New Hanover GOP Chairwoman Rhonda Amoroso throws down conservative gauntlet

Verne Strickland Blogmaster   July 7, 2011


This is Rhonda Amoroso’s battle cry as Chair of the New Hanover County Republican Party:

“I am a commonsense Constitutional conservative and I believe in limited government, lower taxes, free markets, I’m also a social conservative. I’d like to see this country right itself. We need to stop the spending, and get our fiscal house in order, get the economy back moving, create jobs, and that must be through small business and the private sector. The government, basically in my philosophy, needs to get out of the way.”

This dynamic Wilmington mom is all business when it comes to conservative causes. And she has all the right stuff to make things happen. She told me a bit about herself during a recent interview.

“I have a law degree. I practiced law for many years up in New York, was in private practice, worked for a public utility company, and was an administrative law judge for ten years. We moved to North Carolina four years ago. I’m a Wake Forest University Law School graduate, back in the 80s. I always loved North Carolina, tried to find my way back, and finally got back to stay. Have a daughter halfway through her studies at Carolina, a rising senior in high school, and I’ve raised two other children. They’re grown and live elsewhere.”

Your main motivation seems to be getting fresh faces into the political ring – qualified GOP candidates with something to offer.

“That’s right. We have a leadership development committee. Someone who is interested in running needs to submit  a resume, fill out a long-form questionnaire about why they’re running, and their credentials, and that committee will vet candidates. We’re trying to get quality candidates. The deadline for city council races is July 15, and it’s not just in Wilmington, it also includes the beach councils, and the newly-incorporated area of Castle Hayne. So we are looking for candidates for all those areas, and that’s quite a number of people – town aldermen in Wrightsville Beach, Kure and Carolina Beach. So we’re actively working on that now. 

"We have only eight days until the filing deadline, so we’re really looking for some good folks to step up and run in these races."

From the NHCGOP Website March 13, 2011:

The New Hanover County Republican Party is pleased to announce that Rhonda Amoroso, Esq., was elected to Chair the party for the next two years. Mrs. Amoroso previously held the position of Vice Chair in Charge of Precinct Operations and helped lead the Republican Party to a 75% victory rate in the 2010 elections. 

Also elected by the delegates at the standing room only convention were: First Vice Chair, Joe Rumsey; Vice Chair in Charge of Precinct Operations, John Tullous; Treasurer, Frances Coleman and Secretary, Nancy Brice. The Executive Team will guide the local Republican Party through the next two election cycles.

*** The official website, Rhonda reported, is getting a total facelift with many added features, and will be online soon at http://www.nhcgop.org/index.php 

UPCOMING EVENTS

7/7/11: Redsisticting Forum - ACTION ALERT
7/15/11: Last Day to file for municipal races URGENT
7/25/11: Chairwoman Amoroso on Curtis Wright 8:30am
7/28/11: Pre GOP meeting Twitter Workshop 6pm-6:30pm
7/28/11: Monthly GOP Meeting 6:30pm
8/25/11: Monthly GOP Meeting 6:30pm