Mr. Voaden,
Thank you for speaking with me after the June 18 SCGOP’s Executive Committee Meeting. I was very impressed with your demeanor and your calm and mature approach in discussing issues. While I’m sure you felt like you were entering the lion’s den, I believe my fellow members of the committee would have been more than willing to work with you to build our Party should you have been properly elected. Beginning your comments with “There’s a whole lot of people in Greenville that are MAGA, and just because Jeff Davis is the chairman doesn’t mean that we’re all Jeff Davis sycophants” did a lot to disarm many on the EC.
It is, however, bothersome that the GCGOP (GCRP) violated the rules in holding an election without the required 2/3rds of the voting members present and that you went along with this violation. There is a meeting quorum (25 voting members) and an election quorum (2/3rds of the voting members). The clause that changes the quorum after two inquorate meetings (which Greenville has never been close to) never applies to an election. Although it seems like you and your group now accept that you violated the rules and you are re-doing the election, no one in your group seems to have an issue with violating the rules. Just recently a censure resolution of Sen. Graham was presented, voted on, and passed at the July meeting when there is a rule that clearly states a censure of an elected official cannot be voted on at the meeting it is presented but must be at a subsequent meeting. Continued violation of rules is concerning, and ironic considering all the allegations of past rule violations.
More concerning than violating the rules and holding an election without the required 2/3rds members present is what transpired after the June 18th SCGOP’s EC meeting. Four people supportive of the “MYSCGOP” (yourself included) left that EC meeting and claimed that the SCGOP EC never voted as to reconvene the Convention. That claim was repeated to your group at the July meeting (video available) as well as other county parties, across social media, and I’m told during a Zoom call about the Convention.
The morning of the Convention, I confronted Anderson’s EC about the false claim. He looked me in the eye and told me that he was present for the entire meeting, showed pages of detailed notes on everything that happened during the meeting, and said reconvening the convention was never discussed or voted on. You are on record stating that you “took copious notes” during the meeting. He claimed the convention was out of order. I presented him with three possible scenarios. 1. He stepped out or was asleep during the meeting. 2. He was present and awake but not cognitively capable of understanding the discussion and then unanimous vote to reconvene the convention, or 3. He was being dishonest. Even after confronted with the audio from that meeting (https://www.facebook.com/541665625/videos/779318269871434/ ) which proves a clear discussion of reconvening the convention, a motion, second, discussion, and a unanimous vote, Anderson’s EC doubled down on his lie.
Greenville Republicans should be given an explanation from you about your false claim. You were present in the room when the vote took place toward the end of the meeting. You were taking notes. Why did you report back that no vote was taken to reconvene the convention when it clearly was? By making your claim, you were saying that the SCGOP’s Executive committee was violating rules and being dishonest, tarnishing the group’s reputation. This issue isn’t a difference of opinion on ReOrg or differing interpretations of a rule. You, along with 3 others, told people that the SCGOP didn’t hold a vote to reconvene the convention. If not for clear evidence that a vote was taken, more people might believe that lie and divisions would deepen (if that’s even possible). You cannot claim that you want to heal divisions and then be the direct cause of them through disseminating false information.
Should you be properly elected to represent your group and be seated on the Executive Committee of the SCGOP, you will be joining 50+ people that you lead others to believe are dishonest and corrupt. As you probably know, the job of an EC is to represent your group to the SCGOP and report back what happens. Voting to reconvene a convention (which is extremely rare) is arguably the most significant thing I’ve seen in my 15+ years with the party. That should be the first thing an EC reported back to their group. It’s suspect that the only people in the room who can’t remember the discussion and vote were the four MYSCGOP supporters.
There is a theory. After it became known that rule changes would be proposed at the Convention and a faction from Horry, Anderson, Greenville, & Pickens knew they did not have the votes to stop any potential rule changes, they needed something to rally their supporters and shut down the convention. Someone came across the rule requiring a vote by the SCGOP. Seeing no cameras in the room and knowing they could make the claim there was no vote, that minutes could be manipulated, and that the SCGOP Executive Committee cannot be trusted--the plan was devised for the four MYSCGOP supporters in the room to claim there was no vote, the convention was not legal, and the rules could not be passed. That seems a little wild, but if each of you were in the room, the only other option is that even with detailed note taking, you failed to report on the most significant thing that happened that day and are unable to fulfill the duties of that position.
No matter what the explanation, you made a false claim against the Executive Committee of the SCGOP and a public apology to the members and chairman McKissick is in order as well as a statement to your group that your claim was false and proven false by the audio recording of the meeting.
I truly hope that you will help your group follow its rules and refrain from making false claims about our Party and other Republicans. We have heard about the divide in your group, and many are looking to you as their leader in opposition to your chair. The GCGOP is failing in each of its three purposes and needs a leader. Instead of promoting our platform, it’s promoting personal vendettas. Instead of helping Republicans get elected, it’s directly opposing Republicans and our nominees. Instead of growing our Party, it’s bleeding members, precinct leaders, and even Party officers. Our June primary results showed just how out of touch the GCGOP is with Republican voters. You oppose a current nominee who received 78% of the vote from Greenville Republicans. We are working to get our nominees elected and defeat the Democrats and even if your group refuses to help us in that task, leaving us to work toward that task without having to deal with your group’s continual rule violations and false claims would be helpful to those of us adhering to the mission of our Republican Party.