Jacobs served with GOP chairman long before being tossed out

Scott Jacobs is no longer a member of the Prince William County Republican Committee.

The group dropped him from their member list on Tuesday prior to debate featuring Jacobs and two other candidates hoping to fill the position of Brentsville District Supervisor.

Jeanine Lawson is the official Republican candidate in the race, unanimously chosen to run for the seat at a mass meeting of Republicans earlier this fall. Jacobs failed to meet proper filing deadlines imposed by the committee and was not able to seek the nomination of the party.

Prince William Republican Committee Chairman Bill Card on Thursday described Jacobs as a man who wasn’t active in the county Republican committee prior to his campaign, and as someone who was seeking to take advantage of Republican branding.

Here’s a portion of the story that appeared on Bristow Beat:

…Chairman Bill Card defended the committee’s decision when speaking with Bristow Beat Thursday. He said the decision was appropriate because Jacobs, “violated our trust, and he violated the letter and the spirit of the agreement in which he joined us.”

Card said that although Jacobs lived in Brentsville almost his entire life, he only joined the Prince William Republican Committee this year.

“I didn’t even know Scott Jacobs until January. He came to us seeking our brand. He came to us because he wanted an R by his name,” Card said.

In addition to not meeting the application deadline, Card said the committee was concerned with some of Jacob’s other behaviors such as posting campaign signs before the election board sanctioned such forms of political campaigning.

And, while Jacobs said he embodies Republican ideals, Card disagrees.

“We believe in following our word, and keeping our word, and being honest and upfront with everyone,” Card said.

Documents on file with Prince William County Government state both Card and Jacobs served on the 2012 committee that formulated the county’s strategic plan to guide the community over the next five years in areas like economic development, public safety, and transportation. Those committee meetings took place more than a year before January 2014, the time Card told a reporter he had first met Jacobs.

When asked about his participation in the strategic plan meetings, Card emailed the following statement to Potomac Local:

I went to the initial meeting and one other meeting of that committee.  They determined to hold the meetings on Monday evenings.  Our Monthly Prince William County Republican Committee meetings are generally held on the fourth Monday of each Month and my Executive Committee Meetings (of the Prince William County Republican Committee) are held on Monday evenings as well. 

After missing so many of the initial meetings when I did return for one I found that I was hopelessly behind, and I didn’t return.   

If I did meet Jacobs, he didn’t make an impression as I don’t recall.

Jacobs said he sat beside Card at the very first strategic planning committee meeting, and he corroborated the claim that Card missed some meetings.

“We did meet one another there, and he was there for more than one meeting,” said Jacobs.

The Republicans issued a statement to the press Tuesday about Jacobs’s removal from the GOP committee. While he continues to run as an independent, Jacobs said he remains a deeply rooted conservative.

The committee took issue when an audio recording surfaced of a campaign worker making a phone call to a voter in who lives in the district and described Jacobs as a Republican. It was the impetus for his removal from the group.

“This is a company that our campaign called and hired to make phone calls for us,” said Jacobs. “I listened to the phone calls on couple different occasions, they say I’m a Republican, and I am. “We certainly asked [the hired company] to clearly state that I am an independent candidate.”

Voters will go to the polls to decide on who the next Brentsville District Supervisor will be during a Special Election Dec. 23.