Precinct Election of 2014
For many years I have resided in Graham County Precinct One and been elected as a precinct committeeman. In 2014 I was elected to another term. Three others were elected at the same time, as we are allotted four committeemen. My feeling was that only the four incumbents would run for the office and then be elected. I did not recruit or encourage anybody else to run. A fifth candidate did enter the race. Many voters asked for my recommendation. It is always awkward to, in essence, say, "vote for everyone but this person", but that's what happens when there are five candidates for four offices. I proactivelty decided to give my recommendations to a small number of voters via private, individual letters. I personally signed each one and included by email address and phone number. While nobody I sent a letter to has contacted me to disagree, there are other people that were offended by one paragraph where I explain why I feel one candidate is less qualified than the others. That except is here (with names redacted):
It is almost always better to focus on the positive, rather than the negative. It would have been better if I would not have included this paragraph. I have sincerely apologized to the candidate being referenced. Having said this, there is a small number of people that have accused me of intentionally being untruthful in the remarks I made. I wish to explain them here. Obviously people can disagree with me. I have certainly been wrong many times in my life. It is quite another thing to say, or imply, that I have lied.
Forgotten Position on Crucial Vote
I do not intend to give a comprehensive list, just an example of what I was referencing. There was a hotly debated prominent proposal to formally oppose the Arizona expansion of Medicaid which was brought to a vote of the Graham County Republican Committee on March 8, 2014. The referenced candidate was present and also carried a proxy vote for another committeeman. She had made it quite clear on numerous occasions that she was opposed to the expansion. When the role call vote came to her, she voted to opposed the position she had previously taken. I stopped the voting to allow her to correct her vote. After some discussion, she changed her vote to her original position. Everybody else in attendance seemed to understand the vote being taken.
Proposed Illegal Actions
On May, 2014, the referenced candidate put forward a formal motion
Forgotten Position on Crucial Vote
I do not intend to give a comprehensive list, just an example of what I was referencing. There was a hotly debated prominent proposal to formally oppose the Arizona expansion of Medicaid which was brought to a vote of the Graham County Republican Committee on March 8, 2014. The referenced candidate was present and also carried a proxy vote for another committeeman. She had made it quite clear on numerous occasions that she was opposed to the expansion. When the role call vote came to her, she voted to opposed the position she had previously taken. I stopped the voting to allow her to correct her vote. After some discussion, she changed her vote to her original position. Everybody else in attendance seemed to understand the vote being taken.
Proposed Illegal Actions
On May, 2014, the referenced candidate put forward a formal motion
Forgotten Officer Selection/Duties
This is especially troubling, since the referenced candidate previously served on the nominating committee which recruits candidates and runs officer elections. On several occasions, she has strongly suggested that I remove an officer and replace him with a friend of hers. She also referred to the officer she wanted replaced as somebody I installed. The officer was duly elected by the full committee, and no one person has the authority to remove an officer.
This is especially troubling, since the referenced candidate previously served on the nominating committee which recruits candidates and runs officer elections. On several occasions, she has strongly suggested that I remove an officer and replace him with a friend of hers. She also referred to the officer she wanted replaced as somebody I installed. The officer was duly elected by the full committee, and no one person has the authority to remove an officer.
Proposed Illegal Actions
On May XX, 2014, the referenced candidate put forward a formal motion to: 1) prohibit certain party officers from legally circulating nominating petitions; and 2) prohibit certain public notaries from carrying out their appointed duty to notarize documents. I would like to point out that illegal does not neccesarily equate to
Unable to Preform Basic Functions
This is a subjective statement based on the three items explained above. There is no way to conclusively establish this as correct or incorrect. On that basis, I respectfully retract this statement and ask each individual to draw their own conclusion.
Obvious Dementia
However, this is still a subjective statement. Based on this definition, there is no way to conclusively establish this as correct or incorrect. On this basis, I respectfully retract this statement and ask each individual to draw their own conclusion.
On May XX, 2014, the referenced candidate put forward a formal motion to: 1) prohibit certain party officers from legally circulating nominating petitions; and 2) prohibit certain public notaries from carrying out their appointed duty to notarize documents. I would like to point out that illegal does not neccesarily equate to
Unable to Preform Basic Functions
This is a subjective statement based on the three items explained above. There is no way to conclusively establish this as correct or incorrect. On that basis, I respectfully retract this statement and ask each individual to draw their own conclusion.
Obvious Dementia
However, this is still a subjective statement. Based on this definition, there is no way to conclusively establish this as correct or incorrect. On this basis, I respectfully retract this statement and ask each individual to draw their own conclusion.