Twin Falls Co. Republican Central Committee October Meeting Recap

By Leslie Wolff, Precinct Committeeman, TF #14

Greetings Liberty Lovers,
And I thought it could not get any worse! When I was installed as TF14’s Precinct Committeeman, the TFCRCC’s elected Tom Wangeman as our Chairman. I have already had run-ins with him, especially trying to get him to respond to emails and answer questions, but I found myself missing him at this last meeting. I know, color me shocked, too! Tom attended the TFCRCC Executive Board meeting before the Central Committee, but then he left, leaving us with the vice-Chair, Gretchen Clelland, to run the meeting. I found myself actually missing the Chairman; it is true, you should be thankful for what you have because it can always be worse.

PCs Missing in Action

Why do people run to be a PC if they are not going to come to meetings? There are 44 PCs on the TFCRCC, and the bylaws state there only needs to be 15 for a quorum. We came close to not meeting that low benchmark this month. At the time the roll was called, there were 17 PCs present. I have looked back at the attendance since the new 2024 PCs were installed and found some interesting statistics:

• Eight PCs have not returned since the reorganizational meeting.
• Precincts: Maroa, TF2, TF4, TF13, TF16, TF17, TF18 & TF19) and Carla Critchfield, Buhl 4 PC and member of the Buhl School Board, has not been to one meeting.

More Robert’s Rules Drama

According to Robert’s Rules, the Chair should ask for corrections (which has not been done) or allow discussion of the motion before the minutes are accepted. I continue to point out mistakes made on the minutes submitted for approval, which seems to upset our “establishment” friends, because the acting Chair would not recognize me from the floor to present the corrections this month. Is it worth being a bur in the side of these folks or should I just go along to get along? I feel, ignoring the right thing to do, big things as well as little, is what got our local Central Committee into the trouble it is in. The minutes are supposed to be correct, and I will not sit back when there are mistakes.

The Establishment Bends the Bylaws

“We’re not like super lotta money in the bank” was how Treasurer, Ruth Pierce, let us know that while the balance shows over $47k in the bank, that does not reflect the $10k that was spent to fight Proposition 1 or the prepayment money needed for the 2025 Lincoln Day Dinner event. I did question why payments were made for the fair and the BBQ without proper approval from the Committee. I was told it was approved in the Executive Board meeting. I pointed out that according to the TFCRCC Bylaws, Article 8, Section 3, that money can only be authorized in by the Executive Board in an emergency, and then must be brought for ratification to the next Committee at the next meeting. Again, it’s the
“establishment” not playing by the rules.

Call to Action

 If you live in any of the Precincts and are represented (or I should say NOT represented) by any of the listed PCs, reach out to them and ask why they ran to be your rep, yet don’t bother to come to any meetings.

To find your Precinct Committeeman, click here.

 The next TFCRCC meeting is on Wednesday, November 13th at 6:30 pm in the Planning & Zoning room at County West. It is open to the public; come and meet your PC, and see how they are working for you.