Rumor: Fired Sully District Chair To Primary Tim Hugo?

Can this be right?  Bob Carlson, known for being such a good Sully chair that he was fired by Anthony Bedell is going to mount a primary challenge to Del. Tim Hugo.  If this is true, he needs to be crushed.  I don't know Mr. Carlson from Santa Claus but I do know that Tim Hugo is one of the best politicians Republicans in Northern Virignia has to offer.  He's a genuine good man, well liked by all factions, and a leader for both the party and the region in the House of Delegates where NOVA is constantly underepresented.  This is a disgrace, and it calls into question motives.  Is this spite, or is this someone going after Hugo before the 2012 congressional races?  What Republican in their right mind would support this?

Comments

[VA Blogger]

County Chairmen don't have the ability to fire anybody. Carlson was simply not re-appointed to the position when his term ended. Bedell made a recommendation for a new district chair, and the committee members of Sully approved the decision unanimously in a vote.

[Chirs]

come on . . . don't bullshit a bullshitter. Your just playing semantics here.

[Colts Fan!]

Would hate to loose a (great) R in the house, but Hugo has a record of voting for tax increases, and fees- including the $1 per mile increase over the speed limit for tickets this past year. I think he's in trouble if Carlson is a good candidate and will lay out his (not conservative) voting record. If this Carlson sucks, Hugo is safe! No problem for Hugo.

[VA Blogger]

I'm not bullshitting anything. When you say something like "Bedell fired him" (or Mychele Brickner), you're implying a unilateral decision was made by the Chairman against the will of the people the District Rep serves. That's not at all what happened (nor can it legally happen). The fact that the new chair had to be approved, and was done so unanimously, is a very important distinction.

[Chirs]

I guess I was "misinformed."

[Chirs]

But to those of us in the real world . . . who saw how terrible Sully performed election after election (most glaringly in the Herrity-Bulova race). . . that "distinction" sounds like a technicality that to regular folks like being fired.

And I also question, why aren't you saying anything about this? Why are you essentially defending a guy who might primary one of our best and most prominent delegates?

[VA Blogger]

I'm not defending Carlson, nor did I disagree with Bedell's decision to not re-appoint him. Moreover, I think Marc Cadin is awesome, and I was happy to see him get the nod.

Moreover, I would fully support Hugo in a primary challenge against anybody. And I would support Hugo in the primary against almost anybody if he decided to run for Congress.

However, I think your comments were unfair to Bedell, because it opens up the can of worms again like what happened in Springfield with Mychele Brickner. Bedell has no authority to "fire" people. The decision of who the District Chairs are comes from the members of the Committee who are from each magesterial district. Bedell recognized a problem in Sully, and worked within the rules, completely above board, and completely fairly to all the District Chairs (whether they were re-appointed or not), and completely fairly to the members of FCRC.

[Pauline Jamison]

Maybe Herrity will run too. He'll run for anything.

[VA Blogger]

I see randomly generated names are still popping up to take gratuitous swipes at Herrity. I would've thought whatever contract the Fimian campaign had would have ended by now.

[Colts Fan!]

No.... only people are still mad he (Pat) didn't (really) step forward to help defeat Connolly. Everyone knows that. Forget Fimian- Pat did nothing to help win the seat for the 'R's in the district after the primary, the party, or for the state... it's all about Pat. Take it or leave it. I do defend Bedell BTW... not his fault.

[VA Blogger]

Pat endorsed him, hosted events for him, and sent out emails for him. Was he asked to do anything more? After all, Keith just spent six months and a million dollars smearing him as an "insider" "establishment" "tax-hiking" "big government" "career politician" "who isn't committed to defending our freedoms". Maybe Keith didn't want any more of Herrity's support.

Besides which, Fimian won Springfield with 55% of the vote. He lost the election because of underwhelming numbers in PWC, and in Mason, Braddock, and Mount Vernon.

[Sully Skins Fan]

Bob Carlson is Supervisor Mike Frey's stalking horse. Frey is at odds with Hugo because Hugo won't vote for a transportation tax increase and because Hugo publicly opposed Frey's plan to put a day labor center (mostly illegals) in Centreville.

