Listen to audio taken from Saturday’s meeting of the West Virginia Republican Party‘s County Chair Caucus at the Blennerhasset Hotel in Parkersburg, W.Va. below this post.

Frustration at the leadership of West Virginia’s Republican Party boiled over at a recent meeting of the chairs for the state’s county GOP executive committees.

Due to the icy conditions less than half of the chairs, 17, were able to make it. West Virginia Watchdog was able to obtain audio of a portion of the meeting, except for the remarks of West Virginia Republican Executive Committee Chair Doug McKinney, who gave an explaination for the leasing of an expensive new headquarters near the Captol Complex along Kanawah Blvd. in Charleston, W.Va.

According to sources, McKinney said the lease was legit because the steering committee and the financial resources allocation committee were both involved in the discussions, but both of those committees are staffed with supporters of McKinney. The headquarters, located at 5 Greenbrier St., is costing the party $2,600 a month.

McKinney admitted that the party was using part of a $90,047.02 investment CD to pay the lease. This CD was acquired from the sale of the Party’s headquarters in South Charleston, which was purchased with corporate donations. The party could be in violation of McCain-Feingold campaign finance laws because money from the sale of that building can only be used to purchase another building. McKinney requested an opinion from the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) after already using money from the CD. McKinney told the County Chairs Caucus that he expects an opinion from the FEC within 60 days, but if the FEC rules unfavorably it could mean substantial fines for the WVGOP, which is already broke.

The party had $18,880.78 in cash on hand as of Jan. 1, 2009. The party started off the reporting period, beginning on Oct. 1, 2009, with $2,717.12 in cash on hand. They raised $11,393 in donations for the month, but paid out $6,032.27 in bills. As of Oct. 31, 2009, the party has $8,077.85 in cash on hand and $39,972 of debts.

Part of the complaints of the County Chairs stem from having very little say in the major decisions of the WVGOP. The group was not consulted when McKinney rehired Gary Abernathy as Executive Director last year; a job he previously held under former State Chair Kris Warner. The caucus was not consulted on the hiring of current Executive Director Troy Berman, nor were they consulted on the leasing of the new headquarters or the use of the CD. According to an email sent to the county chairs from Caucus Chairman Joe Garcia, the group is planning to strengthen their organization by drawing up by-laws and electing officers.

“The County Chair Caucus…discussed the need to formalize our group to include the formulation of By-Laws and the election of officers,” wrote Garcia. “These processes will be addressed at the February meeting. Hopefully we can walk into the meeting with some firm ideas on what we want in the By-Laws.”

Sources also confirmed that the caucus plans to propose changes to the West Virginia Republican Executive Committee by-laws to weaken the power of the state chair.

In the audio posted below, Executive Director Berman argues with the caucus over the need to two meetings placed a month a part. Berman explained McKinney’s position that the regular Summer Meeting and the reorganizational meeting for the newly elected state committee members should not occur at the same meeting, while the caucus expressed the opinion that having the two meetings together instead of separate is better and easier. The following exchange shows the split between party leadership at the state level versus the grassroots leadership at the county level.

Below the audio is a transcript of the back and forth between Berman and the caucus. Some of the speakers are identified, but others are unknown. If you know who is speaking, please inform West Virginia Watchdog at steven@westvirginiawatchdog.org or by leaving a comment and we will update the transcript. The audio was broken into two chunks. The only editing that has occurred has been to combine the two files and into remove any loud sounds.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO!

Unknown: Can you tell us why we’re having two summer meetings?

Troy Berman, Executive Director, WVGOP, Inc.: We’re not having two summer meetings. We’re having three meetings next year.

(The Winter Meeting will be March 20, 2009, in Huntington; the Summer Meeting will be June 4, 2009, in Summersville; and a reorganizational meeting is being planned in Morgantown at the end of July to prepare the newly elected party chairman and committee members. The last two meetings mentioned caused the most controversy at the meeting.)

