Ayres blasts governor; supports GOP chairman
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Hillsboro resident Kay Ayres, who serves as vice-chair of the Ohio Republican Party and chairs the Highland County GOP, has sent a pointed message to Ohio Gov. John Kasich and House Speaker William Batchelder regarding state GOP chairman Kevin DeWine.
According to a report in The Columbus Dispatch, Ayres said she is "heartbroken that the governor and his allies are trying to depose DeWine a little more than a year after he led the party to a massive victory in statewide elections."
"The attempted coup is splitting the party when it needs to be unified going into the 2012 elections," Ayres said. “It’s almost become: We have met the enemy, and it is us.”
Ayres is responsible for supporting the duties of the chairman in addition to overseeing various party-building activities and outreach efforts, especially among women voters.
Ayres serves on the board of directors for the Jo Ann Davidson Leadership Institute, an organization founded to support and train women in pursuit of public service. She also served as president of the Ohio Federation of Republican Women and as a vice chair for the National Federation of Republican Women.
She has worked for more than 30 years on the frontlines of grassroots Ohio politics, serving as chairman of the Highland County Republican Party since 1978. She has assisted hundreds of candidates and campaigns over the years from the courthouse to the White House.
On Jan. 16, 2009, the 66-member Republican State Central & Executive Committee of Ohio unanimously elected DeWine to serve as chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, one of the largest state party organizations in the nation.
As the party's chief executive officer, DeWine is responsible for the management of all party operations and services, including candidate recruitment, campaign support, training, fundraising, voter contact programs, communications, technology resources and legal strategies.
After his election as chairman, he introduced a 10-point strategy, called the Leading Ohio Plan, designed to center the Ohio Republican Party's political resurgence on a set of fundamental goals. The plan calls for restoring the party's conservative credibility, developing a broad policy agenda, building beyond the party's traditional base, re-engaging the middle class, connecting on campuses, developing advanced voter contact programs, using new technology to improve communications, creating a comprehensive political education program, improving candidate recruitment and enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct.
DeWine restructured the party's internal operation to ensure that each staff position has a specific role in implementing these objectives.
DeWine has done a “terrific job,” Ayres said.
According to the Dispatch, in her letter, Ayres told Kasich that the “tumult in the Republican ranks” could hurt its long-term stability, causing a “divide which could well result in the re-election of Barack Obama in 2012 and your defeat in 2014. We simply cannot allow this to happen."[[In-content Ad]]
According to a report in The Columbus Dispatch, Ayres said she is "heartbroken that the governor and his allies are trying to depose DeWine a little more than a year after he led the party to a massive victory in statewide elections."
"The attempted coup is splitting the party when it needs to be unified going into the 2012 elections," Ayres said. “It’s almost become: We have met the enemy, and it is us.”
Ayres is responsible for supporting the duties of the chairman in addition to overseeing various party-building activities and outreach efforts, especially among women voters.
Ayres serves on the board of directors for the Jo Ann Davidson Leadership Institute, an organization founded to support and train women in pursuit of public service. She also served as president of the Ohio Federation of Republican Women and as a vice chair for the National Federation of Republican Women.
She has worked for more than 30 years on the frontlines of grassroots Ohio politics, serving as chairman of the Highland County Republican Party since 1978. She has assisted hundreds of candidates and campaigns over the years from the courthouse to the White House.
On Jan. 16, 2009, the 66-member Republican State Central & Executive Committee of Ohio unanimously elected DeWine to serve as chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, one of the largest state party organizations in the nation.
As the party's chief executive officer, DeWine is responsible for the management of all party operations and services, including candidate recruitment, campaign support, training, fundraising, voter contact programs, communications, technology resources and legal strategies.
After his election as chairman, he introduced a 10-point strategy, called the Leading Ohio Plan, designed to center the Ohio Republican Party's political resurgence on a set of fundamental goals. The plan calls for restoring the party's conservative credibility, developing a broad policy agenda, building beyond the party's traditional base, re-engaging the middle class, connecting on campuses, developing advanced voter contact programs, using new technology to improve communications, creating a comprehensive political education program, improving candidate recruitment and enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct.
DeWine restructured the party's internal operation to ensure that each staff position has a specific role in implementing these objectives.
DeWine has done a “terrific job,” Ayres said.
According to the Dispatch, in her letter, Ayres told Kasich that the “tumult in the Republican ranks” could hurt its long-term stability, causing a “divide which could well result in the re-election of Barack Obama in 2012 and your defeat in 2014. We simply cannot allow this to happen."[[In-content Ad]]