Dear Michael,
I
am especially pleased that the Republican National Lawyers Association has
selected Ron Hicks to be the second recipient of the Robert J. Horn Chairman’s
Award. Ron personifies the attributes and skills that all of us at RNLA
value in terms of insuring the accuracy and honesty of elections and the
election process. The RNLA has a targeted set of missions - all
complementary, and none of which duplicate missions accomplished
elsewhere. From my perspective, its most important mission is to ensure open,
fair and honest elections at all levels of American society in a
non-discriminatory manner and to provide access to the polls to all qualified
and eligible voters.
Your
participation in this Seminar evidences your desire to accomplish this
mission by receiving election law training from our members who are among the
most qualified election law professionals from all over the country. Through
the efforts of volunteers like Ron Hicks, we have been able to respond to
requests for assistance from Republican Party organizations and its candidates by
communicating the requests to all of you and having you volunteer and work pro bono to
address these concerns.
I
was introduced to Ron by Heather Heidelbaugh, on election day 2004, when I went
to Pittsburgh to help out by working in the call center they created to protect the
honesty of the presidential election process. What I discovered, was an
efficient and well run operation that anticipated many of the issues that arose
or could have arisen as a result of Democrat initiatives to change the outcome
of the electoral process. Ron and
Heather were the lead counsels at the time and Ron represented the
campaign by requesting expedited decisions from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
under the Pennsylvania Election Code. His success in handling these
matter before Democrat Supreme Court Justices contributed greatly to ensuring a
positive electoral outcome.
Since then Ron has continued to contribute greatly to
the Republican Party in Pennsylvania and to the RNLA. In addition to having a
successful private practice, Ron has worked as Co-General Counsel and as
a member of the Board of Governors for the Republican National Lawyers
Association. He is a founding board member and former chair of the RNLA’s
Pittsburgh Chapter. He serves as the Deputy Solicitor for Western
Pennsylvania for the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee, and is an elected
member of the Republican Committees of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, and the
County Committee’s Solicitor and chair of the City Committee’s 3rd Council
District in Pennsylvania.
As a result of what he accomplished and for everything he
has done, I am especially pleased and honored that Ron has been selected as the second recipient of the RNLA’s Robert J Horn Founding Chairman’s award.
Although I am saddened that I cannot join you at the conference this year, I
wish you great success and hope that I can join you next time. Best
wishes to all of you, especially Ron and hope that all of you will find the
time to help the Republican cause in the upcoming mid-term election.
Sincerely,
Bob Horn
The RNLA recently announced two initiatives to honor its Founding Chair Bob Horn: re-naming the Chairman's Award in his honor to the Robert J. Horn Chairman's Award and establishing the Bob Horn Fund for Law Students to encourage law student participation in the RNLA:
The Robert J. Horn Chairman’s Award is presented by the RNLA Chair annually at the National
Election Law Seminar and recognizes individuals for extraordinary dedication to the RNLA. It is given
to individuals whose contributions have significantly furthered the RNLA mission – advancing
professionalism, open, fair and honest elections, career opportunity, and Republican ideals – and
made a noteworthy and positive impact for the Republican Party and the United States of America. . . .
The Bob Horn Fund for Law Students was established through a generous donation from political.law,
a leading political law firm founded by longtime friend and Life Member of the RNLA, Dan Backer. It
will provide financial assistance to law students who wish to attend the RNLA’s annual National Policy
Conference and National Election Law Seminar and assist in the establishment of law student
chapters in key states throughout the country.
Bob Horn has had a long and distinguished legal career and service to the Republican Party, and his vision for an organization of Republican lawyers led to the establishment of the RNLA over 30 years ago. Current and former RNLA chairs praised him:
Current RNLA Chair John Ryder said of Mr. Horn: “RNLA wouldn’t exist without Bob Horn. He
provided the inspiration, guidance and leadership to get us started and keep us going. He is the very
model of a gentlemen and a lawyer.”
Immediate past RNLA Chair and first female RNLA Chair Kimberly Reed noted: “Bob Horn is to be
applauded for his vision in founding the RNLA, which now is a remarkable organization of 6,000
lawyers across the United States. As Ronald Reagan said: ‘The greatest leader is not necessarily the
one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.’
Because of Bob’s leadership, RNLA lawyers have come together as a force to advance
professionalism, open, fair, and honest elections, career opportunity, and Republican ideals.”
