Petrocelli to Lead Broward Republicans

Broward County Republicans put Rico Petrocelli in the top leadership position Monday night with a unanimous vote of support.

The new chairman of  the Broward County Republican Executive Committee will replace Richard DeNapoli, who announced last month he would follow a career opportunity in another part of the state. DeNapoli endorsed Petrocelli and a slate of three other candidates for board positions. They were all voted in by the REC members. In part of his written endorsement, DeNapoli said:

Many of our members do not realize what goes into running the Broward GOP.  From setting up our monthly meetings, booking the hotel, coordinating speakers, maintaining our headquarters, making sure various bills are paid, advertising the party events, meeting with candidates, sending out emails, speaking with our almost 400 members on a regular basis … Rico has the skills, talent and experience to keep our party running smoothly from day one.

 We couldn’t have had our fundraising successes over the last two years without Rico Petrocelli.

A former Plantation city councilman, DeNapoli hired Petrocelli in 2010 as the county REC’s executive director, and according to the more than 250 Broward Republicans who supported his election as chairman, he has done a good job.

Petrocelli expected to  face challenger Karen Harrington, the former congressional candidate who announced her intention to run for county party chairwoman just after DeNapoli announced he wasn’t running for another term.

Harrington sent an email quitting the race just hours before Monday’s meeting, creating a stir in her absence. Read her email and the reaction to it at Karen Harrington embarrasses herself with another classless move.

See  BPR’s exclusive interviews with the incoming and outgoing chairmen.

Former Chairman Richard DeNapoli