C.T. Revere
Tucson Citizen

August 24, 2001

Tucson attorney John Munger is poised to become chairman of Pima County's Republican Party following the surprise resignation last week of Joe Pennington, party officials say.

Munger, a former state GOP chairman and one-time members of the Arizona Board of Regents, is likely to have no competition when a special election is held Sept. 15, said Mike Hellon, Arizona's Republican national committeeman.

"I don't anticipate anyone else running," Hellon said yesterday.

"There was speculation of interest among three or four other people, but when John Munger stepped up and agreed to do it, a pretty quick coalition formed behind him, and I don't expect there to be a race."

Pennington, who has been county chairman since November 1997, stunned party officials by announcing his resignation Aug. 17.

Pennington, a personal financial advisor, said his duties with the party were taking too much of a toll on his business.

"The job has been great.  It's been fun the past 44 months, but it's really been tough on my business.  I have clients who have called to say they haven't seen me in a year, and that had to change," he said.

Munger, 54, said he was planning to run for county chairman in November 2001 but that Pennington's announcement accelerated these plans.

"I was ready to run," he said.  "I had thought about it and was committed to it, and when this happened, I said, 'I'm in.'"

Munger, who served as state chairman from 1982-84 and was a regent from 1992-2000, said he plans to bolster the precinct committee system and the party's bank account.

"We need to firm up and build upon the precinct committee system in the party.  We have about half our committee slots vacant right now, and I want to fill those up.  That's critical." he said.

The decline of the GOP's Trunk 'N Tusk events has slowed the flow of money into the party, he added.

"It was a great money raiser and a great spirit builder in the community.  We need to try to rebuild that or create programs (that are) equivalent, because those are the kind of programs that build the party," Munger said.

Vicki Cox Golder, who had been the county party's first vice chair, will serve as interim chair until September's election.

Golder said Pennington took the party's executive committee by surprise when he announced Aug. 17 that he was stepping down.

"Nobody expected him to do this," she said.

Pennington said Munger is the right person to head the county GOP.

"I support him 100 percent," he said. "I think he'd be an excellent chairman."

Having the party united behind Munger rather than split among a host of potential chairs offers stability with the Tucson City Council election looming.

"We don't need that kind of political football right now," he said. "I think John would do a superb job.  He's held a high party office in the past, and he's well-connected within the party, and he certainly has the ear of the business community."

Hellon credits Pennington with ironing out rough spots in the county party and shepherding a Republican presence in city politics.

"We've had some fairly messy internal battles in the party in the past, particularly in Pima County, and none of that happened on Joe's watch," Hellon said. "And we elected Mayor Walkup.  I think he's served well."

Golder said the time required by the job convinced her not to seek the post.

"Since this has been dumped in my lap I'm finding out how time-consuming it is," she said.  "Predominantly, it is the chairman's job to raise the money for the party, and that is a very time-consuming job."

It's also a job for which Munger is well-suited, she said.

He's been the state party chair, and he has the experience to go after the funds," Golder said.

About 400 Republican Party precinct committeemen will cast ballots for the new county chairman, Golder said.

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