RNC Chairman Robert “Mike” Duncan Announces 2008 Republican National Convention Leadership
WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee Chairman Robert “Mike” Duncan today issued the following statement announcing RNC Co-Chairman Jo Ann Davidson as Chairman of the Committee on Arrangements and Maria Cino as the Chief Executive Officer of the COA. The Committee on Arrangements is the RNC body charged with the planning and management of the Convention.
“I am excited that Jo Ann and Maria will be taking on these leadership roles for the 2008 Republican Convention. Their tremendous experience and dedication will help to shape a dynamic, exciting convention that will showcase our Republican principles, our strong candidates up and down the ballot, and most importantly, the next President of the United States.”
Jo Ann Davidson was re-elected Co-Chairman of the Republican National Committee in Washington D.C. on January 19, 2007. She reaffirmed her commitment to growing the Party and developing a strong grassroots political organization. She was first elected Co-Chairman in 2005.
In addition to her responsibilities as Co-Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ms. Davidson was appointed by former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman as Chair of the Site Selection Committee in January 2006. The Site Selection Committee was tasked with investigating potential Convention Sites and presenting their findings to the full RNC Membership. Although four cities submitted bids to host the Convention (Cleveland, OH, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN, New York City, NY, and Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL), the Site Selection Committee voted to recommend Minneapolis-Saint Paul based on their state-of-the art facilities, vibrant communities and clear enthusiasm to host the Convention. Upon the unanimous vote of the full Republican National Committee in January 2007, former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman appointed as Chairman of the Committee on Arrangements.
Prior to her role as Co-Chairman of the RNC, Davidson served as the Bush-Cheney ’04 Ohio Valley Regional Campaign Chair; where she helped direct a historic grassroots efforts that enabled President Bush to win Ohio by a decisive margin. The Ohio Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign recruited over 87,000 Bush volunteers, held at least 3,946 parties for the President and made more than 4.5 million volunteer door-to-door knocks and phone calls to supporters and undecided voters in Ohio (with 2,373,167 volunteer door-to-door knocks and phone calls made in the final 72-Hours).
Maria Cino brings to the COA nearly 25 years of experience in managing and leading field-based organizations; developing and adhering to complex budgets; setting short- and long-term strategic goals; building coalitions; and developing, motivating, and mentoring staffs. As CEO of the Committee on Arrangements (COA) she will be working with the RNC body charged with the planning and management of the Convention.
Prior to her role with the COA, Maria Cino was nominated by President George W. Bush as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation on April 6, 2005, and confirmed by the United States Senate a month later. Following the resignation of Norman Mineta, she served as the Acting Secretary of Transportation from July, 7, 2006 until October 4, 2006, when Mary E. Peters was sworn in as the new Secretary of Transportation. Before her role as Deputy Secretary Ms. Cino served as Assistant Secretary and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Previously Cino served as Deputy Chairman of the Republican National Committee. In this capacity, she was the RNC’s top political strategist and chief operating officer, overseeing operations of the Committee during the 2004 election cycle. During the 2000 cycle, Ms. Cino served as the Committee’s Deputy Chairman for Political and Congressional Relations, and was the National Political Director for Bush for President in Austin, Texas.
