Allen: Breach of ‘Trust’

By Carey Allen

On June 30, 2020, Rich Anderson, a former Virginia House of Delegates member and current candidate for Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, wrote a column concerning the recent State Central Committee (SCC) meeting this past Saturday, June 27th.

At first, the column reads as any other article outlining a summary from a candidate would: identifying a problem (presumably caused by the inaction of the individual you’re running against) and identifying other items that Virginia Republicans would find of interest. What was not expected, however, was that information from the SCC Executive Session was made public and in print.

The SCC goes into Executive Session during most meetings to discuss finances, strategy, and other sensitive issues. This form of session is invoked not to keep Republicans in the dark about party issues, but to ensure that our opponents, namely the Democrats, along with members of the media (but perhaps I repeat myself), do not have access to sensitive topics which could get into the hands of our opposition candidates’ campaigns and inadvertently help their stated goal of ensuring Republican defeats at the ballot box.

As I read through Mr. Anderson’s article, it became apparent to me that someone in the SCC informed him of topics discussed during the Executive Session. I want to be very clear here — this is a serious breach of trust. As Republicans who are all fighting for the same endgame –placing Republicans in as many seats as we possibly can to ensure our Commonwealth and country remain safe and free — it is incredibly disheartening and insulting to know that there are members on the SCC who would leak sensitive information to a candidate of their choosing, knowing that what is discussed in Executive Session is understood to be confidential information that is not to be shared publicly. If it were meant to be public, it would’ve been shared during the public portion of the meeting.

But what is perhaps most disappointing is to see that the confidential information laid out for the public to read was published by a candidate for RPV Chairman.  Should he win, his  job will be to ensure the integrity of our process. For one thing, that means that confidential information (such as what was written in the article) is not disseminated inappropriately, and that those who break trust by revealing matters discussed in Executive Session will face appropriate consequences for their actions.

While it’s concerning that a member, or members, of the SCC thought it acceptable to funnel private information to their chosen candidate for chairman, it is absolutely unconscionable that any candidate for chairman would then choose to share confidential  information publicly, knowing that it was only for the eyes and ears of the members of SCC to know, and for good reason!

The SCC cannot function if members take it upon themselves to share private details of confidential meetings, and we certainly cannot do the hard work for the party if we have a Chairman who undermines the long understood and respected rules of the RPV and the SCC for their own personal gain.

Recently, Mr. Anderson penned another  article entitled “Trust.” In it, he regales the reader with how he will bring about change to RPV, but at the very beginning of the article, he writes this:

” ‘Trust.’  There are few words in the English language that are more important, or more vital to the interactions between human beings and within human organizations.”

On this, I agree with Rich Anderson 100 percent. But the question is: how can Virginia Republicans trust Rich Anderson when he is so willing to place his own ambitions for party office above the health and welfare of the Virginia GOP?

Carey Allen, a 1991 WVU political science major, is currently the Elected Director from Chesterfield County on the James River Soil and Water Conservation Board where she has served as its Chairman since January 2020. She also serves as the current Chairman of the Fourth Congressional District Republican Committee, and is Vice Chair of Organization for the Chesterfield County Republican Committee. Carey attends Gospel Baptist Church and resides in Chesterfield with her 17-year-old-son, Taylor.