Editor’s Note: The Cleveland County GOP, the Rogue Republicans, the Snub-licans, are at it again!!! Just like in the 2022 School Board Elections!!! The CC GOP’s official “Holy Bible”, their so-called “Plan Of Organization,” again, just like in 2022, is nothing more than scraps of soiled and dirty toilet paper. Rules, Regulations and Guidelines said to set high ethical standards for the Republican Party, but which mean nothing, absolutely nothing, when the rubber meets the road at Election Times. This Election time is the 2024 Elections for the County Commissions as well as the CCS School Board Primary Elections.
Folks, let’s start with a “reminder” of the dirty tricks of the Snub-licans in the 2022 School Board Elections. Robert A reports this as a reminder, as the 2022 Elections are too recent to call a “history.” But, just like History, it is repeating itself. Right under your noses! Note that Robert A, just like in 2022, stands apart from the crookedness, mean-spiritedness and corruption of the CC GOP / Snub-licans. These Cleveland County Snub-licans never seem to learn their lessons. Hey, a few new faces, but all the same old Snub-lican dirty tricks.
Actually, the bad seeds of the Rogue Republicans arose from the 2020 Elections when the CC GOP “darlings”: Robert Queen, Joel Shores, Rodney Fitch, Ron Humphries and Greg Taylor were elected to the CCS School Boards on their false promises to bring “Transparency” to the School Board after generations of Democratic Party control.
Also, after the 2020 Republican Party Primary Elections for the Cleveland County Commissioners, Tommy McNeilly was elected as one of the three Republican Candidates. McNeilly was then given a high-level and high paying job with the CC EMS and resigned as a Commissioner candidate for the 2020 General Elections. The CC GOP “Executive Committee”, instead of selecting one of the two other 2020 Republican Candidates who had actually signed up and ran in the 2020 Republican Primary Election for the office of County Commissioner against McNeilly, both (Dennis Davis and Robbie Morgan) had previously been elected to offices in Cleveland County. But the corrupted CC GOP Executive Committee selected a well-documented tax and spender, Kevin Gordon, to fill McNeilly’s vacancy to run for Commissioner in the 2020 General Election. An election with only one Democrat contender for the three open offices. A gay black man with a ZERO chance of winning. Basically, an early Christmas Present for Kevin Gordon who, to deceive the people of Cleveland County, spent $30,000 on his 2020 Campaign for Commissioner when he didn’t have to spend a dime to win. Note that unnecessarily spending large amounts of county taxpayer money has become the legacy of Kevin Gordon and his fellow Commissioners Johnny Hutchins and Ronnie Whetstine since that 2020 Election. That will be a story for later discussion as all three of these three Commissioners are up for re-election in 2024 and have already announced their intentions to run for re-election.
All this being said, the “Mother” of all political dirty tricks that was conceived in this lie-filled 2020 School Board Election was born-again full-grown in the 2022 School Board Primary and General Elections.
School Board members Robert Queen, Ron Humphries, Joel Shores and Greg Taylor; along with CCGOP officials Dennis Bailey, Kevin Whisnant, Pam Keller, Guy Smith and others; knowingly putting themselves into direct violation of the NCGOP Plan of Organization (that also governs the CCGOP) began an unethical effort to recruit School Board Candidates in a planned scheme to defeat incumbent school board member Danny Blanton and later Ronnie Grigg in the 2022 Republican Primary Elections for the CCS School Board. This planned scheme was soon discovered when the Rogue Republican Snub-licans actually tried to recruit Ronnie Grigg into their planned scheme to defeat Danny Blanton. But Grigg soon realized that this planned scheme was totally unethical and just plain wrong. Grigg refused to participate in this unethical scheme, exposed that scheme to the public, and ran alongside Danny Blanton in the 2022 Republican Primary Elections for the School Board offices. However, during the 2022 Republican Primary Elections Danny Blanton, Aaron Bridges, and Ronnie Grigg eventually were statistically tied for the top vote-getters. Walter Scott Spurling won election too, but way, way behind Danny Blanton, Ronnie Grigg and Aaron Bridges.
