Fisher: Support a Change in Norfolk

By Wes Fisher

Anyone involved with Republican politics knows how challenging it can be to engage young people on the issues. Millennials are often described as liberal and lazy.

In reality, there are tens of thousands of young voters in the Commonwealth who would vote for our candidates if they showed up to the polls but many simply don’t care enough to register to vote or keep track of election dates.

It’s in the spirit of getting more young people interested in our love of free market solutions that I support my close friend Cole Trower to lead the Norfolk GOP.

I have worked with Cole ever since I chaired the College Republicans at James Madison University, and know him to be one of the most effective recruiters for the Republican Party I have ever met. I was constantly amazed by the all the different types of people Cole was able to get engaged with the party. At one time he may have been one of the only people in Virginia to hold a leadership position with the local Republican Committee and the local NAACP.

Unfortunately, there are still forces in local Republican units who want to keep local units small so they can control the process. They have decided to use dirty tricks to silence Cole instead of just letting him state his case.

This can’t happen. We need strong units to get out the vote in large localities. Republicans may not be competitive in local elections in places like Norfolk where Cole is running, or Arlington where I now live, but there are more Republican voters for our statewide tickets in just one of those places than there are in heavily GOP counties like Page and Shenandoah combined.

People like Cole are who we need to help recruit Republicans who are discouraged by their liberal surroundings, and empowering them to vote.

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Wes Fisher has been active in Republican politics in Virginia for many years. He currently serves as an executive board member of the Arlington GOP and is a former Chairman of the JMU College Republicans. He works full time at a national non-profit organization where he works alongside free market aligned state lawmakers in all fifty states.