Michael will resign post as chairman

By Bob Stuart

Published: June 4, 2008

Augusta County Republican Committee Chairman Kurt Michael has made it official: He will resign after Saturday’s 6th District Committee meeting in Lexington.
Michael said he is attending Saturday’s meeting “because Augusta County needs to be represented.”
But in a letter to Republican blogs Tuesday night, he stated his intention to resign.
The resignation comes after a contentious three-month struggle over the chairmanship of the Augusta GOP and last week’s ruling by Virginia GOP State Central Committee that Michael was chairman.
“With my resignation, I am offering an invitation to Sen. Emmett Hanger and his followers to come back into the Republican fold and focus on the true challenge of the fall elections,” he said.
Michael said Wednesday he wanted to put all rumors to rest about staying chairman and it will now be up to the Augusta County Republican Committee to hold a new election for chairman.
Hanger, who worked for Michael’s removal as chairman, declined to comment on Michael’s statement.
But he did say that the second portion of the April 10 Augusta County Mass Meeting during which Michael was elected chairman was inappropriate.
“It was not a legitimate meeting,” Hanger said of the vote which re-elected Michael chairman 57-2.
Hanger said the portion of the local party led by Michael and others “seem determined to do whatever they want.”
Hanger said he is focused on doing his job as senator, and said “I’m a Republican and will continue to be.”
Meanwhile, another foe of Hanger’s is going to work for the Virginia Republican Party’s new chairman, Jeff Frederick.
Scott Sayre, who lost the Republican Primary to Hanger last year, has been named a member of Frederick’s transition team.
Frederick, the 32-year-old Prince William County delegate, ousted John Hager as party chairman at last weekend’s state convention in Richmond.