November’s meetings (13th and 18th) were unbelievable. Read why there were two meetings — and so much more!
By Leslie Wolff, Precinct Committeeman, TF #14
In my report on the October meeting, I called out nine of my fellow Precinct Committeeman who had not bothered to attend. This month, four of those nine attended our meeting. So, is this just a coincidence or are some among the establishment secretly reading my monthly reports?
Parliamentarian Minute. In response to me calling a Point of Order every month because there was no discussion called before the acceptance vote, our “Parliamentarian” Vice-Chair Gretchen Clelland had to explain to everyone how I was out of line. So, I went ahead and cited from Robert’s Rules the two sections where it shows that the Chair should either ask for corrections or should be calling for discussion before vote is taken. We will see what happens next month.
Changing the Rules to Suit Themselves. I have asked for items to be put on the agenda, only to be denied. Last month, I had motion to amend the agenda so an RCV presenter could get five minutes to speak, even though Chairman Tom Wangeman knew he was coming in from Boise but didn’t put him on the agenda. With that being said, when two resolutions to go to the annual IDGOP for Winter Meeting (January 3 and 4, 2025) were brought up this month without being on the agenda, I inquired about it and was told we have an Open New Business section. If our New Business is open, why was I denied when asking for items to be put on the agenda? Why does it take a vote to amend the agenda to put something on it that wasn’t originally on it? In the long run, this “open” policy will work in our favor.
Against Drugs or Against MVLA? The first resolution presented was an opposition against legalizing marijuana. All of the items stated were statistics, negatives that have happened in other states when legalized, and the pitfalls Idaho could experience… all of the items but one. One paragraph, nestled in all the others, called out Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) specifically for being on Idaho college campuses and giving $30k to a PAC (MVLA PAC). I amended the motion to remove the section about YAL, stating it was out of place with the rest of the resolution statistics. After a little discussion, Commissioner Don Hall made a comment about calling out YAL and stated, “That is why I will be voting NO on this amendment.” And that, Liberty Lovers, is how the leader tells the rank and file how to vote. Needless to say, the amendment failed. After the roll call vote was taken, I inquired if any voter was holding four or more proxies. When told yes, I informed the Committee that according to the IDGOP rules, voters can only carry three proxies, which meant that some of the proxies were nullified. It may not have changed the outcome, but it’s something.
Don’t Take Everything You are Told as Gospel. A second resolution was introduced in opposition to diverting public monies to fund school choice. There was little discussion on the topic and a roll call vote taken. There were 16 votes in favor, 12 against and the rest abstained. The Chairman declared the resolution had passed. I quickly “Appealed from the Decision of the Chair” (studying Robert’s Rules is coming in handy). I explained that our bylaws state that motions take a majority of eligible votes to pass and since 16 votes was not over half, the motion did not pass. A few people who even told me that this question had never come up before, which doesn’t surprise me, no one seemed to question anything
until recently.
Picking and Choosing When to Follow the Rules. What happened next was nothing short of chaos. The Chair, Vice-Chair and others poured over our bylaws, the IDGOP rules and Robert’s Rules trying to find
some way for the vote to pass. The Secretary found that she “miscounted” the original vote and it was actually 19-12. The Chair and Vice-Chair, then decided that they would go by Robert’s Rules instead of our bylaws and ruled the resolution passed. In the havoc of it all, Cheri Vollmer, who lost her PC race for TF #8 against Josh Kohl and subsequently appointed to be our State Committeewoman, reminded everyone that if the executive board voted (which the bylaws allow), they would have enough for a
majority. I acknowledged that it was true and they could vote, but they would be called on to vote on every motion moving forward and they don’t get to pick and choose when they vote or not. Chairman Wangeman was perplexed and didn’t know what to do. He debated between doing a complete recount, just having the eligible voters who had not voted go ahead and vote, or leave it as is because he had already ruled the resolution passed. What a dilemma, he sat in front of the room while everyone gave him their two- cents. Well, he decided to go with his original ruling that the resolution had already passed.
Did We Lose a PC? I figured I had already stirred up a hornet’s nest, why not put a cherry on the top? I addressed the Committee and told them that one of us had moved out of our precinct and that he was no longer a PC. He stopped being a PC when he moved, not when he eventually got around to submitting his resignation, so he needed to come forward. He walked out after the meeting without saying a word. So yes, TF #4 is an open precinct that the TFCRCC will need to fill.
A Messy Vote and a Stain on Our County. After the meeting, Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorney, Grant Loebs, informed the Chair that while the resolutions passed, they were “messy” and if the state party were to learn of how they passed, it would be a stain on the TFCRCC. Grant suggested that Tom call a Special Vote to revote on both resolutions with everyone voting.
Special Meeting Means Special Rules. Chairman Wangeman called for a special meeting to revote on the resolutions before the IDGOP deadline. It was scheduled for Monday, November 18th at 6:30 pm. When the email was sent out, the email also included attendance buttons to respond if you planned on attending or not. I would like to think they just wanted to get an idea of how many were going to attend, but reality tells me that they needed to assign proxies out since I throwed a monkey wrench into
carrying as many proxies as they wanted. Most of the liberty caucus members decided we would not attend since the quorum threshold is higher than a regular meeting.
At a regular meeting, there only needs to be 15 members present. At a special meeting, there needs to be a majority of the PCs to make a quorum, which would be 22. While I struggled with not attending, as I promised myself and the people that voted for me that I would attend all the meetings. I sent my husband in so he could be my eyes and ears while I stood at the ready to go, if needed. The two things I worried about was they would proceed even if they didn’t have a quorum or, that they would not follow the rules on the vote if they did have a quorum. My husband let me know there were 17 present and 17 proxies, but the Chairman Wangeman called it a quorum. I came in a few minutes later and called for a Point of Inquiry. I asked the Chair why we were continuing with the meeting when we did not have a quorum. He stated that he was unaware of the higher requirement but also thought proxies counted.
Pure Pandemonium Ensued! Some of the members started texting and calling other PCs to get them to come down. The board started scouring the TFCRCC bylaws, the IDGOP rules and Robert’s Rules to see if proxies counted so they could proceed with the meeting. Vice-Chair Gretchen Clelland even called former Chair of the Idaho Republican Party, Trent Clark, for an answer, which I shot down, and that really seemed to anger her. Ultimately, almost an hour later, the Chair announced that we did not have a quorum and the meeting was adjourned. I have not heard the disposition of the two resolutions. I would think since the first vote was messy and the second attempt was blocked from even happening, they did not get sent.
CALLS TO ACTION:
Check out the TFCRCC website (TwinFallsRepublicans.com) for past agendas, attendance, minutes, and official results of roll call votes. The site is a month behind as some items cannot be posted until approved at the next meeting.
One of our Liberty Caucus members is bringing a motion to censure the members of the TFCRCC who openly promoted Yes on Prop 1 at the next meeting. Now is the time to reach out to your PC and let them know how you would like them to vote. Their job is to represent you and if they
don’t, it’s time to replace them.
Come join me at the next TFCRCC meeting is on Wednesday, December 11th at 6:30 pm in the Planning &Zoning room at County West. Come see your PC in action.
