JS4Pat
06-03-2010, 12:06 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Asks Republican Party of Florida
to Correct Former RPOF Chair’s Injustices
The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), formed in 1991, is a grassroots level organization comprised of Republicans throughout the nation who are dedicated to pursuing the ideals of individual liberty and limited constitutional government through the Republican Party. They work to elect Republicans who hold these principles, and seek to hold legislators and officials within the party accountable for their actions, believing that a principled Republican Party will be a stronger Republican Party.
Will Pitts, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida (RLCFL), and John Stevens, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida (RLCNEF), have both worked actively within the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) to promote these ideas within the Republican Party. They campaigned for Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential bid, and started their working within the party by being active in the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee (SJCREC), and continue today to play an active role within northeast Florida and around the state.
In 2006, Florida governor Charlie Crist hand-picked Jim Greer to take over the RPOF as chairman and he easily won the election. Ray Valdes, state committeeman for Seminole County, was asked by Crist to step down so Greer could take his position to even be eligible to run for the position. Shortly after the election, Florida’s legislature, at the urging of Crist, passed a bill that would change Florida’s election laws significantly. This bill included the ability of the chairman to remove or suspend any member of the RPOF, with the chairman having sole discretion to determine if a violation worthy of such punishment had occurred. Many within the RLC spoke against this power and the ability to abuse it, especially as they witnessed Jim Greer’s maneuverings within the RPOF. Questions arose about Greer, voiced by RLC members, who were ignored by other RPOF members.
During the 2008 election season, Greer began to threaten RLC members who continued to question his actions in the chairman position. John Stevens ran for state committeeman within the SJCREC, but a week prior to the election agreed to step down from his candidacy in return for an agreement with the SJCREC to stop their own harassment of RLC members who were calling for closer scrutiny within the RPOF. Similarly, Mark Cross ran for RPOF chairman at the end of the year and stepped out at the last minute to endorse Greer, who personally stated RLC members would be welcomed throughout the state. The RLC was pressured to accept this goodwill measure by Greer, and did so in order to keep the peace, but continued to caution other Republicans in Florida.
In 2009, the agreements made by Greer and the SJCREC were proven to mean nothing, as the SJCREC moved to file grievances against Pitts and Stevens for their roles in calling for accountability within the party and specifically for questioning Greer’s actions as chairman. A statewide purge followed, in which grievances were filed also against Elizabeth Campbell, who was a State Committeewoman for Escambia County as well as a member of the RLCFL Board of Directors, and other RLC members who had sought to shine a light on Greer’s dealings as RPOF chairman. Greer, having the sole discretion to choose how to handle the grievances, removed every RLC member who’d had a grievance filed against them, as well as other members of the RPOF.
Shortly after this purge, others finally began to heed the warnings of the RLC and began examining Greer’s dealings closer. In early November, realizing that Greer had been performing actions harmful to the RPOF and drawing negative media publicity, members of the RPOF State Committee requested a meeting with Greer. As a result, a grievance was filed against Allen Cox, vice chairman of the RPOF, and Tony DiMatteo was asked to recuse himself from the grievance committee. Finally, upon having too much evidence of Greer’s corruption as chairman put before them, members of the RPOF State Committee and several donors called for a meeting in early January 2010 to vote to remove Greer from his position.
Days before the meeting, Greer announced he would resign, and an election would follow in February to appoint a new chairman. Allen Cox announced his resignation at the same time, to the surprise of many. Before the announcement had gotten around the state, the name John Thrasher appeared as a likely successor, despite Thrasher not having a position on the state committee. The SJCREC resolved this by having state committeeman Jon Woodard resign his position so Thrasher could be eligible to run. At the meeting in which Thrasher was elected, the SJCREC conveniently cleaned their ranks of “ineligible” members, which happened to include RLC member Cliff Johnson, who has since been able to prove his removal – which denied him a vote in Thrasher’s election – was done under false pretenses. Thrasher easily won the chairman position.
