Members of the Virginia Federation of Republican Women shared a resolution with members of the State Central Committee (SCC) prior to last Saturday’s vote when SCC upheld a convention for the 2021 nomination process. See the VFRW letter below the resolution.
VFRW Official Resolution
In Support of Primaries as a Method of Candidate Selection
WHEREAS, The use of primaries in candidate selection ensures participation of the greatest number of voters; and
WHEREAS, Primaries allow for the use of absentee ballots ensuring that military men, women, and their families serving around the world may participate in one of the greatest rights granted by the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, Primaries allow the backbone of the Republican Party, small business owners, entrepreneurs and hard-working women and men, an equal chance to participate in the candidate selection process; and
WHEREAS, Conventions are exclusive rather than inclusive, extremely time consuming, and very expensive for the grassroots of the Republican Party; and
WHEREAS, In a recent on-line poll conducted by the VFRW website, the vast majority of our members overwhelmingly supported the need to use primaries to select state and national candidates in the Commonwealth;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Virginia Federation of Republican Women, in Convention on April 22-24, 2016 in McLean, Virginia, firmly supports the use of primaries to select candidates for Commonwealth and National elective offices for the good of the Republican Party and the good of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The following letter, signed by current and former VFRW leaders who wanted their opinion voiced to the SCC members regarding the method of nomination, represents 29 of the 44 VFRW clubs in the Commonwealth of Virginia whose presidents represent 66 percent of the club leadership that asked for SCC to consider a primary.
Dear Members of the State Central Committee,
We write to express our strong and united support for selecting a Primary as the method of nomination for our statewide candidates this year. In fact, to demonstrate our strong stance on this issue, we as an organization have already adopted a Resolution, passed unanimously by our members, calling for Primaries as the preferred method of nomination. Please refer to the attached Resolution as the official position of the VFRW.
The VFRW has spoken frequently and consistently in favor of a nomination process that allows participation from all Republicans. We have regularly expressed our concerns over the unnecessary obstacles to participation that are unique to conventions. Any parent with small children is disadvantaged in a process that requires multiple hours out of a precious Saturday. It’s not only the parents who are excluded. Women who do the heroic work as first responders and who serve our country in the greatest Armed Forces in the world, women who work shifts on the weekend, or worship on Saturdays, serve as caretakers or cannot afford to drive 150 miles, potentially incurring costs of tolls, food, etc — we all deserve to have a voice.
Further, we continue to hear disturbing rumblings around efforts to remove our representation on the State Central Committee. The VFRW has been a valuable member of SCC since the early 70s and we know you all agree our contributions to the Party in many ways outweigh our representation on the SCC. We will fight any efforts to take that voice away.
We join our fellow co-laborers in the grassroots movement, namely the other auxiliary organizations like the Young Republicans and the College Republicans, who do the hard work for our candidates and our party, and call on you to vote for a Primary on Saturday.
Please-no more delay tactics. No more shutting off debate. Please vote, and please allow the voices of women across VA to be empowered and not silenced.
Please join nearly every VFRW past President, and nearly 70% of our current Club Presidents below in voting for a Primary on Jan 23.
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Signed,
Sharon Ashurst – President, Angela Gregory RW
Cheryl Saggers – President, Barbara Bush RW
Jackie Amos – Past President, Botetourt RW
Grace Connor – Member, Botetourt RW
Sandra Gorby – President, Central Chesapeake RW
Susan Cobb – VFRW 2nd Vice President, former President of the Monticello Council of RW and Member, Central Chesapeake RW
Beth Banks – Past President, Central Chesapeake RW
Sue Cosgrove – Legislative Chair, Central Chesapeake RW
Shirley Forbes – Vice Chair, Republican Party of Chesapeake and Member, Central Chesapeake RW
Victoria Proffitt – Chair, Chesapeake School Board and Member, Central Chesapeake RW
Debbie Ritter – Chesapeake City Councilwoman and Member, Central Chesapeake RW
Susan Vitale – Chesapeake City Councilwoman and Member, Central Chesapeake RW
Rosy Gilbert – Bylaws Chair, Central Chesapeake RW
Thelma Gilbert – Member, Central Chesapeake RW
Patsy Walker – 6th District Representative, VFRW and Member, Central RW
Mildred Scott – Member, Central RW
Debbie Bodlander – President, Colonial Mount Vernon RW
Erika Dyer – State Legislative Chair, VFRW Board and Member, Colonial Mount Vernon RW
Mary Franklin – President, Dan Valley RW and VFRW Past President
Anna Van Laethem – President, Elizabeth River RWC, Former Member, VFRW Board of Directors
Mary Korving – Past President, Elizabeth River RW, Past VFRW District Representative
Carole de Triquet – Past President, Elizabeth River RWC, Former Member, VFRW Board of Directors
Miki Miller – VFRW Past President and Past President, Elizabeth River RW
Edna Eckel – President, George Mason RW
Linda Bartlett – VFRW Past President, VFRW State Central Representative and 2nd Vice President, George Mason RW
Doriene Steeves – VFRW Past President and Member, George Mason RW
Gloria Chambers – President, Greater McLean RW
Jill Cook – Newsletter Committee Chair, Greater McLean RW
Susan Yungbluth – President, Hampton Roads RW
Nancy Russell – President, Hanover Republican Women and VFRW Congressional District 1 Representative
Roxene Turner – President, Huguenot Republican Women
Fay Williamson – VFRW Past President and Member, Huguenot RW
Ellen Nau – VFRW Past President and Member, Huguenot RW
Tara Carroll – Past President, Huguenot RW
Tracy D. Seredni – Past President, Huguenot RW
Carey Allen – 2nd Vice President, Huguenot RW
Terry Warthen – President, James River RW
Marie Quinn – Member, James River RW
Kristi Way – Second Vice President, James River RW
Lana Wingate – Acting President, Jamestown Heritage
Marilyn Riddle – Treasurer, Jamestown Heritage
Janet Haley Varre – President, Liberty RWC
Patti Hidalgo Menders – President, Loudoun County RW
Jean Gannon – President, Mill Quarter Republican Woman’s Club and 2016-2018 VFRW Corresponding Secretary
Karen Wooten – Past President, Mill Quarter RW
Ann Tackett – Past President, Mill Quarter RW
Lisa Vaughan – Past President, Mill Quarter RW
Andi Bayer – President, New Providence RW
Bessie Scott – Past President, New Providence RW
Nanette Miller – President, Nimmo Republican Women
Gale Butt – President, Portsmouth RW
Angie Hall – VFRW Past President and Member, Pulaski Co. RW
Dede McGrath – President, Roanoke Valley RW
Octavia Johnson – Past President, Roanoke Valley RW
Alice Butler Short – President, RW of Clifton
Anne Seaton – President, RW of Greater Augusta
Karen Hoover – Past President, RW of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County
Barbery McLawhorn – President, Southside RW
Brenda Campbell – Vice President, Southside RW and VFRW Past Present
Kathleen Vincent – President, Tri City RW
Barbara Tabb – Treasurer, Tri City RW
Cher McCoy – President, Valley RW
Laurel Rohlfs – President, Virginia Beach RW
Mary Ramey – VFRW Past President and Member, Virginia Beach RW
Paula Krewinghaus – President, York RW
Paula D. Willoughby – VFRW Past President
Jane H. Woods – Former Virginia State Senator