Elizabeth Schultz knows that politically, women get things done, and so last year, the longtime Fairfax County resident decided to help start a club for conservative local women. She is the president of the Republican Women of Clifton. Although the club was only founding in October 2006, it already boasts a large membership. Recently, Schultz sat down and answered some questions about herself and the club.
How long have you lived in the area? We have lived in Clifton for three years.
What brought you here? Wanting land. We lived in Centreville before, and it was a very nice neighborhood — Sully Station — but we thought the time was right to have more space. When I lived in Greenbriar as a little girl, Clifton was always a beautiful location. I rode horses when I was growing up so it was sort of a magical place. I was like, "Oh, I get to live in a place that I loved when I was growing up." My father was in the Navy, and so we lived here on and off. We first moved here in 1973.
Family: My husband and I have been married for 16 years. His name is Brian. We both went to James Madison University, so that's where we met. We have lived in Northern Virginia ever since we graduated from college. We have three boys: Christian, who is 12 — he's rising up into Robinson — and then Grant and Garrett are 9 and 6 respectively and they're going into fourth and first grades at Clifton Elementary.
Education: I have two degrees. I have a B.S. in history and a B.S. in political science. So I finished my two degrees and my husband is a business major with a concentration in marketing.
Activities/interests/hobbies: I had a corporate career for 15 years. I worked as a senior manager of contracts, and I negotiated corporate agreements between corporations. But when I had my third child things were getting very, very difficult. I worked part-time for the first year he was born and then I discovered Southern Living at Home, which is a direct-sales company. They had just started the year before, and although I never imagined myself doing any kind of sales, I created the opportunity for me to stay at home, which was hugely important at that point.
How did you start the Republican Women of Clifton? That was really with a significant amount of help from Julie Dime, the legislative assistant to Del. Tim Hugo (R-40). She is involved with the Virginia Federation of Republican Women, under which we're chartered. She kind of knew the nuances of getting us started, and Beth Bermeister, who is the precinct captain for Clifton, and I had joked about it time and again. We got to the point where we thought, this is a very conservative county, and we need to do something to allow women, who are otherwise very busy, a way to express our opinions about what's happening both in our local and state communities politically, and also at the national level. We were just chartered in October, and we’re one of the largest already in the state, which is marvelous … this is an off-off election year, but there are 26 seats up [for election]. People don't understand, and the very few people who are going to turn out are really going to determine the path of local politics for a long time to come.
How has the response to the club been? The response has been terrific. As a matter of fact, just this week I got a call from a woman in Fairfax Station. She had kept the newspaper article announcing our meeting all the way back from March. There must have been something she saw in the news, and she picked up the phone and she called me and said, "I need to become a part of your organization, I've had enough." And so even though there were some setbacks with the elections this past November, people aren't discouraged with the message. What it's actually doing is prompting them into a greater level of participation because they want to make sure that things continue to go in the direction of their personal values and beliefs.
Have you always been politically active? I was involved in the Young Republicans when I was in college and was quite active. I was always voting and participating in the electoral process, but when you're young, you have a career and have children, I wasn't maybe as involved as I should have been. I was working with my homeowner's association. I got to a point in my life where my values, and raising my children with my values, are so important and I actually see that being compromised to some degree, especially with some local officials. There's a point where you can't sit and take it anymore. You either participate in the process, or don't complain.
What do you hope the club will accomplish? My first vice-president, her name is Anne Erickson and she lives in Clifton, we're two vastly different individuals but we are so closely aligned with having very high goals. What we want to do is have a vehicle where we make a difference. Not just have it be a social club, not just have great speakers, but really make a difference. Maybe the 17 or 27 or 77 people that we get involved and the phone calls they make and meet-and-greets they hold, maybe those are the couple hundred votes that sway and make the decision in an election that ultimately makes a redistricting. So that, for example, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf's (R-10) and U.S. Rep. Tom Davis' (R-11) districts aren't combined if the Democratic candidates get their way, which is clearly a vision. [Board of Supervisors Chair] Gerry Connolly (D-At-large) has great political aspirations, and I don't think those necessarily mesh with what I want to happen for my family … one of the things Jim Hyland, the new Fairfax County Republican Committee chairman, said is that Republican women groups are really the backbone to a lot of what happens. Women make things happen. And I think it is because women are so busy that we have to make things happen. We have to.
Community concerns: One of the first things we said when we moved here is that there is a very independent spirit in the Clifton community to keep things as they are. Preserving this little Shangri-La; people don't know that Clifton exists. It's a little beauty that's been preserved by people in the past who have done their work; Jim Chesley, the former mayor of Clifton is responsible because he was involved for many years. I am a little concerned that the establishments in the Town of Clifton: we have a couple of little shops here that recently have closed. The Hermitage is up for sale, the General Store is up for sale. I hope that we get to maintain retailers who have investment in the town, to be very committed to it.
First job: Working for a commercial real-estate developer. I was learning the purchasing requirements for building commercial buildings. That led me to the rest of my career, because I learned purchasing and then started working for federal government contractors, and then got promoted and eventually managed entire contracts.
What music is on your stereo? I'm not going to say eclectic, but there is such a wide variety. I literally have everything from The Three Tenors to U2 to my favorite new artist, I absolutely adore her, Toby Lightman.
Last book you read or the last movie you watched? The last book I read was Vince Flynn. I forget the name of his latest book but he has CIA, espionage, national espionage. Vince Flynn's my favorite, I've read every single one. I took my children to see "Ratatouille." Honestly, it was the best children's movie I've ever seen.
Personal goals: Over the last few year's, we've come to learn that [my children] have some educational issues. Two of my sons have ADHD and my older son was just diagnosed with dyslexia, and my middle son has some auditory and some other issues. It's a very demanding set of requirements and one of the people I've spoken with, Steve Hunt (At-large) from the School Board, have been very helpful. I've been trying to work with Clifton Elementary for a year to get an IEP for him and haven't been able to use it. Being able to negotiate through insurance requirements and school requirements and doctors' recommendations and get them what they need. For the first time, my children are all going to be in public school this fall. Working with the county school system and what that means for their success and assisting them. That's like a major personal/family goal. If you don't have things right for your kids, then nothing really matters.
— Lea Mae Rice