Chesapeake councilman leaves Republican Party
Chesapeake Councilman C.E. “Cliff” Hayes Jr. is leaving the Republican Party.Hayes, who was elected to the council in 2004, has been a member of the party since 2001, he said. On Friday, he notified the Chesapeake Republican Committee of his resignation.
Surrounded by friends and supporters, Hayes will discuss his future political direction at 9 a.m. today at the Residence Inn by Marriott, 1500 Crossways Blvd., in Chesapeake.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
That article is a little thin. Do you know any more about this Vivian?
If elected as a Republican, he should also resign his public office, and run as … whatever he is now. That’s what Phil Gramm did in the early ’80s.
Sorry, CR. I don’t know any more than the article said.
James, I guess you think Bloomberg should resign as well?
Vivian:
Bloomberg was never a RepubliCAN..
now, spill the beans, what do you know?
Spank – wasn’t Bloomberg elected as a Republican?
And really – I don’t know anything about this councilman.
Bloomberg switched parties because he had no chance in the large field of Democrats. So he ran as a Republican. All the Republicans voted for him because he was less of a socialist than the Democrat. Some of the Democrats voted for him for the same reason. Bloomberg did not change any of his positions — only his party affiliation, and that was for convenience only. He’s still as much of a socialist as any other Democratic mayor.
I’d like to know why the councilman became a Republican in the first place.
Everyone has to keep in mind that these elections are non-partisan. He didn’t have an R next to his name on the ballot when he ran. It’s very well known who some of these people affiliate with, i.e. Ella Ward, but not among many of the voting public.
I say this is a non-issue. If he wants to run again in June of 08′, folks can decide to vote him into office as someone who affiliates with Democrats or not. To say he should resign is just partisan whining.
Anon E. Mouse:
I find your attitude ‘refreshing’, and pleasing to the eyes….
I hadn’t thought about that, VJP — I don’t think about Bloomberg much at all — but yes, I would agree that he should resign, too.
I work very hard to avoid situational ethics.
Sean may make a good point. If the elections are technically “non-partisan,” then I think the argument for resignation is less compelling.
To expand on the point just a bit, if technically “non-partisan,” then he wasn’t on the ballot as a result of his partisan affiliation. And while he may have been elected because of the GOP endorsement, measuring the strength of that affiliation in electing him in a secret-ballot election is, of course, virtually impossible.
No one below the General Assembly is anything other than non-partisan since the code doesn’t allow party affiliation on the ballot.
Now, I know that a lot of areas select candidates via the party process, but it doesn’t change the fact that the ballot itself contains no such identification.
That may be true, VJP, but my point is that, if the candidate gained access to the ballot through his/her partisan affiliation — not HAD to as a matter of law, since no one HAS to run on a partisan ticket, but did so as a matter of fact — then a change in partisan affiliation should require the surrender of that which he/she has obtained as a result of partisan affiliation, i.e., the public office. If the individual surrendering his/her partisan affiliation is as popular as he/she thinks, then winning a special election should be a minimal burden. I consider it a matter of honor.
To do otherwise uncomfortably approaches, in my mind, the Napoleonic claim: “L’etat, c’est moi.”
If he were to resign, there would not be a special election.
And as for gaining access – as I mentioned, unlike in other parts of the state, candidates down here are not selected thru a party process.