FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida Asks Republican Party of Florida to Correct Former RPOF Chair’s Injustices

The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), formed in 1991, is a grassroots level organization comprised of Republicans throughout the nation who are dedicated to pursuing the ideals of individual liberty and limited constitutional government through the Republican Party.  They work to elect Republicans who hold these principles, and seek to hold legislators and officials within the party accountable for their actions, believing that a principled Republican Party will be a stronger Republican Party.

Will Pitts, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida (RLCFL), and John Stevens, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida (RLCNEF), have both worked actively within the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) to promote these ideas within the Republican Party.They campaigned for Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential bid, and started their working within the party by being active in the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee (SJCREC), and continue today to play an active role within northeast Florida and around the state.

In 2006, Florida governor Charlie Crist hand-picked Jim Greer to take over the RPOF as chairman and he easily won the election.  Ray Valdes, state committeeman for Seminole County, was asked by Crist to step down so Greer could take his position to even be eligible to run for the position.  Shortly after the election, Florida’s legislature, at the urging of Crist, passed a bill that would change Florida’s election laws significantly.  This bill included the ability of the chairman to remove or suspend any member of the RPOF, with the chairman having sole discretion to determine if a violation worthy of such punishment had occurred.   Many within the RLC spoke against this power and the ability to abuse it, especially as they witnessed Jim Greer’s maneuverings within the RPOF.  Questions arose about Greer, voiced by RLC members, who were ignored by other RPOF members.

During the 2008 election season, Greer began to threaten RLC members who continued to question his actions in the chairman position.  John Stevens ran for state committeeman within the SJCREC, but in the week prior to the election agreed to step down from his candidacy in return for an agreement with the SJCREC to stop their own harassment of RLC members who were calling for closer scrutiny within the RPOF.  Similarly, Mark Cross ran for RPOF chairman at the end of the year and stepped out at the last minute to endorse Greer, who personally stated RLC members would be welcomed throughout the state.  The RLC was pressured to accept this goodwill measure by Greer, and did so in order to keep the peace, but continued to caution other Republicans in Florida.

In 2009, the agreements made by Greer and the SJCREC were proven to mean nothing, as the SJCREC moved to file grievances against Pitts and Stevens for their roles in calling for accountability within the party and specifically for questioning Greer’s actions as chairman.  A statewide purge followed, in which grievances were filed also against Elizabeth Campbell, who was a State Committeewoman for Escambia County as well as a member of the RLCFL Board of Directors, and other RLC members who had sought to shine a light on Greer’s dealings as RPOF chairman.  Greer, having the sole discretion to choose how to handle the grievances, removed every RLC member who’d had a grievance filed against them, as well as other members of the RPOF.

Shortly after this purge, others finally began to heed the warnings of the RLC and began examining Greer’s dealings closer.  In early November, realizing that Greer had been performing actions harmful to the RPOF and drawing negative media publicity, members of the RPOF State Committee requested a meeting with Greer.  As a result, a grievance was filed against Allen Cox, vice chairman of the RPOF, and Tony DiMatteo was asked to recuse himself from the grievance committee.  Finally, upon having too much evidence of Greer’s corruption as chairman put before them, members of the RPOF State Committee and several donors called for a meeting in early January 2010 to vote to remove Greer from his position.

Days before the meeting, Greer announced he would resign, and an election would follow in February to appoint a new chairman.  Allen Cox announced his resignation at the same time, to the surprise of many.  Before the announcement had gotten around the state, the name John Thrasher appeared as a likely successor, despite Thrasher not having a position on the state committee.  The SJCREC resolved this by having state committeeman Jon Woodard resign his position so Thrasher could be eligible to run.  At the meeting in which Thrasher was elected, the SJCREC conveniently cleaned their ranks of “ineligible” members, which happened to include RLC member Cliff Johnson, who has since been able to prove his removal – which denied him a vote in Thrasher’s election – was done under false pretenses.  Thrasher easily won the chairman position.

Thrasher’s ease of victory came as no surprise when it was later found out that Thrasher, Mike Haridopolos, Dean Cannon, Delmar Johnson, Jason Gonzalez and Richard Swarttz made an arrangement with Greer that he would be paid as a consultant and have his name cleared of any wrongdoing in return for his resignation, upon which Thrasher would become chairman and sign the agreement with the authority of the RPOF.  The agreement was only discovered when Greer announced it after the RPOF declined to protect him from the audits the media and general public were demanding.

