Report from the Charlottesville GOP Unit Committee Meeting - 31 May 2014

Charlottesville Republicans on Saturday held their first unit committee meeting since the March mass meeting that elected Barbara Null as unit chair.

Null gaveled the meeting to order and the first order of business was to elect several new officers:  Jim Neale as vice chair for precincts, Buddy Weber as vice chair for issues, and Rick Sincere as vice chair for events.  Weber and Sincere were also elected as, respectively, treasurer and secretary.

According to the unit committee's by-laws, the executive committee consists of the chairman, officers, and four at-large members.  The committee agreed to defer appointment of the other four members to a future date.  There was some discussion that two of the four slots should go to liaisons from the College Republicans and the Albemarle Charlottesville Republican Women's Club.

Members also indicated a consensus that future committee meetings should be held on weekday evenings.  The chair said that she will propose a calendar of events and that quarterly committee meetings will probably be held on Tuesday evenings at the Gordon Avenue Library, which has ample parking and a meeting room with a separate entrance.

The chairman noted that she was in discussions with her counterpart in Albemarle County, Cindi Burket, to add the Charlottesville GOP unit as a sponsor of the county GOP's monthly breakfast, currently held the second Saturday at the Doubletree Hotel.  The breakfast is a good opportunity to network with other local activists and features speakers such as statewide candidates and elected officials.

The chair reminded members that the mass meeting agreed to a rules change that allows dues to be paid at a rate of $30 per two years, and that anyone who has not paid may do so before the next meeting.

According to the treasurer's report, the committee has a balance of more than $5,000 divided among three separate accounts (administrative, candidates, and Washington-Lincoln-Reagan dinner).

There was some discussion about next week's Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) convention in Roanoke.  Procedures at the state convention will differ somewhat from those at the Fifth District convention that was held in Farmville on May 17.  There will be an attempt to make car-pooling arrangements for delegates going to Roanoke on Saturday, June 7.  As the convention will begin at 10:00 a.m., it was suggested that Charlottesville delegates should plan to leave for Roanoke no later than 7:00 o'clock a.m.

Just before the meeting adjourned, Flint Englemann of Greene County, who is a regional field director for Americans for Prosperity (AFP), gave a presentation about his organization's grassroots activities in and around Charlottesville.  This led to a lively discussion among committee members about what types of issues should be emphasized by the Republican Party and how those issues should be communicated.

On the same day that Charlottesville Republicans were meeting to discuss their political activities, local Democrats participated in a convention that nominated Lawrence Gaughan to run against incumbent U.S. Representative Robert Hurt (R-Chatham).

Announcements about future meetings and other events can be found on the Charlottesville Republican Party's Facebook page.  Be sure to click "like" to assure you receive regular notices.