Volunteers are the lifeblood of any political party, and the Arlington County Republican Committee paused on Dec. 7 to honor three who have made a difference over both the short haul and the long.
The dinner event in Crystal City was an effort to honor those who “put in the blood, sweat, tears, treasure – all that good stuff,” said Matthew Hurtt, communications director for the Arlington GOP.
The event also was a night for the party to celebrate Republican successes at the state level, as the GOP swept all three statewide offices (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general) and won back a majority in the House of Delegates in the Nov. 2 election.
At the local level, the party did not field candidates for County Board or School Board, but did have contenders for the four delegate districts that include part of Arlington. Though those Republican candidates went down to predictable defeat, given the political demographics of the district, party leaders believe they helped bring out voters, which in turn helped fuel gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin’s victory over Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
“It feels so good to be here after a big win. Everybody who ran this year lifted us all up,” said party chair Andrew Loposser, who started the meeting mockingly asking for a moment of silence to mourn the death of “Terry McAuliffe’s political career.”
Receiving the party’s three annual accolades:
• Frank Lusby garnered the Hilda Griffith Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service, for his efforts to promote election integrity locally and across the commonwealth.
Lusby “rallied the troops” to bring out pollwatchers and others to match Democratic efforts, Loposser said.
• Sue Gartner received the Alice Sayre Commonwealth Club Award, honoring service to the local GOP committee and its candidates.
“Sue is just a rock star,” Hurtt said. “A tremendous friend to this committee and candidates who run for office.”
• Scott McGeary was bestowed with the Delyannis-Finta Award for Distinguished Community Service.
McGeary, a former county GOP chair and current member of the Arlington Electoral Board, is “somebody I consider a mentor,” Loposser said. “He’s always been there.”
Though local Republicans found themselves split into factions owing to the Trump presidency – some embraced it, others recoiled from it – the GOP defeats of 2020 seemed to snap the party back to cohesiveness (not unlike what occurred to the Arlington County Democratic Committee in the wake of the 2016 election). Recent Republican Committee meetings have been heavily attended.
“This is the largest crowd I have ever seen of this committee,” McGeary said at the Dec. 7 event – and his institutional knowledge goes back decades.
“It’s very encouraging going into 2022,” Loposser said.