[Colts Fan!]

oh yea.... Hugo went after Frey hard about the day labor site. nitz on the transportation tax... call it a fee and Hugo will vote for it. Any one remember the abuser fees (tax) bill for transportation Hugo voted for?

[Loudoun Insider]

This is a ridiculous idea - Hugo is one of the best. And please stop with the Herrity bashing. If he had won the nomination he would be your incoming Congressman.

[Arlington is for Lovers!]

Loudoun Insider- are you sure you're not an FCRC insider? Wow

[Jim Malloy]

Herrity would have done worse in PWC, meaning that Connelly would have won with wider margins overall. He basically disappeared from public sight after Fimian crushed him in the primary. Herrity's campaign organization went into stealth mode as well.

Herrity may plan to take another bite of the apple. But, then again, he may find himself living in Frank Wolf's district in 2012. Perhaps he'll need to move.

The ideal candidate to beat Connolly would be Tim Hugo.

But the best scenario would be for Moran and Connelly to be captured by the same district boundaries. That would be a match made in heaven.

[VA Blogger]

There's no way for either side to prove anything, but Fimian clearly underperformed in Braddock, Mason, and Mount Vernon. PWC is only a third of the district; the margins don't matter as much there as they do in Fairfax, which is why Connolly focused on Fairfax and was happy to let Fimian focus on PWC.

[Loudoun Insider]

Herrity would have pulled enough votes away in Fairfax to win. But that's after the fact wishing. I just hope Fimian doesn't try to come back for a third try. Hugo would be a much better choice.

[J. Unites]

Doesn't anybody here care about voting records? Anyone can say there are a Rep, but when they vote for tax increases, fees, more regulations, red light cameras, etc... they are not Republican- or more specifically a Conservative, as Hugo exclaims. Actions speak greater then words, and actions show Hugo is a 'Rino' at best, and a semi-pro-life liberal at best! Check his voting record guys, not his 'ah shucks', simpleton attitude. Jeez

[VA Blogger]

Yeah, I agree. Fairfax County is the best place to launch a right-wing challenge to vulnerable incumbents. We need to marshal all of our resources, send a strong message, and work together to accomplish one, simple goal: To give Democrats a 17-0 edge in Fairfax House seats, a 9-0 edge in Fairfax Senate seats, and a 10-0 majority on the Board of Supervisors.

That'll show 'em!

[J. Unites]

ugg.... not what I meant. Principle still means something to someone I hope. Can't we stand for R principles and win with good candidates in Fairfax? I not talking Marshall, but still have some R dignity and win? If not, why are we even talking on this blog.... ugg

[David C.F. Ray]

A little clarification is called for.

First, Anthony might not technically have "fired" Bob Carlson, since all County Committee member terms ended at the conclusion of the Fairfax County Convention, and Bob's term as Sully Chairman expired as well. It is true that Anthony did not reappoint Bob, and that Anthony nominated Marc Cadin, who, in turn, was confirmed by the Sully Committee members. However, two things are also true.

A.) Anthony could have (he chose not to) fired Bob at ANY time, just like he could fire Marc or any other Magisterial District Chairman now. Under the Fairfax County Party Plan, all Magisterial District Chairmen, once confirmed, serve at the County Chairman's pleasure.

B.) If Marc, for whatever reason, had NOT been confirmed by the Sully Committee, no one EXCEPT Anthony had any authority to name a replacement. This point was illustrated quite clearly when some members of the Springfield Committee sought to not confirm Will Nance. Will was ultimately confirmed, but if Will had lost, no one else could have nominated a replacement.

Second, while I have no compelling reason to pile onto Bob Carlson, I think anyone who believes Bob would challenge Tim from the right is only demonstrating how little he or she knows Bob Carlson. I haven't spoken with Bob, and I don't know if this rumor Chris has picked up has any truth to it, but I know enough about Bob to know Bob would be challenging Tim from the left.

[VA Blogger]

Thanks for the clarification, David.

[Jenn Rotliera]

I find the underperforming comment about Braddock tough to swallow being its just not true. Sure, we were disappointed with the Braddock results, but underperforming is not the case, particularly when Fimian outperformed McDonnell's vote totals there in 2009.

[VA Blogger]

McDonnell won Braddock, Fimian lost it. What's tough to swallow about that?