A slugfest in Cabarrus
Local politics can quite often get nasty and personal.
But it’s rare when Raleigh has to step in and referee multiple issues under dispute in a local organization.
The Cabarrus County Republican Party is preparing to elect its officers for the next term. Current county party chairman Abdul Ali is running for reelection while also challenging incumbent Susan Mills for the state party’s vice chairman position. Ali’s reelection to the county chairmanship is being challenged by Brian Echevarria, who narrowly lost a high-profile race for the North Carolina House in November 2022. Despite coming up short in 2022, Echevarria has earned quite a bit of respect county- and statewide and is being seriously mentioned as a possible contender for a number of 2024 state-level races.
Echevarria recently summed up his take on the Cabarrus dispute in a Facebook post:
[… ] Looks like Cabarrus County Exec. Committee has become a train wreck. Low voter turnout. Deepest division in recent memory. They caused the loss of our school board to liberal democrats, etc….Now they are in full Democrat mode trying to kick out delegates that meet the age, residence, and registration requirements even though the county plan made arrangements for them to participate. It is amazing how quickly they turn on the community. Talk about attacking democracy..Will the North Carolina Republican Party stand by and watch as the party is kneecapped going into ’24? This contagion will spread.Plan says: For those who were unable to attend, (ALMOST 300), the Annual Precinct Meeting, each County Plan of Organization may, (AND THEY DID), provide for a procedure to permit the election of persons to be Delegates and Alternates to the County, District and/or State Convention. Each County Executive Committee is hereby authorized to amend their County Plan of Organization prior, (NOT WEEKS AFTER), to the Annual Precinct Meetings and County Convention for the sole purpose of implementing a procedure to permit the election of persons to be Delegates and Alternates to the County, District and/or State Convention.[…]
The NCGOP has stepped in to referee the controversy. They issued a couple of rulings:
It is also happening in Cherokee County as well. The local Cherokee County Chairman, as well as most of the current board, is publicly endorsing a candidate for chair which they selected and endorsed at an Executive Meeting which violates the NCGOP plan of organization. Since at meeting in February, they have been on political radio shows, posted on Facebook, and sent emails to the entire Cherokee County GOP with these public endorsements-which is against the NCGOP Plan of Organization. When the STATE NCGOP OFFICIALS ARE NOTIFIED (to include: The Chairman, Vice Chairman, The State Executive Director, General Counsel, AS WELL AS THE DISTRICT CHAIRMAN AND THE DCCA PRESIDENT) of these violations and NO ONE comes forward to make corrections, changes, or admonitions it, they are complicit in it.
It seems that the NCGOP cares more about affluent suburban Republican voters than the rural, poor, Appalachian Republicans that have stood strong in this county (and state) voting and winning as Republicans since 1976. Or maybe, just maybe, they don’t like women in power. Especially women who will stand up for the NCGOP PLAN OF ORGANIZATION AND CALL VIOLATIONS OUT while the party officials locally violate the plan constantly.
Just to further my point, in 2016, we had FOUR REPUBLICAN COMMISSIONERS endorse a democrat OVER A REPUBLICAN ON THE BALLOT in an ad in our local paper. No one was held accountable for party disloyalty. In 2022, we had a WRITE IN candidate (who claims to be a Republican) who challenged the REPUBLICAN ON THE BALLOT. I went to the local GOP and asked that anyone that signed the petition for the write in candidate, as well as the write in candidate, be charged with party disloyalty. The local GOP chose NOT to hold the candidate nor the signers of the petition accountable. WHY HAVE A PLAN OF ORGANIZATION if it can be violated and trampled on with no consequences? Currently, they are not only violating NC GOP Plan of Organization, but they have decided to drain the funds of the party in the event of a loss. How ethical of them. Throwing away late fees to the NCSBOE to the tune of $500.00 because the current treasure said her computer was broken. You’d think there are no other computers in the entire county, I mean this is rural Appalachia, after all.
I have been a Republican my entire life. I have never witnessed more incompetence and sheer deception as I have since I got stopped sending money and got active in the local party. It is egregious to stand by and allow these violations (and MANY OTHERS) to occur. The local party has a problem and if WE don’t fix it, I can guarantee you one thing, on March 27th, there will a LOT of Republicans in a solid red county moving to unaffiliated because they are all going to come witness the dirty tactics used by our local GOP at our convention March 25th. They won’t be alone, Republicans from around the state and country will be present to witness it as well. We may be poor Appalachians but we aren’t dumb.
You may want to review the NCGOP Plan of Organization. It states you can’t endorse during a Republican Primary for public office, but it doesn’t say anything about intra-party races.
