Feb. 10, 2007, Ft. Collins, Colorado
The Larimer County Republican Central Committee gathered with record attendance on
Saturday morning at Boltz Middle School in Ft. Collins to choose its leaders for the next two
years. Don Dazlich, Secretary of the Central Committee, announced that including the proxy
votes, the Central Committee had 90% of its members voting at the assembly.
Among the guests were U.S. Senator Wayne Allard, Representative Marilyn Musgrave, State
Party Chairman Candidate Dick Wadhams and many locally elected officials from throughout
Larimer County. The County Sheriff, Treasurer, two Commissioners and County Surveyor
were also among the elected officials invited to address the group at the beginning of the
meeting.
State House Representatives Kevin Lundberg and Don Marostica participated in the process
with nominations for candidates for several party offices. State Senator Steve Johnson was
also an active participant in introducing candidates for party offices.
Given the considerable pre-meeting coverage regarding purging, challenges to the chair and
other divisions within the party, the press was also well represented. The Loveland Reporter-
Herald, The Coloradoan and Rocky Mountain Chronicle each had reporters present
throughout the 5-hour meeting. The operative word for the day was “decorum� as
many of the party detractors like Kitty Wild were behaving in a civil manner.
The State Republican Party sent an attorney and parliamentarian to assist Chairwoman
Nancy Hunter if any challenges came for the floor regarding the credentials of Kitty Wild and
Fern Walover. According to unnamed sources within the party, threats of lawsuits were the
reason the Executive Committee decided to not challenge the two for having flagrantly
violated the by-laws by openly working against Republican Congresswoman Marilyn
Musgrave. What wasn’t explained is how the Executive Committee reversed the
decisions from its January meeting without having called another meeting.
The “moderates� as they have been called took all the top positions in the party with
little or no opposition from the conservatives. According to some conservatives they were â
€œburned outâ€� and willing to step aside and let Ed Haynes take over the leadership of the
party. Click here to get a complete list of the winning candidates. The Chair and two Vice
Chair positions were decided by acclimation as no other nominations were brought from the
floor for these uncontested positions. The only contested top seat was the position of
Secretary where Tom Lynch succeeded over Don Dazlich. Don Dazlich and his wife are
longtime party activists who together have helped many Republican candidates gain their first
public office over the years. Tom Lynch, on the other hand, used his previously lost effort
for public office as evidence that he will know how to help candidates that are losing since he
also has been unable to get elected to public office.
The Central Committee also had the business of the ten bonus members to elect to comprise
the majority of the Executive Committee. Five of the ten must be women, according the by-
laws, and another five must be men. Therefore, Central Committee members could cast
votes for five male bonus members and five female bonus members.
Last minute candidate, Loveland City Councilman Walt Skowron, was among those
nominations not previously anticipated by LovelandPolitics who showed-up at the meeting
and gave a short talk why he thought he should be elected to the bonus committee. He
ultimately garnered the fewest number of votes among the dozen or so candidates for the five
positions.
In a gender split, the moderates appeared to have swept in the women candidates and the
conservative wing of the party dominated the male bonus members. All the male bonus
members are fairly conservative with the exception of Dan Betts who was widely believed to
be the source of the damaging leaks to the media about party leadership and internal party
workings.
The Larimer County Republican Central Committee gathered with record attendance on
Saturday morning at Boltz Middle School in Ft. Collins to choose its leaders for the next two
years. Don Dazlich, Secretary of the Central Committee, announced that including the proxy
votes, the Central Committee had 90% of its members voting at the assembly.
Among the guests were U.S. Senator Wayne Allard, Representative Marilyn Musgrave, State
Party Chairman Candidate Dick Wadhams and many locally elected officials from throughout
Larimer County. The County Sheriff, Treasurer, two Commissioners and County Surveyor
were also among the elected officials invited to address the group at the beginning of the
meeting.
State House Representatives Kevin Lundberg and Don Marostica participated in the process
with nominations for candidates for several party offices. State Senator Steve Johnson was
also an active participant in introducing candidates for party offices.
Given the considerable pre-meeting coverage regarding purging, challenges to the chair and
other divisions within the party, the press was also well represented. The Loveland Reporter-
Herald, The Coloradoan and Rocky Mountain Chronicle each had reporters present
throughout the 5-hour meeting. The operative word for the day was “decorum� as
many of the party detractors like Kitty Wild were behaving in a civil manner.
The State Republican Party sent an attorney and parliamentarian to assist Chairwoman
Nancy Hunter if any challenges came for the floor regarding the credentials of Kitty Wild and
Fern Walover. According to unnamed sources within the party, threats of lawsuits were the
reason the Executive Committee decided to not challenge the two for having flagrantly
violated the by-laws by openly working against Republican Congresswoman Marilyn
Musgrave. What wasn’t explained is how the Executive Committee reversed the
decisions from its January meeting without having called another meeting.
The “moderates� as they have been called took all the top positions in the party with
little or no opposition from the conservatives. According to some conservatives they were â
€œburned outâ€� and willing to step aside and let Ed Haynes take over the leadership of the
party. Click here to get a complete list of the winning candidates. The Chair and two Vice
Chair positions were decided by acclimation as no other nominations were brought from the
floor for these uncontested positions. The only contested top seat was the position of
Secretary where Tom Lynch succeeded over Don Dazlich. Don Dazlich and his wife are
longtime party activists who together have helped many Republican candidates gain their first
public office over the years. Tom Lynch, on the other hand, used his previously lost effort
for public office as evidence that he will know how to help candidates that are losing since he
also has been unable to get elected to public office.
The Central Committee also had the business of the ten bonus members to elect to comprise
the majority of the Executive Committee. Five of the ten must be women, according the by-
laws, and another five must be men. Therefore, Central Committee members could cast
votes for five male bonus members and five female bonus members.
Last minute candidate, Loveland City Councilman Walt Skowron, was among those
nominations not previously anticipated by LovelandPolitics who showed-up at the meeting
and gave a short talk why he thought he should be elected to the bonus committee. He
ultimately garnered the fewest number of votes among the dozen or so candidates for the five
positions.
In a gender split, the moderates appeared to have swept in the women candidates and the
conservative wing of the party dominated the male bonus members. All the male bonus
members are fairly conservative with the exception of Dan Betts who was widely believed to
be the source of the damaging leaks to the media about party leadership and internal party
workings.
| Larimer County Republican Party Ed Haynes (lower right) and other moderates take-over leadership in cordial meeting where no disagreements were made public at the Feb. 10, 2007 gathering of the Larimer County Republican Central Committee |
LovelandPolitics.com
| Ed Haynes, newly elected Chairman of the Larimer County Republican Central Committee |
| Republican volunteers gather outside Botlz Middle School in Ft. Collins to discuss the day's events after voting concluded |
| See the list of who won the Larimer County Republican Central Committee officer elections click here |
