So, what is this Private Property Rights PAC, and what would its interest be in a hyperlocal race in little ol’ Augusta County?
The PAC, and its principals
The webpage for the PAC tells us that it is actually based in Holland, Mich., a city of 35,023 located on the shore of Lake Macatawa, which feeds into Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes.
The PAC is affiliated with the similarly named Private Property Rights Institute, also based in Holland, Mich., which sounds like a nice place, being located on the water and all.
The Institute is headed up by Charlie Kolean, who is also the president of something called Strategic Political Management, based in, yep, Dallas, Texas, “a full-spectrum political consulting firm,” according to his bio on the SPM website, which tells us that Kolean manages two super PACs, “in addition to advising numerous other clients, that played pivotal roles in over 150 elections, securing victories in eight statewide races and spearheading the largest independent expenditure in U.S. history focused on local races.”
Kolean, a Michigan State alum, “also served on the Trump campaign,” according to his bio, which doesn’t tell us that his service was supporting behind-the-scenes setup at Trump rallies.
The bio goes on to tell us that Kolean “has been a significant voice in political discourse, frequently appearing as a political commentator on WBAP radio,” a local MAGA AM radio station in Dallas, and on “Newsmax, BBC, Barrons and OAN.”
The other principal in Private Property Rights PAC is a guy named Dominic Arzon, who “founded one of the nation’s first high school chapters of Students for Trump and remained active in College Republicans throughout his years at Southern Methodist University,” which is in Dallas.
Arzon’s LinkedIn profile lists him as a 2022 SMU alum.
Why Augusta County?
That’s the big question here, right?
The Private Property Rights PAC website highlights on its front page a press release dated May 27 touting its endorsements in a slew of Virginia county supervisor races quoting Arzon as the PAC’s chairman.
Kincheloe, of note, is not among those endorsed, though Stephen Grepps, the Republican nominee for the Beverley Manor seat, was.
Grepps, on May 27, was in a primary race with Justin Dimitt, which Grepps ended up winning by 14 votes – 171 votes for Grepps, 157 votes for Dimitt.
Grepps is unopposed in the general election, so in effect, the primary was the election.
I don’t see any evidence that the PAC actually spent any money on behalf of Grepps in his primary race; at the least, there is nothing on file to that effect with the Virginia Department of Elections.
The quote from Arzon in the May 27 endorsement press release was quite vague.
“These candidates exemplify the conservative principles and dedication to strong private property rights that our organization stands for. In Virginia, property rights are not just a legal principle – a they’re a way of life. Our endorsed candidates are committed to upholding these rights and making sure local government always works for property owners, not against them.”
According to data from the Virginia Public Access Project, which compiles information from the Virginia Department of Elections in its reporting, Private Property Rights PAC has spent $122,513 in independent expenditures in local board of supervisors races in Virginia in the 2025 cycle.
The VPAP database shows a $10,213 independent expenditure from Private Property Rights PAC on behalf of Kincheloe.
The breakdown of that expenditure, dated Sept. 8:
- $6,831 for the mailed advertisement
- $2,051 for digital ads
- $810 for text messages
- $520 for yard signs
That $10,213 independent expenditure from the PAC dwarfs what Kincheloe has spent on his own campaign.
I reviewed his Sept. 1 report to the Virginia Department of Elections, and according to that filing, Kincheloe had spent a total of $2,282.99 on his campaign through Aug. 31, and he reported having $1,393.20 in cash on hand on that date.
This answers nothing
That’s what I know about this Chris Kincheloe mailer from the Private Property Rights PAC – basically, the who, what, when and where.
The why is left to question.
There’s dark money everywhere in politics; we shouldn’t be surprised to find it being used to try to sway voters in the Pastures District in Augusta County, but then, I mean, come on, it’s the Pastures District in Augusta County.
As much as I love Tracy Pyles, the Democrat-turned-independent who is challenging Kincheloe for the open seat in the Pastures District, Tracy has almost no chance, running against the headwinds of 2025 – with a governor’s race at the top of the ticket, guaranteeing higher turnout in a county that went 70 percent-plus for Donald Trump in 2024.
I don’t know that I’d consider putting $10,000 into a local race in a ruby-red county that is already run by a unanimously MAGA board of supervisors a smart investment.
For some reason, the dark money people do.
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Chris Graham
