Republican Committee Meeting Illustrates a Growing Internal Divide Revolving Around Public Library Issues

(Writer’s note: This story has been updated to correct several mistakes, including that only North River and Shenandoah District Supervisors Richard Jamieson and John Stanmeyer, respectively, were with Cheryl Cullers prior to her March 27 resignation as current WC Republican Committee members on the WC Board of Supervisors. Vicky Cook resigned from the committee a “couple of years ago”, we were informed by the committee chairman, as current Happy Creek Supervisor “Jay” Butler confirmed he also did. We also acknowledge Josh Ingram’s move from the Town Planning Commission to the Town Council.)

The Thursday, March 27th monthly meeting of the Warren County Republican Committee (WCRC) started off rather routinely with Tom McFadden Jr.’s Chairman’s report on the Rules of Order and Finances. More on that later. The Committee then took care of some New Business revolving around new members and the coming election Primary Season schedule, with some deadlines approaching as soon as April 3rd. Also mentioned were endorsements for the upcoming Warren County School Board election. Party nominations will not be made for that election, the chair noted.

With no additional update reports on the meeting agenda, McFadden introduced Hugh Henry for an announcement. That announcement was Henry’s run for the Fork District seat on the Warren County Board of Supervisors. Here, the first clue this meeting might cease to be routine was heard.

Fork District BOS candidate Hugh Henry held no punches in expressing his unhappiness with the way the Samuels Library situation has been handled by a majority of supervisors with WCRC connections. Here he takes questions on his stated opinion regarding the ‘unnecessity’ of the recently created WC Library Board, including from the self-identified husband of a WCLB member. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

Henry seeks change of direction in Fork District

Henry’s remarks included a scathing evaluation of sitting Fork District Supervisor Vicky Cook, a former WCRC member who has indicated she will not run for re-election this year. Henry’s negative appraisal of the now-independent Cook began out of an explanation of his perspective on the ongoing Samuels Library operational and funding controversy centered on a 4-person Board of Supervisors majority, minus Cheryl Cullers, and its appointed Warren County Library Board (WCLB), both of which Cook is a sitting member of.

“I originally made the mistake of supporting her. She has been dishonest and deceitful to just about everyone in my district,” Henry began, not pulling any punches, adding, “She has drug wedges all over our community. She has pitted neighbor against neighbor. I don’t wish her any harm but I would really appreciate it if she took her California politics back to California …

“I knocked on how many doors getting signatures? — But from hundreds of people, and I could not find one person who was sad that she was not running,” Henry said of his perception of the pulse of the Fork District regarding its most recent electoral representation.

“As far as the library board (WCLB), I don’t think you really need one,” Henry said, adding, “That’s another non-Republican idea. To me it’s more government, more bureacracy. It sounded like you needed a budget meeting. It should have taken about an hour to get it resolved,” Henry said of the Board of Supervisors budget questions surrounding Samuels Library’s County tax revenue funding versus its use of donations, State funding contributions, and grant acquisitions.

“I am not above holding them (Samuels Library Board of Trustees) fiscally responsible. A million dollars is a lot of money, plus another $800,000 in donations or whatever it was. For a library that’s a lot of money. But I don’t know. I didn’t see any good budget questions asked as far as numbers of employees and that kind of stuff,” Henry said critically of the county’s elected officials’ majority actions seeking library budget details.

Post adjournment, Hugh Henry mingles with committee members, from left a partially obscured Mayor Lori Cockrell, Town Councilman Josh Ingram, and Sheriff Crystal Cline.

This two-pronged, harsh appraisal grew out of Henry’s explanation of his perspective of what he called a “burner” of an issue in this community, Samuels Public Library operations and funding. “Just to be clear, I do believe in the Trump agenda. I don’t support trans-gender athletes. I think there’s only two genders. I don’t believe in mutilating kids or giving them sex hormones or anything like that. And I don’t think that kind of information should be available to children without their parents permission. So, I thought it was a good compromise to put that kind of information in an adult section,” Henry said before adding with emphasis:

“I don’t like censorship. Hitler burned books. The next guy comes in to do censorship says, ‘You can’t have this history book that’s got this flag in it’ or ‘You can’t have these books because it has this word in it.’ So, I do not like censorship. But I do like the idea of an Adult Section … But I don’t agree with adult censorship because you never know who’s going to get to do that,” Henry said of his middle of the road perspective on the Samuels Public Library book banning effort.

