Kim Owens - The Villain in the AZGOP Armegeddon Drama?

[Arizona Freedom Alliance]

On Saturday, June 17^th, at the 2^nd AZGOP Executive Committeemen meeting in Flagstaff, Az,  I had a very strange exchange between myself and Kim Owens, who was officiating at the meeting, signing in committeemen and doing other unknown various duties…..    

It more than concerned me that in her un-official capacity, she felt it was perfectly alright to say to those of us requesting further information from the Executive board on the required audit and Secretary Mercer’s requests for past records it was a “Witch-hunt.” But she couldn’t have a civil conversation with me when I approached her to say we were not on a witch hunt, that in fact, we were all very concerned & aware that the by-laws and state statute’s state emphatically that an audit shall be done upon the new boards takeover in January and all previous records be passed on to the newly elected board members, including the Treasurer and Secretary.  Chairman Lines was/is in breach of the by-laws and State Statutes.   

I was shocked by her demeanor and emphatic refusal to listen to a thing I was saying…..  she got so heated, she actually recoiled when I reached out and touched her hand to calm her and screeched “Don’t touch me” you are intimidating me and turned to her husband (the man standing next to her in the food line)….and demanded he do something…..He just stood there with a blank stare on his face.       

Now, I’m 5’ tall and 110#’s.  I don’t know who could be intimidated by me!  This seemed to me more like the tactics of the left than a reasonable republican committeewoman and the Executive Director at Dodie Londen Excellence in Public Service Series.  Hardly a reaction you expect from a person teaching others about public service!        

Our biggest concern is this:   When we were elected in January 2017 our new board and our NCRC Chairman, Steve Slaton, had the NCRC books of the past board's 4 year reign audited. There was $23,000 unaccounted for and large cash withdrawals from the past board members.  The previous board also refused to turn over any records to us, which was a huge red flag, and we were concerned about the previous transactions and how the Committee’s money had or had not been spent.  Unfortunately since there was no oversight by previous board members or the Treasurer, various board members used their Debit cards freely without any accountability.   This is beyond sloppy, it was criminal.   We are now picking up the pieces and reviving the NCRC’s reputation and have turned over our audit findings which are being investigated by the Navajo County Attorney’s office.

Neither Steve Slaton nor I had been involved in the NCRC during that time period. We were working for Americans for Prosperity as a field director and field associate.    

I cannot state clearly enough that those of us who are warriors for Liberty and Freedom must stand for the same principles in our own backyard as we demand of those who serve us as elected representatives at all levels of government.  We ask all PC’s and Executive Committeemen to step up and make sure all is right with their own committee’s……. then we can, with a clear conscience, do the same for the State Committee if they will not do it themselves.       

“Question with boldness, Speak without fear, hold to the truth”  T. Jefferson  

Karen M. MacKean,  1^st Vice Chairman NCRC

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I, too, attended the AZGOP executive committee meeting in Flagstaff Az. 

It was quite surprising to have only two elected board members there. The meeting was being presented by a parliamentarian, not Chairman Lines, due to his wife was in an accident.

I was surprised the parliamentarian did not run the meeting as per proper procedures and guidance, according to Robert's Rules of Order.   First Vice Chairman Parralee Schneider, who was wandering around the room, should have been conducting the meeting. This is clearly a duty of the 1st Vice Chairman, not a parliamentarian.  Again the outlined duties of the state party officials are clear in the bylaws. Ms. Schneider should have taken charge of the meeting.

The lack of discipline and guidance on proper meeting procedures are evident with the Executive Board.  One of our Executive Committee Members from Yavapai wished to make a motion in regards to bylaws committee contact information.  It was dismissed as out of order by the parliamentarian.  It was not. Her motion was made under “Other Business” which is where these matters are brought up for discussion and voting. 

I made a motion for Chairman Lines to turn over all materials to our elected Secretary, Gabriela Mercer, who has been trying for the past 5 months to have documents turned over to her.  I had a personal conversation with her and with other sources reporting the same concerns after their conversations with Secretary Mercer.   Immediately, Kim Owens jumped up and read the “duties” of the secretary from the by-laws.  But she only read from a portion of the bylaws and failed to mention the full statement: 

“  Duties of the Secretary from AZGOP BYLAWS READS; The secretary shall keep minutes of all state committee and executive committee meetings, transmit all calls for the meetings, and perform such other functions as may be incidental to the office or assigned by the state chairman.  He/she shall be responsible to preserve all permanent records of the state committee and relinquish them to his/her successor.”

