Phase TWO of Team Forest’s hostile takeover of the Mecklenburg GOP?
Mecklenburg County was the site of one of the worst electoral blowouts in the state for the GOP. (Hell, the county GOP 
probably qualifies for FEMA funding.) State senator Dan Bishop was the most significant elected Republican left standing after the votes were counted in Mecklenburg County in November.
In the real world, folks in charge of a disastrous performance resign in shame or are fired. In politics and government – and especially with the GOP, it seems — those folks get rewarded with MORE job security.
We told you earlier about Mecklenburg County GOPers being wooed with free office space from a company owned by a close ally of the Lt. Governor.
In a move that doesn’t appear to bode well for folks seeking wholesale change in state GOP leadership, Mecklenburg County Republicans held their convention today and reelected the whole slate of local leaders who presided over November’s disaster. Every last one of them.
Though, we learned about some extra details that probably factored into that happening. Charlotte businessman David Longo has been identified in media reports as a close friend of Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and the treasurer of at least ONE pro-Forest PAC.
Sources in attendance at Saturday’s convention told us about the details of a nominating speech by Longo:
- Longo reportedly reminded the delegates that his company would give the party the space they were meeting in, contingent on Chris Turner being reelected;
- Longo reportedly promised to donate $25,000 to the Mecklenburg County GOP if Turner was reelected chairman;
- Longo reportedly told the audience that Turner is now employed by Longo’s company, and that arrangements will be made to allow him to take time from work to ensure the party’s work gets done; (Turner’s LinkedIn profile indicates he has been an employee of Longo’s company since November 2018.)
Aaaaaaaand SURPRISE, SURPRISE. Chris Turner and his team got reelected over a slate of candidates seeking wholesale change in the county party’s leadership.
Now, why — you ask — would Dan Forest be behind something like this?
Well, my friends, I’m told it has a lot to do with cutting Pat McCrory’s legs out from underneath him as he mulls a gubernatorial comeback in 2020. A McCrory comeback would depend on strong support from Mecklenburg County GOP leaders.
Apparently, some folks are thinking a few shiny new toys tossed toward Charlotte might just put the kibosh on those ambitions.
What ever it takes to keep McCrory out of the race I suppose. Been there, done that. We need someone else
Are you kidding me……. We should be the party of ethical people not bribbery…. We should be the party that the people serving in party positions that stand on their own on front of the delegates that elect them and plead for their votes with the understanding of the great responsibly that they have to the people they are representing as leaders. The standards we hold are party leaders to should be the same standard we also hold our elected leaders too as well.
We should be the party that is open, honest, ethical, transparent and always seeking to do the right thing and go the extra step in fairness
A sitting chairman should not get to give a 20 min chairmans speech when their opponent is relegated to 2 min campaign speech stuck to the very end of the days agenda when they are clearly hoping the room is lost before he is ever heard
A person running for a office like Vice Chair of the county party should never be elected on the chairmans slate that should man up or woman up at face the delegates.
Delegates should be delgates you know to have the discussions to have the dialogue together in the room. The party that should be about ideas the rooms filled with people should actually share ideas you know debates. Republicans do not know how to debate. They know longer are educated to what the issues of the culture they are trying to fight really are becausrle they try to avoid this at all cost when convention time come
What happens yesterday was sickening. Everyone in thatnroom should be ashamed of the MeckGop ashamed to be a delegate to the party. Ashamed for the city that Charlotte cannot be offered a more honest party from the that should be honest and ethical and not the party of things like Bribery
I do not care that the people I support end up losing it is about honesty being ethical having moral standards be cause if one win compromising these thing that really lost everything and the MeckGop lost everything yesturday….
I might have looked a fool being one of the very few in the room objecting but I did not lose my soul in that meeting and I still have my integrity this morning
What has the NCGOP become from ousting a sitting convention elected chairman 3 years ago to what happened in mecklenburg yesturday…. Its disgusting and no wonder so many people have left our party
Time for a fallback my friend. I hope all your reform minded friends show up as delegates at State so Meck doesn’t destroy us there either with a Hayes redux. A lot of rural county parties, more ethical and open than Mecklenberg, simply can’t stomach any more of the Hayes and Woodhouse act and it will tell in the 2020 election. Dan Forest can’t make it through the general election without the rural counties. And Mr. Trump won’t carry the state for the same reasons if there is just a little reduction in the rural vote. Proof? Just look at county by county returns for McCrory versus those of Burr, Trump, and Forest.