Cullers announces Committee resignation

If that wasn’t enough, as the meeting prepared to close after subsequent speakers cited below, current South River District Supervisor Cheryl Cullers asked to address the committee with some prepared remarks:

“I have always voted Republican and to be honest I have wanted to be a part of the Republican Committee for some time. I am a moderate conservative Republican and I am very proud of that,” Cullers began. Cullers has been the lone Samuels Public Library supporter on the current WC Board of Supervisors.

“I think I have proven I want financial accountability and oversight. I was certainly criticized enough for not approving accounts when there was no description of what the money listed was spent on,” Cullers continued with a reference to her recent history of being the lone “no” vote on the monthly Approval of Accounts agenda item presented to the supervisors without basic information on various departmental expenditures.

“I now am criticized for not going along with the attack on Samuels Public Library. I will not go along to get along when I do not and cannot agree with that direction.

“I feel like many members of this Republican Committee are, not only encouraging this direction, but have also made it an objective to be met. I cannot continue to be part of a group that goes directly against what our responsibilities as elected representatives of our individual districts are, which is to listen to the voice of the people and do our best to meet their needs.

Cheryl Cullers, standing, asked to address the committee near the meeting’s end. Her prepared statement announced her resignation from the committee due to a perceived failure of the committee to hold its two other supervisor members, Jamieson and Stanmeyer, who with Cullers would create a 3-2 board majority, accountable to the will of an apparent large majority of community supporters of Samuels Public Library across the county’s electoral districts.

“The elected supervisors from this committee have completely ignored the voice of the community,” Cullers said pointedly of her colleagues, Jamieson and Stanmeyer, with connections to the WC Republican Committee, before concluding:

“I will not be returning as a member of this committee even though my conservative beliefs will remain the same. This is the community I was raised in. I cannot abide it being torn apart in this way,” Cullers concluded of her disappointment in her board colleagues, including its two fellow Republican Committee members.

As noted above, with Cullers those two colleagues could form a majority pushing against the effort to end a 226-year relationship dating to 1799 when the independent entity that became Samuels Public Library became the second State-certified public library in Virginia. It is a public library, which perhaps tellingly from the widespread public support Cullers’ supervisor colleagues either now independent or Republican, seem unable to hear, currently reigns as Virginia’s 2024 Library of the Year.

Wow, talk about a one-two punch to business as usual. It would seem that Hugh Henry and Cheryl Cullers have issued a challenge to WCRC membership, elected, seeking nomination for an electoral run, or pondering who to support in the coming county elections. That challenge would seem to be to expand one’s perspective on current Samuels Public Library criticism publicly termed at worst “lies” and at best a “lack of comprehension” of readily available materials regarding Samuels Library’s actual operations and funding parameters.

So much for routine business. Oh, wait — not so fast.

Routine Business

During his opening Chairman’s Report Tom McFadden Jr. did note a change, in that future District or Executive Committee member reports would only be included by pre-request to the Chairman prior to the meeting’s start.

Crowd shot as WCRC’s April meeting gets underway. Post meeting it was observed that the membership seating seemed divided into two-sections, perhaps reflecting a philosophical divide on issues raised during the meeting.

With annual membership dues coming in, the chairman noted an increase in the committee’s financial balance to $6,844.54, up from $4,589.74 in February. That increase may come in handy as McFadden noted that as of April 30, the committee headquarters at 119 Water Street, which has been donated rent free, would be lost. The committee is pondering the necessity of acquiring a replacement headquarters, McFadden said.

Pending a decision on that, perhaps ironically considering Culler’s comments on the reason for her resigning from the committee, monthly committee meetings were initially being targeted for a free meeting room at Samuels Public Library, McFadden reported. The Villa Avenue Community Center meeting room they were in for the April meeting, was also cited as a potential backup meeting venue.

Other speakers addressing the County Republican Committee at its March meeting included 6th Congressional District Chairman John Massoud. He addressed general district and statewide issues, as well as overwhelming support of 6th District Congressman Ben Cline.

Virginia 6th District Republican Chairman John Massoud addressed general district and statewide issues as primary deadlines approach. He added a glowing assessment of current 6th District Congressman Ben Cline as ‘the best in the nation’.

Lisa Mauck, a former WCRC chairman who is working on Lt. Governor Winsome Sears campaign for the governor’s seat, addressed that campaign to keep the governor’s seat in Republican control.

Present, but not addressing the committee, was Cam Williams who verified a run for nomination to become the committee’s candidate for the Happy Creek District Board of Supervisors seat. Current Happy Creek representative and county board chairman “Jay” Butler appears to be on the fence on a run for re-election.