Bob West brings a wealth of expertise to his role as the Communications Director of the Norfolk Republican Party, drawn from his extensive experience with the Florida House of Representatives Staff and his work as the Field Director of a Florida statewide grassroots organization. After retiring and moving to Virginia eight years ago to be near his grandchildren, Bob has continued to stay engaged in public service.
As the Field Director of a statewide grassroots organization, Bob built grassroots chapters in 60 of Florida's 67 counties. Over eight years in that position, he saw Republicans take leadership in the statewide government. In his last year, he led 20 citizen action seminars and three campaign schools, including a GOPAC school.
During the 2000-2002 redistricting process in Florida, Bob served as a non-partisan staff analyst for the Florida House redistricting committee. He was integral to the team that developed the data used to analyze and create new districts. His innovative work included helping with the FREDS program, which was distributed throughout Florida to allow citizens to draw their own districts, promoting an open and transparent redistricting process.
Bob supported the then-Representative Marco Rubio during his early political career and worked with legislators from both parties to build consensus on the House District plans. His role included providing technical support on the House floor and assisting in legal preparations for the redistricting plan's preclearance review by the Department of Justice.
As House Staff, Bob played a key role in transitioning the legislative process to a fully electronic system called Lawmaker and later was involved in implementing the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) interfacing with all the Supervisors of Elections and the Secretary of State office. His efforts in coordinating Census programs for the legislature contributed to Florida gaining an additional Congressional seat that resulted in increased federal funding.
In his role as Policy Chief of the Redistricting Committee, Bob designed and managed the development of MyDistrictBuilder, an online redistricting program that allowed Florida citizens to build and submit district maps to the legislature. This program exemplified his commitment to transparency and public participation in the redistricting process.
Bob's expertise extends to Virginia as well, where he participated in the state's redistricting process and drew some of the most competitive plans for Congress, Senate, and House.
Bob retired to Virginia to be a part of his children's and grandchildren's lives. He volunteers with the Norfolk Republican Party to help citizens connect with their government at both the local and state levels. Bob's technical expertise, experience in bipartisan collaboration, and dedication to fair representation make him a valuable asset to the Norfolk Republican Party. His vision is to foster clear, open communication and engage the community in the party's mission and values, ensuring that the voices of Norfolk's residents are heard and represented.