The revolving door which has been the Maryland Republican Party leadership hopefully has been stopped with the appointment of a new Executive Director – by resume she could be a winner. This from the Examiner:
Kim Jorns will be starting in the position as of January 1. She is currently the Director of Finance of the Virginia Republican Party, and comes highly recommended by contacts in Virginia. “They are very sad to lose her,” said Ms. Scott, “which speaks volumes.”
Ms. Jorns is originally from Wisconsin, serving as Director of Finance for the state party, and being instrumental in helping the struggling Republican party in that state to rebuild. She repeated the performance in Virginia with its challenged state party. Ms. Scott said, “She’s got the experience we need here in Maryland, from fundraising to a reputation for hard work. Our focus now is on fundraising, so one of the first things she is planning to do is to develop a finance plan for the party.”
All well and good, and with the background I wonder if a couple of my friends know her from days gone by in Wisconsin and Virginia.
The key element is indeed finance. Unlike the Democrats, who can count on union dues confiscated from workers being transferred magically to their campaign accounts (assuming they’re good little Democrats and back the union line on their key issues) the GOP relies mainly on smaller donations from interested individuals. Given the success Republicans enjoyed in Virginia a month ago, it’s good we can get a winner on our team.
So once Jorns gets on board after the holidays, it would be nice if she (and new party Chair Audrey Scott) begin to reach out to the smaller counties. While we’re in the midst of filling two new positions on our Central Committee, choosing from a number of well-qualified candidates (and I presume Worcester County is doing the same), surely we can make time to meet with Scott and Jorns because you can call us skeptics at the moment. Bear in mind that Wicomico was the only county not supporting Scott at the recent convention.
It’s time for the squeaky wheel to get the grease. Do I want to see more Republicans elected? Of course I do, although my preference is for the most conservative ones we can find, people who favor limiting the size and scope of government, to be placed into positions of power. We’re happy to help but we want our concerns addressed too.
So good luck to Kim Jorns as she assumes this task. It’s a formidable one but we’ll help any way we can.