Thrasher’s ease of victory came as no surprise when it was later found out that Thrasher, Mike Haridopolos, Dean Cannon, Delmar Johnson, Jason Gonzalez and Richard Swarttz made an arrangement with Greer that he would be paid as a consultant and have his name cleared of any wrongdoing in return for his resignation, upon which Thrasher would become chairman and sign the agreement with the authority of the RPOF. The agreement was only discovered when Greer announced it after the RPOF declined to protect him from the audits the media and general public were demanding.
Thrasher spoke in his acceptance speech for the chairman position of the goal of coming together as a party, including the ranks of members such as the RLC. He also spoke to Pitts and Stevens in Tallahassee in March and assured them he would look into the matter of reinstating them as well as other members of the RPOF who had been purged during Greer’s time as chairman.
With the recent arrest of Greer under charges of fraud, theft and money laundering performed during his chairmanship, the Republican Liberty Caucus implores the Republican Party of Florida leadership to immediately rescind the penalties handed down by former chairman Greer. The RLC’s members sought to protect the RPOF from corruption by calling it out, and were reprimanded for trying to aid the party. In light of the many misdeeds during the Greer era that have proven right the warnings of the RLC and its members, the RLC feels it is the just thing to do to reinstate Will Pitts, John Stevens, and all others removed by Greer. The RLC would appreciate chairman Thrasher’s haste in resolving this injustice, so that its leaders and members may continue to help the RPOF clean the corruption from its ranks and repair its image in preparation for the 2010 election cycle.
About The Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida:
The Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida is a coalition of traditional conservatives and liberty minded Republicans working within the Republican Party to promote individual liberty, smaller government, state and national sovereignty and the Constitution. The caucus advocates the return of our nation to the values and intentions of the Constitution and our founders.
(i) www.rlcfl.org
(ii) www.rlcnef.org
CONTACT:
Kristi Dunn
Email: mskristidunn@gmail.com
Phone: (904) 718-8972
Link to Press Release (http://www.rlcnef.org/republican-liberty-caucus-of-fl-asks-gop-to-correct-injustice/)
Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Asks Republican Party of Florida
to Correct Former RPOF Chair’s Injustices
The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), formed in 1991, is a grassroots level organization comprised of Republicans throughout the nation who are dedicated to pursuing the ideals of individual liberty and limited constitutional government through the Republican Party. They work to elect Republicans who hold these principles, and seek to hold legislators and officials within the party accountable for their actions, believing that a principled Republican Party will be a stronger Republican Party.
Will Pitts, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida (RLCFL), and John Stevens, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida (RLCNEF), have both worked actively within the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) to promote these ideas within the Republican Party. They campaigned for Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential bid, and started their working within the party by being active in the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee (SJCREC), and continue today to play an active role within northeast Florida and around the state.
In 2006, Florida governor Charlie Crist hand-picked Jim Greer to take over the RPOF as chairman and he easily won the election. Ray Valdes, state committeeman for Seminole County, was asked by Crist to step down so Greer could take his position to even be eligible to run for the position. Shortly after the election, Florida’s legislature, at the urging of Crist, passed a bill that would change Florida’s election laws significantly. This bill included the ability of the chairman to remove or suspend any member of the RPOF, with the chairman having sole discretion to determine if a violation worthy of such punishment had occurred. Many within the RLC spoke against this power and the ability to abuse it, especially as they witnessed Jim Greer’s maneuverings within the RPOF. Questions arose about Greer, voiced by RLC members, who were ignored by other RPOF members.
During the 2008 election season, Greer began to threaten RLC members who continued to question his actions in the chairman position. John Stevens ran for state committeeman within the SJCREC, but a week prior to the election agreed to step down from his candidacy in return for an agreement with the SJCREC to stop their own harassment of RLC members who were calling for closer scrutiny within the RPOF. Similarly, Mark Cross ran for RPOF chairman at the end of the year and stepped out at the last minute to endorse Greer, who personally stated RLC members would be welcomed throughout the state. The RLC was pressured to accept this goodwill measure by Greer, and did so in order to keep the peace, but continued to caution other Republicans in Florida.
