Shortly after Election 2016, I had faced a number of crushing, frustrating challenges within the California Republican Party leadership, specifically within Los Angeles County, and directly with the 66th Assembly District Central Committee.
The Chairwoman of the district, who was responsible for getting Hadley re-elected as well as helping Republican clubs work together and grow, had spent more time badgering me to cancel a meeting with Latinos for Trump.
Her name is Janice Webb.
She spent more time plotting to get rid of me and sideline other activists.
She violated labor laws and called my work, called my boss to pressure me to cancel the meeting hosted by the Beach Cities Republicans, the club for which I was President.
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Hadley made Janice Webb (above) a delegate, a horrific person
who violated labor laws and tried to stop a
Latinos for Trump event in the South Bay |
She and the rest of the corrupt RPLAC leadership threatened me and the rest of the club, telling them that they had to reject electing me again as the President, or they would revoke the club's charter. The members called their bluff.
They ended up lying, breaking a number of rules, and ultimately revoking our charter because ... we were a successful, active club that was registering new members, voters, and participating in the community.
Members of the central committee were also working with liberal groups that promoted illegal immigration. I exposed a lot of this corruption and abuse of power, but that's another story.
After the 2016 election, which Hadley lost, I had agreed to sit down and meet with him to discuss what he wanted to do going forward. He had responded that he had no interest in talking about what other people had done wrong--even though they were engaging in some very corrupt, unethical practices, which included moving meetings and not telling members of the local Central Committee.
Finally, I wrote this letter of protest:
David:
I respect your interest not to allow petty, internecine fights drag
down the already weakened RPLAC and CAGOP.
But it's time to ask harder questions, like why LA County did take on a
deeper hue of blue?
Why? It all DOES connect to the "he said--she said" fights.
In the mean time ...
Where is the registration? Nowhere.
Where is the outreach? Not to be seen (unless you see people like me
who go to Huntington Park and Cudahy, or visit with other Trump-Republicans in
Long Beach).
Why all the RPLAC anti-volunteer mismanagement (which points to why I have
made a big to-do about Janice Webb's abusive behavior as well as the threats
against the Beach Cities Republicans).
The same leadership doing the same things ...
RPLAC raised $500,000. That's IT?!
Where are the connections with other policy-based activist groups like
" Pro-Life Generation"? How about "Students First" or "The
Right To Work Foundation"?
Let's Face it -- Big Labor flooded AD-66, and washed us out!
Why are we not connecting with hard-hitting journalists like Phelim
McLeer, who is exposing that the anti-fracking agenda is corrupt and
anti-worker?
We need to start shaping the culture of Los Angeles County, not just
thinking about influencing the next election.
Why ARE there so many factions fighting in this county?
I will tell you -- grassroots activists like myself are given the
finger or brushed aside so that a few moneyed interests can dictate what happens.
THAT IS WRONG!
RPLAC has to have consensus leadership.
The paradigm of center-right is not working, because the extremes
define the center, and many in both camps embrace clashing views.
Let's focus on consensus reforms.
Yes, that was a lot - but it feels good to outline all of this.
Still up for a cup? (Coffee, that is) -- if it has to be at a shop
during my lunch hour -- fine.
For the record, I am not interested in play-time, and I am not sure
that "center-right" as a paradigm is enough.
And this is the arrogant, tone-deaf, RPLAC-enabling response I received from Hadley:
From: David Hadley
Sent: Thursday, December 1, 2016 10:10:08 AM
To: Arthur Christopher Schaper
Subject: Re: Regarding RPLAC and CAGOP Future
Arthur,
I have read your email to me, and I have read your email to RPLAC/ADCC, and I am going to give you some tough love.
It is a waste of time for you to spend a lot of time popping off and asking questions: why RPLAC raises so little money, or why there is no voter registration, or why we are not building certain kinds of coalitions.
Excuse my slight overstatement to make a point, but there is basically no CRP. There is practically no RPLAC. As far as I know, RPLAC has one paid staffer (Jason Maruca) and a lot of volunteers. They are up against the mightiest political machine in the country. The chair of the ADCC is a volunteer, doing what he/she can. Reading long emails from a person who (as far as I know) has never run for RPLAC, who wants to ask a bunch of rhetorical questions and offer a bunch of opinions about how to MakeCaliforniaGreatAgain, is not a good use of their time or my time.
Six years ago I was frustrated and horrified by many of the same weaknesses that you identified in your email. I didn't write long emails berating then-current RPLAC or ADCC members to do their jobs better. I agreed to become the chair of BCR, and I did the best job at that that I could. It was the only political job I did. Then I was asked to run for the ADCC, and I agreed, and I agreed to become chair in the fall of 2012. You know the rest of the story from there. But I never once asked people why they weren't doing their jobs. I picked a job and I did it - whether it was BCR, or ADCC, or candidate, or legislator. And as I gained knowledge and credibility and experience, I tried to help people be more effective, but I tried not to opine on things that I didn't have the time to do myself.
I appreciate your effort to mend fences and your offer "how can I help?" in your RPLAC/ADCC email. IMHO, the right approach is to go pick a job and do it well, figure out how to do it. If RPLAC knew how to raise money, they would. They don't know how. If they knew how to register voters, they would. They either don't know how or don't have the resources to execute. Go do something that isn't being done, and do it well. Don't write emails about how others should spend their time or do their jobs.