Additionally, the state party is not going to get involved in county quarrels. If someone is violating the PoO and is guilty of Party Disloyalty or gross inefficiency it is up to the county party to take action. The state party will only get involved if there is an appeal, and at that time their decision is final.
Brian Echevarria is exactly the kind of leader Cabarrus County and the GOP so desperately needs. Grassroots Republicans should flock to the county convention and overwhelmingly elect him!
Ditto
Susan Mills is a definite establishment candidate for state vice chair. It now sounds like Ali is also of the establishment bent. Maybe this is an opportunity for a conservative grassroots candidate?
I have a lot to say on this and not much time right now. I will add more later. First, I have to note thar the POO does not prohibit party officers from endorsing in party offices.
Second, Ali is the kind of leader we do NOT need. He thinks the rules do NOT apply to him. I am also sick of hearing race brought into it. Last I checked, Brian and Addul were the same race. Want my opinion??? I think Addul is jealous of Brian. Addul likes the spotlight and Brian is a much better leader.
So riddle me this…a current member of the NCGOP central committee and former Vice Chair admits that another county chairman has indeed violated the state plan of organization and repeatedly states it on numerous fb posts including sharing this websites article as well as complimenting them on stating the facts about it…HOWEVER will fail to admit or call out any other county chairs that are doing THE EXACT SAME THING…because they are buddies with them perhaps…or is it just the fact that they are such close friends with the individual Mrs. Mills running for NCGOP Vice-Chair position and it conflicts with Mr. Ali’s position running against Mrs. Mills? I mean I have to ask here isn’t there a conflict right there with a sitting member of the Central Committee as being considered Executive Committee Member endorsing another member against the very plan itself? I mean HELLOFUZZY people. When asked at the February District Chairman’s Call with just missing the opportunity to ask while Whatley was on air, I was finally able to get online and hear Mrs. Mills state that she was going to take those printed plans of organization to the state assembly members and tell them how important it was to follow….My response to Mr. Anglin District 11 Chair was in the form of this question to her and all chairs: Well how exactly is that going to work if we can’t even get the Chairman and Executive Committee Members to follow their own plan or understand it and that includes the NCGOP State party chair all the way down the ranks. I have raised questions with not only him but the ranks down that answers have been said are too vague in the plan to answer….WELL it should not take 2 years to fix it…It should also not take an organization such as the DCCA to teach/train when it obviously isn’t working. You are damn skippy there is something important here…The party platform needs to be REMEMBERED…Not walked over like it was yesterdays carpet…it needs to be engrained in some peoples heads and what some people forget is what the words…MORALS, VALUES, ETHICS MEAN! It does not mean to cheat, steal, lie, cover up and it sure as heck does not mean to cower, bend, kneel, cave, break….this is the reason this country has turned into a chit show…BUCKLE UP and stand up for the principles and founding fathers values…not what has been cherry picked as a so called New Republican Party.
You may want to review the NCGOP Plan of Organization. It states you can’t endorse during a Republican Primary for public office, but it doesn’t say anything about intra-party races.
Additionally, the state party is not going to get involved in county quarrels. If someone is violating the PoO and is guilty of Party Disloyalty or gross inefficiency it is up to the county party to take action. The state party will only get involved if there is an appeal, and at that time their decision is final.
Not going to happen. There’s still a few counties with conservative GOP party leaders left, but the corruption of the ncgop has infested most county parties now, not just the urban/suburban ones. I can’t stress it enough to conservatives that they need to desert the ncgop en masse and create a new Conservative Party. It is the ONLY way to bring serious leverage against the Tim Moore/Thom Tillis machine and their cronies in the GA. Conservatives need to stop being delusional that they can turn the NCGOP around from within.
Slug fest for GOP leadership going on in Wake County also. Ends tomorrow night at convention. Same old garbage that’s happening in other counties! Leaders do as they please. Well, they say an organization’s ethics and trajectory start at the top! Am I right, cowardly, unethical NC GOP?
Read it again-“ Party Disloyalty
Any registered Republican attempting to influence or influencing the outcome of any election against a Republican candidate or Republican endorsed by the appropriate Republican Executive Committee or Legislative Caucus, other than by supporting an opposing Republican candidate in a Republican primary, may be declared ineligible to hold office under the State Plan of Organization at the State, District, County and Precinct level for Party Disloyalty by 2/3 vote of the State Executive Committee.”
This was after the primary and he was THE Republican on the ballot for the 2022 election. . She was a write in. She was not elected during a primary, therefor she was undermining the Republican candidate on the 2022 election ballot.