November 16, 2010

Dear State Central Committee Member:

Thank you for your service to our Republican Party, and in particular, for your service as
a member of the State Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia.

It is my understanding that the State Central Committee (SCC) will be meeting during
the 2011 Republican Advance to consider several important issues. I am writing to
share my views on these issues with you in advance of that meeting.

First, I understand that the SCC will consider two amendments to the State Party Plan
related to delegate fees and candidate fees for conventions. The first of these
amendments would allow for a mandatory filing fee for delegates to any future state
convention and the second would establish a $25,000 convention filing fee for
candidates seeking statewide office in Virginia.

While I know that these are well intentioned amendments, and I certainly respect the
views of those who have offered these amendments, I wanted to make you aware of my
opposition to these amendments. My opposition to these amendments is based on the
following concerns:

First, after the recent electoral successes we have enjoyed, we should be reaching out
to Tea Party activists and other new people who have become interested in politics to
encourage them to participate in the process and join the Republican Party. I believe
that these amendments could serve to push people away from the process and make
our party appear closed, exclusive and restrictive, which is exactly the opposite
message we should deliver.

Second, in recent elections we made tremendous strides winning the youth vote and
overwhelmingly winning the votes of seniors and rural Virginians. By imposing
mandatory delegate fees we could restrict the participation of youth, seniors and people
on fixed budgets. Additionally, people from many parts of rural Virginia must already
travel great distances and spend multiple nights in hotel rooms to attend conventions.
The additional fees could make participation for them even more difficult.

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Third, and given our current economic environment, where thousands of Virginians
remain unemployed, adopting a mandatory fee for the right to vote on a nominee for
public office makes our party look out-of-touch with the challenges people are facing
every day.

Fourth, I am concerned that the mandatory nature of the proposed filling fees, as well as
the significant candidate filing fee, may not be legally permissible and may be subject to
rejection by the U.S. Department of Justice. When considering such matters I believe
that we should err on the side of caution. The current system of voluntary filing fees
would avoid these types of costly, potential legal challenges.

Finally, I am concerned that the size of the proposed filing fee for statewide candidates
would make it impossible for candidates who do not have significant financial resources
to seek public office. While such a fee could potentially benefit me in my future political
endeavors, I do not believe that any candidate should be precluded from running for
statewide office simply because they cannot pay an exorbitant filing fee.

Accordingly, I encourage you to reject these amendments when they are considered by
the SCC.

Additionally, I understand that the State Central Committee will be deciding how we will
nominate the Republican candidate for the United States Senate in 2012. I wanted to
advise you of my strong support for a statewide primary to nominate our party’s
candidate for the Senate.

I am a firm believer in the need to grow our Party and to do that we must increase
participation in the Party whenever possible. In my judgment, a statewide primary gives
us the best chance to involve more people in the selection of our Party’s nominee, help
grow the Party and increase public awareness of our activities. I encourage you to join
me in support of a statewide primary in 2012.

Thank you again for your service to our Party and thank you for considering my views
on these important issues.

I look forward to seeing you at the Advance later this week.

Very Truly Yours,

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BILL BOLLING

BB/

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