South of the James

By Don Scoggins
Guest Writer

Don Scoggins is the chairman of the Frederick Douglass Republican Forum and a member of the Prince William County Republican Committee. Previously, he contributed to South of the James’ 2005 Virginia statewide election coverage.

With the untimely death of Tidewater activist Tony Cobb, it’s a good time for all black Republicans in Virginia to reflect on how far we have come and how far we still must go. Tony dedicated a significant portion of his recent years to advancing the GOP agenda, making it a point to take that agenda directly to black communities in his region. He cared about his people and his party, and his goal was to unite both politically, a sentiment that I share. Reflecting on Tony’s service to the party, particularly in light of the recent declines that we have seen on the statewide and legislative front, has shown me a few things that need to be shared. Hopefully, Tony’s work will not have been in vain.

For African Americans working in the Republican Party of Virginia, the past election season was a double-edged sword. For those of us who worked hard for the GOP ticket, it was disappointing to see Jerry Kilgore go down to defeat in such an ignominious manner. However, Bill Bolling and Bob McDonnell were successful, thus giving us statewide leadership for the next four years. Amidst the disappointment of seeing another four years of Democratic rule in the Governor’s mansion, several black Republicans were successful at the local level. Election Day saw two new black sheriffs – Gabe Morgan and Octavia Johnson, in Newport News and Roanoke, respectively – who won as Republicans. Despite this, the RPV still has a ways to go in publicizing these successes if it intends to seriously compete for the hearts and minds of Virginia’s black voters.

Following the election, hundreds of Republicans got together for the annual Advance at the Homestead. With a combination of wound-licking and motivational speaking, the RPV was looking to move a new agenda that would help stymie Democratic gains in the General Assembly, and prepare the party for the next set of elections. Members of the party’s minority outreach effort held a session to generate new ideas and thoughts about how to reach diverse communities. Despite our best efforts, this session was poorly attended, and demonstrated a lack of commitment on the part of our party to reach into our communities on a serious level. Having been around the GOP for over 30 years, people are now telling me that I am swimming upstream in my attempt to get the RPV to become more sensitive and attentive to black concerns.

Despite his defeat, Jerry Kilgore offered a different approach to outreach by making himself accessible to blacks on a personal level by holding events at people’s homes and other small events around the state. This strategy looks to be part of a good model to incorporate into future campaigns, but it is only one element of what our party needs to do. Kilgore lacked high-profile black Virginians who had recognition either on a statewide or local basis. In all honesty, the Kilgore camp missed a golden opportunity to reach out to blacks this time around.

Aside from the personal outreach, the campaign made quite a few key miscalls regarding blacks. The Kilgore campaign failed to recreate the wonderful model that Jim Gilmore implemented in his 1997 race, in which he snagged a good deal of black votes, and hurt the Beyer campaign badly. Gilmore had a committee of homegrown, high-profile blacks with connection to various communities, such as corporate professionals, ministers, and business owners. Also, there was a great organization, Virginians for Black Inclusion in Government (VABIG), which did great work for Gilmore as ambassadors to black Virginia.

Finally, Gilmore brought on-board Claude Allen and Kay Coles James, two senior black officials from Governor Allen’s administration, to work on behalf of campaign. 2005 was a great opportunity for blacks to be tapped into, but the party did not capitalize on it. Given that blacks in VA went for Bush at 16% in 2000 and 14% in 2004, Kilgore could have done better if he had worked differently. What is certain is that more work needs to be done to create lasting bonds between the GOP and the black community outside of the election cycle.

For example, VABIG was formed during the latter days of the Allen administration to work toward the next races, and during his term as Attorney General, Gilmore put together a network of potential black governmental appointees to give him a head start for his gubernatorial race and fill roles in his administration. Despite this, after the Gilmore days were over, it appears as if blacks simply scattered and were not part of the Republican apparatus. This falling-off was a major motivator behind the creation of the Frederick Douglass Republican Forum – something needed to be done to hold black Republicans together while the GOP did not have the governor’s office.

Looking forward, the presence of Paul Harris as a major favorite for a statewide ticket spot could go a long way to fostering better interplay between blacks and the Republican Party. Paul has great connections to many corporate interests, and he has a real shot at winning the nomination for the Attorney General’s race, which if he won would be a prelude to a run for Governor. If he can establish good grassroots contacts with local committees, as well as, open-minded black organizations, it will go along way to shoring up his run.

In my mind, the way for the GOP to better increase its minority participation, especially for blacks, is to keep working hard and not give up despite obstacles. On a personal note, I am getting a little long in the tooth to pursue the goal of more black participation if it will only remain a people dream. However, since I am an eternal optimist, I trust that RPV’s younger and more enlightened activists and executives will push our party to abandon the ways of the old days. Demographically-speaking, if our party keeps ignoring open-minded, politically-independent, yet culturally-authentic, blacks, the Republican Party will continue to lose out over time as whites become smaller as a percentage of the total population and voting base in VA. The status quo will only keep us failing.