, there is one certain fact: Gruber is playing fast and loose with the trust of the grassroots. And if you lose their trust, you lose elections.
If John Whitbeck does become RPV chairman, the first thing he ought to do is have a heart-to-heart with his district chairmen. This can hardly be the fond farewell Chairman Mullins was hoping for.
J.R. Hoeft is the founder of BearingDrift.com.
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