Thrasher spoke in his acceptance speech for the chairman position of the goal of coming together as a party, including the ranks of members such as the RLC.  He also spoke to Pitts and Stevens in Tallahassee in March and assured them he would look into the matter of reinstating them as well as other members of the RPOF who had been purged during Greer’s time as chairman.

With the recent arrest of Greer under charges of fraud, theft and money laundering performed during his chairmanship, the Republican Liberty Caucus implores the Republican Party of Florida leadership to immediately rescind the penalties handed down by former chairman Greer.  The RLC’s intention in calling out this corruption was to protect the RPOF from the consequences of allowing such behavior, but RLC members were reprimanded for trying to aid the party in this manner.  In light of the many misdeeds during the Greer era that have now proven the warnings of the RLC and its members correct, the RLC feels it is the right thing to do to reinstate Will Pitts, John Stevens, and all others removed by Greer.  The RLC urges chairman Thrasher to exercise haste in resolving this injustice, so that its leaders and members may continue to help the RPOF clean the corruption from its ranks and repair its image in preparation to win Republican seats in the 2010 election cycle.

About The Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida:

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida is a coalition of traditional conservatives and liberty minded Republicans working within the Republican Party to promote individual liberty, smaller government, state and national sovereignty and the Constitution. The caucus advocates the return of our nation to the values and intentions of the Constitution and our founders.

(i) www.rlcfl.org

(ii) www.rlcnef.org

CONTACT:

Kristi Dunn
Email:
Phone: (904) 718-8972

DOWNLOAD PDF: Download this press release in .pdf format.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

No Dissent Allowed: St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee

St. Johns County, January, 21, 2010 — The leadership of the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee (SJCREC) dealt a blow to the grassroots and derailed recent attempts to reconcile long standing differences with the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida (RLCNEF) Thursday night when it refused to allow RLCNEF members access to a meeting where State Committeeman Jon Woodard stepped down and State Senator John Thrasher was elected to Woodard’s position. The election of Thrasher to Woodard’s State Committeeman post clears the way for Thrasher to run for the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Chair position to be vacated on February 20th by Jim Greer. There is a level of excitement within the party that has not been seen in a long time surrounding the race to succeed Jim Greer. Greer’s re-election a year ago has resulted in a leadership implosion within the RPOF. Thrasher, a sitting Republican State Senator, is seeking to lead the Republican Party out of its doldrums. Unfortunately for Thrasher, the SJCREC appears to have added fuel to an internal firestorm.

The latest in an unfortunate series of events occurred when the majority of the SJCREC members were not given notice the meeting would be closed in Executive Session, and only received the news upon their arrival at the meeting that night. To further exacerbate matters, SJCREC officials – allegedly in preparation for the vote on Senator Thrasher – performed a “purge” of the membership list for the stated purpose of removing members who had missed three consecutive meetings pursuant to state bylaws.

The purpose and accuracy of the list purge is in question, however, as RLCNEF member Cliff Johnson who is also a sworn member of the SJCREC and who had not missed three consecutive meetings, was told that he was not eligible to attend the Executive Session or vote in the Special Election.

While SJCREC leadership claimed that access to the Executive Session was limited only to SJCREC members, at least four members of the Duval County Republican Executive Committee who support Thrasher were allowed inside while known opponents of Thrasher and supporters of Sharon Day – also a candidate for State Chair – were told they must stay outside.

In a protest against the double standard and blatant cronyism on display, RLCNEF Chair John Stevens entered the meeting despite being told not to do so. Stevens was then asked to leave and refused. SJCREC officials called police and Stevens was escorted from the meeting. No charges were filed.

Chairman Stevens desired to attend the meeting to ask Thrasher what position he would be taking on Orange and St. Johns County REC members removed by Greer through the never-before-used grievance process  last year. Stevens commented regarding the incident, “It was unfortunate that it had to come that. The RLC is working for accountability within the Party and we would prefer to do so quietly from within; but if members are being locked out and denied an opportunity to be heard then we are left with no option but to make our voices heard publicly.”

This incident in St. Johns is eerily similar to a situation that occurred last year in Orange County where Orange County Republican Executive Committee (OCREC) Chair Lew Oliver prevented members of the OCREC from voting in the election for Oliver’s seat; the people barred from voting were supporters of his opponent, Deon Long, who is now running for the 24th District of the U.S. Congress.