BTW, there is virtually no significance to being a chartered organization. There is virtually no significance that comes from being on the ADCC or RPLAC. You could do what you wanted to do to help with a position, or without one. Go do a job well - whether it is BCR, or blogging, or something else - and develop relationships with people along the way.
That is my advice. Take it for what it is worth, DFH
Here are the statements that I want you to see:
It is a waste of time for you to spend a lot of time popping off and asking questions: why RPLAC raises so little money, or why there is no voter registration, or why we are not building certain kinds of coalitions.
Really? But wait a minute ... isn't the purpose of a Central Committee, whether at the county or even the assembly district level to:
1. Raise money
2. Register votes
3. Run candidates?
Those are not "waste of time" questions. Those questions must be asked and answered so that Republicans can start fighting and winning again
How about this?
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| Yes, those are Hadley's own words to me. |
Excuse my slight overstatement to make a point, but there is basically no CRP. There is practically no RPLAC. As far as I know, RPLAC has one paid staffer (Jason Maruca) and a lot of volunteers.
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"Hookt on Foniks werkt 4 mee!"
Jason Maruca: Yes, this overpaid hack
misspelled my own name when he wrote an email
telling me to resign as President of BCR because ... I was a Republican
And yes, RPLAC paid him $5000 a month. |
If there is no CRP, aka California Republican Party, if there is no RPLAC, Republican Party of Los Angeles County, then why run for Chairman of the Party?
Why serve as Vice-Chair? What is Hadley hoping to get out of all of this, then?
By the way, the paid staffer Jason Maruca was a functionally illiterate glorified secretary getting paid $5000 a month! That's right. All that money that Charles "The Bow-Tied One" Munger was pouring into the Los Angeles County Central Committee was ... paying for one overpaid staffer and little else.
As for "a lot of volunteers", most of the volunteers felt snubbed and pushed away. Most volunteers worked with candidates only, and they rejected the notion of helping the county party. The corrupt central committee revoked the charter for two active clubs, the Beach Cities Republicans and the Mountain View Republicans. RPLAC didn't raise money. They didn't register voters. They violated numerous by-laws.
Here's one story: Andy Gharakani, the power behind the throne (toilet bowl, more accurately) wasted a bunch of money to register voters one year, and nothing came of it except ... a lot of wasted money. Period.
How about this? Carl De Maio had to call out RPLAC this past week because they didn't want to help with the Yes on Prop 6 gas tax repeal! Unreal.
Then Hadley gives me a history lesson:
Six years ago I was frustrated and horrified by many of the same weaknesses that you identified in your email. I didn't write long emails berating then-current RPLAC or ADCC members to do their jobs better.
Six years later, and RPLAC still sucks. Those weaknesses have not been fixed, and they have ruined Republican chances of winning. You can't fix problems if you won't call them out. I called them out, and they kicked out the Beach Cities Republicans. Strange.
If RPLAC knew how to raise money, they would. They don't know how. If they knew how to register voters, they would. They either don't know how or don't have the resources to execute.
Huh? If leaders in a county central committee don't know how to do their jobs, then why are they still there? People like Gary Aminoff and Maureen Johnson have been barnacles on the ship for decades, and things have gotten steadily worse. Richard Sherman? Who is this guy? Howard Hakes? Would someone please tell me why this New Majority add-on has only helped make Republicans a New Permanent Minority in Los Angeles County? Janice Webb? The only reason she was appointed to anything is because of her skin color. Guess what? That is racist.
Oh, and she's an arrogant bully whom no one wants to work with, and she should no longer have any position of power or authority in local or county central committee leadership.
Sorry if this is a shock to some, but part of a party is that the members must select leaders who are willing to ... lead. If the leaders fail, then new ones need to take over. Why is it that such routine and repeated confidence continues to take over RPLAC? The members aren't allowed to have a say, because the executive committee will move meetings without telling members, violate by-laws, revoke the charters of clubs, or change the by-laws in order to get rid of inconvenient members.
In short: corruption. They also lied to the press repeatedly about me, covering up for why the Beach Cities Republican charter was revoked, then cited my "inappropriate activities" at city councils and town halls. There's just one problem: RPLAC revoked the charter BEFORE I engaged in any of those so-called "inappropriate" activities.
What is the cause of all this?
Two words: Andy Gharakani. Three Words: The New Majority. One Word: RINOs
And who is Gharakani backing for CAGOP Chair? Wait for it ... David Hadley.
And last of all, Hadley writes:
BTW, there is virtually no significance to being a chartered organization. There is virtually no significance that comes from being on the ADCC or RPLAC. You could do what you wanted to do to help with a position, or without one.
Hadley says that Central Committees don't matter ... RPLAC doesn't matter ... There is no significance to being a chartered organization ...
Again ... why is David Hadley running for Republican Party of California Chairman if he holds the organization and institutions in such low esteem? I will go one further: why does he want to run an entire statewide organization when he holds its individual members (like me) and its volunteer clubs (like the Beach Cities Republicans) in such low esteem?
Why not ask David Hadley ...
Here is his email: davidfhadley@gmail.com
Here is his phone number: (310) 600-6937
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"There is no CRP"
But I want to be its CHAIRMAN!
ME! ME! ME! |
