Six Ada County Republican Central Committee officers resigned Thursday, citing the state GOP’s “current political climate and direction” as the reason for their departure.
Chairman Victor Miller, First Vice Chair Megan Reichle, Second Vice Chair Travis Clyde, Third Vice Chair Barrett Tetlow, Treasurer Dave Litster, and State Committeewoman Kim Wickstrum, resigned, a press release announced Thursday night.
“During the last 39 months, the Ada County Republican Central Committee achieved great heights,” Miller said in the release, “raising nearly $600,000 in funds and helping to capture all 9 Ada County Officers seats for the first time since 2008, elect Republicans in every city in Ada County, win solid majorities for many State Senators and Representatives and flip the West Ada School board to Republican control. But given the state GOP’s current political climate and direction, it has become impossible to lead in Ada County effectively.”
The officers gave five main reasons that they were leaving. They said the Idaho GOP was moving toward “vetting and endorsement of candidates by small groups of party insiders.” The group also said that the party’s policies will inhibit growth by imposing a “purity waiting period” on new Republicans to vote in party elections.
This summer, a rule was approved that requires voters who have been affiliated with another party within the previous 12 months to wait another 12 months to affiliate with the Republican Party, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.
The former officers also said the state party was holding “tribunals” to censure elected party members rather than “allowing voters to reject candidates during re-election at the ballot box.”
This summer, Rep. Lori McCann, R-Lewiston, was censured by three county Republican central committees over her voting record, the Lewiston Tribune reported, related to libraries, what was known as the “drag show bill,” vaccine prohibitions, absentee voting, and property taxes.
McCann vocally opposed the controversial HB 314, which created civil penalties for libraries that make “harmful materials” available to minors.
The officers in the press release said the state party collects dues, which they argued takes away from campaign resources; they also allege the party has not been transparent with how it spends the money paid in dues. The group also accused the state party of using bullying tactics to maintain control.
“The energy of the Party is more about infighting than collaboration — more about beating each other than beating Democrats,” the release said.
“We can no longer support this system. We hope that when the State GOP’s intentions and tactics are fully brought to light, the ship can be “righted” to include all Republicans and to return power to the voters and the counties.”
The Idaho GOP did not respond to a request for comment by press time.