Angry With Arnold: Insider Information About Susan Kennedy Mess
This was emailed to subscriber’s from political activist Steven Frank and it is a scary look into the leadership vacuum that exists in the California GOP, unfortunately. Suffice to say, we are the minority for a reason.
I am a bit confused. On Thursday, the Governor and the Board of Directors of the California Republican Party met at the Sacramento Hyatt to discuss the appointment of Susan Kennedy as Chief of Staff. This was supposed to be an Executive Session, that means nothing said in the room was to be discussed outside the room.
Whether or not the Board should have held such a meeting is an issue for another day , but the rumor is that non Board members were seen going into the room for the meeting–meaning that legally it was not an Executive Session, unless the Board voted to allow them in–the question then is, did the Board specifically vote to allow non members to attend, some of whom are not even members of the California Republican Party organization?
After the governor’s session that lasted about an hour, the CRP chairman , Duf Sundheim, said of the Kennedy matter, “I think that issue has been put to rest . The Governor made it clear she is there to implement his policies. She’s totally committed to that, and we support his decision.” (SacBee 12/16/05)
Mr. Sundheim believes the Board “supports this (the appointment of Kennedy as Chief of Staff) decision” ” He said that, flat out. Did the Board take a vote? Was it unanimous or divided?
Tom Del Beccaro, chairman of the County Chairmans Association has a different view of the meeting from Duf. His website recently had this statement: “Please note that, contrary to the report, the Board of Directors of the Party did not vote to support the Gov’s decision to appoint Ms. Kennedy and most Board Members, including Publisher Tom Del Beccaro, continue to believe the appointment was not right or in the best interest of the CA GOP for several reasons.”
So is Duf representing the needs of the Governor, after having lunch with Susan Kennedy on Wednesday, or is he representing the needs of the Republican Party of California?
Either way, the statements from Sundheim and Del Becarro will have the effect of even more confusion and distrust of the Party and its leaders. I have spoken to several Board members since this story broke last night. I asked a very simple question: Do you support the appointment of Susan Kennedy? All answered no. As this is being written just before 9:00am on Friday, about a dozen emails have been received denouncing the Board of Directors, based on the newspaper stories–none saying, “great, we are united and support the Governors decision as well.”
It should be known that many on the Board did not want an Executive Session, but the Chairman, Duf Sundheim announced that the Governor would only meet with them under those conditions. That caused one member of the Board to leave the room.
In fact, even liberal county chairs like Leslie Conejo of Ventura County could only say, “let it be, it is a done deal”. That is not a ringing endorsement from the Party.
This has united the Left and the Right in the GOP. Steve Poizner (in comments in the flashreport.org) made clear this was not a decision he wanted or thought was best for the GOP. Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly Party, has an online petition in opposition to Kennedy.
CRA Petition Against Susan Kennedy
In Duf’s defense, he is in a tough position — trying to please his Board of Directors the GOP volunteers, and the Governor’s office. To be a successful chair, he needs the support of all.
The statements about the outcome of the meeting will make it even more difficult for Duf to lead the CRP — I wish it were different.
We need to unite the Party, including the Governor. We want a successful Republican administration to help show the public next Fall that we can govern. The energy of the base has been sucked out. We might face a very serious problem next Fall when we will have Political Plans, with few volunteers to implement them. We need real leadership from all sectors of the Party, rebuild the trust and principled values of why folks became Republicans. At this point we seem to be moving further away from that goal.
Posted by Aaron F. Park