OPINION
New Party Leadership Inherits Financial Scandal
In the Colorado Republican leadership elections earlier this year, the establishment faced a reckoning. All over the state, America First patriots won county leadership roles, and the State GOP Chairman race resulted in grassroots favorite Dave Williams taking charge of the state party.
In another timeline, you could expect a peaceful transition of power from one leader of the party to another. We are talking about the leadership of a party, after all, a team with shared values and vision. But in this timeline, the Republican Party is engaged in a civil war.
When former Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown left office, her administration claimed to have a surplus of more than one hundred thousand dollars. But according to Chair Williams, “The prior administration did not leave the Party over $100,000 as they falsely claimed.”
And they didn’t just mislead party members about the surplus. According to the new GOP Leadership Team, they spitefully spent it during the “peaceful transition of power.”
“They spent nearly all that was left in the coffers as the new leadership was transitioning into the role,” Williams said, continuing, “while burdening the party with outstanding debts and unfunded obligations.”
It sounds like sabotage, and the new GOP Chair is citing specifics:
“For example, thousands in bonuses were paid to former staff in December of 2022, after the Party suffered its most historic losses the month prior, and this occurred as the last administration knew they owed over $9,000 to the office landlord.”
Colorado Republicans squawked for more than a decade that the purpose of the party is to get Republicans elected. Under Brown’s leadership, they spent those resources fighting America First in the primary rather than allowing voters to decide. And then, of course and without much effort since they’d done their hard work during the primary, they lost competitive seats in the general. That is, they failed to get Republicans elected.
After failing to achieve their fundraising targets, presiding over hemorrhaging party membership, and delivering abysmal midterm election results, party leadership gave themselves bonuses — instead of paying known debts.
This isn’t just spiteful. It’s scandalous.
The Colorado Republican establishment — the likes of Brown’s administration and Buck’s before her, as well as their donors — are content being the minority party in the state. It is uniparty theater at its finest, half measures and fake compromises that benefit the ruling class at the expense of the people.
The people of Colorado — both those inside and outside of the Republican Party — are sick of all the communism. The people desire change. The party’s new Republican leadership wants to be that change, but they’ve got an uphill battle encumbered by brand and trust problems.
Colorado Republicans have spent so much time finding common ground with communists that they’ve made themselves repulsive to voters. And they don’t care. When they lose elections, they just toss up their hands and blame democrats. Then they pay themselves bonuses.
In February, grassroots Republicans flipped the uniparty’s script by electing America First change makers into party leadership. The financial scandal that the new leadership team inherited is obviously punishment for party members that dared to demand change.
Unfortunately for Colorado Republican Party members, there doesn’t appear to be recourse for the KBB and team looting the party’s resources like a mostly peaceful protest.
But unfortunately for the establishment, the new leadership of the party isn’t focused on fighting a detached and divisive civil war. They’re focused on the future. Chair Williams and his team want to be the change, and they appear unphased by the prior administration’s sabotage.
“The new leadership team is making progress and rebuilding the Party from the ground up,” Williams said. “We are treating the Party as a startup and making certain that any investment from donors is wisely spent instead of continuing to allow failed operators to enrich themselves with Party funds.”
In a startup culture you perform or peace out, a refreshing concept for a failing organization propped up by bureaucracy and mediocrity. But streamlining funding alone won’t rebuild public trust. For that, Williams and team need to prove to voters that the Republican Party is actually committed to a Republican form of government.
Ashe Epp is a writer and activist. You can find all her work at Linktree.com/asheinamerica.
