| The Chelmsford Republican Town Committee (CRTC) hosted a forum last night (1-20-09) for the candidates running for the position of chair for the Massachusetts Republican Party. Over 85 people crammed the Chelmsford Police Training Center seminar room as they listened to Mike Franco, Joe Manzoli, & Jennifer Nassour discus their respective candidacies. The forum & the follow-up Q&A lasted less than an hour (due to time restrictions on the use of the room). One of the candidates made the public observation that the crowd before them had been the largest yet assembled in all the GOP forums sponsored thus far. My impressions:
MIKE FRANCO: Franco had the least polished speaking skills of the three candidates. His off-the-cuff comments rambled at times & his organizing principles sometimes lacked coherence. Franco seemed taken off guard when asked (along with the other two candidates) if he was a member of his local town/city committee. He replied in the negative but explained that his local committee was full & he was waiting for a vacancy to avail itself to him. Although Franco advocated a "Big Tent" approach, he argued said tent should be "right-of-center." He said as chair he wouldn't involve himself in local GOP "turf wars" & that town/city committees would have to fend for themselves in raising money (with only "nominal" help from the state party to be made available). Franco argued that political power had to be decentralized from the state committee to the local committees, that he would travel the state to inspect the health of said committees, & build them up should the situation require his help. Although Franco had good credentials as a party activist & sounded out many agreeable conservative themes, in my mind he failed to offer himself up as a credible leader with the skills to rally the different factions within the party faithful & to help lead the party itself out of its political wilderness.
JOE MANZOLI: Manzoli had a solid presence at the forum based, in part, on his skills as a professional salesman & his experience in many Republican campaigns. He cited an epiphany he had after conversing with another activist as the reason for his candidacy. Manzoli offered himself up as a candidate who didn't need "on-the-job training" during the party's current crisis driven in part, he said, by its "narrow focus." He also took the time to clarify his advocacy of a Republican activist who had assisted Deval Patrick's gubernatorial run by pointing out that said activist had been dropped from Team Patrick when he refused to renounce his GOP party affiliation. Manzoli claimed the activist & his talents would be - & should be - put to good use for the state party. Manzoli stuck to broad themes & generalities about his operational plans but never made a compelling argument that he was the change agent to lead the state party. His glib "rah-rah" approach (asking the audience to first applaud themselves for showing up & then to applaud the participants of the forum) may have worked in the past but I sense the audience was in no mood for a re-worked version of "Up With People" (especially when Manzoli asked the audience to join him singing "God Bless America" & they awkwardly did so).
JENNIFER NASSOUR: Nassour was by far the best prepared candidate of the trio. Prior to the forum, she vigorously worked the room & made it a point to meet as many activists as possible. She had a supporter hand out copies of her seven page "Plan for Rebuilding the MassGOP" manifesto. Nassour also lingered in the lobby after the forum was over & sought feedback from the departing attendees. At the forum itself, she was well-spoken, humorous (mocking Deval Patrick as the state's "Comforter-in-Chief"), & passionate. Nassour linked her personal/professional background to what she would do as the party's chair. Like her rivals, she was critical of the state GOP & used bullet points to quickly sketch out her version of the party & how she'd realize it (through fundraising, hiring key staffers, work with local groups, personal interaction with grassroots activists, & maintain an aggressive high profile with the media). Nassour's performance produced the most positive response from the audience. That's understandable; she came across to everyone in attendance as a fresh-faced, natural leader with the fire in the belly needed to lead the state GOP out of its current doldrums. We'll see if the GOP State Committee feels the same way when it elects its new chair next week.
On a side note, a longer amount of forum time would have benefitted the candidates & the audience. Opening remarks should have been no more than 5 minutes (it was 10 at last night's forum). A lot of questions collected by the forum moderator went unasked resulting in only four questions being put to the candidates. There was no time for formal closing statements & the post-forum "meet-&-greet" felt rushed due to time constraints placed upon the event by the host institution. Otherwise the diverse snacks & coffee were good & the seminar room provided enough space for the large crowd in attendance. Well done, CRTC! |