In 2009, the agreements made by Greer and the SJCREC were proven to mean nothing, as the SJCREC moved to file grievances against Pitts and Stevens for their roles in calling for accountability within the party and specifically for questioning Greer’s actions as chairman. A statewide purge followed, in which grievances were filed also against Elizabeth Campbell, who was a State Committeewoman for Escambia County as well as a member of the RLCFL Board of Directors, and other RLC members who had sought to shine a light on Greer’s dealings as RPOF chairman. Greer, having the sole discretion to choose how to handle the grievances, removed every RLC member who’d had a grievance filed against them, as well as other members of the RPOF.
Shortly after this purge, others finally began to heed the warnings of the RLC and began examining Greer’s dealings closer. In early November, realizing that Greer had been performing actions harmful to the RPOF and drawing negative media publicity, members of the RPOF State Committee requested a meeting with Greer. As a result, a grievance was filed against Allen Cox, vice chairman of the RPOF, and Tony DiMatteo was asked to recuse himself from the grievance committee. Finally, upon having too much evidence of Greer’s corruption as chairman put before them, members of the RPOF State Committee and several donors called for a meeting in early January 2010 to vote to remove Greer from his position.
Days before the meeting, Greer announced he would resign, and an election would follow in February to appoint a new chairman. Allen Cox announced his resignation at the same time, to the surprise of many. Before the announcement had gotten around the state, the name John Thrasher appeared as a likely successor, despite Thrasher not having a position on the state committee. The SJCREC resolved this by having state committeeman Jon Woodard resign his position so Thrasher could be eligible to run. At the meeting in which Thrasher was elected, the SJCREC conveniently cleaned their ranks of “ineligible” members, which happened to include RLC member Cliff Johnson, who has since been able to prove his removal – which denied him a vote in Thrasher’s election – was done under false pretenses. Thrasher easily won the chairman position.
Thrasher’s ease of victory came as no surprise when it was later found out that Thrasher, Mike Haridopolos, Dean Cannon, Delmar Johnson, Jason Gonzalez and Richard Swarttz made an arrangement with Greer that he would be paid as a consultant and have his name cleared of any wrongdoing in return for his resignation, upon which Thrasher would become chairman and sign the agreement with the authority of the RPOF. The agreement was only discovered when Greer announced it after the RPOF declined to protect him from the audits the media and general public were demanding.
Thrasher spoke in his acceptance speech for the chairman position of the goal of coming together as a party, including the ranks of members such as the RLC. He also spoke to Pitts and Stevens in Tallahassee in March and assured them he would look into the matter of reinstating them as well as other members of the RPOF who had been purged during Greer’s time as chairman.
With the recent arrest of Greer under charges of fraud, theft and money laundering performed during his chairmanship, the Republican Liberty Caucus implores the Republican Party of Florida leadership to immediately rescind the penalties handed down by former chairman Greer. The RLC’s members sought to protect the RPOF from corruption by calling it out, and were reprimanded for trying to aid the party. In light of the many misdeeds during the Greer era that have proven right the warnings of the RLC and its members, the RLC feels it is the just thing to do to reinstate Will Pitts, John Stevens, and all others removed by Greer. The RLC would appreciate chairman Thrasher’s haste in resolving this injustice, so that its leaders and members may continue to help the RPOF clean the corruption from its ranks and repair its image in preparation for the 2010 election cycle.
About The Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida:
The Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida is a coalition of traditional conservatives and liberty minded Republicans working within the Republican Party to promote individual liberty, smaller government, state and national sovereignty and the Constitution. The caucus advocates the return of our nation to the values and intentions of the Constitution and our founders.
(i) www.rlcfl.org
(ii) www.rlcnef.org
CONTACT:
Kristi Dunn
Email: mskristidunn@gmail.com
Phone: (904) 718-8972
Link to Press Release (http://www.rlcnef.org/republican-liberty-caucus-of-fl-asks-gop-to-correct-injustice/)