Orlando NAACP Chief Switches to GOP
The head of the Orlando Florida NAACP - a long-time stalwart of the Democrat party locally and nationally - has stunned political experts by switching his allegiance to the Republican Party.
"I've thought about this for two years," Derrick Wallace, head of Orange County's NAACP told the Orlando Sentinel Tuesday, just a few hours after returning from the elections office where he enrolled as a Republican. "This is not a decision I made yesterday."
His decision sent shock waves through Central Florida's political establishment - Orlando is located smack in the middle of the so-called I-4 corridor, the hotly contested area considered key to winning statewide elections. Along with the grwoing Latino voting bloc in that region, African-Americans can play the part of a vital swing vote.
Republican Party leader Lew Oliver told the Sentinel he was "extraordinarily pleased," while Democratic leader Tim Shea expressed his disappointment.
Wallace's defection from the ranks of the Democratic Party is music to the ears of Republicans who have been mounting a huge effort to attract African-Americans to the GOP.
According to Orlando GOP chairman Oliver, all of the members of the GOP executive board joined the NAACP a few years back to show that they were serious about outreach. "We have taken pains to do our very best to reach out," he said.
Wallace, a construction company executive, told the newspaper his business life played a big part in his decision to switch parties.
"It's purely a business decision. Ninety percent of those I do business with are Republicans," he said. "Opportunities that have come to my firm have been brought by Republicans."
He explained that this line of thought referred to the NAACP as well. Behind many of the power desks in Orlando sit Republicans and he told the Sentinel he wants his organization to be part of the local power structure, and does not want people to immediately identify NAACP concerns as being the same as those of liberal Democrats. "I want this branch to be respected," he said.
In the past, Wallace has twice supported Republican candidates for the post of Orlando mayor, a job he once sought for himself.
Source:www.newsmax.com
The head of the Orlando Florida NAACP - a long-time stalwart of the Democrat party locally and nationally - has stunned political experts by switching his allegiance to the Republican Party.
"I've thought about this for two years," Derrick Wallace, head of Orange County's NAACP told the Orlando Sentinel Tuesday, just a few hours after returning from the elections office where he enrolled as a Republican. "This is not a decision I made yesterday."
His decision sent shock waves through Central Florida's political establishment - Orlando is located smack in the middle of the so-called I-4 corridor, the hotly contested area considered key to winning statewide elections. Along with the grwoing Latino voting bloc in that region, African-Americans can play the part of a vital swing vote.
Republican Party leader Lew Oliver told the Sentinel he was "extraordinarily pleased," while Democratic leader Tim Shea expressed his disappointment.
Wallace's defection from the ranks of the Democratic Party is music to the ears of Republicans who have been mounting a huge effort to attract African-Americans to the GOP.
According to Orlando GOP chairman Oliver, all of the members of the GOP executive board joined the NAACP a few years back to show that they were serious about outreach. "We have taken pains to do our very best to reach out," he said.
Wallace, a construction company executive, told the newspaper his business life played a big part in his decision to switch parties.
"It's purely a business decision. Ninety percent of those I do business with are Republicans," he said. "Opportunities that have come to my firm have been brought by Republicans."
He explained that this line of thought referred to the NAACP as well. Behind many of the power desks in Orlando sit Republicans and he told the Sentinel he wants his organization to be part of the local power structure, and does not want people to immediately identify NAACP concerns as being the same as those of liberal Democrats. "I want this branch to be respected," he said.
In the past, Wallace has twice supported Republican candidates for the post of Orlando mayor, a job he once sought for himself.
Source:www.newsmax.com
posted by Eye Witness at 5:18 AM
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