Snub-lican recruit Aaron Bridges however was beginning to see the light in the Rogue Republicans unethical planned scheme. Snub-lican recruit Walter Scott Spurling never saw the light, has never seen the light and most likely will never see that light of political salvation. Truth and transparency.
Now the Snub-licans were in a major dilemma. They had NOT defeated Blanton and Grigg in the 2022 School Board Republican Primary Election and the only way to get them off the School Board was to elect Bridges and Spurling in the 2022 School Board General Election along with two Democrats.
But the NC and CC GOP Plan of Organization clearly states that Party Disloyalty (GOP Officials and Executive Committee members endorsement of a Democrat candidate over a Republican candidate in an official election is the absolute sin for a Republican Official that immediately disqualifies them from their GOP office. Yet, that is exactly what the Rogue Republican Snub-licans ultimately did. They officially endorsed, through the Shelby TEA Party, two Democrat Commissioner Candidates over Danny Blanton and Ronnie Grigg in the 2022 General Election, for the School Board offices. Which totally and forever killed the Shelby TEA Party in the process.
Formal Complaints were made to the NC GOP and the CC GOP alike but nothing was ever done about it. AS for Danny Blanton and Ronnie Grigg, they campaigned hard in the 2022 School Board General Elections and again tied statistically for the number one vote getters, along with Aaron Bridges. Walter Scott Spurling was way, way back. And all four incumbent school board Democrat candidates were thrashed and defeated by a large margin. Embarrassingly Thrashed. Many, many thousands of votes behind.
The Rogue Republican-Snub-licans had totally failed in their unethical and dirty politics mission to defeat Danny Blanton and Ronnie Grigg. The PEOPLE had spoken in the 2022 Elections; Clearly and loudly! But the Rogue Republicans NEVER learned their lesson. They were never disciplined for violating their “Plan of Organization” and refused to listen to the will of the people in Cleveland County.
But that was not the end of it. When the next CC Republican Party Annual Convention rolled around, a record crowd of rank and file Republicans (including Robert A) turned out at the LeGrand Center with full intentions of running off the Rogue Republicans that had caused so much division and derision within the Republican Party. And, thought they had done so by electing Sherry Yocum as the new CCGOP Chairman along with her slate of officers. Everybody thought that the CCGOP had been properly fumigated and all the Rogues had been exterminated. But hidden within that slate of new CCGOP Officers, unfortunately, included Rogue Republican Pam Keller as the Treasurer. Robert A “smelled a rat,” but hoped for the “best.” However, the “best,” never arrived!!!
Unfortunately, the new CCGOP Chairman, Sherry Yocum, was not up to the task of what she had promised to do. Straighten out the CCGOP and the Rogue Republicans. So, predictably; Things got worse!
Although, Rogue Republican Kevin Whisnant never attained the CCGOP Chairmanship as he had allegedly been promised by the likes of Dennis Bailey and others. Although Kevin Whisnant and wife eventually resigned from the CCGOP Executive Committee, the real Rogue Republican “sneak’s,” Robert Queen and Kevin Gordon (and others) remained in place. Queen as the CCS School Board Chairman and Gordon as the Commissioner Chairman. (Note that School Board Member Rodney Fitch IS one of Robert Queen’s Waterboys, but IS NOT on the CCGOP Executive Committee because he chose NOT to pay the $100 annual membership fee the CCGOP requires.
Anyway, Robert Queen and his School Board cohorts Joel Shores, Rodney Fitch, Ron Humphries, Greg Taylor, are all up for re-election in 2024. It is anticipated that all of these noted school board members will run for re-election in 2024. All five of these school board members campaigned in 2020 on being the champions of transparency and being totally for the best interest of CCS, the students and the taxpayers. Their voting records in office indicate that they have all totally banned transparency, do not give a whit about CCS, Students and taxpayers best interest and are only interested in their own personal best interests. They all, and including Walter Scott Spurling, stand with Robert Queen’s vile and uncontrolled bad temper and his hatred and continuous animosity toward Danny Blanton and Ronnie Grigg. They all voted to unfairly and illegally censure and punish Danny Blanton and Ronnie Grigg for speaking out about the vandalism at Burns High School. They vote to approve false documents. They enable and defend Robert Queen’ s vile temper and assault on a member of the public. They enable bad behavior and bullying by students and CCS staff and administration as well as waste tons of taxpayer funding that is supposed to benefit the students attending CCS. They all deserve to be defeated badly in the 2024 School Board Elections.
