GOP officials claim July 28 vote suspending Baker County executive committee invalid

Aug. 3—Suzan Ellis Jones, longtime chair of the Baker County Republican Party, contends a July 28 vote to suspend her and other executive committee members and elect a temporary committee and chair violated a party bylaw and thus is not valid.

Jones and Vance Day, former chair of the Oregon Republican Party, said in a Monday, Aug. 1 interview that due to the lack of a quorum of the county GOP executive committee during the July 28 meeting at the Baker County Library, the votes are a "nullity," meaning the results aren't official.

During that meeting, elected Republican precinct committee persons (PCPs) voted to suspend for 60 days the county party's six-member executive committee, including Jones, and to investigate complaints made about Jones.

PCPs also appointed a temporary executive committee to serve during the suspension, and to schedule a meeting to consider recalling from office the entire executive committee.

But Jones and Day say that because just two executive committee members, including Jones, attended the July 28 meeting, there was not a quorum, which requires a minimum of three members of the executive committee.

Article 4, Section B of the Baker County Republican Central Committee bylaws states: "No business shall be conducted at any meeting of the Central Committee until a quorum is present. Three (3) members of the Executive Committee must be present to be a quorum."

As a result, Day said, the PCPs could only have a discussion but could not conduct official business, such as voting to temporarily suspend the executive committee.

Day, who led the first part of the July 28 meeting at the behest of the executive committee, said the same thing during the meeting, telling PCPs that the lack of a quorum of the executive committee negated any votes or other official decisions.

But PCP Dan Johnson suggested during the July 28 meeting that because the meeting was called by the central committee, not the executive committee, the PCPs attending could decide, by a two-thirds vote, to suspend the bylaw requiring a quorum.

Section 16 of the Baker County GOP bylaws states: "These bylaws may be amended, altered, or repeated by a two-thirds majority of the certified precinct committeepersons present and voting at a duly called meeting of the Central Committee provided that notice of the proposed amendments, alterations or repeal shall be given with the official notice of the meeting. The Secretary must include a copy of the proposed amendment with the meeting notice."

Johnson prepared a proposed agenda for the July 28 meeting that included amending the bylaws to override the requirement for a quorum of the executive committee.

He also wrote in a memo that Jones also prepared an agenda for the meeting.

"Before the meeting convenes, it must be determined by the Central Committee which agenda they wish to support," Johnson wrote.

Day, however, contends that the bylaw requiring a quorum of the executive committee takes precedent over the bylaw that Johnson cited at the meeting, allowing a vote to amend the bylaws.

"The quorum requirement stretches throughout the entire bylaws, meaning, to have a meeting that has official business to be conducted, you must have a quorum," Day said.

During the July 28 meeting, more than two-thirds of PCPs present voted to drop the quorum requirement, per Article 16. Jones and a handful of others voted against that motion. Jones then left the meeting along with Day.

Following their departure, PCPs voted to temporarily suspend the executive committee, appoint a temporary committee, and call for the investigation of Jones.

But Day said on Monday that even though the votes took place, they don't count.

"They had the capacity, because we had a meeting, to decide to go ahead and have a vote, so they had a vote," Day said. "But they had no authority to do it so it has no effect."

"That meeting essentially accomplished nothing of lasting value, essentially," he said.

Johnson disagrees.

He contends that the July 28 decisions are valid and that the temporary executive committee, with himself as chair, is in office.

The executive board of which Jones is a member was up for reelection in November. PCPs, who are elected by voters in their geographic districts, choose executive committee members.

Day said his goal is to help the GOP get through the November election.

Republicans hope to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives and, in Oregon, to elect the state's first Republican governor in 40 years.

"Whatever they (the Baker County PCPs) decide in November is what they decide in November, but don't blow up the party prematurely," Day said on Monday. "Why do this now? Let's just get together, we'll see you in November, let's move forward with our plans. But evidently there was a group of people that just didn't agree with that."

Jones encouraged Republicans to come together.

"This is an election year. We need to be circling the wagons to get Republicans elected, but now we're wasting time on all this negative stuff," she said on Monday.