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GOP convention touts
unity
All delegates are seated and
elect David Rickard new party chairman
By ERIC FRAZIER
The Dispatch
Davidson County Republicans left their convention Saturday night
displaying, for the most part, the unity that party officials had said they
hoped for.
About 425 people packed a hot and noisy Midway Elementary School gymnasium
to elect party leaders for the next two years.
Billy Joe Kepley was seated as a delegate and participated without incident.
Delegates from six precincts who had been disqualified by the credentials
committee for technical reasons were overwhelmingly approved by the crowd to
trade their “guest” badges for “delegate” badges. And David Rickard,
precinct chairman for Thomasville 9, was elected party chairman with nearly
two-thirds of the votes cast.
“I’m just going to work to try to unify the party, involve more people, get
things more organized and make everybody proud to be a Republican,” Rickard
said after the meeting.
Lance Barrett, of Lexington 3, was elected vice chairman; Darlene Owens, of
Thomasville 8, was elected secretary; and Becky Simmons, of Boone Township,
was elected treasurer.
A voice vote clearly approved a slate of five executive committee members
proposed by Rickard. The new members are Neal Motsinger, of Midway; Walt
Tysinger, of Silver Hill; Jim Hunter, of Thomasville 1; Leona Sink, of
Lexington Ward No. 3; and Jeff Langley, of Lexington 2.
In winning the chairmanship, Rickard received 179 votes. Paul Housand, of
Thomasville 7, received 101 votes and Tyro resident Don Ross, who nominated
himself for several posts, received 4 votes. The vote for chairman was cast
by paper ballot.
Rickard had said before the convention that he did not want the chairman’s
election to be viewed as a referendum on Sheriff Gerald Hege, although he
did acknowledge that Hege had mailed letters endorsing Housand to some party
members. Hege left the convention shortly after the results of the vote for
chairman were announced.
A controversy that emerged in the last few days over delegates disqualified
by the credentials committee produced less debate than it did confusion in
the crowd about the parliamentary procedure necessary to approve them on the
convention floor.
Presiding over the convention proceedings, County Clerk Brian Shipwash
fielded numerous motions and points of order as he identified the approved
delegates from each precinct. Don Dublin, chairman of the credentials
committee, explained numerous technical problems with delegate lists,
including some he received after the deadline, some that were not signed by
anyone and three precincts that submitted multiple lists.
The mood of the delegates was overwhelmingly in favor of seating anyone who
took the time and initiative to come to the meeting. As separate motions to
seat the disqualified delegates passed and they were called from the back
seats to join their fellow delegates, there was loud applause.
At the conclusion of the voting, outgoing chairman David Faust congratulated
Rickard and challenged him to continue the work of uniting the party.
After the meeting adjourned, Faust exchanged sharp words briefly with Leon
Rickard, the new chairman’s father. The elder Rickard accused Faust of
slandering him by suggesting in a press conference Friday that he had
improperly influenced the credentials committee.
“I influenced them to follow the rules,” Rickard declared.
There had been indications as recently as a couple of weeks ago that someone
might try to block Kepley from being seated as a delegate. That speculation
stemmed from a letter the county GOP executive committee had earlier sent
Kepley accusing him of “total disloyalty to the party” and requesting that
he not attend party functions.
Kepley took a spot among his delegation Saturday night and there was no
mention of the issue.
Faust had said Friday, “That’s a done issue as far as I’m concerned.”
Eric Frazier can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 226, or at
eric.frazier@the-dispatch.com.
March 23. 2003 7:33AM
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