Berman: The new meeting is not a summer meeting where we talk about how we’re going to turn out the vote and do all the things that are necessary to win this election year. That is electing a new chairman, electing new officers, and building the next four years of the state party. The reason we’re separating those two meetings is because normally in years past it’s clearly evident there’s going to be a contested race for chairmanship and a contested battle. What we don’t want is for those issues, as important as they are, to overtake imporant work we need to do during the summer meeting to prepare for the Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort in the fall of 2010. That’s why we decided to separate them and spread them around the state to give everyone an opportunity to get involved.

Unknown: In the agenda of the June 4th meeting do they have time allotted for a chair meeting such as this?

Berman: At all three of those meetings there will be an opportunity for the County Chairs Caucus to meet separately, independent of the State Executive Committee.

Unknown: I would suggest, and I know there are several people in here that agree with me, that we forgo a chairman’s meeting at the July meeting, not have a June meeting, and have one meeting in July.

Unknown: One of the problems is we have trouble getting people to one meeting. Knowing that, to get people to come out for two meetings – to get enough people out to actually have a vote. Then the cost of those meetings; it costs $1,500 I’m sure to pull off one meeting, and that’s meeting room rental and that kind of stuff. Then the cost of everyone traveling to the places where the meetings are, and I think that’s the concern about having two meetings back to back, month to month. We just want to make sure that we have a huge group there that’s willing to come and I don’t think we’ll get it with two meetings.

Berman: I don’t think it will be problematic getting a lot of people to show up at an elections meeting. We will be scheduling training and whatnot to entice people to come to Summersville. One of the promises Chairman McKinney made when he first ran for chairman was to spread those meetings out and give everyone around the state an opportunity to participate. I recognize the additional cost and additional burden, but…we’re talking about three times a year.

Beverly Lockhart, Chair, Wood County Republican Executive Committee: You say the June meeting is about getting out the vote, but…the people coming in July will be the new committee people. I’m not understanding, because why not do it all in July?

Berman: We did want to separate those two things from one another. We don’t the excitement and disorganization of putting a new committee in place to overtake the planning that is necessary to put our GOTV programs in place. That being said, even though they are two different bodies let’s recognize that a lot of the same folks – 80 to 90 percent of those on the committee – are going to run for re-election and will be on the new committee. I recognize some will be there in July will not be voting members in June. However, given that the primary is in May, the folks that are elected in May and won’t take office until July will be invited to participate in all those programs.

Group: But they can’t vote.

Berman: There are other things we do at meetings other than voting that are important. A lot of that has to do with planning and organizing.

State Sen. Donna Boley, Chair, Pleasants County Republican Executive Committee: Why don’t we have that meeting you’re talking about in June the first of August?

Berman: We can’t. The by-laws require that the reorganization meeting – it’s actually referred to as the reorganizational meeting – in an election year must occur within the month of July. They also require within a series of time frames when the summer meeting is.

Lockhart: You can have one between June 1st and September 1st. And one between December 21st and March 21st. I refer to Article 12, Meetings of the Committee, Section 2.

Boley: I would suggest you move your July meeting back to the first or second week of July. Then do the second one after that. You’re wasting your time if you do it your way.

Melody Potter, Chair, Kanawha County Republican Executive Committee: I think some of the suggestions were good, including the two-day meeting. I just think it would be using good wisdom to let whoever the new chairman is when he is elected take part in the direction (the party is) going to take. I know we don’t have much time, but most campaigns don’t really kick off until Labor Day anyway. I would like the new chairman be able to have input in that. Having said that, in the past, especially in 2008 – and I’m not saying this to be mean – but Doug (Doug McKinney, Chair, West Virginia Republican Executive Committee) was AWOL during the elections. There were things I tried to contact him about and he wouldn’t take a stand on. I would hate to see that happen again because there is so much riding on this election.