I do not understand the “fallback” comment but I agree with everything else you said and have most of the time on this board….. I just honestly do not know who you are and it is probably best that way. There is some truth that can only be said when it is behind a username
Fallback means though you lost a battle, move your forces to the next battle position which is the State convention.
McCrory will not run for Governor. He is fixated on Burr’s Senate seat. I listen to his radio show regularly ad he has slipped up enough to give that away in his musings. BTW, I like his radio show and it is very useful and I recommend it to all. He tries to keep another run at Governor an option, but he slips up from time to time. I think he knows he can’t bat Forest. Now the important question, how do we save Mecklenburg? It is going to take something from the outside.
When republicans go liberal they loose to save Meck you need everyone standing up supporting the values in our party platform. Our values are what will win not just some persons personality running for office we have too much counted on that too much and it does not work. But we have to education the public to what good values are because it has been lost in our culture. It is not a D vs R thing but a Progressive Leftist vs Conservative (Fiscally and socially) thing. but if the party cannot have ethics inside it party dealing they cannot have lasting change in the community either
Or perhaps the person that owns the space
Simply does not want to loan it to everyone
But only someone he knows and trusts.
Not exactly unreasonable or sinister
your ethics are not my ethics if you do not see a nominator saying that if you vote for my guy you get all of this including $25,000 in a donation but if the delegates vote for the other person the party then gets squat well not squat the delegates would still have had their ethics this morning but they seems to be ethically challenged like you seem to be
Are you confirming the truth of the allegations above, that donations of free office space and of money were promised if a certain candidate was elected to an office?
I am not just Confirming it but they are confirming it
https://ibb.co/grBrx1T
I am saying that the one that nominated Chris Turner and gave the nominating speech for him who is now also his boss as the linkedin link in the article stated that David Longo would give Turner the time off he needs to do the MeckGOP chairman’s job and to give the MeckGop office space needed to go through the 2020 election cycle and would give the additional $25,000 if the delegates voted for Chris Turner over John Powell
#HowIsThisNotBribery when done at the convention during the election for a new chairman
Yes, pay to play in other words.
Bribing is a much more fitting description but we can talk about another form of “pay to play” problem in the NCGOP related to delegates and conventions
County Conventions
and
District Conventions
should never have a fee forced on a delegate to attend the convention and to participate in the activities evolved in party business sessions
If county and districts want to tell the delegates that they would like to raise $$$ so much money and if every delegate gave at least $$$$ so much then the party could reach the goal but this FEE should NEVER be REQUIRED
What do you think I am talking CRAZY well this is how the state party plan of organization used to read and ever since this was removed the party has gotten more corrupt in its activities on every level
While I would say the same for the business session of the State convention. I also understand the costs associated in running events in venues like BIG convention centers so I understand having a fee for the state convention since overall less people are delegates to the state and so charging for state is not disenfranchising the average republican like it does on the county and district level but with that said the business session fee should be as low as it can be and only recover the expense of renting the space and chair for the delegates in the business meeting.
State convention business session fees should not be look at as a fundraiser for the state party
So yea the party needs to address all forms of “Pay to Play” related to convention delegates and this does include #Bibery for positions
The Mecklenburg County Party was strong back in the day when Linda Daves was chairman. It’s been downhill ever since.
Exactly 100% but very few can remember back then. She won by celebrating and educating people and delegates to the principles in the party platform. She never said look at me I am woman vote for me. She was about principles not politics. She would have never stood for the bribing of the delegates and she would never limited the time for her opponets to speak. Things were orderly back then but the ship has turn and hit a iceberg and is clearly sinking into moral ruins
Dan Forest now needs to turn his attention to the state GOP and help to get competent leadership in the form of Jim Womack elected.
Absolutely step #1
As an Unaffiliated Voter and the fastest growing group of Voters, I find this to be unsavory.
If one can buy an election or a group to win the election, this sure smacks of it.
I support Forrest and I am sure he will explain this to us so it does not seem like something from the democratic playbook.