I support Dianna Greenwood for Chairman of Bastrop County Republican Party.
Today, a front-page news story in the Bastrop Advertiser highlights that Republican discord has put the primary election in limbo, which story can be read here. In my view, here is a short list of some of the policies Jeanne Raley has supported as our incumbent party Chairman that convince me that a change of leadership is needed. This list also gives a glimpse of what the discord has been about:
- From the beginning of her term, Chairman Raley sought unilateral control of the party, rather than executive-committee control. She proposed party bylaws that would give herself and the committees of her sole appointment almost complete control of the party. When your executive committee proposed amendments, she disallowed consideration of them, violating Robert’s Rules of Order. A peaceful and expeditious resolution was mediated and approved unanimously by the executive committee. She thereafter refused to honor that arrangement, and it took fifteen months to resolve the issue.
- She closed the Republican office in the middle of a Presidential election. In June of 2016, she inherited an office that was extended and funded through the end of the Presidential election. She closed that office in her first week as Chairman, without notifying the executive committee of her intentions, giving the party no central distribution center for candidate materials in the Presidential election. For five months, she further resisted your executive committee’s direction to refund the donations given specifically for the office. Voters went to surrounding businesses at the former office location, or even the Bastrop Chamber, seeking their party.
- She discontinued our party’s monthly meetings. She held one meeting in August of 2016 for the benefit of candidates, and then she failed to comply with the executive committee’s direction to hold additional meetings in September and October. Meetings did not resume until the following May of 2017 at the insistence of the executive committee.
- She failed to give centralized support to our nominees in the Presidential election. With no office and only one meeting, our local nominees had virtually no party-coordinated support. And they were all running first-time races. She appointed her friend Don Loucks as chairman of the party’s candidate support committee, but he held no committee meetings in the Presidential election cycle to coordinate support for the nominees. She did initiate a Presidential sign campaign, but despite record high interest, it lost money and failed to meet demand.
- She has significantly curbed party communications. She refuses to use assets and media tools available to us. She refused to promote the party’s fundraiser through its email list. She is currently refusing to comply with party bylaws conferring management of media accounts to the party’s Public Relations Committee.
- She has failed to fundraise for the party. She initiated no party fundraisers during the Presidential election, or since. Curiously, she helped co-found an exclusive Republican club in September of 2016, and devoted her fundraising attention to it instead. This is likely what she refers to in her campaign material as having “built a foundation for growth.” When the executive committee undertook the Boots & BBQ fundraiser, she refused to participate in or promote it. She asked invited guests and speakers not to come. She has filed ethics complaints against some of the organizers falsely alleging the fundraiser was not an authorized event of the party. Excluding designated giving and the proceeds of the fundraiser she opposed, general giving to the party in 2017 was $73.00, and she asked one of those three donors to stop giving.
- She resisted the re-opening of the Republican office. When the executive committee approved the lease of the new office, she refused to sign the lease as directed. They authorized their Finance Chairman to sign instead. She cut the ribbon for the office opening, but has made little use of the office personally and has not used her time to staff it. The party office is presently staffed by the efforts of others. She has not used party communication channels to help raise volunteers to staff it. She did not use it for candidate filing, requiring candidates to come to her in Smithville instead. She has falsely claimed in her ethics complaints that the office was not authorized by the party.
- She opposed hiring the county to assist with election services in the Primary election. The party bylaws require that the county be hired, but she has resisted nonetheless. She refused to sign the contract the executive committee approved on September 30, 2017, requiring them to designate the party Secretary to do so. By contracting with the county, the Chairman’s responsibilities are fewer than they would otherwise be. She has nevertheless not fulfilled those duties in a timely manner, resulting in today’s news story on the issue. When a county commissioner pressed her in a Republican meeting regarding her intentions to comply, she refused to say. She and Don Loucks instead raise specious legal arguments as to the contract’s validity (citing a missing cost estimate she herself was responsible to prepare, which she did not complete until January 22, 2018, and which has no binding effect on the contract itself), knowing that election attorneys, Republican Party of Texas general counsel, and the county’s attorneys have all found the process valid under existing law.
Chairman Raley’s policies have harmed the party, and our Chairman’s refusal to comply with party bylaws, Robert’s Rules of Order, or majority votes of the party’s executive committee have put our party in disarray.
In contrast, Dianna Greenwood’s policies and/or actions on these issues are as follows:
- Bylaws – the party should continue to be executive-committee lead; she will propose we continue to use existing bylaws rather than seek to centralize power in the Chairman.
- Office – having an office open to the public is essential in supporting our candidates and communicating with the public. Dianna voted in favor of re-opening the office. She has volunteered her time to staff our office since its re-opening.
- Monthly meetings – these should continue as an outreach around our community to help people connect to their party. Dianna held an information meeting in her own precinct while the party had discontinued its meetings.
- Communications – we should make use of all communication media and assets available to us. Dianna is the Chairman’s appointed Director of Communications, is currently serving on the party’s Public Relations Committee, and administers the party’s Facebook page.
- Fundraising – the Chairman should be engaged in the fundraising initiatives of the party. Dianna chaired the committee that put on the successful Boots & BBQ fundraiser last Fall.
- Primary Elections – electoral responsibilities should demand our highest priority to ensure well-run elections. The county is a vital source of expertise, equipment, and logistics coordination that lessens the burden and taxpayer cost of an election. Dianna voted in favor of the contract for county election services.
We cannot grow if we disappear. People will not stay if we cannot disagree with grace. And there is no point in being Republican (meaning representative government) if we believe all power should be vested in one person who need not heed bylaw, parliamentary procedure, or majority vote.
If Chairman Raley’s policies alarm you as they alarm me, then please take personal responsibility to aid your party. Link to this blog story on your Facebook pages at https://bcrnews.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-republican-discord-is-about.html. Email it to your local Republican friends.
Spread the word and join me in voting for Dianna Greenwood as next Chairman of the Bastrop County Republican Party.
There are more elections on your ballot that touch upon these issues, and I will speak to those in the days ahead. Those stories now appear here:
Part 2 - County Judge Considerations
Part 3 - Choose a Direction
Albert L. Ellison, Founder
Bastrop County Republican News
