Chief fundraiser for Va. GOP quits

By: JEFF E. SCHAPIRO TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER | Richmond Times Dispatch
Published: January 27, 2009

The chief fundraiser for the Republican Party of Virginia is quitting, branding the GOP "dysfunctional."

The departure of Walter M. Curt, a wealthy Shenandoah Valley businessman, is another setback for the party's embattled chairman, Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick, R-Prince William.

In a "Dear Jeff" letter, Curt said the GOP faces an "entire array of seemingly intractable problems," even though its top leaders include skilled, loyal and dedicated activists.

"Unfortunately the problems of structure, power projection, consultant interference, interpersonal difficulties, years of internal malaise, Luddite attitudes, leadership, and unity of purpose stand in the way of any hope of success," Curt said.

In a brief interview yesterday, Frederick described Curt's correspondence as a "good letter." Frederick did not respond later to a written request for further comment.

Curt's resignation comes as Frederick faces continuing attacks on his chairmanship, largely from veteran activists who fault him as not doing enough to prevent GOP setbacks last fall.

In addition to losing the state to Democrats in the presidential election for the first time in 44 years, Republicans gave up another U.S. Senate seat and lost the majority in Virginia's U.S. House delegation.

Kenneth Klinge, a former state GOP executive director who last fall urged Frederick's removal, said the Curt resignation is a signal that Frederick's chairmanship is short-lived.

"Good news comes in strange packages," said Klinge, who added: "How can you be weakened when you're already a zero?"

Curt wrote of the GOP: "The organization is dysfunctional."

Curt also directed criticism at Frederick, though it was measured: "Your leadership style obviously needs polish. But given the tremendous headwinds you are trying to move against, it is amazing what you have accomplished."

Frederick, who vowed to modernize party operations, won the chairmanship in May, ousting former Lt. Gov. John H. Hager -- an in-law of former President George W. Bush -- in a grass-roots revolt at the state Republican convention.

This fall, Republicans will attempt to take back the governorship after eight years and will defend their shrinking majority in the House of Delegates, the party's last place of power.

Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or jschapiro@timesdispatch.com.