Many of the registered voters of Florida agree with the message of the Republican Liberty Caucus. The

RLC’s message has begun attracting large numbers of people statewide. Support has poured out from around the state as this struggle with the corruption within the party has continued. Many of the recent changes in the RPOF leadership started at the grassroots level with large groups of dissenters, such as the RLC, calling for honesty and transparency in our elected leaders.

About The Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida:

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida is a coalition of traditional conservatives and liberty minded Republicans working within the Republican Party to promote individual liberty, smaller government, state and national sovereignty and the Constitution. The caucus advocates the return of our nation to the values and intentions of the Constitution and our founders.

(i) www.rlcfl.org
(ii) www.rlcnef.org

CONTACT:

Frank Zilaitis
Email:
Phone: (321) 480-7597

Contacts: Will Pitts, State Chairman: (904) 237-3414 or
Frank Zilaitis, Attorney at Law: (321) 480-7597

Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Petitions Republican
Party of Florida Chairman Greer to Rescind Sanctions

Late summer ruling from Jim Greer removed several RLCFL
Board members from leadership positions within the RPoF

Orlando, Florida —  December 12, 2009

The Florida chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus held a statewide meeting during which the general membership passed a resolution condemning recent grievance actions taken by Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer.  Greer’s ruling, which is not subject to appeal, resulted in three members of the Board of Directors of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida, including Chairman Will Pitts, being removed from leadership positions within the Republican Party of Florida.  Among Pitts’ alleged sins – criticizing RPoF leadership for supporting U.S. Senator John McCain for President, attending Ron Paul’s Rally for the Republic in Minneapolis during the RNC Convention and wearing a Barry Goldwater button.”

Vice Chairwoman Kimberly Wells of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida (RLCNEF) explains the ruling from September. “The Republican Party of Florida unjustly purged a number of fellow Republican Liberty Caucus members due to their outspoken criticism and call for accountability within the Republican Party of Florida.”

“It doesn’t get any more ridiculous than this”, said Pitts.  Chairman Pitts was stunned by the ruling because he, in particular, had no leadership position within any RPoF county executive committee and believed the entire situation was a dog and pony show that would “go away,” Pitts stated, referring to his post-hearing private conversation with Grievance Committee Chair, Tony DeMatteo.

“The RPoF unjustly punished me and other members of the RLCFL for our libertarian views and criticism of party leadership during the 2008 elections cycle,” said John Stevens, Chairman of the RLC’s Northeast Florida Region.

The Ruling from Chairman Greer came after a long battle to silence any dissent within the Republican Party of Florida with the onset of the 2010 elections cycle. “You engaged in disruptive conduct likely to interfere with the activities of the Republican Party,” Greer stated in a letter to each of those sanctioned.

“This resolution is important because it lets grassroots activists know there are still people in the Republican Party who are standing firm on principles,” said Stevens.   The RLCFL chose to send a strong message to Jim Greer and the Republican Party’s Leadership.  “The Republican Liberty Caucus is not backing down in its fight for accountability of our elected officials in accordance with the U.S. Constitution,” said Stevens.

An official statement released on the RLC website by Chairman Pitts states:

“As much as I dislike what the Party apparatus has done to discredit [me and] personally attack others and myself, I realize that we must stay the course and fight the good fight. Those few in power in the party would like nothing more than for us to leave and take the others that are upsetting their good ole boy corrupt system with us. We will not give them that satisfaction. As a result, I have decided to continue my fight to restore the original principles within the Republican Party in spite of the daunting long road ahead.”

The Republican Liberty Caucus encourages all conservatives to contact RNC Chairman Michael Steele, RNC Secretary and Florida Committeewoman Sharon Day, and Florida RNC Committeeman Paul Senft, Jr. to ask that they implore Chairman Greer to rescind the sanctions against not only the board members of the RLCFL but also against all other victims of the August grievance hearings. The Republican Liberty Caucus (http://www.RLC.org/), founded in 1991, promotes individual liberty, limited government, and free enterprise.  Members consider themselves libertarian Republicans who want all Republicans and all citizens to understand how far elected officials have drifted from Constitutional principles and take action to defeat those who disrespect the Constitution.

