September 04, 2024 08:15 AM UTC

Dueling Meetings & Disputed Votes: Colorado GOP Chair Doubles Down on Defiance

• 5 Comments
• by: Erik Maulbetsch

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Originally posted at the Colorado Times Recorder

Defiance defined Saturday’s meeting of some members of the Colorado Republican Party’s Central Committee. Comprised almost exclusively of supporters of Dave Williams, the meeting was essentially a MAGA celebration for the former state representative, who insists he is still in charge.

Williams and his supporters took a series of votes upholding his leadership and rejecting those in their party who held a similar meeting last week at which at vote was taken replacing Williams and his leadership team with Eli Bremer and other more “establishment” Republicans.

If this sounds like the political equivalent of the “Two Spidermans” cartoon meme, you’re not wrong.

Given the disputed status of the meeting, Williams made a point of strictly adhering to Robert’s Rules of Order, presumably to bolster any defense of its legitimacy he will likely have to make to a judge. As such there were numerous amendments to amendments, all of which reinforced the same general theme: “Dave Williams is our leader and anyone who disagrees with that is powerless to change it.

Former state Sen. Ted Harvey offered one particularly pointed amendment, aimed at at the National Republican Congressional Committee, which last week issued a statement in support of the vote taken by Bremer and his allies

“I’m offering an amendment to your amendment that says the National [Republican] Congressional Committee has no say in who is the chair or vice chair of the state of Colorado, said Harvey. “I really don’t care what a 25-year-old press secretary from the NRCC has to say about who is the chair and who is not the chair. We in this body get to determine that and they work for us.”

NRCC Spokesperson Delanie Bomar, the press secretary to whom Harvey was referring, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. This article will be updated with any response received.

Williams accepted the amendment and explained it the members as “an amendment that declaratively states that the National Republican Congressional Committee has no authority in this matter.”

This amendment later passed unanimously, which means it included the support of an NRCC member- Congressman Greg Lopez (R-Colo), who can be seen walking out of the room immediately following the vote.

The vote was technically a decision to uphold a ruling from the state Executive Committee that found El Paso County GOP Vice Chair Todd Watkins’ petition for a meeting to remove Williams invalid.

In a email to the Central Committee members, following the meeting, Williams announced that “the State Executive Committee Decision in CN24-003 was upheld and amended to add a statement from the State Central Committee reaffirming that the meetings organized and held by Todd Watkins et al are invalid along with any actions taken as a result of his improper meeting efforts.”

It remains to be seen whether courts will weigh in or will defer to the Republican National Committee to settle this party dispute, which makes current RNC Committeeman Randy Corporon’s position worth noting: he’s all-in on Team Dave. His interest isn’t exclusively political, he’s also one of the party’s attorneys (at least this faction of the party), and is currently working to overturn the will of Colorado voters by trying to undo the state’s open primary law. He and another former state senator, Kevin Lundberg, who currently chairs the party’s legal committee tasked with funding that effort, gave an update on the lawsuit and noted that they need more money.

Corporon began by thanking everyone for “coming to a legitimate meeting of the Colorado Central Committee.”

Obvious but left unsaid is that the money will go to Corporon. Some may also go to John Eastman, whose group is collecting the donations even though his law license is currently suspended while he appeals his disbarment. Lundberg says he believes overturning Colorado’s open primary law should be the Republican party’s “top priority.”

However the most immediate legal battle for Williams and his supporters will be the fight to remain in power. Former statehouse candidate David Pigott is representing Williams and the party in that effort and least one well-known Republican appears to be willing to cover his billable hours. Joe Oltmann, founder of the far-right extremist group FEC United and its militia affiliate United American Defense Force, announced last Friday on Facebook that he “pledged a substantial donation to assist in the legal fight against these people [Bremer, Watkins and their allies]. Oltmann also wrote: “I made the recommendation for them [Williams] to go after these people individually outside of the party apparatus, as there is certainly damage.”

Colorado GOP Vice Chair Hope Scheppelman, who, like Williams may or may not still hold her position depending on which faction wins, thanked Oltmann for his aid.