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:
Williamson 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.
By design, this agreement established clear rules and mutually accepted processes before examining voter rolls and attaching names to prospective voters or causing vote-stacking calculations that could potentially unduly influence the decision-making motives of the convention’s stakeholders. During this meeting, the State Executive Committee members voiced their desire to deviate from the rigid bona fide voting requirements and their intent to honor “vouching” letters for individuals having voted in 2 out of the past 4 Republican primaries. After hours of discussion, Mrs. Miller, Mr. Allbrooks, T.R.P. staff, the W.C.R.P. Executive Committee, and the members of the Contest and Credentials committee all gave their word to uphold the agreed-upon standard, which would more inclusively permit Republican voters to participate in the convention.
On April 12, 2023, T.R.P. staff informed the W.C.R.P. that Mr. Allbrooks and Mrs. Miller had unilaterally decided to repudiate the agreement, and the agreed-upon standards would not be enforced. Further, ultimate credentialing and determination of bona fide status would not be the role of the W.C.R.P. or the appointed Contest and Credentials Committee but would instead be the responsibility of Mr. Allbrooks and Mrs. Miller with no oversight. Then, on April 13, 2023, the Contest and Credentials Committee received written verification that Mrs. Miller and the SEC had circumvented the role of the Contest and Credentials Committee and approved bona fides without input from the Committee.
The W.C.R.P. and the Contest and Credentials Committee have repeatedly raised concern to the T.R.P. regarding placing this authority in the hands of Mrs. Miller due to legitimate concerns for lack of impartiality, the appearance of impropriety, and the violation of T.R.P. and W.C.R.P. bylaws. Specifically, Committeewoman Cyndi Miller is the wife of Tracy Miller, who has submitted his candidacy to run for chairman of the Williamson County Republican Party. Under the roles and responsibilities now set by the T.R.P., Mrs. Miller will have the final say on who is qualified to vote in the election. Despite this clear conflict of interest, Mrs. Miller has repeatedly refused to recuse herself from critical decisions on convention rules, essentially allowing her to handpick her husband’s voters.
Officials with the T.R.P. further advised that they would not hold Mrs. Miller nor Mr. Allbrooks to their agreement with the Committee. Instead, the T.R.P. insists that they have “no duty to enforce honest behavior” from their SEC members. Further, despite repeated concerns raised regarding outside interference with the scheduling and holding of our Mass Convention by supporters of Tracy Miller, including attempted cancellation of convention security, interference with venue officials, and the deliberate spread of disinformation on convention details, our pleas for state party intervention have fallen upon deaf ears. The T.R.P. has declined to address these issues in what appears to be either tacit approval or willful ignorance. Such a brazen and remorseless breach of trust, sanctioned by T.R.P. Chairman Scott Golden, can only be viewed as an affront and a betrayal of every loyal Republican who has dedicated his or her labor to what should be a respected political and community institution capable of holding public legitimacy. As currently positioned, the scheduled mass convention is subject to legitimate allegations of fraud, self-dealing, and manipulation.
Therefore, 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. Our loyalties are to our Williamson County Republican Party members and safeguarding the integrity of our Republican ideals.
Accordingly, it is the recommendation of the Contest and Credentials Committee that the Williamson County Republican Party either cancel the scheduled convention due to ethical concerns or turn over all management of the April 18, 2023 Williamson County Republican Party Reorganization Mass Convention to the Tennessee Republican Party effective immediately. Moving forward, the T.R.P. should be responsible for all decisions regarding bona fide status of voters and candidates; establishing election rules; designation of election clerks; tallying ballots; managing election machines; and all other responsibilities associated with the upcoming Mass Convention. Based upon their actions, any further changes and monetary costs associated with this Mass Convention should be within the sole purview and responsibility of the T.R.P.
Out of concern for the integrity of this election process and that of the Republican Party, the entirety of the Contest and Credentials Committee hereby resigns, effective immediately. We urge the T.R.P. to step up and conduct its duties in a manner that reflects the ideals of our United States Constitution and of the Republican Party. Our citizens deserve a free and fair election, and we pray the Tennessee Republican Party will take the necessary actions to guarantee the same.
Signed,
The Williamson County Republican Party Contest and Credentials Committee Unanimously Adopted
