Williamson County GOP officials resign over alleged ‘self-dealing’ in leadership contest

Officials responsible for putting together a leadership election for the Williamson County Republican Party have resigned over what they are calling “fraud, misconduct, and corrupt self-dealing” by state GOP leadership and state executive committee members Steve Allbrooks and Cindi Miller. The latter is the wife of Tracy Miller, who is seeking to become the new chair.
“The Contest and Credentials Committee has resolved that we will not lend our reputations to a corrupt reorganization process that deviates from our stated standards and bylaws, and the outcome of which will be incurably tainted by the breach of trust that produced it,” the committee said in a Saturday email obtained by The Tennessee Journal.
Tracy Miller is the brother of Andy Miller, who is identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal campaign finance conspiracy case against former state Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown). The Miller brothers in 2016 agreed to pay $7.75 million to settle allegations they defrauded the federal military healthcare program through a pharmaceutical business they ran in Florida. Several state lawmakers, including former Rep. Jeremy Durham (R-Franklin), a fellow unindicted co-conspirator in the Kelsey indictment, invested into Miller companies using campaign funds.
The appointed members of the Williamson County GOP’s contest and credentials committee wanted to require participants in next week’s convention to adhere to state party rules for bona fide Republicans, i.e., those who had voted in at least three of the last four primaries. But they said they were told those restrictions were “not set in stone” and individual cases would be decided solely by members of of the state executive committee. Cindi Miller has refused to recuse herself despite what the local party officials call a “clear conflict of interest” over her husband’s candidacy, “essentially allowing her to handpick her husband’s voters.”
Cheryl Brown, the Williamson County GOP’s first black chair, had planned to run again. But it’s now uncertain she will seek another term.
“As currently positioned, the scheduled mass convention is subject to legitimate allegations of fraud, self-dealing, and manipulation,” the letter said.
The group wants Tuesday’s convention either canceled or rescheduled. State GOP Chair Scott Golden did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment.
Read the full missive here:
Continue readingWilliamson County Republicans,
It is with profound disappointment that we, the duly appointed members of the Williamson County Republican Party (W.C.R.P.) Contest and Credentials Committee, must inform you that we can no longer guarantee a fair and legitimate election for county party officers in the upcoming reorganization convention. Due to the bad-faith actions of the leadership of the Tennessee Republican Party (T.R.P.) and State Executive Committee members Cyndi Miller and Steve Allbrooks, we cannot, in good conscience, offer our acquiescence to a rigged and deceptive process that deliberately undermines the rights of lifelong, loyal Republicans in Williamson County to an orderly and credible county convention that adheres to proper rules and bylaws.
Our duties to our Party and its members are outlined in our written and published bylaws, and we have made every effort to adhere to the same in investing our time, money, and labor to planning and promoting the upcoming reorganization convention. Through either intentional acts or general indifference, T.R.P. officials have required us to deviate from the stated guidelines for determining the bona fide status for voting members, stripped the Contest and Credentials Committee from our obligation and ultimate authority to determine the same, and, in turn, empowered State Executive Committee members Mrs. Miller and Mr. Allbrooks with the ultimate authority to employ undefined and arbitrary standards for determining who has the right to vote and participate in our county party convention.
Although the existing T.R.P. and W.C.R.P. bylaws identify clear criteria for determining the “bona fide Republican” status of individuals based upon voting history and active involvement with the Party, including requiring a voting history of participation in 3 out of the last 4 Statewide Republican primaries, officials with the Tennessee Republican Party informed the W.C.R.P. that these stated criteria were not set in stone and that the final determination of bona fide status – regardless of voting history or scope of active involvement – would rest solely with the State Executive Committee. In an attempt to establish clear, predictable, and evenly-applied standards regarding the rules for who may be admitted as a “bona fide Republican” to participate in the convention and to provide the standards to our members well before the day of the convention, the Contest & Credentials Committee met with our district State Executive Committee members Mrs. Miller, Mr. Allbrooks, W.C.R.P.’s Executive Committee, and T.R.P. staff on March 21, 2023. At this meeting, all parties came to a consensus agreement on the specific eligibility criteria that the T.R.P. and State Executive Committee members would honor and that the Contest and Credentials Committee would use to notify voters of their eligibility status.
GOP chair denies endorsement in Davidson primary

Tennessee Republican Party Chair Scott Golden is stressing he has not endorsed either candidate running for the GOP nomination in the open House District 59 seat in Davidson County. The statement came after a mailer by Michelle Foreman included a laudatory quote by Golden on a mailer listing her endorsements.
“A recent mailer was sent out implying I endorsed a candidate for state House in your district,” Golden said, according to Facebook post by rival candidate Wyatt Rampy. “Let me set the record straight. That is inaccurate. As chairman, I have not, and will not endorse any Republican candidate in a contested primary.”