And, the situation with the Cleveland County Commissioners is even worse. Besides them being just as bad (and perhaps even worse per many accounts) as the School Board incumbents up for reelection in 2024., two of the three Commissioners, Kevin Gordon and Ronnie Whetstine facing re-election in 2024 were originally appointed to fill vacancies by the CCGOP Executive Committee. Three of the five commissioners in total were originally appointed by the CCGOP Executive Committee. Either way you look at this fact, the meaning is clear. CCGOP Executive Committee Appointments have put the majority of the Cleveland County Commissioners in office prior to any election by the people. Which results in them becoming incumbents when they finally come under the scrutiny of the citizens and voters during an official election. A distinct advantage for those appointed Commissioners. BTW, those originally appointed Commissioners are Kevin Gordon, Ronnie Whetstine and Doug Bridges. Gordon and Whetstine, along with long-time incumbent (some say too long a time incumbent) Johnny Hutchins are up for reelection in 2024 and have already expressed their intentions to seek re-election in 2024, even though the official submission for a Commissioner’s seat is still over a month away.
Now, for the CCGOP and their Bible, the GOP Plan of Organization, the rub is this. Just as in the 2022 School Board Elections where the CCGOP Officials violated this Plan of Organization in both the 2022 School Board Republican Primary and General Elections, they are smack dab in the middle on the same violations in the 2024 Primary Elections for Commissioner offices. In particular is the fact that not only have incumbents Kevin Gordon, Ronnie Whetstine and Johnny Hutchins announced their intentions to run for Commissioners in 2024, so have Robert A. Williams (yours truly) and Tony Berry. Making at least five announcements (for now) for Commissioner with only three vacancies. Meaning there WILL DEFINITELY BE A REPUBLICAND PRIMARY ELECTION FOR COMMISSIOERS in 2024.
And, this is where the GOP Plan of Organization kicks in.
The North Carolina GOP (The Republican Party) Plan of Organization clearly states that all GOP Party Officers and all GOP associated committee members shall refrain from endorsing, in any way, shape or form, a candidate for any office in any primary election. Therefore, since there will certainly be a Primary Election for the Commissioners in the 2024 Primary Elections, NO CCGOP official or committee member should be endorsing any Cleveland County Commissioner Candidate in the 2024 Primary election upon penalty of disciplinary actions against them. But, like in the 2022 School Board Primary Election, CCGOP officials have indeed endorsed favored candidates that will be involved in the 2024 primary election process.
Here are the particulars:
Based on the three previous examples of clear violations of the CCGOP Plan of Organization; Sherry Yocum. Kevin Gordon, Ronnie Whetstine, Johnny Hutchins and Doug Bridges should all immediately be stripped of all official positions within the CCGOP organization and its Executive Committee. They should also all be required to make public apologies to all Cleveland County taxpayers as well as to all Republican candidates, presently announced and future signups. All Cleveland County Republicans deserve to know that their elected and CCGOP Officials are above board and not the scofflaws that they appear to be.
Until then, Robert A stands apart from the CCGOP. Robert A stands for truth, transparency, competence, integrity and accountability, fiscal responsibility and fair play. Robert A will depend on the good sense of conservative Republicans, Conservative Unaffiliated voters and even conservative Democrats, as rare as they are, to win election as a common sense Commissioner in the 2024 Elections. Hopefully by a landslide. And Take Back Cleveland County from the political mess and the fiscal mire that we have found ourselves in with all these self-centered Good-ole-boys Republicans that have blatantly lied to and deceived us for so long.
Stay tuned folks, the battle for a better and informed Cleveland County beginning in 2024 has just begun!!! Do your part. Get yourself informed on the issues and out to vote on election day!! And take someone with you. A crowd would be better!!! Be watchful for any shenanigans and immediately report any suspicious activities!!! You citizens are the eyes and ears of justice and a secure and accurate vote count. Be prepared to do your part. And, do not let yourself be intimidated by anybody.