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Friday, February 29, 2008

Bob Kerns vows to unify Montco GOP

After four years under the "leadership" of Ken Davis, the Montgomery County Republican Party is barely standing.

Davis' legacy will be one of defeat and dissension as he presided over the demise of the once dominant political party in Montgomery County.

Any chance Davis was a mole planted by the Democratic Party to destroy the GOP from within? How else do you explain his tenure as party chairman, which mercifully comes to an end in a couple of months.

Bob Kerns wants to clean up the mess Ken Davis and his cohorts Jim Matthews and Bob Asher made.

Kerns officially announced his candidacy for Montgomery County Party Chairman in a letter to GOP committee people. The election of a new chairman is scheduled for May 8.

A few names have been kicked around as a potential new chairman, but Kern is a proven leader who narrowly lost the party chairmanship vote to Davis in 2004 and 2006. How many GOP committee people who supported Davis wish they could take their votes back after the damage he's done to the party?

Here is the text of Kerns' letter:
You and I share a commitment to the future of Montgomery County. Like you, I know that Montgomery County is a unique and special place to live, work and raise a family. More than a century of Republican-led county and local government has provided us with a vibrant economy, safe neighborhoods and good schools. As Montgomery County Republicans, we have a wonderful story to tell.

More than thirty years ago, with only a desire to improve my community, I got involved in our Republican Party. Since that time, it has been my privilege to work for the election of Republican candidates for all levels of office. Aware of the challenges facing our party and the difficulty of recent years, I believe our most prosperous days as a political organization lay ahead of us if we embrace new ideas, bolder and more inclusive leadership, and commit ourselves to uniting behind every Republican candidate in our general elections.

Knowing that our communities, county and Commonwealth are best served by Republican-led government, I have led efforts over the last four years that raised and spent over $300,000 in support of local, school board, county and legislative Republican candidates. Additionally, as finance chairman of last year’s Republican County Commissioners’ campaign, I led efforts raising more than $1 million.

We are a diverse party and that diversity should not divide, but strengthen us. In our diversity, we can win elections by recruiting superior candidates, running aggressive campaigns, and communicating creatively to tell our story in every corner of the county, no matter how heavily influenced by recent voter trends.

The state of our Republican Party in Montgomery County now requires us to take bold and decisive steps to rebuild and reinvigorate our party to permanently re-establish Republican-led government in all corners and at all levels. With specific plans of my own, and committed to listening to the ideas of all Republican committee members, I declare that I will be a candidate for Chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Committee at the 2008 Reorganization Convention scheduled for May 8th.

Your commitment to the future of the Republican Party in Montgomery County is certain as you are seeking your first or another term on the committee. In the weeks leading up to the reorganization convention, I will actively seek your thoughts and input in the implementation of a plan to revitalize our party and secure Montgomery County’s future through Republican-led government. Please know I welcome your ideas and am always available to assist you in all of your grassroots efforts leading up to Primary Election Day, Tuesday, April 22, 2008.

Sincerely,
Robert J. Kerns

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Any chance Davis was a mole planted by the Democratic Party to destroy the GOP from within?"

I have been wondering about that a lot lately, too.

Or, perhaps Ken Davis' actions have something to do with his lobbying business? I don't know, but his actions are wholly inconsistent with a person who is supposed to be a GOP leader.

Anonymous said...

There are a ton of comments about this topic on http://stansblogtimesherald.blogspot.com/.

Here are some samples of what people are saying there about Bob Kerns:


“Bob Kerns should win the nomination for chair hands down…”

“I think Robert Kerns should have won it the first time around. He deserves a chance now…”

“Bob Kerns would do a MUCH better job than Ken Davis ... and perhaps save the party…”

“Davis will step down and the chairmanship will be taken by another Asher puppet. This way, they will pit Bob Kerns against an incumbent Chair with no track record for anyone to bash. HOPEFULLY, our committee people will see past this and give Bob Kerns a chance!!!”

“My guess is most people who had an opportunity stolen from them, twice, in 2004 and 2006, as Bob Kerns has would say, "to heck with this, I'm taking my ball and going home." To his credit, over the last four years, Kerns has consistently and generously supported Republican candidates for races from school board to governor. The time has come for Kerns to be given a chance to try to straighten out the Montgomery County Republican Party. I only hope the committee people see it as clearly as so many of us do.”

“I see Bob Kerns as the eventual winner after the county Re-organization. Ken Davis is a weak leader and has been for the past 3+ years. Look at party registration under his leadership...it's in the toilet… His tenure was a waste. Good Riddance!”

“Bob Kerns should become the Republican Chairman. He of course has many irons in many fires, but is well organized and that is what we need to bring the party together...”