It's re-org time again. Every two years, Republican activists in Greenville County reorganize their precincts in March and hold their county convention in April. A lucky few go on to represent Greenville County as delegates to the state convention, which is held in May.
Those individuals who self-identify as Republicans (whether by conviction or convenience) will meet this coming Monday evening, March 27, to select new precinct leadership and to select delegates to attend April's county convention.
In the past, these precinct meetings took place at the individual polling places. However, the state party recently felt compelled to take over the process from the county GOP. Because of this compressed time schedule a fewer number of central meeting places have been hastily arranged to accommodate re-org. A listing of these meeting places is provided at the end of this article.
Two years ago, after the precincts were last reorganized, the leadership of the party, which at the time was chaired by the current Fourth District Republican Club Chairman Nate Leupp, decided to hold an online county convention rather than to meet in person, which had always been the case up to that point.
The leadership claimed that no venue, at the height of the COVID, could be found that would accommodate the large numbers of delegates that were expected.
After the online convention of 2021, during which electronic ballots were cast for the election of new party officers, it was declared that Jennifer Black was elected chair, Stacy Shea was elected first vice-chair, and Randy Page was elected to be the state executive committeeman, who represents the county party in meetings of the state party. All previous in-person conventions used paper ballots that were counted by hand.
In the first couple of meetings of the county's executive committee after the new leadership was elected, questions were raised as to the necessity of having held an online, rather than an in-person convention.
Also, much scrutiny was placed on the allegedly improper 'harvesting' of documents known as Form One, which are filled out by anyone attending the bi-annual precinct meetings who wish to be delegates to the county convention. Because of the harvesting controversy, Black authorized the formation of a committee, headed by former county chairman Stephen Brown, to investigate the harvesting.
Brown's committee investigated and then reported back to a special meeting of the executive committee that there had, indeed, been improper harvesting of these Form One documents, which were filled out by people who had not attended their precinct meetings.
Several members of a subgroup within the party, known as MYSCGOP, implored Black to resign. Shortly thereafter, Black, Shea and Page all felt compelled to resign their posts. Timberlake Precinct executive committeeman Jeff Davis was elected by the executive committee to replace Black and the late Pressley Stutts was selected to replace Page.
The MYSCGOP-led county party continued to meet at the Hilton Inn, located at Orchard Park Drive and Haywood Road, until another meeting place was found last year, the back yard of a building on Wade Hampton Boulevard purchased last year to serve as a headquarters for the party.
Open-air meetings were held monthly at that location until November, when it became too dark and too cold to continue. Online Zoom meetings have taken their place. The in-person meetings at the Hilton and at the Wade Hampton property have often been tinged with acrimony and argumentativeness.
For the better part of the last two years there has been bad blood between the current leadership of the county party and the Fourth District Republican Club, which consists of several people who have been involved in county Republican politics for years.
This past Thursday evening, a group of nearly 100 activists, who call themselves Greenville Conservatives United, met together to try to get past these divisions. They want a county party that fights for conservative values and that does so with decency, respect and order.
The meeting was conducted by Mark Burns, a pastor who ran against Congressman William Timmons in last year's Republican primary, and Adam Morgan, a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and Chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus.
Morgan said that it was okay to disagree, but to do so respectfully. “Conservatives hate each other, and that's a problem,” he said. “So, our goal here is that we can get comfortable and used to each other sitting in a room and being kind to each other, talking about things that we actually agree on and hearing people who have a vision to unite for a good cause.”
During the meeting, an opportunity was given to anyone who wanted to run for the position of chairman to give a speech. Three individuals announced their candidacy – Greenville Young Republicans board members Pedro Mateo and Meagan Ingersoll, and Jason Ross, a professor at North Greenville University and a Lt. Colonel with the South Carolina State Guard.
At the end of her speech, Ingersoll made a surprise announcement that she was rescinding her nomination and would instead run for First Vice Chair.
After speeches were made, a straw poll was conducted. Mateo won eight votes and Ross received 71.
Davis, who was in attendance at the meeting, announced his candidacy for the position of state executive committeeman, although he indicated that he was not closing the door on another run as chairman if people wanted him to do so. Page also announced his intention to run again for that spot.
The precinct reorganization meetings will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 27 at the ten consolidated locations listed below.
