Geary's run for Henrico commonwealth's attorney hits obstacle

Matthew P. Geary's unopposed run for Henrico County commonwealth's attorney in the November elections may not be unopposed after all.

In a rare instance of party disarray among Henrico Republicans, Geary has been informally asked to step down as a candidate; the incumbent prosecutor, a longtime Republican who had announced he would not seek re-election, now is positioning himself as an independent candidate; and key Republican operatives describe the party as struggling for direction.

"We are in uncharted territory," said Anne Davis Kellum, a member of the executive committee of the Henrico Republican Party and former Geary supporter who said Geary has isolated himself from party leaders. Geary, 40, is a former chief deputy commonwealth's attorney in Richmond.

Linwood Cobb, the Republican 7th Congressional District chairman, said this week that he and two Henrico executive committee members met with Geary last month and asked him to step aside.

"We asked him to step down as the party nominee," Cobb said, stressing that the request was informal and not a reflection of the wishes of the 7th District or of the county's Republican executive committee. Cobb declined to discuss specific objections to Geary's candidacy.

On Monday night, the county's Republican executive committee will hold a regularly scheduled meeting and may hear from Geary. Geary said Friday that he has not received notice of the meeting or been formally invited.

Geary's campaign spokesman, Amanda Chase, said Friday night that only Cobb, and not the other two Republican representatives at the meeting, requested that Geary step down as a candidate.

But with or without him, the committee will be briefed on concerns about Geary's candidacy, Kellum said.

At the heart of the committee's concerns about Geary is an alleged extramarital relationship that Geary apparently failed to reveal to party leaders. The husband of the woman involved told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he forwarded information about the relationship earlier this year to a party leader because of his concerns about Geary's fitness for elected office. Both couples have separated.

Cobb and Kellum said the committee has other concerns about Geary, but they declined to offer details. Chase said those issues were resolved to the satisfaction of the three Republicans who met with Geary in July. The only remaining issue was the degree to which Geary's ended extramarital relationship affects his suitability for office, she said.

David A. Johnson, the executive committee chairman, could not be reached for comment despite repeated calls to his office.

Geary has declined to discuss in detail the nature of the party's concerns. But his campaign released a statement the day after the July meeting with the three Republican leaders that said he and his wife of 16 years "have had some challenges in our marriage and we have been working through this privately for the past year.

"I feel this is a private matter and not one in which the Republican Party needs to be involved."

In that initial statement, Geary also said he still had the support of area commonwealth's attorneys, including Henrico's, but days later, his campaign corrected the statement and excluded the Henrico commonwealth's attorney from his list of supporters. Geary said Friday that the statement should have referred to Hanover County's commonwealth's attorney instead.

Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Wade A. Kizer, a longtime Republican who announced last year that he would not seek re-election, is positioning himself to run as an independent. He declined to comment on any aspect of Geary's campaign or on any efforts he might be making to retain the office.

Cobb said that Geary cannot be removed by the party as its candidate and that if Geary refuses to step aside, he will be certified as the Republican candidate for commonwealth's attorney.

But Kizer could run as an independent if he submits the necessary number of petition signatures to the State Board of Elections by Aug. 23. If Geary withdraws from the race before then, Kizer conceivably could receive the endorsement of the party, according to Cobb, who said he was speaking hypothetically.

Kizer, 55, informed his staff in November that he would not seek re-election, apparently ending an 11-year career.

Geary announced in September 2009 that he was running for Kizer's job, more than two years before the election. He has gained widespread support and until now enjoyed an unopposed run for a position that pays Kizer $185,000 a year.

Geary, in statements released by his campaign office in the wake of the July meeting, stressed that he has fulfilled the requirements to become the Republican nominee for commonwealth's attorney and expects to be certified this month by the State Board of Elections.

Geary said Friday that he continues to have support of local law-enforcement officials in Henrico and elsewhere and stands by his July statement that the allegations against him "will not affect my ability to serve."

"I made a promise to run, and I plan to keep that promise."