Fick to lead Berks County GOP

The revolving door keeps spinning at the Berks County Republican Committee.

For the third time in as many years, a new chairman will lead the Berks County GOP faithful.

Reading lawyer Andrew F. Fick is the new party chairman, replacing Mark Gillen, who held the post for a little more than a year.

The 41-year-old Spring Township resident told the Reading Eagle he will emphasize party unity and rebuilding the party's grassroots network.

Larry Medaglia Jr., a former GOP chairman, told the newspaper that Fick will re-energize the party:

"He is able to recognize that problems are not solved from the top to the bottom but are solved from the bottom up," Medaglia said.

Fick said his goals include to help fill 228 committee vacancies in Berks and to review and update the party's Web site, berks.mygopsite.com.

The Berks County Republican Committee is actually in better shape than its counterparts in neighboring counties like Chester and Montgomery.

While the Berks GOP hasn't been able to score many significant victories against entrenched Democrats, it has held its own while neighboring counties have lost the registration race to Democrats.

Poor showings by Republican candidates in Chester and Montgomery counties also led to the Democrats taking back the majority in the state House after 12 years of GOP control.

Fick's biggest challenge will be to attract younger people to get involved in the party. Typical party gatherings are a sea of gray with most members in attendance in their 60s and 70s.

Read the full article at the newspaper's Web site.