Republican Party chairman fights back against those seeking his ouster

By: Tyler Whitley | Times-Dispatch
Published: March 18, 2009

Va. GOP chairman goes on offensive Frederick, a delegate from Prince William, issues a point-by-point rebuttal

Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick issued a point-by-point rebuttal yesterday to 10 charges made against him by critics who are seeking to oust him as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.

In a letter addressed to "Dear Republican Friend," the Prince William legislator said his critics want to return "to the old way of doing things."

He portrayed himself as someone trying to revive the party at the grass roots and said the party for too long has been run from "the top down with consultants and lobbyists providing far more input into the direction of our party than the grass roots."

In a letter to about 2,000 Republicans, Frederick acknowledged that for 91 days last summer an Internet company he owns collected about $21,000 in online political donations for the party.

Frederick said he did so while waiting for a new Web site at the Republican Party of Virginia to be set up. He said his company retained 7 percent of the total, or $1,470, to cover expenses and did not profit from the transactions.

Frederick's opponents on the party's ruling body, the state central committee, say they have the votes to oust him at an April 4 meeting. It takes a three-quarters vote for ouster. Opponents say they have 58 of the 77 votes.

Former Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the all-but-certain GOP candidate for governor; GOP leaders in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates and the five Republican congressmen from Virginia also want to see Frederick go.

Frederick, 33, defeated former Lt. Gov. John H. Hager for the chairmanship at a convention in Richmond last May. He said he won the convention fair and square with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

The battle largely has been fought in public, something Frederick said he regrets. He said he was forced to go public when opponents last week publicly circulated charges that are "false and without merit."

In another response, Frederick denied that his procurement of office space in Northern Virginia was a breach of his authority. He said he rented space for an office in Prince William County for $600 a month. He also used the office for his legislative constituent-service office, he said. His campaign paid $2,400 for its portion of the office and the Republican party paid $2,400 for its portion, he said.

Frederick said the party plan allowed him to do so.

Another charge alleged that Frederick damaged the reputation and effectiveness of the party through refusal to coordinate activities, including campaign messages, with Republican nominees for public office.

There were complaints that he had issues with the presidential campaign of John McCain.

Frederick said he and the party staff undertook several sensitive assignments from federal and state elected officials. He said he could not release supporting documentation publicly because of the sensitive nature of the documents.

"Rest assured, we're fighting for the future of our Republican Party and our commonwealth, and we will not back down," Frederick's letter concluded.

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or twhitley@timesdispatch.com.