By Jennifer Brown
It has been a known practice across Virginia that, once convention delegates have been qualified by each unit, the delegate list is sent to the District Committee and then sent to each candidate running for whichever office they are seeking within that District. It has happened in previous elections, and it takes place in every other District.
However, this year the current 6th Congressional Republican District Leadership has decided to change tactics, and not release the delegate lists to any of the campaigns until the District Committee votes upon whether they are going to release the lists at their April 7 meeting.
This means, that if they decide to release the lists, it gives each candidate a little over a month to campaign to all of the delegates throughout the District except for those who already have access to the delegate lists.
Last week, I called out the current Chairman about this sleight of hand trick, and asked that he release the delegate lists. You can find my statement HERE [1]. This week, in an unprecedented act, five of the campaigns have joined as a united front and released a joint statement to the current leadership to release the delegate lists. You can find their joint statement HERE [2].
The sanctity of the federal election process has now been compromised, and every candidate, save one, has been harmed. This entire process has been a smoke and mirrors game which has been detrimental to the majority of the candidates, from trying to insert the plurality vote into the Convention Call, to now withholding the delegate lists.
In my radio interview with The John Fredericks Show [3], the host calls out the current Chairman for his deceptive behavior, to which I agreed and have asked for his recusal, or that he step down. He has proven to the entire 6th District that he cannot be fair and that he cannot be trusted. You can listen to the entire interview by clicking HERE [4].
Enough is enough. The candidates deserve better, and the voters of the 6th District deserve better. They deserve honesty, integrity, and transparency, and to be represented by leaders who are fair and trustworthy.
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Jennifer M. Brown is a candidate for Chairman of the 6th Congressional District. An attorney who resides in Rockingham County, she also has a MBA in Marketing and Public Relations. She’s held numerous leadership positions in Virginia, as well as Florida, and is the current Communications Chair for Rockingham County Republican Committee.