Citroni's last fundraiser

COLLEGE PARK -- Patrick Citroni held his last campaign event on Thursday, though he wasn't alive to see it. The former campaign manager of Republican Richard Matthews was killed last month in a motorcycle accident at age 29.

But before his death, Citroni began organizing what would be his last and perhaps most relevant event to highlight his legacy - a fundraiser featuring Ron Paul and his Campaign for Liberty PAC.

"He did all the initial prep work," Matthews told PolitickerMD.com during a VIP reception for Ron Paul on Thursday. "He got this event going." Citroni's family, including his father who began the rally with a speech, attended the event as well.

The young and energetic Republican wanted Ron Paul in Maryland so he began making a few phone calls. Citroni needed a venue so he contacted the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland. He needed attendees so he began calling student groups on campus. Most importantly, Citroni needed a reason and contacted every Republican Congressional campaign in the state, asking them to attend.

The fundraiser came to life on Thursday just over three weeks since Cintroni's passing.

"This is like his last thing that he's known for doing, my campaign manager, and it's a little heavy," said Matthews. "When he passed, basically, I knew he had so many balls up in the air..."

Matthews said he struggled not to have any of them fall, but felt confident he was keeping Patrick's juggling act alive.

"He was kind of my motivation," said Matthews, who added Citroni's death had put some weight on his shoulders.

Those who knew Patrick described him as energetic, determined and passionate about the Republican Party. These features became apparent to Matthews in January, when the duo campaigned for Ron Paul in New Hampshire just days before the primary.

"We went up to New Hampshire to campaign and we drove through the night, Friday night, for the Tuesday election ... ended up getting up there like five in the morning. Slept on a supporter's floor for an hour or two," said Matthews.

Matthews says they woke up when people started scurrying in the room. So they took their list of 100 voters and started knocking on doors at about 7:30pm.

"I was like 'Pat this is ridiculous. We need to chill out.' He was like 'look we've got 30 more names and we've got an hour and a half. We can knock on these 50 doors,'" said Matthews. "And it was right then when I knew ... I'm gonna do everything I can to get him involved in may campaign because he's kicking my ass."