Meet the GOP: Lolita’s Story
When Lolita Mancheno-Smoak realized her community wasn’t headed in the right direction, she didn’t 
complain about it.
She decided to change it.
Mancheno-Smoak is the Fairfax County Republican Committee’s 3rd Vice Chairman, Community Engagement, as a volunteer with the Republican Party of Virginia, she works to connect with all types of voters and get out the vote in Fairfax County. Her goal is simple: introduce Northern Virginia’s diverse communities to the principles of the Republican Party.
“It is hard work. The shocked look in folks who see Latinos, Asians, and Blacks that are Republicans makes it all worth it. They say ‘why are you here?’ and we show them why we are there and share our message,” Mancheno-Smoak said.
Passion for principles and people is what keeps Mancheno-Smoak working, no matter the weather.
“I believe in the principles of the Republican Party and I think that here in Fairfax County especially, there is not enough understanding about what are the fundamental truths and direct differences between the Republican and Democratic Parties especially within the Latino community,” she said.
“I have a passion for making sure that changes and that is what I am involved in now. We need to be present and involved in every community in Fairfax. You have to invest time. You can’t just show up and say vote for me. It takes more than that. It takes respect and valuing enough to build long term relationships.”
As Republicans work to earn votes in every community around the Commonwealth, volunteers like Mancheno-Smoak are carrying the ideas of the Virginia Republican Creed into new communities.
“I enjoy sticking my neck out and being aggressive in engaging with diverse communities to try to earn votes and excite support,” she said. “Representing our local diversity is especially important in Virginia and also on a national level. Having Republicans in places of high visibility and leadership that reflect the richness of our diverse communities is so important.”
Above all, she said, the effort is about commitment — commitment to community, country, and principles. After all, unless Republicans are willing to engage with more communities over the long term, no effort to win votes will succeed.
“Sacrificing a weekend to just meet strangers is hard unless you have a real will,” she said. “People say they are willing to do things, but when it’s time to get the work done, then you really see who is committed.”
VIRGINIA’S FIRST DISTRICT REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE CALL
VIRGINIA’S FIRST DISTRICT REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE CALL
Saturday, June 18, 2016
New Yorker Restaurant
18164 A P Hill Blvd, Bowling Green, VA 22427
I, Eric Herr, Chairman of the First District Republican Committee, do hereby issue a CALL for a regular meeting of the First District Committee on Saturday, June 18, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. at New Yorker Restaurant, 18164 A P Hill Blvd, Bowling Green, VA 22427
The purpose of the meeting is to elect First Congressional District Committee Officers (Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Treasure) and address all other pertinent Committee business.
AGENDA
- Call to Order
- Invocation
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Salute to Virginia’s Flag
- Reading of the Republican Creed
- Introduction of Visitors and Guests
- Appointment of a Proxy Committee
- Roll Call
- Report of the Proxy Committee
- Minutes of the Previous Meeting(s)
- Treasurer’s Report, Chairman, and Committee Reports
- Federation Reports (2 minutes each): VFRW; VFYR; VFCR
- Unfinished Business
- New Business
- Elect Vice Chairman
- Elect Secretary
- Elect Treasurer
- Next meeting date and location; and
- Adjournment
PROXY FORM:
KNOW ALL BY THESE PRESENTS, That I _______________________________ of _______________________________ (locality), do hereby constitute and appoint _________________________________________ my true and lawful attorney, to vote as my proxy (with full power of substitution)* at a meeting of the First District Republican Committee on the 6th day of June, 2016, or at any adjourned meeting thereof and for me and in my name, place, and stead to vote upon any question that properly may come before such meeting, with all the power I should possess, if personally present, hereby revoking all previous proxies. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal, this ____________ day of __________________ 2016.
(Your Signature) ______________________________________(Seal)
(Witness Signature): ______________________________________(Seal)
RPV State Central Committee Elects John Whitbeck Chairman
Members of the Republican Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee today elected 10th Congressional District Chairman John Whitbeck by acclamation to serve as the party’s new Chairman following the retirement of Chairman Pat Mullins.
The following are excerpts from Chairman Whitbeck’s remarks:
“As some of you know I have already started my work on behalf of the RPV. In the last few weeks I have traveled around Virginia meeting with grassroots folks, leaders in the business community and Republicans from every corner of our Party. I have learned so much in such a short time that I am prepared for the job ahead.”
“You know, one of the questions everyone is asking me is what does the Republican Party of Virginia stand for? People want to know our message and how things are going to be different and I have had a very easy answer to give them. It is a message that resonates with everyone….Republicans, Independents and even some Democrats…”
“WE BELIEVE:
That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice,
That all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society,
That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government,
That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing Constitutional limitations,
That peace is best preserved through a strong national defense,
That faith in God, as recognized by our Founding Fathers is essential to the moral fiber of the Nation.”
“This Creed unites us. It makes us who we are. And if we only live by these words, there is no limit to what we can accomplish. It is time to shed our divisive labels….Establishment, grassroots, libertarians, whatever we call ourselves…..it is time to be Republican first.”
“But more importantly, it is time for the Republican Party of Virginia to give you all a reason to call yourselves Republicans first.”
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you a solemn commitment to always give you my best effort. To never forget where I came from and to manage our Party guided by the Republican Party of Virginia Creed.”
Pastor Aaron Wheeler, the other candidate for the post, withdrew from the race at the last minute. Wheeler informed members of the committee of his intentions via letter, and gave his full support to Whitbeck.
In addition to prepared remarks, Whitbeck announced that former Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be the keynote speaker at the party’s Commonwealth Dinner on Feb. 24th in Richmond.
Perry is likely the first of many potential GOP Presidential contenders to appear in Virginia in the run-up to the 2016 Presidential primary season.
Whitbeck will serve the unexpired portion of retiring Chairman Mullins’ term, which runs through the Virginia GOP Convention in summer 2016. The exact date and location for that event has not yet been set.
Statement of RPV Chairman Pat Mullins on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday
RPV Chairman Pat Mullins issued the following statement:
“Today, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as we mark his birthday. His dream of a society where all are judged not according to their color, but on the content of their character is the embodiment of the nation that we as Republicans work to build for our children and grandchildren.”
“But we must do more than simply pay lip service to this dream. It is incumbent upon us all to tear down barriers of mistrust that divide us. We must work so that we see those who may not look like us or share our culture, not as ‘other,’ but build upon shared values toward seeing them as brothers and sisters, sharing in our common humanity.”
“And as we work to bridge divides, we must also be just as vigilant to stand against those who would divide us by color. We must redouble our efforts against those voices that would devalue a fellow human simply because of their color or their creed. The world must know that they do not speak for us.”
“Dr. King and other civil rights leaders started our nation on this path, and we have made great progress. But there is much work to be done. Let us then recommit ourselves to this effort, and work toward a time when, as Dr. King said so well, all God’s children can join hands and proclaim that we are Free, At Last!”