Greetings Liberty Lovers,
The new session of the Twin Falls County Republican Central Committee finally got underway the other night, following a lackluster reorganization meeting in May, a poorly attended Republican picnic in August, and a long summer of recovering from the losses Liberty Lovers across the Magic Valley endured.
New Faces, New Location… but the Same ole $@#&!
The TFCRCC has a new chairman; we said good riddance to Tom Wangeman and hello to Alexandra Caval, a bankruptcy lawyer by day, a Precinct Committeeman, former TF City Council member, and a two-time legislative candidate loser. Gretchen Clelland remains vice-chair after losing her second PC race. Former Twin Falls Mayor and current city council member Ruth Pierce maintains control of the purse strings as Treasurer for ANOTHER term, and the new Secretary is Phyllis Beard.
The Executive Board also has several new faces. The directors are JD Gould, who lost his PC race to Kathy Thomsen; Kiel Wilmore; Scott Tverdy, the Republican candidate for Commissioner in November; Larry Barksdale, who lost his PC race to Pastor Paul Thompson; and Eliza Hansen, who lost her PC race to yours truly. The remaining Executive Board members are State Man Brad Wills, the county Assessor; State Woman Teresa Tverdy, wife of the Commissioner candidate; and Chance Requa, a PC and candidate for State Representative, who holds the State Youth position.
Beyond the new faces, the TFCRCC also has a new meeting room. Instead of gathering in the P&Z room at County West, we now meet in the Annex room on the southwest end of County West.
Money for You, and You, and You
In years past, the TFCRCC gave money to Republican legislative candidates who had opponents. At this meeting, they voted to give money to all six legislative candidates, whether or not they have an opponent. They also voted to give money to all six county candidates, again regardless of whether they face a challenger. Any candidate with a Democrat or independent opponent will receive $1,000. Candidates without challengerswill receive $500 to buy signs and get their names in front of voters. In total, the committee will hand out $9,000. Among the voting body present, five members stood to receive money directly, and two others were spouses of recipients. All abstained except three: Brad Wills, Lucy Wills, and Teresa Tverdy. While Teresa and Lucy were under no obligation to abstain under Robert’s Rules, Assessor Brad Wills should have abstained. Candidates can refuse the money, so it will be interesting to see who accepts it and who declines it, especially among those without challengers.
A Loss for Liberty
Precinct Twin Falls 15 lost a good, decent man when Pastor Paul Thompson moved out of the precinct. Under the rules, the vacancy must be filled by a Republican who lives in TF15 and is elected by the TFCRCC PCs. When the vacancy was called, only one person came forward: Larry Barksdale, who had lost to Pastor Paul by a large margin. With no other candidates stepping up, Vice Chair Gretchen Clelland tried to bypass the bylaws and move straight to a vote. Of course, I was having none of that. Our bylaws state that the candidate must address the committee and answer questions. Larry Barksdale works for Brad Wills in the Assessor’s Office, and I knew things about Mr. Barksdale that I believed the committee should hear before placing him in a position of trust and authority over TF15. Nevertheless, most of the PCs voted him in. All I can say is this: TF15, I am sorry you no longer have a gentleman like Pastor Paul representing you.
Call to Action
The next TFCRCC Meeting is on Wednesday, October 14th at 6:30 in the County West Annex room. Get there early, as the room is much smaller than our old room.
The liberty-loving group, Magic Valley Republican Women, will meet on Wednesday, September 16th for lunch and dinner. Lunch is $15 and held at noon at La Cabanita in Buhl; dinner is $20 and gathers at 6pm at Curry Junction Restaurant in Twin Falls. The guest speakers will be Titus and Kris Folks from Love Life Org.
Don’t forget, No on Proposition 1 will be sign-waving on Blue Lakes every Saturday from 11a – 1p until the election. Come on down and join us.
