The Four Divisions in Frederick County

 The following is a post from Frederick County Republican activist David Sparkman:

There are now four political parties in Frederick County: The Democrat party, the Republican Committee, the Frederick First Party of independents, and the Frederick County Conservative Club.  Each has its own members and own goals. They were here before, but as factions, not as organized groups.

The Democrats are the out of power group that lives off of donations from outside the county. They have loyal clubs in the richer retirement communities, as well as a lot of immigrants from northeastern Virginia. As a minority, they are pretty much in lock-step, and represent from 25 to 30% of our community. They preach Deep Equity, Critical Race Theory, the “Green” agenda (anti-human) and 'win at any cost' election strategies (cheating). Their main supporters are the Winchester Star (Winchester Democrat), the liberal Teacher’s Association, and various individuals who may or may not know they are Democrats.

The second well-known party is the local Republican Party whose power base is in the rather disorganized Frederick County Republican Committee. It is a mixture of establishment Republicans and the newer activist type Republicans. The establishment Republicans liked the way the things used to be, with just the elite running things and growing rich by passing out favors. They worked out peaceful compromises with the liberal Teachers' association, where the establishment types would not be seriously challenged, and the School System would not be examined too closely. So, the establishment Republicans ran the government and the Liberals ran the school system, with little to no oversight.

Then, republican activists (TEA Party types) came on the scene and started rocking the boat. Since then, there has been a power struggle, with the establishment barely hanging on. When the activists got any power, they fought among themselves and we didn’t make much progress. Then Trump came on the scene, and people became more demanding of their government. Most didn’t go as far as The Donald did, but there was a different shift in awareness of the malfeasance in government that was awakening. But you cannot govern in anger. You need firmness and a certain coolness to govern the people. For some, that is too slow. For the establishment, it is too fast.

Now we have a resurrection of the establishment in the Frederick Freedom Party. This group is made up of several familiar names, who come from the existing republicans, who know how to make things work smoothly to their benefit. They are the elite that govern in the old ways and are in opposition to the new republicans. They know how to make things happen. All we need to do is to “trust” them. Personally, I don’t trust if I cannot verify, and that can take a lot of work if the establishment keeps blocking transparency - as they have with the school finances these past years. While it is true that we don’t really know this new crop of candidates in the FF party, we do know that some of the old ones consistently voted against Transparency. We will have to see how these new ones do.

And finally, we have the Frederick County Conservative Club or FCCC as the 4th political party. This party was formed in the home of Supervisor Josh Ludwig between December of 2021 and May of 2022, when it was formally incorporated with 4 officers: Rani Ludwig, Molly Brannon (past Treasurer), Christina Scarborough, and Gayle Ferriera.

We know that they have a secret charter that Molly said in a letter that she did not reveal. We know that Rani has stepped down from being Chairman. Gayle is activities Chairman for the Republican Woman’s club (WFCRW) and Christina Scarborough goes by the names Christina Michaels and Tyrant Hunter, as she posts attacks on Republicans using rather foul, gutter language.

They incorporated as a private corporation with the help of the law firm of Doug McCarthy. This group is very ambitious, backing not only Mrs. Brannon, but also supporting Brandon Monk and Heather Lockridge. Those supporting this group in letters to this editor include Clay Perry and Shawn Graber.

They originally withdrew from the local Republican Party, but starting with Molly Brannon and Josh Ludwig, are slowly re-joining so that they can run under the Republican banner. But are they really supporting fellow Republicans when their media specialist keeps obscenely attacking these people? Secret meetings, secret constitution, hidden membership? We don’t know what their agenda is. Once again transparency is not apparent.

While I think the official Republican leadership has fallen down on the job, at least we do have a tradition to work toward of individual rights, justice, and liberty. I will stick with that, and try to work toward a better Republican party. Mixing Liberal Republicans with Independents may not be the best way to go. But neither is the angry attack mode from the FCCC group the way forward. Let’s give the Republican party more backbone and a mission to make our county a better place based on sound principles, not anger, and not go along to get along.

We have a chance for a better educational program in our County, for wiser spending of our tax monies, for building strong Republican groups in every part of the county. Let’s build discussion groups to find the best ideas and fix our problems and heal the wounds of divisive politics. If your motives are wrong then your election would also be wrong. Give up the idea of personal power through political power. Give up the idea of getting rich by calling in political favors. And see how you can serve and help others.

Matt 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. Lift where you stand