The Grand Old Party has a new leader in Pitkin County.
Frieda Wallison is now spearheading local Republican efforts after longtime chairwoman Linda McCausland stepped aside and recommended Wallison for the job.
“This was a completely amicable succession instigated by Linda,” Wallison said. “I think Linda has wanted to step down for a while; she’s been doing this for 10 years. This is a grueling job and since I was so heavily involved in the McCain campaign already and doing a lot of the work for that in Pitkin County, she felt the succession should take place sooner rather than later.”
Wallison, who is also co-chair of John McCain’s campaign in the county, was elected as chairwoman about a month ago at a Pitkin County Republican Party meeting. She said there are about 20 people on the board, several who voted by proxy, and that the sizes of GOP meetings here vary depending on the time of year and current events. Despite this county’s well-documented liberal bent, Wallison claimed, “We’ve had meetings with over 300 people before.”
She also dismissed reports of increased friction between John McCain and his vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s advisors as “gross rumor.” The media has quoted McCain’s own staff calling Palin everything from a “diva” to a “whack job.”
“I take no stock in those reports whatsoever,” Wallison said.
Wallison, of Old Snowmass, also declined to answer whether she was pleased with the direction of her party until after Election Day. Endorsements of Obama from Republicans such as Gen. Colin Powell, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and others were “expected,” she said. She’s hopeful McCain can upset Barack Obama.
“I think the chances of my candidate are very good. The polls are narrowing. People are starting to understand the differences of Obama and McCain in ways that will affect the country in a very serious way,” Wallison said Friday.
While a few polls did show McCain gaining some ground late last week, newer polls released Sunday showed Obama’s lead widening with a double-digit lead nationally (11 percentage points in the USA Today/Gallup poll and 13 percentage points in a CBS News poll). Electoral College map breakdowns also show Obama with a definitive advantage, although McCain’s chances remain alive.
“I’m not going to predict (a victory). It’s been a topsy-turvy election and the financial market crisis has obviously had an impact. People have to assess which candidate is going to be best from an experience point of view and philosophy point of view to help he country regain its economic footing,” Wallison said.
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