NAPLES – Rich Cebra, the new chairman of the Maine Republican Party, inherits a fractured and beaten GOP, with his first order of business to bring members together, and the party back to power.

“The goal is to unify the party,” said Cebra, a Naples resident and former legislator elected to the position by party members on Saturday. “We took a beating this last election season and it’s time to get all the factions into one faction – called the Republican Party – and get them all moving in the right direction and restore the party to the prominence that we need in this state,

“We want to rebuild the party so we can continue making Maine open for business and securing the liberties for ourselves and our children.”

Cebra, who represented Naples and Casco in the Maine House of Representatives for the past eight years, is known as a social and fiscal conservative, as well as a close ally of Gov. Paul LePage. He will take over for Charlie Webster, who led the Republican sweep in 2010 but in recent months has been in the news more for retracting outlandish statements and defending actions at the Republican state convention. Webster received widespread criticism – and calls for his dismissal – for saying after the election that “dozens” of African-Americans unfamiliar to town officials had voted in various municipalities on Nov. 6.

Cebra owns Steamboat Landing, a mini-golf course in Naples. With his children finishing high school, Cebra has put the house and course on the market in hopes of moving to another home in Naples and focusing his energy on his new position. Cebra said the new Augusta-based position will require traveling throughout the state to party functions and county committee meetings.

“The challenge is to get the people who are fed up, the people who are ready to jump in and work, and the people who don’t even realize they are Republicans yet, all to understand, hey, our core values are your core values and looking forward, you’ve got a home in the Republican Party,” Cebra said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but anything worth doing is a challenge.”

Newly elected state Sen. Gary Plummer, R-Windham, worked with Cebra for the last eight years when the two served in the House. Plummer has high hopes for the new state party chair.

“I think we need to have a unified party,” Plummer said. “This year at the convention indicated how split we were and I’m sure to some extent that led to the negative publicity that certainly didn’t help in general in the election.”

Plummer had praise for Webster’s 2010 efforts and regards him as a friend. But he said it’s time for a new party head.

“Charlie Webster did a lot of good things in terms of the 125th Legislature [2010-2012]. He was excellent at fundraising. So I think he did a lot of good things for the party. But unfortunately his actions have become very negative recently, and I think it was time for Charlie to step aside,” Plummer said. “And if there’s anyone that can turn it around, Rich Cebra is the guy that can. He’s been a unifying force on many issues, and I think he will continue to be for the party.”

Rep. Mike McClellan, R-Raymond, also served with Cebra in the House the last two years. Cebra recruited McClellan to run in 2010.

“Rich called me and we went to breakfast. He gave me a sense of what it would be like. He was in the background supporting me. If I had questions I could call him. He was very helpful, so I can certainly see him transferring that to a statewide effort,” McClellan said of Cebra’s new role enlisting candidates for state-level offices.

McClellan is hopeful Cebra can turn around the Republicans’ fortunes.

“Our principles are the right ones, we just don’t do a great job of communicating that sometimes. So my hope is that Rich will become the flag bearer, at least in Maine, for letting people know what Republicans really believe,” McClellan said.

Cebra wants to display a different kind of leadership from Webster. Cebra wants to let the elected representatives speak to policy matters. He wants to remain in the background working to bring the party together.

“The difference between me and Charlie Webster is I don’t believe it’s part of the position as party chair to talk about public policy,” he said. “That’s the job of the governor and the elected officials and the candidates. The position of the party chair is going to be a shift for me, from being a politician to a party administrator and party builder, which is a totally different role.”

Cebra says the various contacts he made in his four terms will help unify the party as well.

“The contacts I made in Augusta, the understanding of how Augusta works, the understanding of being able to raise money politically, the ability to build bridges with people – some are moderate, some are conservatives, some are libertarian,” Cebra said. “So I’m in a unique position in the party because I have a foot in every corner. I did a lot of work with the Liberty (Caucus). I’ve gotten to know and work really closely with the established Republicans, and I’m a very conservative guy. So there’s something in every corner of the Republican Party that I’ve worked on.”

Webster, too, is welcoming a change at the top.

“Rich is very well thought of among Republicans across the state,” Webster said. “He was county chairman in Cumberland County, was very successful in winning elections and raising money, so I think he’ll be great.”

Webster said Cebra has the energy and passion required as well.

“He’ll bring renewed energy. It’s always good to have a change once in a while. And somebody with new ideas, new energy, and that’s what he’ll bring, so I expect him to be very effective,” Webster said.

Joe Bruno, the former state senator from the Lakes Region who served as party chairman from 2006-2008, hopes Cebra to focus on the traditional role of the position.

“I know Charlie Webster gets a bad rap, he’s just not polished. But what he says, I think has a lot of merit to it at times. I don’t see a lot of difference, maybe a little more polish in Rich,” Bruno said. “But Rich can be as much as a bomb-thrower as Charlie Webster at times. The way he says things is a little not in-your-face as much. But don’t forget the party chairman is not really a politician. He’s trying to unify the party; he’s trying to raise money; he’s trying to get people elected. That’s the role of the party chairman.”

Beyond unifying the party, raising money will be a constant effort, Bruno said, especially with Republicans facing an uphill battle in 2014 against Democratic incumbents.

“Whenever you end up in a minority in the Legislature, it makes it very hard to raise money at that point. But I think if the Democrats do what I think they’re going to do in this legislative session, as far as trying to roll back a lot of this stuff that was done the last two years, I think a lot of the businesses are going to wake up and try to get the Republicans back in control. When you talk to the business community out there, they’re fearful of what this Democratic legislature is going to do.”

Rich Cebra