Proposed Amendment to the Party Plan
A Brief Summary of the Proposal
This change will assure accountability to the District wide and State wide electorate and markedly reduce the variable number of voting members at State Central Committee from up to 90, to a fixed number of 54. It should be noted that the voting influence for auxiliary groups (CR's, YR's, and VFRW's) will be retained under this proposal, while providing a more accountable RPV State Central Committee. As a result, we should see enhanced organizational agility, quicker response to problems, improved decision making, all while effectively placing the leadership of the RPV SCC into the hands of grassroots volunteers that make up District Committees of the RPV.
Why This Proposal Makes Sense - The Details
As was mentioned in the preceding article on the website, “The Issues Before Us”, the voice of the District Chairs and District Representatives, elected by the Grass Roots at District Conventions, has a hard time being heard at the State Central. This is because their votes have to compete with a sizeable number of ‘other’ votes on the Committee – ‘other’ votes from positions that are not elected by the Grass Roots, and therefore, are not accountable to the Grass Roots. (If they vote badly, they cannot be removed and replaced during the next election cycle by the Grass Roots.)
Here are the current voting members that are NOT elected by the Grass Roots:
o First Vice Chair - Elected by the State Central Committee as whole
o Two (2) Vice Chairman East - Elected by the State Central Committee as whole
o Two (2) Vice Chairman West - Elected by the State Central Committee as whole
o State Treasurer - Elected by the State Central Committee as whole
o State Finance Chairman - Appointed by the Chair
o State Secretary - Elected by the State Central Committee as whole
o One (1) additional member from each District that cast its plurality vote for the Republican Presidential nominee in the last
preceding Presidential election. - These positions are typically selected by the District Committees, which are themselves
comprised of affiliated members that are not elected by the Grass Roots
o One (1) additional member for each District represented by a Republican member of Congress. - These positions are typically
selected by the District Committees, which are themselves comprised of affiliated members that are not elected by Grass Roots
o Four (4) Republican Assembly members – two each from the Virginia House and Senate, these selections are made by the
Republican assembly members
o Three (3) Members of the Virginia Federation of Republican Women (Pres & two reps) - Elected by the VFRW
o Three (3) Members of the Young Republican Federation of Virginia (Pres & two reps) - Elected by the YRFV
o Three (3) Members of the College Republican Federation of Virginia (Pres & two reps) - Elected by the CRFV
Here’s the breakdown again in short form:
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This makes for a total of Thirty-One (31) unaccountable votes compared with Forty-Seven (47) positions elected by the Grass Roots electorate. In other words, nearly 40% of the current votes at State Central Committee come from unaccountable voters! The Grass Roots can do nothing to elect or remove them.
In effect, District votes are being cancelled-out by these unaccountable voters.
Equipped with this knowledge, it is no wonder why the Grass Roots have not been heard at State Central.
So here is how the Proposed Amendment improves upon this situation by removing twenty-one (21) of these unaccountable votes.
This change will dramatically reduce the number of unaccountable votes, while retaining representation of the affiliate groups. (Due to the reduction in overall size of the voting group, affiliate voting influence is retained - with 11%+ both before and after the change.)
I think this Amendment Proposal is both a reasonable and an effective measure to raise-up – to elevate the voice of the Grass Roots in the Republican Party of Virginia. Accordingly, I support it.
Graphics and Charts
Below you will find some graphic illustrations and charts that help to decribe the changes proposed in the Proposed Amendment.
Please contact me if you are interested in receiving the fromal "Line Out" and "Final Language" versions of the proposal.
Note: I developed these illustrations based upon my understanding of the current situation and proposed amendment. Please forgive me if there are any errors and I would ask that I advise me if you find any, so that I can make corrections. Thank you. Roland Smith
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