Image Credit: Washington County Republican Party TN / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –
On April 1st, the Washington County GOP will hold their county party reorganization. On odd numbered years, every county GOP organization in the state of Tennessee must hold a convention where they have an election to choose the members of that county’s Republican Executive committee.
It seems the issues with holding an honest and fair reorganization convention to vote for the executive committee members is just harder than it seems.
As evidenced by documentation The Tennessee Conservative obtained regarding the matter, it seems that the establishment GOP that retains power currently will resort to questionable tactics in order to keep it.
The issues we are hearing about in Washington County, as well as many other counties across the state, involve the county GOP apparatuses utilizing the somewhat murky language in the bylaws to delegitimize, and even disenfranchise those who would otherwise be qualified to cast a vote or even run for a seat on their county party Executive Committee.
In Williamson County, they broke half a dozen rules, sanctioned by the TRP Chairman, Scott Golden, so they could push out their convention and try and save themselves from what is a likely defeat by the grassroots.
In Washington County, it’s all about whether you are “republican enough” to be worthy of participating.
Establishment GOP in Washington County are choosing to utilize the equivocality of what it means to be “actively involved” in the party.
The challenger for the county GOP Chair, M. Kurt Fagerburg, has found that regardless of his 20 -year history as a Republican and all that that implies, he is likely going to be barred from running because of what amounts to a technicality.
The bylaws allow for proof of activity to be based on any quantifiable amount of time or money invested in the party or party related activities. But with a confusing caveat: it must be in between the last convention and this one.
So, despite having served in every convention since 2005, including 2021, and serving in various positions in service to the party over two decades in the county, he can’t prove he has donated even $5 or served at any functions in the last 48 months. This is what is being used to keep him from running for the seat.
And they are applying that same standard to anyone who has pre-registered to attend and vote, even though emails had already been sent out to those who had pre-registered that they were qualified to vote.
According to email correspondence given to the Tennessee Conservative, the intent of the credentials committee is to disqualify anyone who can’t prove they have made a donation or attended an event in the past 2 years. Even if they have a solid republican voting record, it will not matter, they will be excluded from voting. This will disenfranchise possibly hundreds of republicans who want be involved in the process.
If you would like to contact the members of the CEC and Scott Golden the Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party and ask them to follow the rules instead of abuse them, their contact information below:
Suzy Williams- tuliainjc@yahoo.com
Col. Cliff Vicars- cliffvicars@yahoo.com
Kandy Danielson- beachkandy@gmail.com
Joe Hodges- silverfoxpaper@aol.com
Wanda May- wandamaytn@aol.com
Mason Mosier- masonmosier6252000@outlook.com
Kevin Cole- kevincolecic@yahoo.com
Theresa Gibbons- tagibbons48@gmail.com
Barbara Boswell- bsboswl@gmail.com
Denise Sibley- denisesibley@aol.com
Scott Golden- golden@tngop.org
About the Author: Kelly Jackson is a recent escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers. She has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member. Outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
