Help Wanted; One Marion County GOP Chairman
Marion County GOP Chairman Tom John is officially stepping down from the position. In a letter to precinct committeemen John cited the difficulty in balancing the demands as Chairman with those of his personal life as the reason for his resignation.
On a personal note, being chairman has its costs. Whether it is people upset with decisions you make or simply the difficulty of balancing the unpaid Chairmanship with work demands and family obligations, it is a difficult job that takes a toll. For these reasons, I have always believed that a chairman should not remain in the role too long. As I look at my personal priorities and the tremendously important year upcoming, I have decided to resign as your chairman effective upon the election of my successor.
John was first elected Chairman in 2007 and then unanimously re-elected in 2009. He cited the Republican wins in Marion County in 2007 as a high point, as well as Mitch Daniels’ 2008 gubernatorial victory and increasing GOP turnout. He also acknowledged the challenges of running Republicans in an increasingly Democratic County.
By law, a new Chairman must be elected in 30 days and precinct committeemen must have 10 days notice prior to the calling of an election. That means an election for a new Chairman would take place between December 11 and New Year’s Eve. John will remain in the position until a new Chair is selected.
While I’ll be interested in seeing what names surface as possible replacements, this is the perfect time for John’s critics to step up to the plate. They failed to mount a challenge in 2009 and one of them, a local blogger who shall remain nameless, even voted for him at the slating. This is the perfect opportunity for them to finally put their money where their mouths would like to be.