Contacts for Grassroots Supporters of the RLC:
• Michael Steele, GOP Chairman:
• Sharon Day, FL Committeewoman: ,
• Paul Senft, Jr., FL Committeeman:

References/Additional Information:

• Florida Republican Party Wages War on Liberty Caucus: ‘Party Purge’ Expels Caucus Chair and Members from RPOF Positions
http://rlcnews.org/florida-republican-party-wages-war-on-liberty-caucus/
• GOP Removes Deon Long from Position:
http://www.rlc.org/2009/07/10/gop-chair-removes-long/
• St. John’s GOP Complaint Against Will Pitts:
http://www.rlc.org/2009/07/10/stjohns-gop-bullies/
• Other “Party Purge” Details::
http://republicanpartypurge.com/

Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida is holding a Rally in Support of Ending the Federal Reserve Banking System

On Sunday, November 22nd from 10:30 AM to 2:00 PM outside of the Federal Reserve Building, 800 Water Street, Jacksonville, FL 32204, members of the Republican Liberty Caucus will be holding a rally to express support for “Ending the Fed.”

This rally is being held simultaneously at 38 cities across the country with various liberty minded organizations to express support for U.S. House Bill HR 1207 and U.S. Senate Bill S 604 authorizing a full and complete audit of the privately held Federal Reserve Bank System.

The local chapter’s chairman, John Stevens, says, “American Taxpayers deserve to have a full and complete audit to bring transparency to the Federal Reserve Banking System that has repeatedly created financial bubbles and exacerbated the current economic crisis.”  Mr. Stevens further adds, “Very few Americans realize that the Federal Reserve System is a privately owned banking cartel with the ability to create money out of thin air.”

Founded in 1991 as a 527 political organization, the RLC works to advance the principles of individual rights, limited government and free enterprise within the Republican Party and throughout the country at all levels of government.

For more information about the RLC, contact Northeast Florida Chairman John Stevens at 904-806-3586 or .

For more information about this event, contact Activism Chair Victor Wilhelm at 904-318-7208 or .

CTDC is one of the groups we partner with on local fiscal issues.

Be sure to turn in and tell all your friends who are new to the RLC.

The video should be up on CTDC’s website soon!

http://www.jaxtaxpayers.org/multimedia/

An explanation is given to the differences between the RLC and the Duval County REC especially when it concerns mayor Peyton’s three new taxes and his proposed property tax increase.

In just a few days, on March 27-29, 2008, the RLC is hosting a state and national convention in Jacksonville, FL. As part of the convention, the RLC will be hosting an open invitation banquet on Saturday, March 28, at 7:00pm.

You do not have to be a member of the RLC or any particular political party to attend the convention or banquet. Please visit www.rlcfl.org for additional details on the full convention.

At the banquet, Dr. Lawrence W. Reed, president of the Foundation for Economic Education. He will be giving a speech on “The Fed Great Myths of the Great Depression.”

National radio host Mike Church from Sirius Patriot 144 and XM American Right 166 will be addressing our attendees and emceeing the event.  He will have a special message for the banquet attendees, followed by a video montage, and finally Dr. Reed’s speech.

There will also be panels speaking throughout the convention on grassroots level organizations and actions, how various organizations might help each other, and even campaigning for office.

Considering the current economic and constitutional crisis this is a “must attend” event for all liberty-minded individuals. Join us as we come together to restore individual liberty, limited constitutional government and free-markets.
Embassy Suites
9300 Baymeadows Road
Jacksonville, Florida 32256
Tel: 1-904-731-3555
Fax: 1-904-731-4972

Dinner Tickers: $65 ($67 via PayPal)

Payments may be sent via PayPal to , or mail your payment to the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida offices at:

W.G.Pitts (Attn: Republican Liberty Caucus)
7807 Baymeadows Road East, Suite 403
Jacksonville, FL 32256

Attendees are asked to submit their payment as early as possible so we can reserve their seat!
If you have any questions or would just like to know more about the convention, please contact Sarah Lovett by phone at 904-838-0621 or by email at .
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Members of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida are organizing a second “Say NO to Bailout” Rally.  The intention of this rally is to demonstrate the public’s displeasure with those who voted for the bailout the first time, and those who might vote for it again, including local Congressman Ander Crenshaw.  This rally will occur at 1061 Riverside Ave, in front of Congressman Ander Crenshaw’s office.  It is scheduled for Wednesday, October 1, from 4pm to 6pm.

The Republican Liberty Caucus is a grassroots, nationwide organization affiliated with the Republican Party, and we are committed to the continuation of the principles of our Founding Fathers.  (http://www.rlcfl.org)

If you have any questions, please contact Will Pitts, RLCNF Chairman by phone at 904-260-8472 or by email at .

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