The new seat comprises several wealthy communities in southern Davidson County, including Belle Meade, Oak Hill, and Forest Hill. The General Assembly redrew the lines of retiring Democratic Rep. Jason Potts’ district earlier this year to try to make it more favorable to Republicans. Caleb Hemmer, a former aide to then-Gov. Phil Bredesen, is the lone Democrat running.
Foreman is a member of the state GOP’s executive committee. It’s not the first time her mailers have been problematic. A previous one urged people to scan a QR code to find their voting locations. But doing so led to the website of the election commission in neighboring Williamson County, which is outside the district. The primary is on Thrursday.
New TNJ edition alert: Mugwumps, vouchers, and the death a player in the Rocky Top bingo scandal

The latest print edition of The Tenenssee Journal is out. Here is what’s in it:
— Revenge of the mugwumps? Party purity tests dog Republicans.
— From the courts: Nashville asks Supreme Court for redo on school voucher decision, $1M price tag for robocalls in mayoral recall effort.
— Political roundup: Harwell endorsed by anti-abortion group as poll tests lines of attack.
— Obituary: Former state Sen. Jim Lewis, top bingo advocate before FBI’s Rocky Top crackdown.
Also: Tax conviction may cost Joe Armstrong his radio license, Jack Johnson is getting ready for BBQ & Beans fundraiser, the TBI is taking applications for director, and a deep dive into what languages Tennesseans command.
As always, access the your copy of the TNJ here.
Or subscribe here.
Programming note: The Tennessee Journal is on summer break next week. We will be back with a new edition on June 17.
Tennessee GOP approves fee schedule for primary candidates

The executive committee of the Tennessee Republican Party has voted to impose fees on candidates seeking to run in GOP primaries. The vote was 33-22.
The fees are based on a sliding scale depending on the office sought. Here is what future Republican candidate will have to cough up when they file their papers:
- Governor: $5,000.
- U.S. Senate: $5,000.
- U.S. House: $2,500.
- State Senate: $1,000.
- State House: $500.
- Judicial offices: $500.
- Countywide elected offices: $100.
- County Commission or Constable: $25.
Golden elected to third term as state GOP chairman

The executive committee of the state Republican Party has unanimously elected Scott Golden to a third term as chairman.
Golden was unopposed for the party’s top leadership post at the GOP panel’s meeting in Franklin on Saturday.
“That was an absolute vote of confidence for this team, and we will not let you down,” Golden said after the vote.
Golden touted Republican electoral successes that included President Donald Trump matching his Tennessee winning percentage from four years ago, former Ambassador Bill Hagerty being elected to the U.S. Senate, and the GOP losing just one seat in the General Assembly.
Golden, a former aide to then-U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn and Stephen Fincher, was first elected to the job in 2016.
Golden to seek third term as state GOP chair

Scott Golden will seek another term as chairman of the state Republican Party following an election year in which President Donald Trump matched his Tennessee winning percentage from four years ago, former Ambassador Bill Hagerty was elected to the U.S. Senate, and Republicans lost just one seat in the General Assembly.
The former aide to then-U.S. Reps. Marsha Blackburn and Stephen Fincher was first elected to the job in 2016.
Here’s an excerpt from Golden’s letter to the party’s State Executive Committee announcing his latest bid:
Both 2021 and 2022 will get off to a fast start, including the fight to save America beginning in mid-December with the defense of the two Georgia senate seats to determine which Party has the majority in the United States Senate. After, we should all expect to be attending the inauguration of President Trump in January. County party reorganizations, county bylaws, and county calls for local primaries will be happening throughout 2021 as we prepare for redistricting and what will be a great election year of 2022. Of course, our bylaws committee has been working and will continue to refine our policies as we approach this huge election year.