Had the pleasure of joining my fellow YRs at Velocity 5 last night in Merrifield to see a whole slew of candidates that included state senate candidates Tito Munoz and Patrick Forrest, Drainesville supervisor candidate Dennis Husch; and school board candidates Nell Hurley, Lolita Mancheno-Smoak, and Sheila Ratnam. It was a good time.
I'd never met Tito Munoz before and, though I have endorsed Jeff Frederick, came away very impressed. I was worried he might rely on his personal story too much, because it is a good one. But he's clearly sat down over the course of the last few months and really done his homework. He was citing specific bills on issues like charter schools and income taxes and he seemed very comfortable within himself. He also stayed really late with everyone. Munoz talked about liberty, about being a state senator that doesn't tell counties what to do, and most importantly he stressed his ability to reach the Hispanic voter with his radio show and personal story. That primary is going to be interesting, and I'm still supporting Jeff but this made me feel much better about our chances overall because of the quality we have.
I'd never met Patrick Forrest either, and I think that Janet Howell might have gotten too cute in redistricting herself away from Caren Merrick. Forrest is a young, very intelligent guy with some community roots. He stressed Howell's inability to really accomplish anything, her disastrous attempt at drawig the senate districts, and talked about Virginia being a vibrant, young state that needs vibrant young representatives. And he's right! He answered questions with a lot of passion and knowledge, and he looks like he's really willing to put the work in. Its impressive that we found a guy who is this good to take on someone as powerful and entrenched as Howell. Its a good sign.
I encourage all of you to come out to these YR meetings, lately we have had a great run of candidate forums. Last month we had Steve Hunt, Jason Flannery, Andre Muange, Chris Grisafe, and Robert Sarvis. So its fun, V-5 is a great place (I sometimes go to watch the UFC fights).
If you were a conservative activist in NOVA you would know who Tito is. You just ripped your mask off and revealed yourself to be a RINO.
Posted by: Sheila Langston | June 24, 2011 at 07:17 AM
Right. Supporting Jeff Frederick makes me a RINO.
Posted by: Chris | June 24, 2011 at 07:28 AM
Sheila,
Chris didn't say he'd never heard of Tito, merely that he's never met him in person. Tito may now be more active in Fairfax since his involvement in the McCain/Palin race and I've personally met him several times, but the man lives in Prince William while Chris lived in Fairfax City and Reston, so it's hardly inconceivable they hadn't met yet.
More importantly, I can vouch for Chris's activism with the Fairfax City and Fairfax County Republicans going back to at least to 2007, when he was door knocking for Ken Cuccinelli. I've heard people talk about his local activism in Fairfax City going back far further than that. Personally, I met Chris when we were both volunteering for Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General (BEFORE the convention against Brownlee and Foster I might add) and attended the RPV Convention with him and the rest of the Fairfax YR's in 2009. He may be more busy with his job and getting married these days, but the man is absolutely legit.
As for the YR meeting, I, too, was very impressed by Tito. He has a great story, but, more importantly, he came across as informed, polished, articulate, and passionate. Either he or J-Fred would be a terror to Toddy Puller and the only tragedy here is that primary voters in the 36th have to pick between them.
Posted by: Not a Scion | June 24, 2011 at 09:34 AM
The knives do come out, when you go against the establishment candidates... Good Advice, don't get yourself elected RPV chair, without first asking George Allen's permission...
Posted by: Spank That Donkey | June 25, 2011 at 05:45 PM
How can anyone say that JFred is NOT the establishment candidate? He is establisment personified, ousted of his own party Chair office because he would not step down! The dems are salivating at the thought of his primary win, they are having a field day already with his gaffes and dubious political past! Check blue VA blog, if you don't believe me!
Posted by: tea party patriot | June 27, 2011 at 10:05 AM
and yes, Sheila is absolutely correct, if you are a NOVA conservative and never heard of Tito, you need a reality check, because you have not been involved at all!
Posted by: tea party patriot | June 27, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Listen dummy, I know who he is I just had never heard him speak before
Posted by: Chris | June 27, 2011 at 12:45 PM