I attended a meeting of the Hanover Republican Committee several months ago. This was a meeting at which then Congressional Candidate Dave Brat spoke.
It was a very well attended meeting and the room was packed. Most of the attendees were not members of the committee, but were Dave Brat supporters.
Nancy Russell, the Chairman of the Committee, who had openly supported Eric Cantor in the primary saw the crowd and ordered all non-members to leave the room as the capacity was exceeded and she was in violation of the fire code.
Several people told me that at the last meeting, Russell again cleared the room, this time because they were about to discuss the financial situation of the Committee. They did not go into Executive Session and they allowed current members to remain in the room.
The Party Plan of the Republican Party of Virginia states:
ARTICLE VII
Official Committees – GeneralSECTION G. Public Meetings
All Official Committee meetings shall be held in a building appropriate for public use and shall be open to the public.
The Bylaws do not say except when the treasury report is given, nor does it allow a public meeting to suddenly become a private, secret meeting because the room is over capacity. It is the responsibility of the Chairman to ensure that the facility is large enough to accommodate the crowd. Failing that, it is the responsibility of the Chairman to ensure the room does not violate the fire code in the first place by halting admission when capacity is reached – without regard to Committee membership. This is an open meeting and first come – first served order should be the rule.
What is not acceptable is filling up the room and closing the meeting to non members who have just as much right to attend as members.
So the next time Nancy Russell abuses her office by closing the meeting, someone needs to bring up a point of order and point out the bylaws that require the meeting to be public.
Nancy Russell should know better.
About Tom White
Tom is a US Navy Veteran, owns an Insurance Agency and is currently an IT Manager for a Virginia Distributor. He has been published in American Thinker, currently writes for the Richmond Examiner as well as Virginia Right! Blog. Tom lives in Hanover County, Va and is involved in politics at every level and is a Recovering Republican who has finally had enough of the War on Conservatives in progress with the Leadership of the GOP on a National Level.
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says:
Not only did Russell make some non-members leave the room, she allowed some non-members to STAY in the room after Mr. Nelson asked them to leave. Bill Janis was told he could stay in the room, even after he acknowledged he was not a member. Some people are more equal than others.
The rules only apply to the little people.
A personally saw a number of new young 20 -somethings blocked from the meeting. They were obviously befuddled & PIXXED! What a shame!
The problem with the civilized method of raising a “point of order” is that only a member can do so. OTOH, simply remaining in your seat when told to leave would have forced Russell’s hand.
Before the meeting, I asked an individual if he was interested in becoming a member of the HRC. He said no. After telling him we would be discussing the budget and he would be asked to leave the room, he said he understood. At the meeting, there were elected officials, committee members, members subsequently voted in, individuals who gave me applications to become members, Republican candidates, and guests.
The Treasurer’s annual report and budget are most certainly sensitive because they highlight 2014 results and our priorities in this important election year in Hanover County. The members, who must approve the budget, have a priority right to know how it was prepared and the justification for the amounts, particularly those tied to actual financial results. That information was presented, in hard copy detail and in an open and transparent manner, without going into Executive Session for current members only.
With the exception of guests, I should have made clear that everyone else could stay and frankly did not do a good job of saying that. Instead I noted the sensitive nature of the information, with the result that some left who should have stayed. As for the presentation, I make no apologies for it or for the information provided at the meeting. Bob Nelson, HRC Treasurer
Actually, with the current leadership of the Committee being as it quite obviously it’s understandable that one would decline to join.