County GOP boots members

Financial strain has party ousting executive committee
members who did not pay dues.

Journal-News
By Candice Brooks Higgins
Staff Writer

Thursday, February 08, 2007

HAMILTON — Financial strain on the Butler County Republican Party has prompted it to remove 40 members who failed to pay dues.

The action is one some ousted members are calling an unprecedented focus on money rather than loyal membership.

"I didn't leave the party. I feel like the party has left me," said Hall Thompson, a party member since the 1980s.

Meanwhile, new GOP Chairman Tom Ellis said the enforcement of the party's bylaws is necessary to put it on solid financial footing.

About 40 executive committee members, who are appointed rather than elected, were removed June 30 for failing to pay the minimum annual sponsorship of $150, Ellis said. The rule has been in place for years, but some members were allowed to slide in the past if they were long-time workers on candidate campaigns, he said.

"The executive committee membership was established to be the financial arm of the party," Ellis said. "We appoint people and they pledge to pay a minimum amount of dues. It just was complacency. That's simply all it was."

Ellis said surrounding counties raise two to three times more and the Butler
County party, with its size and support, can do more.

In fact, the financial demands on the party — from a divisive auditor's race in the May primary, a tough November general election, and the construction of the new $800,000-plus headquarters in Fairfield Twp. — created a "perfect storm" that should provoke members to raise funds, Ellis said.

In October, the party was more than $11,000 in the hole and received less than $5,000 in member contributions in the days before the general election, according to campaign finance reports. Without a $40,000 loan from immediate past Chairman Carlos Todd — who spearheaded the headquarters building project — the party would not have been able to pay staff salaries, construction expenses or utilities.

Todd's loan remains outstanding while the party's balance was $14,768 as of Jan. 31. The party's building fund grew to $90,344 in 2006 but by Jan. 31 fell to $1,091.

Stewart Leonard said he can't afford the dues with three children planning for college and thought his decades of service on campaigns was worth more than $150.

"I felt like they've almost abandoned me," he said.

In addition, Thompson and Leonard said they don't know how their dues are spent because complete financial reports are not provided at meetings.

"I've never been in a organization where you don't get a complete detail of where every nickel is spent," Thompson said.

Within the next three months, Ellis said he is committed to providing financial reports at meetings to help members understand the monetary needs of the party.