Past RNLA Chair Richard Wiley agreed: “Renaming the Chairman’s Award in Bob Horn’s name is
very appropriate. He really is the father of RNLA and has contributed so much of his time, energy and
considerable talents over many years to our Association. He very much deserves this honor.”
Thank you to Bob Horn for his many years of service to the Republican Party and this country and his leadership of the RNLA.
RNLA's Founding Chair Bob Horn writes a strong endorsement of Sen. Jeff Sessions for Attorney General:
I strongly believe, quoting President Obama that “elections
have consequences.” In 1995, then-Senator Joe Biden told Tim Russert on national television, “I think the
advice-and-consent responsibility of the Senate does not permit us to deprive
the president of the United States from being able to appoint that person or
persons who have a particular point of view unless it can be shown that their
temperament does not fit the job, they are morally incapable or unqualified for
the job, or that they have committed crimes of moral turpitude." Therefore
the question then becomes one of whether the candidate is morally incapable or
unqualified for the job. I can testify unequivocally
that Senator Sessions is a man of honor and he will bring ability and integrity
to the office of Attorney General.
Over many years I have gotten to know, like
and respect Senator Jeff Sessions and have been impressed by his distinguished
record of public service. From 1981 to 1993 he served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern
District of Alabama. Sessions was elected Attorney General of Alabama in 1994 and to the U.S. Senate in 1996, being re-elected in 2002, 2008, and 2014.
Philosophically, Senator Sessions is considered to be a very conservative
member of the United States Senate whose views coincide with many of the
positions advocated by President-elect Trump.
In my view,
the fact that Senator Sessions opposes many of President Obama’s “social issue”
initiatives that evoke intense partisan advocacy and debate does not disqualify
him from holding a high public office. In fact, I believe the opposite is true.
In the case of these controversial policy considerations, emotions run high and
they can only be resolved in an atmosphere that allows for open and frank
discussion. In my mind, it is counterproductive
for those opposing Senator Sessions' nomination to engage in ad hominem attacks
negatively characterizing him professionally simply because they disagree with him
politically.
Setting
aside Senator Sessions' conservatism, those opposed to his nomination engage in
dredging up old controversies which left-leaning
legal scholars hope will mire Senator Sessions in a messy and unnecessary
confirmation fight. After President-elect Donald Trump named Sessions as his
choice for the next attorney general, detractors pointed back to the senator’s
failure to win Senate approval after being nominated by President Reagan to
serve as a U.S. district court judge in 1986. During those hearings, some
colleagues alleged he that he referred to the NAACP and other civil rights
organizations as un-American and once quipped that he thought that the Klu Klux
Klan was “OK” until he learned they smoked marijuana.
Admittedly,
some people, in a misguided attempt at humor, say things they later
regret. However, from my experience, I
can attest to the fact that Senator Sessions is not a racist. In his own words,
he described the allegations against him as heartbreaking, saying, “That was
not fair; that was not accurate. Those were false charges using distortions of
anything that I did. And it really was not. I never had those kinds of views,
and I was caricatured in a way that was not me.”
Significantly, Congresswoman Martha Roby, who has served
alongside Senator Sessions in the Alabama Congressional Delegation for the last
six years, said the attacks on Sessions are "totally unfair." Roby said the latest attacks are an example
of the same type of smear campaign that was used against him the last time. She went on to say that she is reminded of
what former Senator Arlen Specter, certainly not a conservative, said that in
all his years of service, the vote he regretted most was the
one he cast not to confirm Jeff Sessions for the bench. He said that because he
came to know Jeff Sessions and understand his character. “Our country would be
very fortunate to have Jeff Sessions in a leadership role, and I believe if
that happens his critics will be proven wrong.” I too believe that Senator
Sessions is a good man and eminently qualified to be Attorney General of the
United States. I know Jeff Sessions and believe in his judgement and integrity.
He fully understands the importance rule of law as it relates to the proper
administration of justice as well as anyone who has ever held public office.
Therefore, I urge that everybody, within RNLA who feels as I do, contact their
respective Senators, regardless of their political persuasion, and urge them to
confirm Senator Sessions’ nomination to be the next Attorney General of the
United States.
I have written this article to express my personal beliefs and feel obliged to point out that I am not necessarily representing the views of any of my colleagues at my firm.
Bob Horn
Founding Chair of the Republican National Lawyers
Association
