Naming of RPV E.D. and Transition Update from RPV Chairman Jeff Frederick

Transition Update
Tomorrow will mark the 4-week anniversary since I was elected Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV). It has been a whirlwind since we took over, as we work to balance the need to act swiftly in getting RPV back on its feet, while trying to be deliberate in our approach so we can lay a solid foundation on which to build a winning Party over the long-term.

We have made significant progress in recent weeks. Here's a quick update: Jeff Frederick for Chairman
Bold, new leadership. Now is the time.
A rebirth of the Republican Party of Virginia.

• This morning we are announcing the selection of RPV's new Executive Director (ED). Allison Coccia comes to us from the New York Republican State Committee where she was the ED there, and before that worked as Political Director and Finance Director at the Pennsylvania GOP. She did some incredible things in New York, among them: everything from walking into a financially challenged Party that was contemplating selling their headquarters and a couple weeks ago leaving it with nearly a million dollars in the bank; to traveling around the Empire State meeting with grassroots leaders and providing them the tools they needed to succeed. Allison will be the first female ED at RPV in nearly 25 years. She starts July 1, but if you want to drop her a note welcoming her to Virginia, you can email her at ACoccia@rpv.org. [see below to read more]
  
• Allison joins Virginia political veterans Tom Bunnell and Gerry Scimeca who have been named to key positions within the RPV operation. Tom is RPV's campaign chief, where he will be working with our federal candidates this year, while keeping a strong focus on protecting and expanding our House majority next year, as well as winning the three statewide offices. Gerry Scimeca is RPV's Director of Communications, where he will be spearheading our effort to communicate aggressively to the public, the media, and the grassroots. Finally, our grassroots field team is well on its way to being complete. As you know, my First 100 Day Plan calls for 5 field staff by the end of our first 100 days. Matthew Kandrach is heading up this team and we expect to have all 5 staff in place very soon.
  
• South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has agreed to headline an RPV fundraising event. As you may know, Gov. Sanford is a conservative's conservative who once appeared on the floor of his state's legislature with a live pig underneath each arm to protest their pork-barrel spending. If you haven't heard of him yet, you likely will: he's rumored to be on Senator McCain's short list for Vice-President. We're still working on a date for this event, so keep an eye out for a future announcement.
  
• The Republican National Convention is a great opportunity for RPV to raise money, and I set a goal for us to raise between $100k and $250k as part of our convention activities. I'm pleased to report that we have already raised $75k, so we're well on our way. If you know of any groups, organizations, or businesses interested in sponsoring our national delegation, please email rncmn@rpv.org and we'll get them convention info.
  
• In the coming days, we will be launching a temporary rpv.org website. It will be fairly basic, but will give us the tools we need to be more aggressive in our online communications. In addition, we have signed agreements for the new, cutting edge rpv.org and development has already begun. This new site will give us a big technological advantage over the Democrats in the tools it will provide us to communicate, build communities, raise money, help candidates, and get our message out. In addition, this project -- when complete -- will provide us the functionality we need to provide units, GOP clubs, and even candidates with free or low-cost websites and email list management. The only bad news is that this project will take at least 8 weeks to complete, if not more (that's why we're putting up the temporary site).

That's enough for now. We've got a number of other things in the works, so look forward to more announcements in the coming days and weeks.

Until then, if there's anything we can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask. Winning again will be a team effort.

---

Fielding the strongest team

Frederick names Executive Director
Allison Coccia to lead Virginia GOP

Richmond, Virginia (June 27, 2008) – Allison Coccia, who formerly served as Executive Director of the New York Republican State Committee, and as Political Director and Acting Finance Director of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, has been named Executive Director of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV).

“After a thorough search that entailed interviewing several outstanding candidates, I concluded that Allison offers us a proven record at improving fundraising, communications, and building the grassroots,” said Jeffrey M. Frederick, RPV Chairman.

In his first month since being elected Chairman, Frederick has moved quickly to name Harrisonburg businessman and entrepreneur Walter Curt as the GOP’s Finance Chairman, and veteran national political and campaign attorney Cleta Mitchell as General Counsel. In addition, Frederick installed Virginia political veterans Tom Bunnell and Gerry Scimeca to key positions within the RPV operation.

Frederick has promised to put together "the strongest team of leaders and staff RPV has ever seen", and as part of that effort, he instructed his search committee to conduct a national search for the top candidates available for Executive Director. Candidates were identified, interviewed, and researched as part of the vetting process.

Coccia is the first woman to head the RPV staff in more than 25 years. Frederick said he was impressed with the strong endorsements Coccia received from party leaders throughout Pennsylvania and New York, and for her ability to get to every corner of the Empire State to listen to party leaders and help to build their local parties.

“I wanted an Executive Director who was not a top-down leader, but understood the importance of physically meeting with grassroots Republicans and contributors from Lee County to the Eastern Shore, and find out what tools they needed to win in their areas,” Frederick said.

“Allison worked tirelessly to revitalize the Republican Party in New York State at a local level, and her work contributed to our stunning victories in 2007,” according to New York State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. “New York's loss is Virginia's gain”, he added.

Scott Migli, former Executive Director of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania said: “the Virginia GOP has made a great choice in hiring Allison as Executive Director. Allison and I worked very closely in Pennsylvania during 2006, one of the most difficult years in decades for Republicans. As the Political Director, despite overwhelming odds, she was able to guide our Victory program to second in the nation. Together we worked closely with the state legislature to pass a Voter ID bill that was signed by a Democrat governor. Allison will prove to be a great asset in a state we must carry in November to elect Sen. John McCain the next President of the United States.”

Coccia also worked for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania House Republican Campaign Committee where she served as campaign manager for numerous campaigns across the Pennsylvania.

###
Read this press release online.

Comments

[Luke]

Greetings Fellow Travelers,

The next thing on my calendar is a Troop Benefit Fundraiser on the 18th of August, a Tuesday, from 4-8 in Leesburg, VA. I hope you will put this on your calendar and help me get the word out.

The restaurant is donating back to us 10% of sales, and we're collecting books, personal correspondence to the soldiers(expressing appreciation)plus giving people an opportunity to write to them. Also there will be musical talent on hand, including a very talented 13 year old named Abby Miller, who is confirmed for the event. If you go to youtube, search for her channel 'nasotang00' Her rendition of 'The Climb' is my favorite.

We definitely need more people so if you want to bring a few hundred people, feel free, lol...
If I could get your email address outside of this website, I would be able to send you a flyer for the event.

I started up a Rush meetup group (Ashburn EIB network) after an email reply from my sister-in-law, a liberal I'm pretty sure, with only the word "delete" in the subject line. The subj of my email to her was a series of letters I had prepared so that recipients could contact their local elected officials in Virginia - Wolf, Warner and Webb.

I looked up the addresses and phone numbers for these officials and sent out a four page document (with page breaks) so that when printed out you had everything necessary to contact two Senators and our local US Representative. Please let me know by email if you would like that document.

I don't think we're gonna be swamped at the fundraiser but I have sent emails to people at FNC - Greta, Sean, all the major shows and or anchors that had an email on the website. I can forward the event flyer to you but only if you reply to this email. I want to have one of these fundraisers every month. Donna, the organizer of a tea party last April in Reston is helping to organize this event.

Luke