Dec 1, 2006

Local GOP convention chooses leaders in secret smoke-filled back room behind barred doors

According to the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, “Allan Filip was chosen as the new leader of the Livingston County Republican Party Thursday at its convention at the historic Livingston County Courthouse in Howell.”

The real telling important and telling detail was this from the article, “The news media were not allowed into the meeting.” Have you ever heard of any party convention where the local newspapers were barred from a convention, be it county or state convention? Me either. So much for openness and transparency for the local Republican Party. I wonder what they have to hide?

I really don’t know much about Allan Filip. The only thing I could find, if its the same Allan Filip, is he ran for Washtenaw County Commissioner from Ypsilanti in 2002, but he got only 29 percent of the vote.

The other officers elected were Russell Spencer as recording secretary; Allan Herdman as treasurer; Rick Pine, husband of Cindy Pine, as database secretary; and Jay Drick as treasurer of the Lincoln Club, which puts on the party's annual Lincoln Day Dinner.
Other members of the executive committee — which also includes 18 county- and state-level Republican elected officials — elected Thursday were Vicki Fyke, Bruce Hundley, Anne Belser, Debi Drick, Cindy Pine, Bill McCririe, Miles Vieau, Bill Vailliencourt, Teri Olsen, Sue Dolato, Cindy Denby and Lana Theis.

For the most part, these are quality people that I know, but there are a few I’m not so sure about. The sad part is blogger and wing nut Dan Wholihan AKA “republican michigander, is no longer on the executive committee. We could use more people with his mindset on the committee.

It’s funny, back when the local GOP put out the disgusting judicial questionnaire last summer when it took the unusual step of endorsing in a nonpartisan race, Filip and former chair Cindy Pine told candidates not to answer the biased questionnaire, but Wholihan took the opposite position, saying they choose to not answer it “at their own peril.”

Now he apparently supports him; saying, “He's not an extremist, nor a liberal (how can a republican ever hope to be a liberal?). He's a mainstream conservative and oftentimes filled the role being a consensus builder while he was vice-chair. That's what we need in a chair.” The Democrats will miss people of his ilk.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're right, Guru --- it's amazing they didn't let the media inside. They barred reporters from a political convention? Who does that?

Will the County Democrats allow reporters inside when Matthew Evans is elected?

Communications guru said...

The Livingston County Democratic Party has never barred the media from a convention. The leader will be chosen at the annul holiday party not the convention, but if the media was barred today it would be a first.

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Anonymous said...

What can you expect from the biggest bunch of losers on the planet?
They didn't want the Press Argus there because the paper didn't back Jay Drick for District Judge. That clown tried to turn a non partisan ballot into a family values, Republican one. He's a three time loser, don't doubt he'll run and lose again.
Also, Republicans didn't want outsiders there because they have nothing good to say about anyone outside of their close knit, secret family. They look down on everybody who's not a Republican.
They're scum and the world's worst people. Thank god they are losing power everywhere (except this little backwards GOP haven called Livingston County).