01/18/2021
At today’s electronic meeting of the Young Republicans Federation of Virginia Executive Committee, it was proposed to once again conduct the YRFV Convention in Richmond. For those who may be unfamiliar, the Convention was also conducted in Richmond in both 2017 and 2019.
As an individual that prides myself on learning all the facts and researching any topic put before me, I will report that this could not be the case for today’s meeting. For whatever reason, I was not notified of the meeting occurring until around 12:45 pm EST today, approximately one hour and fifteen minutes before the meeting even began. I was assured that this was a mistake or technical error, however, this has been a problem since shortly after I assumed the Chairmanship of LAYR in 2020. YRFV has not sent me the required notification for any of the last three (3) meetings conducted in 2020, and I have only found out about them through my own research after the fact. While I am willing to concede that perhaps there was a technical error today, this pattern of behavior ultimately leaves me questioning the entire process. Because of all of this, I was only able to briefly skim the Convention proposal. I could not properly read the Rules Report or abstain from voting when the item was presented on the agenda.
During the discussion portion of the meeting regarding the convention location and details, I attempted to ask questions that would be beneficial to both the membership of LAYR as well as clubs across the state that continue to be disenfranchised and not considered in YRFV decision-making. I asked why Richmond was selected, even though convention participation has decreased dramatically over the past six years. I asked if the appointed Convention Committee had considered the western portion of the state and whether they believed having the Convention again in Richmond would see an increase in involvement of clubs from around the ENTIRE state. The answers I received were unfortunately incredibly insufficient, and it was very apparent that I would not be able to support this measure in any way.
In an effort to vote for the good of our club’s membership, and not my own interests, I was the sole “Nay” vote in moving forward with the proposed plan for the Convention. Having a third consecutive convention in Richmond appears to be an effort to continue to disenfranchise the entire western part of the state. The proposed convention includes a $25 delegate fee, which will once again discourage our members, as well as members of chapters all over the state from participating in the convention. While others in the meeting raised concerns about other components of the proposed contract, expense, etc., it appears that the hierarchy of YRFV had clearly already decided what their action would be, and they were not interested in finding the best option for ALL chapters.
I am very disappointed in the actions of YRFV, but I want to affirm to LAYR members, as well as members of chapters all over the state, that for us to win back Virginia, we must focus on ALL regions of the state, not just the ones that convenience our personal agendas. While I was not able to affect the change I would want today, I want to assure LAYR members that I will keep fighting for you and the Republican values we stand by. We will continue to work hard in our region and in the entire state in 2021.
R. Mallory Cook, Chair
