by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
In a relatively close election, Blue Cross Blue Shield executive Mike Hightower was re-elected as chairman of the local Republican Party on Tuesday. Hightower defeated Rick Hartley, chief information officer for Hartley Press, by a 55 to 45 percent margin.
Donald Foy, local leader of Men Against Destruction-Defending Against Drugs (MAD DADS) who recently lost to Terry Fields in the Dist. 14 State House of Representatives race, was elected vice-chair; attorney Charles McBurney was re-elected treasurer and attorney Angela Corey was unopposed for secretary.
The election was held at the Fraternal Order of Police headquarters on Beach Boulevard. Hightower said the election contained plenty of old-fashioned debate about the local party leadership and the direction the party is going.
“Most of it was the difference between the modern Republican and the hard-right Republican,” said Hightower, who is also the finance chairman for Mayor John Peyton’s re-election. “At the end of the meeting, everyone came together. With the exception of a few with philosophical differences — which I can totally accept — by the time we left, it was the biggest Republican pep rally.”
Hightower’s second term as local GOP chair starts Jan. 1 and runs through the end of 2008. He initially took over the leadership of the party in September of 2003, when former party chair Tom Slade stepped down. Hightower served the rest of Slade’s term, and was elected to his first full two-year term in December of 2004.
According to Hightower, Northeast Florida’s political influence is often underestimated. Hightower contends this area of Florida has the potential to dictate not only the GOP’s success in Florida, but the nation as well. With local elections set for the Spring and a presidential election — and term-limited Republican President George Bush set to leave office — in the Fall of 2008, Hightower said his term as party chair carries even more significance.
“It’s an important time,” he said. “As the president has said, [Gov.] Jeb [Bush] has said and [Governor-elect] Charlie [Crist] has said, you can’t win statewide without being successful in North Florida. Team Florida starts in Duval County.”
The numbers support Hightower’s assessment of the local Republican influence on state elections. In 2002, Bush was re-elected governor of Florida by about 384,000 votes. According to Hightower, about 162,000 of those votes came from the Northeast Florida region.
Looking at the 2008 presidential race, Hightower said Northeast Florida will once again be key to the GOP retaining control of the White House. Earlier this year, the Democrats won enough Senate and House races nationwide to gain control of Congress. Hightower said it will be important for this area to raise funds and back the Republican nomination for president.
“I’m not sure everyone is in yet,” said Hightower of the presidential race. “In the next four to five months, it has to shake out. It will be very competitive and Florida will be a pivotal state in ‘08. You can’t win the White House without Florida, and you can’t with Florida without the Republicans winning Northeast Florida.”
Over the next months, Hightower said he’ll concentrate on raising funds for local Republicans and re-establishing a grassroots effort.
“We have to be open to more of the modern thinking,” he said. “We need to be inclusive and respectful of the moderates and the more conservative party members.”
Locally, there are 13 Republican clubs including two African-American clubs, a Filipino club, a Hispanic club, a college club and several others scattered around the area.