January 26, 2023
For more information about the situation, see THE EL PASO FIASCO.🔗
On Jan 26, 2023, at 7:02 PM, Mr. Todd Watkins <xxxxxxxxx>; wrote:
Victor canvassing. Sorensen works there…this is a coworker. They have made a lot of dough on campaigning for the Peak Republicans🔗…advertising, petitioning. A moneyed interest in our political system, should not be part of the CRC or the county CC because of conflicts of interest. Any group that believes it can make more financially if one group wins out in a dispute can’t be a fair judge of the dispute. Sorensen is a bonus member. Not sure about this Laugensen guy.
On Thu, Jan 26, 2023 at 18:56 Maurice Emmer <xxxxxxxxx>; wrote:
From: Huey Laugesen <xxxxxxxxx>;
Date: January 26, 2023 at 1:50:16 PM MST
To: (SCC Member) <xxxxxxxxx>;
Subject: Vote "Yes" to give El Paso a fair election
Dear SCC Members:
You might have seen an email from Joel Sorensen yesterday giving an example of Vickie Tonkins attempting to rig an election. Like Joel, although I am not a member of the Peak Republicans, I support their request for a neutral chairman to oversee the El Paso County reorganization meeting. Vickie has proven herself incapable of running a fair county party election.
Here's another example of her unfairness and appallingly bad judgment.
On the Saturday before the 2022 election, most county parties were making one final push to Get Out The Vote. In El Paso County, by contrast, Republican Chair Vickie Tonkins was holding a special central committee meeting for the purpose of censuring other El Paso County Republicans. Their supposed misdeed? They had associated with a group of Republican volunteers who had organized themselves (gasp!) outside of the El Paso County Republican Party.
The 20 or so individuals censured included the impeccably conservative Dave Donelson, our Republican nominee in House District 16. Three days before the 2022 election, Donelson had to deal with news stories explaining that his own party had censured him. In the end, Donelson lost his race by narrowest of margins.
Vickie's decision to hold this meeting was an act of political malpractice so egregious that the State Party subsequently censured her over it.
Read an article about the incident here: https://krdo.com/news/2022/12/09/el-paso-county-republicans-respond-to-the-censure-of-chairwomen-vickie-tonkins/
Because Vickie Tonkins can't be trusted to run the reorganization meeting with fairness and integrity, I urge you to please vote "yes" to appoint a neutral chairman to oversee the El Paso County reorganization meeting.
Best,
Huey Laugesen
Republican Volunteer
El Paso County Republican Party
On Thu, Jan 26, 2023 at 6:36 PM Maurice Emmer <xxxxxxxxx>; wrote:
Motions that should be made at the meeting:
To adjourn
To remove the chair of the meeting for conflict of interest
To appoint a substitute parliamentarian
To strike all allegations that do not provide the dates of the alleged events and the date of first reporting to the state chair and that do not indicate compliance with the two week rule
Best regards,
Maurice Emmer
The cavalry is not coming. We are the cavalry.
Thanks for the free trial to Communism. I’d like to cancel now.
(typpos by Appplle)
This email is First Class
On Jan 26, 2023, at 6:12 PM, Mr. and Mrs. Todd Watkins <xxxxxxxxx>; wrote:
Here is the allegation by the 13 Pikes Peak United Republicans (PPUR) against the El Paso County GOP that is the basis for disenfranchising 65 PCPs that were seated after caucus. These were vacant PCP spots that the El Paso County GOP filled after the caucus meetings in February 2022:
e) While the El Paso County Bylaws require consultation with a division leader before a vacant precinct leader spot is filled, Chairwoman Tonkins appoints precinct leaders at will, with no consultation. This is in clear violation of the bylaws.
Here is the part of the El Paso County GOP bylaws they allege the El Paso County GOP violated (7.04):
A. After consultation with any incumbent precinct leader and division leader, the members of the Vacancy Committee shall select a successor to fill any vacancy in the office of precinct leader.
Assuming that the PCPs who filled the vacancies are registered as Republicans in the relevant precincts, and given the fact that the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary serve as the PCP vacancy committee, what the 13 PPUR are alleging is that the consultation with ANY incumbent precinct leader and division leader did not happen. To be clear, in order for a PCP vacancy to be filled, the PCP vacancy committee (consisting of the chairperson, vice-chairperson, and secretary of the El Paso County GOP as per 7.04 (C)(2)) shall consult with ANY incumbent PCP and ANY incumbent division leader. Let it be known that those volunteers who are recruiting volunteers to fill PCP vacancies are, in fact, incumbent PCPs and division leaders. And due to the desertion of Karl Schneider from his post as vice-chairperson, the vacancy committee now consists of the chairperson and the secretary. This is another unfounded allegation against a dedicated and well-meaning county party led by a dedicated and well-meaning party chairperson.