Val DiGiorgio is new state GOP chairman

Members of the state Republican Party chose as their new leader Valentino “Val” DiGiorgio, the current head of the Chester County GOP Committee, who said he would increase the party’s tech operations to make sure its message gets through to voters in future elections.

Following a heated campaign, DiGiorgio defeated GOP General Counsel Lawrence Tabas of Philadelphia by almost the narrowest of margins, 173 votes to 171 in the official count at the party’s convention in Hershey earlier this month. DiGiorgio will succeed Rob Gleason, who has served as state GOP chairman since 2006.

“I decided to run with you in mind. To build a grassroots organization from the bottom up, to be in every county to talk to you on a regular basis and get your input and your counsel,” DiGiorgio said in his remarks, according to published reports.

Tabas praised DiGiorgio in brief remarks after the vote closed. “Val, I know you will be a great leader,” Tabas said.

DiGiorgio said the contest was a battle.

“It was a hard fought race with very close results,” he said in an interview. “But it shows how passionate the committee members are about their party.”

He pledged to “get to work” immediately on the task of electing judges to the state’s appellate courts. Seven positions are on the ballot this year, four for the state Superior Court, two in Commonwealth Court, and one on the state’s Supreme Court. Democrats currently hold advantages on the state’s Supreme and Commonwealth courts.

He said his task as chairman of the party would be to “reinvigorate the grass roots, and make the party a bottom up instead of a top down” organization, and to strengthen the party’s apparatus in each of the state’s 67 county committees. Chester County has one of the largest GOP voting blocs in the state, with more than 155,000 registered voters.

More than that, DiGiorgio said he wanted to improve the access that local committees have to technology “so that we are working not just harder but smarter.” He also spoke of addressing the party’s “message strategy,” getting out news of its accomplishments and its stance on the “opportunity economy” it stands for.

For now, DiGiorgio needs to oversee the county’s Republican nominating convention, scheduled for Feb. 16. Although most of the seats up for grabs are uncontested, there are some races for district magiste- rial judge that have been hard fought, including in Kennett Square and West Chester, as well as a race for the position of county treasurer.

He said that he plans to stay on as local party chairman until after the May 16 primary, although he intends to discuss the timing of his departure with his area chairmen. The county committee would then select a new leader.

DiGiorgio, 49, of West Whiteland, became county chairman in 2011. He was first elected as a committee member in 1989, and he served as an attorney for former Gov. TomRidge’s administration, as well as chief of staff to former state Sen. Melissa Hart. He is a partner with the law firmof Stradley Ronon in Malvern, specializing in banking and finance.

He also served two terms as county controller.

In his campaign, DiGiorgio said he has heard two general reoccurring concerns from Republican Party members across the state during the past year: a frustration due to a disconnect between party leaders and the committee members and volunteers; and the party is tired of losing statewide judicial and row office races, which will have sweeping and long-lasting ramifications. He said the Republican Party can win these races, and they must do better.

DiGiorgio said his experience in politics makes him well qualified to lead the Republican Party at the state level. “I’ve worked myway up from committeeman to county chair, and I’ve done everything there is to do in politics, including win races,” he said. “I know how to raise money and motivate and energize party activists. I know how to deliver a message and strategize. These are all things a good state chairman needs to do.”

DiGiorgio said the future looks good for the Republican Party in Pennsylvania, especially if President Donald Trump can deliver on creating jobs, there might be a total party realignment, where blue- collar workers in western Pennsylvania and other parts of the state who traditionally have voted Democrat may start to consistently vote Republican.

Since 1983, three other Chester County residents have served as state GOP chair: former county commissioner and state Sen. Earl Baker; attorney Alan Novak; and Martha Bell Schoeninger, the first woman to be elected as chair of either major party in Pennsylvania.

Other party officials elected Saturday include Vice Chairwoman Bernadette Comfort of Lehigh County; Treasurer D. Raja of Allegheny County; Secretary Andy Reilly of Delaware County; and Assistant Secretary Peg Ferraro, of Northampton County.