County Republicans avoid continuation of tensions over recent meeting speaker gaff

A “Tempest in a Teapot” over former conservative independent Happy Creek District county supervisors candidate Bruce Townshend’s remarks at a May 1 Young Republicans Club organizational event was avoided at the Thursday, May 27th monthly meeting of the Warren County Republican Committee (WCRC).

Co-Young Republican (that’s 18 to 40) event organizer Wendy Kurtz apologized to Republican Happy Creek District nominee “Jay” Butler; Butler accepted Kurtz’s apology; and Tim Ratigan apologized to the committee as a whole, including Young Republican Club event hosts Mike and Melanie Salins, for going outside the committee chain of command in raising an objection to the independent opponent of the committee’s nominee being allowed to speak and reference his campaign at the Young Republican event.

Mistakes have been made – But it’s all good now, seemed to be the prevailing message of Thursday night’s Warren County Republican Committee meeting, illustrated here by a post-meeting pose by, from left, Melanie Salins, Tim Ratigan and Mike Salins. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

As former committee chairman Steve Kurtz, Wendy’s husband, told Royal Examiner several days earlier it was all a mistake, a quickly re-directed one once Townshend’s remarks turned toward his candidacy for the Happy Creek supervisors seat committee member Tony Carter appears poised to vacate this year.

At Thursday’s meeting, Wendy Kurtz verified that she didn’t know who Townshend was when he responded to an offer for guests not on the official speakers’ list to make remarks later in the meeting attended by over 150 people. But when Townshend’s remarks turned toward the Happy Creek campaign, he was quickly informed remarks were supposed to focus on the direction and organization of the new Young Republicans Club, to which he then complied.

However, a major in-house brouhaha appeared in the making after a story written by former committee member Tom Sayre in a local paper on Townshend’s withdrawal from the race featured highly critical quotes by WCRC Chairman John Smith regarding Townshend’s appearance and remarks at the Young Republican event. While allied politically, it was explained to Royal Examiner by Steve Kurtz that the Young Republicans are not officially under the organizational umbrella of the WCRC. Townshend withdrew from the race due to Hatch Act prohibitions on federal employees running for office in partisan political elections. Once a political party forwarded a nominee in the Happy Creek District, Townshend became ineligible to run.

“It was a beautiful event! You should have come!!! I won’t participate in making a non-issue into an issue,” Sayre reported Melanie Salins texting him in response to a query on Townshend’s presence at the Young Republican event at her family home.

“Chairman Smith reacted by stating, ‘This is a big issue because it undermines everything we do. It does not look good on us at all … People should know better, and for her (Salins) to keep justifying it, she either does not understand or I do not know what. She just does not get it. The Warren County Republicans and the WCRC will not think it is a non-issue,’ Smith said,” Sayre wrote in the Late May edition of the WC-FC Report.

But by Thursday evening, May 27, as noted above, the mood had shifted toward reconciliation.

Above, from left, WCRC Vice-Chair Vicky Cook, Chairman John Smith, and Treasurer Amber Morris oversaw a wide-ranging committee meeting as election season 2021 approaches. Below, Wendy Kurtz admitted mistakes and apologized to Happy Creek Committee nominee ‘Jay’ Butler’s for the brief campaigning done by a former independent opponent at May 1 Young Republican organizational meeting – Apology accepted.

“I’ve come up here because I want to specifically look at Jay and say, Jay, I am so sorry. Please accept my apology,” Wendy Kurtz told the committee’s Happy Creek supervisors nominee, adding,

“And I want you to know that I’m 100% for getting you elected. And any candidate that gets the nomination or endorsement by this committee, that’s my commitment, to get them elected. So, I hope you can accept my apology.”

“I do,” Butler replied.

“Thank you so much, I appreciate it,” Kurtz responded, leading to a rousing round of applause from the 28 committee members signed in to the meeting. Continuing to acknowledge her mistake, Kurtz suggested the committee more clearly present and explain bylaws for newer members, as she termed herself, to help explain procedural guidelines and standards to try and avoid such mistakes in the future.

A short time later, Ratigan rose to address the committee. Acknowledging a role in putting the Townshend speaking issue “out there” he observed, “I being a Navy veteran, I should be ashamed of myself because I have always been taught to follow the chain of command … I’m going to come forward and tell you right here and now, I was the one who asked the question publicly. That was the wrong way to go about it.

“I want to apologize to Wendy, definitely want to apologize to Melanie and Mike. These people have joined the committee all gung ho, volunteering and just putting their hearts and soul into it.

And I want to give them the credit where it is due,” Ratigan said. He added that rather than taking the issue public, he should have gone straight to Committee Chairman Smith to allow it to be dealt with internally, rather than in a public forum.

Building on Wendy Kurtz’s earlier observation about procedural information for new members, Ratigan suggested that new member committee sponsors be tasked with educating those they sponsor on procedural and related matters.

When Ratigan finished, Wendy Kurtz returned the favor extended to her earlier by “Jay” Butler, telling Ratigan – “I accept your apology” before continuing on the theme of bylaws, and new member orientation to bylaws and procedural standards. Committee Vice-Chair Vicky Cook told the membership she would oversee the activation of the Bylaw Committee.

At the conclusion of that discussion a past chairman and on-again, off-again committee officer Matt Tederick told the membership: “I’ve never been more proud to be a Republican Committee member than I am tonight,” leading to another round of applause from the membership.

Let’s all just get along was the mood of the evening for assembled Republicans.

The balance of the nearly hour-and-a-half meeting was occupied with more mundane matters, including magisterial district chairman reports, including two chair vacancies; how to proceed with ZOOM meeting connections and other sound issues at meetings; committee updates – including a regretful farewell to two members preparing to move to Arizona; and on the less mundane front a schedule of events and dates leading up to the November elections. Among those were a fundraising Fishing Tournament targeted for early July; a candidates forum and endorsement date in mid-June; a site for the annual Pig Roast; and a revisiting of last year’s gun fundraiser – make sure you call it a “sweepstakes”, not a “raffle” Commonwealth Attorney John Bell informed the membership of legal guidelines on such things.

It was noted that in addition to statewide races this year, the Fork and Happy Creek District seats were up for election on the county board of supervisors, while only one council seat was on the town election schedule. That is due to the special election to fill now Mayor Chris Holloway’s former council seat for the final year of its term that is now held by a still legally disputed council appointment of Jacob Meza.

Near the meeting’s end, last election cycle unsuccessful town council candidate Bruce Rappaport introduced himself to the committee and noted he would be running in that special election for the council seat. Tederick, seated in the rear of the room with Mayor Holloway, asked if Rappaport was seeking to join the committee.

“Sure,” Rappaport responded.

Bruce Rappaport said he would join the committee before his second run for town council in two years.

Following a brief wrap-up, a group sigh of relief soon greeted the motion for adjournment.