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In the text box below, nominate your Republican of the Year, and describe in a few words why he or she should be selected.
REPUBLICAN OF THE YEAR
VISIT NO MO MOJO
In the text box below, nominate your Republican of the Year, and describe in a few words why he or she should be selected.
REPUBLICAN OF THE YEAR
UPDATED DAILY!
IT'S EASY. HONEST. Outgoing WVGOP treasurer Terry Waxman, left, shows new treasurer Marti Riggall the finer points of filing FEC reports.
Riggall takes over as state GOP treasurer
Terry Waxman hands over books to party's devoted office boss
If it were given away in a contest, being treasurer of a political party ranks right up there with second prize in the old joke about winning Cincinnati Bengals tickets -- first prize, two tickets; second prize, four tickets.Since Doug McKinney became chairman in the summer of 2006, Bridgeport Republican Terry Waxman has handled the treasurer chores for the West Virginia Republican Party, struggling at the beginning to make sense of scattered records (a process that had valiantly begun under predecessor Scott Reed), an inherited debt in the tens of thousands of dollars, and a demanding Federal Elections Commission looking over her shoulder.
But Doug worked closely with GOP donors to whittle down the debt, and eventually was able to announce its disappearance. Terry managed to get the books in order, pacify the FEC, and keep abreast and in compliance with both state and federal campaign finance regulations.But Terry recently decided she needed to devote more time to the orthopedic practice of her husband, David, and so on Wednesday she turned the job over to Marti Riggall, the office manager who has been working for the state party in a variety of roles (often for months at a time without pay) since 2005. "Terry helped to successfully conquer the party's debt and demanded fiscal responsibility on every level," said McKinney. "All Republicans in West Virginia owe her a debt of gratitude for her tireless efforts to keep the party's financial records in compliance with the ever-demanding FEC regulations. This was a Herculean task and a full-time job which Terry made her number one priority." McKinney noted that Waxman "served faithfully and uncompensated."While Terry's loss as treasurer is unfortunate, the individual who has agreed to take her place will bring the same qualities of dedication and thoroughness to the job. Marti Riggall has been one of the party's most dedicated workers, always going above and beyond the call of duty to do everything in her power to make state GOP events successful and, assisted in recent months by fellow staffer Cheryl Rust, provide courteous and helpful assistance to Republicans around the state.Serving as treasurer is a time-consuming and thankless task, but the party is fortunate to have had Terry Waxman and, now, Marti Riggall to step up and do the job.Minimah says he's in the SOS race to win it
Republican Secretary of State candidate Charles Minimah said Wednesday he is staying in the race, and reiterated his challenge to his opponent for a series of debates.Minimah also took some shots at Attorney General Darrell McGraw, calling for sweeping election reforms to end the kind of mixing of official and campaign activities for which McGraw is notorious, but for which he seems to suffer no consequence.Minimah caused a stir earlier this week when he issued a press release offering to leave the race if current Secretary of State Betty Ireland entered it. But the deadlines had long passed for either action to happen, and for her part, Ireland was not interested in changing her mind even if the law allowed it.Minimah's actions seemed largely designed to draw attention to his race, and, ironically, that is exactly what happened, as his Thursday press conference was well attended by print and broadcast media.
Blair touts locality pay, ending prevailing wage on 'Talkline' appearance
CRAIG BLAIR
Berkeley County Delegate Craig Blair appeared on Hoppy Kercheval's "Talkline" program Thursday to discuss locality pay,and how ending the state's prevailing wage mandate would in fact result in more funds to be spread to areas where they are needed most. In a recent column on the subject, Blair noted, "Over fifty-five percent of those who receive the artificially high prevailing wage rate ... are out of state workers ...Would it not make sense to redirect these tax dollars to increase teacher and state employee salaries, thus getting more bangs for the buck? Start by eliminating the prevailing wage, then take $150 million of the savings to increase teacher and state employee salaries, then take the remaining $150 million to reduce business taxes by immediately eliminating the business franchise tax, reducing the corporate net down to just below the national average, truly eliminate the inventory tax and eliminate the personal property tax on equipment."
'Mojo' scores well thanks to GOP team
In its first 36 hours since being launched late Wednesday morning, the new "No Mo Mojo" website scored more than a thousand recorded visits (unique visits, not "hits," which is an inflated and misleading value), an impressive showing for a new website in its first day and a half of operation, especially lacking coverage in the traditional media, or paid ad links.Instead, the website was heavily promoted within GOP email and internet circles, featured not only here, but also on the homepage of the state party and the Russ Weeks for Governor website, and being pushed out to the internet universe by a team of Republican emailers to various lists.Actual viewership is likely higher. Thunder Data Systems explains that unique IP address totals "are incremented one time regardless of the number of times the visiting computer connects to your server. Therefore, if two people from the same office call up your website address ...they are counted only once yet reflect two distinctly different visitors." With the help of GOP bloggers and emailers, the site could soon draw thousands of viewers per day and achieve its purpose of reminding voters why there should be no mo' Mojo.Meanwhile, the Beckley Register-Herald features a story today both on "No Mo Mojo" and an upcoming Weeks event.