Re: Republican Central Committee

by Kathy Love, Hamilton

It seems real investigative reporting is a thing of the past. Many of the allegations made in the article are very easy to refute with facts if the reporter had seen fit to investigate.

No one on the Central Committee ever said that Terry Nelson resigned. He never resigned. He simply walked out on April 4, along with all but one board member, when challenged on the validity of a ruling by the MTGOP regarding county conventions. He never returned and refused any efforts by committee members to communicate with him. He lost the trust and respect of many members of the committee, many who had previously been supporters of the board. It was a surprise to the members after the years of service he had given to the committee. To walk out in the face of adversity does not instill confidence in the members of the committee. Do you really want a leader that walks out at the first sign of adversity?

Central committees are the closest the citizens will get to the governmental process. The committee is made up of ordinary citizens that represent the people in their respective precincts. The committee was praised by Mr. Nelson for months because previously empty precinct seats were being filled by citizens wanting to get involved in the political process. Apparently opposing ideas are not welcome.

The big question that got everything started was the loose interpretation of the rules and Montana state law governing central committees and their county conventions. I believe that you, the people, are smart enough to figure this out when presented with the facts of what happened.

In previous years, all central committees always had their county conventions between February 1st and April 1st in each odd numbered year. This was so that new county officers could be elected to represent the county at the state convention. In July 2022, at the state convention in Billings, the state bylaws were changed so that county conventions would be held between August 1st and November 1st in each odd numbered year. This presented a problem which some members of RCRCC pointed out and challenged. You see, state law says that county conventions SHALL be held to elect officers BEFORE the state convention which is always held in June or July. MCA 13-38-205 (1) says: “The committee shall meet prior to the state convention of its political party and organize by electing a presiding officer and one or more vice presiding officers.” This was clarified to mean county central committees by our state legislature in 2023 and signed into law on May 19, 2023. It now reads “The County Central Committee shall meet PRIOR to the state convention….” MTGOP bylaws state that “Each County Central Committee must hold a convention for the purpose of organizing the Central Committee between August 1 and Nov 1 in each ODD numbered year.” Now we have a conflict. State law says it shall be before the state convention and now MTGOP says it can be after the state convention? The MTGOP’s new rules forced us to have our county convention in violation of state law because the dates were changed. It also allowed the previous board to preside at the state convention when their terms should have been over. The MTGOP’s excuse was that the law was referring to the state central committee. As we pointed out, why would the state central committee need to meet to elect officers before the state convention where they were going to elect officers? It clearly referred to county central committees which the new law clarified.

This was challenged by members of our committee. We had a county convention in May of 2023 to fulfill the state law requirement. We were told by the MTGOP that it was not valid. At the State Convention in June, Terry Nelson promised the credentialing committee, in front of several CC witnesses and recorded by several of the members, that he would call a new county convention in August. August came and went and there was still no sign of Terry Nelson or any other member of the board except our secretary who never left. No county convention was called by Terry Nelson in August as promised. The members of the committee then called a second county convention in August. Again, these elected officers were not recognized by MTGOP.

After many letters to the MTGOP pleading for a resolution to the matter, Terry Nelson was forced to call a county convention in October. The convention was attended by the MTGOP vice chair and the executive assistant to the chairman. That convention was deemed to have met the ever-changing requirements of the MTGOP.

I guess the real question is, do rules of an organization trump state law? If that is the case, then any organization can do whatever they want regardless of what the law says. I think you, the people, are smart enough to figure it out.