The Right Choice

In case you have not heard, Louis Pope, National Committeeman for the Party, has withdrawn from the race to be State Republican Party Chairman (his full statement can be viewed at Greg Kline's site). He and Lt. Governor Steele have thrown their support to Dr. Jim Pelura .

I am extremely pleased by this decision. Dr. Jim has a great deal of experience working on campaigns and within the party from the local level as a former member of our county's Central Committee, up to the state level as Maryland Chairman of Bush-Cheney '04. As I stated a few days ago:

One thing the party needs for the next four years is a direction and a consistency of leadership. The party needs a chairman who understands the importance of building local parties in addition to raising funds and promoting the ideals of the party. But it also needs a fresh outlook, somebody who can bring new ideas and a new perspective on building a party.

There was one aspect of the story in the Capital that was unfortunate and it was the fact that, as Greg reported, serious consideration was given to Pope serving as a one-year caretaker Chairman:

Several Republicans said the hope was for Mr. Pope to serve as an interim chairman for one year, and then step aside for Dirk Haire, an Annapolis lawyer who ran a short-lived campaign for Anne Arundel County executive. He sprinted out of the box by raising $220,000 in a matter of months before dropping out.

"Louis has agreed to serve for a one-year transition period and then step aside to allow Dirk Haire to assume the chairmanship of the Maryland Republican Party," Mr. Steele wrote in the memo obtained by The Capital.

That is a disaster that I am glad that we avoided.

Jim Pelura meets the qualifications of the Chairman that we need, and I am extremely enthusiastic about his prospects as Chairman.