Please note the last line. For some reason, Ms. Owens doesn’t seem to understand what “all permanent records of the state committee and relinquish them to his/her successor” means.  For Ms. Owens' benefit: the definition of relinquish “means to stop holding physically;  release: to give over possession or control of!" 

Ms. Owens failed to mention this! Once again, the parliamentarian did not stop her out of order rant.  She was out of order because there was no motion or second motion made at this time. 

Then John Rhodes, Graham County Chairman, jumped up crying about getting e-mails, and proclaimed he had someone call him Hitler. Here again, I had to remind the parliamentarian that Rhodes was out of order, as well as Matthew Kenny, who also jumped into the fray by proclaiming “Secretary Mercer was at a AZGOP meeting the past Tuesday and didn’t ask for any records”.    These were clearly out of order and I had to remind the parliamentarian since I made a motion, and there was not a second at that time, a discussion was not appropriate until there is a second.  I asked him to call them out of order, which he did. 

Finally the parliamentarian did end their out of order comments and disruptions, then requested for me to put the motion in writing.  So I did, the parliamentarian called for a vote on my motion and it was defeated. 

This was quite surprising - that so many of our fellow republicans did not want their elected Secretary to have access to the records which the bylaws state very clearly is required. Maybe they are not true conservatives? Real Conservatives believe in the rule of law!

As elected County Chairman, First Vice and Second Vice Chairmen, it is our duty to see that the Rule of Law prevails in our society or we’ll not have a society. 

Final Note for Chairman Rhodes: it was you, sir, who sent out the e-mails to all trying to claim I am using Hitler Tactics! I suggest you go back and re-read your e-mails. That’s if you didn’t cancel your e-mail provider!

Steven Slaton

Chairman

Navajo County Republican Committee

[Editor:  AZGOP politics is almost as fun as DNC politics!]

 

 

[John5319]

Back in 1979 I entered the real world of negotiations with big business leaders, as I was the National Account Representative for a big national corporation. My job was to follow the guidelines that would bring an openness, and profits to ANY negotiations, all overseen by my bosses and superiors. Today in the political world we have a bunch of lemmings jumping off the cliffs & dancing to the music of deceitful "leaders". I was told to ALWAYS "follow the money" to determine the motives in these national negotiations, and it was there that I smelled the smoke of a deception and lies. Arizona is now the melting pot for all that I learned in the past. Good people wouldn't think of lies, but EVIL is for it knows all of ... the lies ... for a self-interest gain. As Clint Eastwood said "Everybody's got a right to be a sucker … once" or this ..."'Bout time this town had a new sheriff".  So let us fight with all we have to defeat the disingenuous moderates, and so-called RINO'S who can't understand what limitations on government are in the Arizona GOP.

[Jaspersgoat]

This is more a melodrama than just ordinary drama.  "a dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and that exaggerates emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization"  based on Marianne's report and now this. This is our AZGOP, people. Are we going to roll over for this? Point to McCain for the RESISTANCE here. These others are just the bootlickers who carry out the dreck.

[Ernest Mc Collum]

When are you people going to wake up to the fact that RINO's are Implanted Commies They said they would take us from with in and I have little doubt that John Mc Cain was brainwashed while he was a prisoner of war. 

[Marianne Ferrari]

Just looking at the outcomes, year after year, we see a clear pattern of dysfunction and decline. Since the RINOs have been in "power" all that time (except for a brief respite when Tom Morrissey was elected chair), they are clearly the ones responsible for the dysfunction and decline. 

Is it deliberate? It often feels like it. But we don't even have to know, for sure. It is enough to know that the direction of the party has been uniformly downward (with the exception of the national Trump victories). And that a certain group known as RINOs have been in control, for quite awhile.

Actually, I must add one more outcome to the dysfunction and decline. We have witnessed years of complaints like the ones we are discussing currently. I think people are awake, but feel disenfranchised and/or powerless, or are not sure what to do about it. 

Is there a fire? I can't see, for the smoke!

[Tom Morrissey]

Again, we (the people) have the numbers and the votes. They (the Establishment) have the money.  During 2011 and 2012 we beat them at every turn and in 2016 we blistered them (the Establishment). Lesson here is, when we are really ready to take back the reigns of our state party back, we will.  Until that time we will be rolled over. Simple.