County GOP chair quits before convention
Jeanne Raley’s Facebook post alleges ‘deceit and deception’ in Bastrop County GOP.
Hours before the Bastrop County Republican Party Convention was set to begin, GOP chairwoman Jeanne Raley in a one-sentence letter resigned as the party’s leader.
“I, Jeanne Raley, Chair of the Bastrop County Republican Party do hereby resign from said office effective 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, March 24, 2018,” she said in an email to the party’s executive committee just before midnight Friday.
Raley, who did not respond to several requests for comment, did not cite a reason for her exit, but on her Facebook page said: “As of 12:01 a.m. today I am no longer party to the deceit and deception that is the Bastrop County Republican Party. In the days and months to come, the truth will be revealed for all to see.”
Raley lost her bid for re-election to a second term as chair by a wide margin March 6 to Dianna Greenwood, a precinct chair and member of the party’s executive committee. Raley received 2,036 votes (35 percent) to Greenwood’s 3,737 votes (65 percent).
Raley was elected as party chair in 2016 after incumbent Albert Ellison was disqualified and removed from the ballot for filing for re-election before the filing period began. Raley’s leadership was fraught with problems between her and a majority of the party’s executive committee. Party secretary Doug Kelsay and Greenwood have said Raley failed to properly communicate election information, mismanaged funds and prematurely closed the party’s office, which has been reopened on Main Street in Bastrop.
Raley,however, has said Kelsay’s and Greenwood’s accusations are politically motivated and meant to undermine her re-election campaign.
The president of the Texas Republican County Chairmen’s Association had to step in before giving up on finding a solution for the party’s fractiousness. “We all went over there to try and mediate — but it was very apparent that there was absolutely no coming together of the two sides,” Janet Jackson told the Bastrop Advertiser in February.
Greenwood, who is slated to take over as party chair June 11, said Raley’s exit does not affect the party.
“The county convention is over . ... The executive committee will meet on April 7 to elect an interim chair,” she said. “Except for that meeting and a mandatory executive committee meeting, there is only a spring fundraiser at the end of April. That is well into the planning stage, and nothing will change with that.”
Greenwood said she has requested not to be appointed as interim chair so that she may have enough time to prepare before taking over in June. Greenwood said she is hopeful the party will bounce back, since the turmoil was largely due to Raley’s leadership style and management practices.
“I don’t believe the party is as broken as it seems,” Greenwood said. “As I said on election night, I believe empowering the precinct chairs in positions that cater to their strengths will help mend the issues within theexecutive committee. Through that empowerment, the precinct chairs can take ownership of their work resulting in a stronger party.”
Greenwood said she is looking forward to a productive and exciting new term and has begun speaking to precinct chairs on mending the party and future plans.