How to “Fire” the Nevada GOP Chairman

(Chuck Muth) – In response to my call a couple weeks ago to bring in a new leader for the Nevada Republican Party, many folks have asked how to “fire” current Chairman Michael McDonald since he’s dug in his Louboutin stilettos and is refusing to step aside after losing four straight election cycles.

Two ways, according to a longtime member of the party’s governing body who filled me in on the details…

First, the Nevada Republican Central Committee (NRCC) could elect a new chairman at its regularly scheduled meeting next fall/winter.  But even that’s in dispute.

At the Fall 2021 NRCC meeting, a series of major bylaws changes were approved late in the day – after a number of members left early to catch their flights home – without debate or discussion.

One of those changes changed the term of office for the chairman and other officers from two years to four years – which some argue means McDonald isn’t up for election until 2025, not 2023. The new bylaw on this reads…

“Regular elections shall be held at the fall/winter regular meeting of the NRCC in the calendar year following a presidential election.”

Since the next presidential election isn’t until the fall of 2024, that would seem to mean the next election for chairman wouldn’t occur until the fall of 2025.

However, since the bylaws change wasn’t adopted until after the 2020 presidential election, others on the Central Committee argue that the current officers, including McDonald, can’t be “grandfathered” in and must stand for election in the fall of 2023.

These are the kinds of *critical* issues the GOP Central Committee mires itself in rather than, you know, registering Republicans, getting Republicans to the polls, and electing Republicans.

Talk about fiddling while Rome burns!

The second option is for the Central Committee to recall McDonald and then elect a new chair. But good luck with that.  McDonald’s allies on the committee have made that almost impossible to do.

Let’s start with the bylaws language that says an officer of the party can be removed “for cause.”

But I can’t find any definition of what “for cause” means and can easily imagine the NRCC wasting an entire day trying to decide if losing four straight election cycles is “cause.”

For argument’s sake, let’s say it is.  Then, per the new bylaws language…

“Removal of an elected officer for cause shall be placed on the agenda of the next regular meeting of the NRCC upon written request of twenty percent (20%) of the total membership of the NRCC, excluding ex-officio members. Any such request must be submitted to the Secretary a minimum of 60 days prior to a scheduled meeting.”

And since the next NRCC meeting is scheduled for January 14 in Ely, there’s no way to submit such a request within that timeline so that a recall vote could be conducted.

The subsequent meeting of the NRCC is scheduled to be held sometime during the upcoming legislative session in Carson City.  But to the best of my knowledge, the date for that meeting has yet to be set.  So no one knows when the “60 days” clock starts ticking.

Hang on; it gets worse.

To force a recall vote, a request has to be made by 20% “of the total membership of the NRCC.”  Let’s say there are 300 members.  If so, recall proponents would have to get 60 members to sign a recall request.

Sounds simple, right?  Wrong.

Because it’s the (very convenient) policy of the NRCC not to share its membership list…even with its own members! So you have no idea who to even contact to ask members to sign a recall petition, let alone know how to contact them.

Which also, by the way, means candidates who wish to run for leadership positions in regular elections have no idea who the voting members are and, therefore, are unable to campaign directly with members ahead of an election.

Candidates have to get permission from the party Secretary to have her send out any communications to NRCC members.

This is both absurd and obscene.  Members of the Central Committee represent ALL Nevada Republicans. But Republicans in Nevada have no idea who their representatives even are, let alone how to contact them.

As if that’s not bad enough, again, it gets worse.  The newly-approved bylaws also state…

“Removal of an elected officer for cause shall require a 2/3 vote of the total members and proxies of the membership of the NRCC present at the meeting.”

So if 300 members show up at a meeting where a recall election is to be conducted, 200 must vote in favor of the recall. An extremely high hurdle to recall an officer who only needed a simple majority to get elected in the first place.

This is “incumbent protection” writ large.  Consider…

NRCC regular members still only get two-year terms while the chairman and other officers now get four-year terms.

And if the NRCC wants to kick a regular member – not an officer – off the committee for, say, daring to challenge the incumbent leadership, such a removal petition only needs 10%, not 20%, of the members to make such a request.

And removal can be passed by just a simple majority of members present at the meeting, instead of a 2/3 super-majority.

McDonald may not be able to get Republicans registered, turned out, or elected…but he’s done one helluva job getting himself elected and re-elected by hook or by crook.

It’s good ta be da king.

P.S.  If it turns out I got anything wrong about the rules or process in this mess, I’m sure I’ll hear about it and will correct any mistakes in a future edition of Muth’s Truths.

Muth’s Truths PLUS+

If you’re not an “Inner Circle” member yet, here’s what you missed in this morning’s edition of the Muth’s Truth’s PLUS+ member e-newsletter…

• The 2 candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring to replace Nevada GOP National Committeewoman Michele Fiore…and why one might not be eligible
• Where Nevada’s GOP National Committee members are or might be in the upcoming RNC chairmanship race
• The scheduling controversy the Nevada GOP faces for its January 14 meeting in Ely
• The BIG mystery behind what NV GOP Chair Mike McDonald is hiding about his vote fraud allegations

“Inner Circle” members can click here to access the issue in your membership archive.

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If you have any problems, email me at chuck@citizenoutreach.com.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

“We’re spending money we don’t have.  Go home and sell your projects, go home and talk about all the pork you’re bringing home. But you’re destroying the United States of America, absolutely destroying this body. … Everything the American people are watching right now is a complete sham. It’s a fraud, a fraud being perpetrated on the American people right before their eyes, right as we head into Christmas.” – Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) on passage of the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill

Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views and blogs at MuthsTruths.com.  His views are his own.