But the party’s secretary, Carol Godin, wrote in a letter that Laura Rosenberger, executive committee chair, and Bill Lindsey, central committee chair, will not attend the meeting and instead encouraged party members to go to a different meeting to conduct regular business on Wednesday.
“If you have been erroneously invited to another ‘special’ meeting on November 2, 2023, you are advised not to attend,” Godin wrote. “This unofficial November 2, 2023 meting was not ‘called’ properly in accordance with the Party Bylaws that the Central Committee approved in January and April 2023. therefore you attendance is not necessary and leadership will not be there.”
An Oct. 19 meeting ended in party members being escorted out by Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputies after what Sheriff Deb Burchett described as “hollering and yelling” at each other.
In an email to party members and the News-Sun, Rosenberger said “belligerent behavior” that ended the meeting was planned by former party chair and current party member Dan Harkins and party member Ricki Pepin, who is married to former central committee chair Michael Pepin. Rosenberger said party members had been holding “secret meetings” to organize a “coup.”
Rosenberger described Pepin’s husband and Harkins as “failed” chairs and said the two party members are attempting to “take over the party again.”
“We ask local Republicans if they really want to return to the failed four years of Harkins and Pepin?” Rosenberger wrote in the email.
Attached to the email were three documents Rosenberger said prove Harkins and Pepin have worked together to coordinate the ouster of her and Lindsey.
In a document obtained by the News-Sun last month, 23 individuals identifying themselves as members of the Clark County Republican Party Central Committee and/or the Executive Committee signed the document indicating they have no confidence in the leadership and would vote on a resolution to remove them from the party.
Party members then circulated two petitions — which garnered 16 signatures from the executive committee and 29 from the central committee — to hold executive and central committee meetings Thursday in which they will vote on whether to remove Rosenberger and Lindsey.
Ohio Rep. Bernie Willis signed the central committee petition as well as a previous petition to hold the votes.
The vote on whether to remove the chairs will be done by secret ballot, Setys Kelly, former party treasurer and current central committee member, said.
Kelly has been the subject of scrutiny by Rosenberger, who has said that Kelly is no longer a party member at all. Kelly is still listed as a party member of the county Board of Elections website.
The former treasurer resigned, alleging requests from Rosenberger to carry out fraudulent activities.
Sharon Vallery, a party member, said Rosenberger made similar requests to her earlier this year, asking her to sign a check — intended for a first responders benefit dinner — made out to a scholarship fund because she said that the funds would constitute a contribution of more than $1,000 and would violate the Ohio Revised Code.
According to the Ohio Revised Code, a contribution is any funds given in order to “influence the results of an election,” and Vallery said these funds would only be to put on the benefit event and would not influence any elections.
Rosenberger said previously that since her term began in June 2022, she has worked to root out corruption and ensure financial responsibility of the party.
Rosenberger has been the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against state Republican Party chairperson Robert Paduchik, party treasurer Dave Johnson and the Republican Party itself alleging that more than $3 million of the party’s funds “may have been improperly misappropriated, misreported, and/or otherwise improperly expended.” Rosenberger lost an appeal in the state Court of Appeals on Thursday to file an amended complaint in the case, which she had previously asked for in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
Vallery said the party would be able to focus on campaigning for local candidates and Issues 1 and 2 if Rosenberger and Lindsey were removed.
“This is not what I signed up for,” Vallery said.
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