Jean Gannon Wins Powhatan GOP Appeal, Chairmanship Returned To Her

In the great news department, Jean Gannon won her appeal at Saturday’s meeting of the Republican Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee by a vote of 45-34. She had gone to state central to reverse a grievous decision by the 7th Congressional District when they overturned the Powhatan County Republican Committee’s April mass meeting.

At that meeting, Jean had won the chairman position, upsetting incumbent chair Patrick McSweeney whose rigid exclusiveness had alienated unit members and elected officials.  After losing the mass meeting, McSweeney appealed that loss to the 7th District where they overturned the mass meeting results and returned the chairmanship to him. That led to Saturday’s state central meeting.

Stacie Gordon live-blogged the state central appeal at MillennialAscent:

Jean Gannon’s appeal is now being heard. Wendell Walker is now presiding as chair. Mike Thomas is speaking on Jean’s behalf… discusses the unusual actions taken by supporters of McSweeney during the Powhatan mass meeting (i.e. attempt to waive the reading of the call, attempt to hijack the credentials committee, etc.).

Vice Chairman Thomas points out that McSweeney supporters failed to challenge any voter no the floor of the mass meeting… only took issue by appealing after the fact…. he argues that once the mass meeting was over, the right to challenge those voters died with it.

Mike Thomas: “Jean Gannon still won, she won fair and square.”

2:20 PM – McSweeney’s argument is now being heard… questions the participants of the mass meeting… states that they have a right to look into those participants and determine if there are any known Democrats trying to participate… denies accusations that there was any effort to delay proceedings. Argues that

2:30 PM – SCC members will now be given 15 minutes to speak in favor of Jean’s appeal followed by another 15 minutes to speak against it. Then a vote will be taken to either uphold or invalidate the 7th District Committee’s decision to overturn the Powhatan mass meeting and restore the previous committee.

2:34 PM – A question has been directed to Ben Sloane (7th District Chairman)… clarifying that the ruling to overturn the Powhatan mass meeting would also call for another mass meeting.

2:37 PM – A motion has been made by Eric Herr to delay the vote on Jean Gannon’s appeal until the next SCC meeting at the 2016 Advance AFTER the election. A vote has NOT yet been taking on this motion.

What a cop out… frankly… I don’t know what’s going on now… 

2:41 PM – The motion to postpone the decision on Jean Gannon’s appeal has been seconded. It is clarified that should the SCC approve this motion, the 7th District Committee’s call for another mass meeting take place would stand at present.

2:43 PM – A vote is taken by voice vote… unclear.

2:45 PM – The motion fails by standing vote.

I wonder if McSweeney will try to challenge the participants of this standing vote at the Advance….  

3:00 PM – Jackson Miller makes a strong statement in favor of Jean Gannon’s appeal to thunderous applause. He points out that one of the participants of the mass meeting being challenged is LEE WARE!

3:09 PM – SCC is now voting on the decision by roll-call.

3:12 PM – Jean win!!!! 45-34

Jean Gannon, who had grown her committee to 67 members in just three months after her April win only to see it dissolved by the 7th Congressional District, has now been justified and her win recognized. If only we had more hard-working, dedicated Republicans like Jean, our party would be in good shape.

Powhatan GOP’s Overturned Mass Meeting Going to State Central

At the April 5, 2016, Powhatan County Republican Committee mass meeting, Jean Gannon won the chairman position with 131 votes. Pat McSweeney lost with 99 votes. In the world of McSweeney and Friends, that meant appeal, and his allies on the 7th Congressional District Committee handed the lost chairman’s seat back to him.

For the past few years there has been a steady stream of longtime Virginia Republican volunteers purged from committees on one pretense or another because they were not in favor with those in charge. On July 16, the purging of Republicans continued as members of the 7th Congressional District voted after a four-hour meeting to overturn the April 5 Powhatan County Republican Committee mass meeting.

It was yet another case of someone disgruntled because they lost an election but, lacking solid grounds for reversing the results, challenged it on the basis of something they did themselves. In this case, the appeal has been a moving target ever since McSweeney began the process, including a missed deadline to file the appeal. The entire process has been a complete corruption of the system. This is the Republican Party, not Al Gore constantly trying to figure out how voters intended to vote. Mr. McSweeney should have been honorable about his loss, as Ms. Gannon was in 2014, and he should have planned to run again in two years. These games are beneath the dignity of the GOP.

Unfortunately, the 7th Congressional District did what committees should not do. McSweeney’s allies made their decision based on who they wanted — an ally as unit chair — not on the facts.

The July 16, 2016, appeal meeting
By a vote of 11-4 (with 3 abstaining), the 7th District: 1) overturned the April 5 mass meeting; 2) handed the chair position back to Pat McSweeney who had appealed his 131-99 loss to Jean Gannon; 3) reinstalled committee officers under McSweeney — vice chair, secretary, treasurer; 4) instructed Powhatan GOP to conduct another mass meeting.

Republican victories provide opportunity for outreach with RPV

By Daniel P. Cortez

Nationally as conservatives revel becoming the majority party in the U.S. Senate, Virginia’s Republicans eye new minority and independent converts with the right leader.  Tenth District Congresswoman-elect Barbara Comstock and her new-found national prominence achieves such status as did Stafford Congressman Rob Wittman, surprising no one with his landslide reelection to a fourth term.  But what will the RPV do?