Berman: I don’t think it’s right for me to hamstring whoever the next chairman is and require them to have their team up and running  and full in force two weeks after they’ve been elected and expect that to come off perfectly. I’d be disinclined to go with that solution. In regards to having the new chairperson, whoever they are, set what they want to do, there is nothing precluding them from doing that. Once you’re chair it’s at the discretion of the chair, according to by-laws, when they hold meetings. They’re already required to hold a certain amount of meetings a year; a summer and winter meeting. But they are entitled to call a meeting with a minimum 10-days notice. The next chairperson, when they’re sworn in in July can decide if they want to have a August, September, October, or November meeting. That’s up to their discretion; it certainly isn’t right for me to determine before that person is elected, whoever they may be, when they’re going to hold their meetings and what they’re going to do at them. We’re kind of hamstrung by the way the by-laws are set up right now, unless you think it’s appropriate for the current administration to set, for the new administration that isn’t even elected yet, when those meetings are and what’s being done at those meetings and the format they take.

Unknown: But you’re already doing that by telling people how to get out the vote for the newcoming committee.

Berman: It would be foolish of us not to prepare for the elections. Everything we do this year is going to be in preparation for the 2010 elections.

Unknown: You’re assuming that all us are going to still be here.

Berman: No I’m not, I’m assuming that the majority of you will still be here.

Unknown: You’re assuming also that no one has new ideas on the way we want to get out our vote. I will not be attending because it will be redundant. Why preach to the choir when you’re got new people coming on board?

Berman: (yelling) I want to get the folks already involved more active, more involved, and better at what they’re already doing. And I want to get the new folks, who haven’t yet had the opportunity, at the state level.

Crosstalk

Berman: We’re not asking you to do less, we’re asking you to do more.

Unknown: You’re assuming everyone is going to get reelected as chairmen.

Berman: No I’m not. But just because you’re not reelected chairman doesn’t mean you’re going to drop off the face of the Earth and no longer be involved with the Republican Party, does it? You tell me; if you’re no longer chair of your committee, does that mean you’re going to stop being involved? We’re asking you to step up and do more.

Unknown: But you’re asking people to go two months in a row. Some of us have to travel as far away as Summersville then a month later travel to wherever it’s going to be in July. I just don’t see why you don’t do it in one two-day meeting.

Berman: It would be at opposite ends of the state. You’re only having to travel far once.

Unknown: The problem is money. We want to appear fiscally responsible.

Berman: But being fiscally responsible is about spending money when things are important. Look at what happened today. There was a schedule laid out, which we’re overrunning, where we had to cut things from in a one-day period. That’s just a county chair meeting and less than half the county chairs showed up.

Lockhart: It was because of weather only Troy.

Berman: The point is there is always more to do than time available. Why would limit ourselves in the time provided?

Unknown: You’re limiting yourself if you do one day in June and one day in July. It’s still a day.

Berman: I cannot refute the logic of that argument.

Unknown: The county chairs don’t elect their own officers until July, correct? You said you’d invite the new county chairs to the meeting in June. How do you do that?

Berman: Not the new county chairs, the new members of the state executive committee who will all be elected at the May primary.

Unknown: They don’t take office in July.

Berman: But they’ll be elected in May. We know who they are.

Unknown: But the counties haven’t had their elections yet. Every county has multiple vacancies and they’re required by law to fill those.

Berman: But if we wait on everybody to be fully up and staffed we’re going to lose valuable time. It’s an election year and it’s important to get as much time as possible on out GOTV operations…as we humanly can. If we don’t try to squeeze every single minute out of every single day out of every single week, then we’re kidding ourselves about our successes.

Unknown: People, he (Troy) is doing what Doug has already decided, so let it go and move on.

Berman: I don’t want to make it like a dictate, I’m trying to explain our rationale.  And I do take back everything you’re telling me to Doug and tell him what the county chairs said and want. I’m just trying to tell you what our position is right now.

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