Wade: ALL Delegates Must Show Up for 6th District Convention

By Mike Wade

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” –Edmund Burke

For over two months, the folks at Bearing Drift have been reporting on the upcoming 6th District convention. Like many of you I have followed this debacle with dismay. Thanks to Chairman Scott Sayer and associates loyal to Congressional candidate Cynthia Dunbar, the Convention has become a hostile quagmire of the worst of political behavior.

The entire process smacks of rank favoritism and manipulative gamesmanship that should be abhorrent to each and every member of the Republican Party. To me it is a miserable reminder that history repeats itself and, in this instance, the unfavorable memories of the Third District Convention held on May 20, 2006.

The days my supporters and I endured leading up to and on the day of the that convention are being played out in a self-same manner in the 6th district. While I eventually won my race for District Chairman, it was done by winning the first ever appeal of a convention.

Just like the delegates and the candidates running in the 6th District, we faced a certification “process” of delegates at the Convention that was arbitrary and capricious, and violated the established standards of the Republican Party of Virginia.

The State Party Plan demands that the Convention be publicized in a way that maximizes citizen involvement in the process. That requirement also applies to the method of delegate selection. This section of the Party Plan recognizes what all members of the Republican Party of Virginia know to be true: the Party should be encouraging participation by all Republicans, not discouraging it.

Sadly, there are only two remedies which can apply at this time as everyone involved should realize that Sayre and Team Dunbar are hell-bent at hijacking the convention for their own benefit.

Remedy 1: The convention includes a portion of its proceedings to electing the “federal” nominee to run in the General election for the Congressional seat being vacated by the Honorable Bob Goodlatte. Since a federal nomination is being decided, the laws governing that apply but, more so, the constitutional right to vote applies.

Those who have been disfranchised should gather in a complaint to the Department of Justice. Key words: voter suppression, denied access, violated process, right to vote.

Remedy 2: Show up and be accounted for on Saturday, May 19, at the 6th District convention. My 2006 appeal is the precedent and could likely be the accepted process for deciding the outcome of this convention. In the appeal of the Third district convention the State Central Committee reversed and remedied in the following way:

A committee was formed to ‘poll’ the delegates that were elected at their respective mass meetings and who attended the Third District Convention in Williamsburg on May 20, 2006. Their votes were added to those taken on the day of the Convention for electing a Third District Chairman.

For the record, all members but the defendant voted to uphold the appeal … yes, everyone. I wonder how they will come out on this appeal.

So if you want to assure that your voice be heard you must show up! No matter the reason you have been disenfranchised by Chairman Sayre or Team Dunbar, you must show up.

Neither the few nor the many have a right to act merely by their will in any matter connected with duty, trust, engagement, or obligation.

Sadly and again, the Republican brand in Virginia is being damaged by those whose ego and lust for power outweigh the good of the Party. The time wasted by these shenanigans of a few people is keeping many from doing constructive work for the future of our Party.

Chairman Sayre, Cynthia Dunbar, and their conclave should be ashamed of themselves. They preach with the bible in the right hand and constitution in the other while in practice they exhibit the worst of human behavior.

Don’t let the hypocrites win.

Mike Wade is former chairman of the Hampton Republican Committee and the Third Congressional Republican District.