Jackie Rodgers

Jackie Rodgers is the new chair of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee, but the road to her prestigious new job was anything but smooth.

Rodgers, the first African American elected to the post, won the job last month with the backing of a conservative faction of the party. At the same time she was preparing to take control, however, a group of moderates was voting to install Santa Paula businesswoman Leslie Cornejo in the same position.

Both groups said they held legitimate elections. And each accused the other of failing to follow the committee’s bylaws and participating in bogus balloting.

But after state party officials declared Rodgers the winner and state elections officials refused to intervene, the Cornejo faction dropped its bid for the committee chair post.

It was not an unusual scenario for Republicans in Ventura County and elsewhere. Battles between moderates and conservatives, over such issues as abortion and school prayer, have taken place in GOP central committees across the state.

In the case of Rodgers, it is a victory of some consequence. She will appoint as many as eight delegates to the state Republican Party committee, a body that wields considerable clout but one grappling with similar issues of vision and values.

The Times recently talked to Rodgers, an Oxnard resident, about her leadership of the Ventura County Republican Party.

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Question: What will your duties be as committee chairman?

Answer: There are 29 members of the central committee. And the chair oversees all of the functions relative to the committee.

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Q: Such as?

A: The main focus is raising funds, getting out the vote. We will be walking precincts, we will be registering voters. We have a minority outreach program that I’ve instituted, and the focus there is to bring people of all ethnicities into the party, because I feel that the Republican Party is truly the party of freedom, and I am making an extra effort in terms of outreach to the ethnic community.

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Q: Your appointment resulted in a tug-of-war between various factions of the Republican Party in Ventura County. Is there any lingering bitterness?

A: We had our central committee meeting recently and, while there were a couple of absences, just about everyone was there. We have a committee that is now looking forward to the business of getting Republicans elected to office.

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Q: Yet there were some who were opposed to the things you believe in. For example, you are anti-abortion, is that correct?

A: I think my stand on the abortion issue has been well publicized. We need to focus on electing our choice for president, and that is George W. Bush. We need to focus on getting our congressman [Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley)] reelected, our assemblyman in the 37th Assembly District [Tony Strickland (R-Moorpark)] reelected. These are the things that we are focused on.

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Q: So your personal political philosophy won’t enter into your leadership of the committee?

A: I have not asked anyone on the central committee their stand on the issues, nor has anyone asked me my stand. Everyone has their own opinion. We need to agree or disagree and move on.

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Q: You will be just as quick to support a pro-choice candidate as you would anybody else?

A: I’m not asking them their stand on that issue. If they are a Republican and they’re running for office, the central committee is dedicated to supporting them.

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Q: You are starting an outreach program to bring more minorities into the Republican Party?

A: I would like to see the faces of America represented at our central committee meetings.

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Q: The Republican Party has had trouble attracting Latinos since former Gov. Pete Wilson supported Proposition 187, which would have denied many services to illegal immigrants. Can you overcome that?

A: We have a message, and that message is the Republican Party is truly the party of freedom and the party of choice. I believe that people will be responsive to that message. I will tell them about the educational programs that the Republican Party has brought forward, how much more choice they will have in the types of education that their children will receive. I tell them about George Bush’s message.

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Q: What do you mean when you say the Republican Party is the party of freedom?

A: We go back to Abraham Lincoln. And Abraham Lincoln did the most courageous thing that a president could do: He freed the slaves. And to this day, we celebrate Abraham Lincoln and his message of freedom.

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Q: So if the immigration issue comes up, you’ll talk about Abraham Lincoln?

A: To tell you the truth, that issue does not come up, at least not to me personally. And when I can convey what the Republican Party stands for, I think most people are understanding and responsive.

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Q: What about George Bush’s appearance at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, a school that prohibits interracial dating?

A: I think we need to look at who offers the brightest future, and that is George Bush.

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Q: You are the first African American to lead the Republican Party in Ventura County. Have you always been a Republican?

A: I’m the kid who grew up on the other side of the tracks. But I grew up in a Republican family. I had a very stable upbringing with wonderful parents who raised me with Republican beliefs. And today I am the chair of the Ventura Country Republicans’ Central Committee. And if that doesn’t show that the Republican Party is the party of freedom, then I don’t know what does.