Precinct Reorganization Meeting
Monday, March 27 - Check in: 6:00PM
South Region 1
Robert E. Cashion Elementary
1500 Fork Shoals Rd, Greenville, SC 29605
Golden Strip Region 2
Mauldin First Baptist Church
150 S Main St, Mauldin, SC 29662
Woodruff Road Region 3
Bells Crossing Elementary
804 Scuffletown Rd, Simpsonville, SC 29681
Downtown Region 4
The Sanctuary Church
302 Parkins Mill Rd, Greenville, SC 29607
Greer Region 5
Praise Cathedral Church of God
3390 Brushy Creek Rd, Greer, SC 29650
Taylors Region 6
Eastside High School
1300 Brushy Creek Rd, Taylors, SC 29687
Central Region 7
Faith Baptist Church
500 W Lee Rd, Taylors, SC 29687
Western Region 8
Greenville County Library System | Hughes Main Library
25 Heritage Green Pl, Greenville, SC 29601
North East Region 9
Skyland Elementary
4221 SC-14, Greer, SC 29651
North Region 10
Travelers Rest City Hall
125 Trailblazer Dr, Travelers Rest, SC 29690
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This is the first step to get involved with the South Carolina Republican Party and see a tangible result for the causes you believe in through your hard work and support.
Participating in your precinct meeting can allow you to attend your county convention in April and then our state convention in late spring.
A make-up meeting will be held Monday, April 3, at 8:00 P.M
***Check the list below to find your precinct's region. ***
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South Region 1
Baker Creek, Belle Meade, Belmont, Conestee, Donaldson, Dunklin, Fork Shoals, Fountain Inn 2, Greenville 29, Grove, Long Creek, Moore Creek, Mt. Pleasant, Neely Farms, Piedmont, Pineview, Raintree, Ranch Creek, Reedy Fork, Royal Oaks, Simpsonville 2, Simpsonville 4, Simpsonville 6, Standing Springs, Verdmont, Ware Place, Woodmont
Golden Strip Region 2
Bridge Fork, Fountain Inn 1, Graze Branch, Greenbriar, Hillcrest, Holly Tree, Mauldin 1, Mauldin 2, Mauldin 3, Mauldin 4, Mauldin 5, Mauldin 6, Mauldin 7, Simpsonville 1, Simpsonville 3, Simpsonville 5, Sycamore
Woodruff Road Region 3
Asheton Lakes, Bells Crossing, Circle Creek, Feaster, Kilgore Farms, Oakview, River Walk, Rocky Creek, Rolling Green, Sparrows Point, Stonehaven, Walnut Springs, Woodruff Lakes
Downtown Region 4
Dove Tree, Greenville 10, Greenville 14, Greenville 17, Greenville 20, Greenville 21, Greenville 22, Greenville 23, Greenville 24, Greenville 25, Greenville 26, Greenville 28
Greer Region 5
Canebrake, Granite Creek, Maple Creek, Pelham Falls, Riverside, Silverleaf, Suber Mill, Sugar Creek, Thornblade, Trade
Taylors Region 6
Avon, Boiling Springs, Del Norte, Devenger, Eastside, Mission, Northwood, Palmetto, Rock Hill, Spring Forest, Taylors, Wellington
Central Region 7
Botany Woods, Brook Glenn, Edwards Forest, Greenville 1, Greenville 27, Mountain Creek, Paris Mountain, Pebble Creek, Sevier, Stone Valley, Timberlake, Wade Hampton
Western Region 8
Aiken, Berea, Carolina, Chestnut Hills, Enoree, Greenville 3, Greenville 4, Greenville 5, Greenville 6, Greenville 7, Greenville 8, Greenville 16, Greenville 18, Greenville 19, Lakeview, Leawood, Monaview, Poinsett, Saluda, Southside, Sulphur Springs, Tanglewood, Welcome, Westcliffe, Westside
North East Region 9
Castle Rock, Clear Creek, Darby Ridge, Fox Chase, FroHawk, Gowensville, Laurel Ridge, Locust Hill, Mountain View, Oneal, Sandy Flat, Skyland, Tyger River
North Region 10
Altamont Forest, Ebenezer, Furman, Jennings Mill, Maridell, Slater Marietta, Tigerville, Travelers Rest 1, Travelers Rest 2, Tubbs Mountain