County Republican Party to select new leader Saturday

Legislative candidate Brandon Vick has stepped down as chairman of the Clark County Republican Party, and the party’s vice chairwoman, Stephanie McClintock, will serve as the interim chair.

Republican precinct committee officers from Clark County will meet on Saturday to decide if McClintock should continue as chairwoman or if someone else should be picked for the job. The meeting, which is open to the public, takes place at 9 a.m. at Club Green Meadows, 7703 N.E. 72nd Ave. in Vancouver.

Vick, 27, said he stepped down last week to avoid any perceived conflicts of interest between chairing the party while also running for office. He wouldn’t want anyone to think that “any candidate was getting special treatment,” he said on Tuesday.

Vick became chairman of the Clark County GOP in December 2010. He is the only one running in the race for the 18th District Position 1 House seat being vacated by state Rep. Ann Rivers, R-La Center. Republican Battle Ground City Councilman Adrian Cortes will also be on the ballot, but he has withdrawn from the race.

If Rivers is appointed to finish out the Senate term most recently held by Republican Joseph Zarelli, who resigned May 31, then Vick said he will seek the appointment

to finish out the final months of Rivers’ House term.

McClintock, 42, of Vancouver, was elected as vice chairwoman of the Clark County GOP in December 2010. McClintock works as an event coordinator for Holland Residential and has a background in human resources.

She began volunteering for the Republican party in 2008, once her son was old enough to attend kindergarten. If elected as the new chairwoman of the party, she said she’s doesn’t know yet whether she would seek re-election to the job when leadership decisions are made in December.

“I’ll get to try this on for size,” she said on Tuesday. She added that, ultimately, “my family is my priority.”

Stevie Mathieu: 360-735-4523; http://facebook.com/reportermathieu; http://twitter.com/col_politics; stevie.mathieu@columbian.com.