BRIGHTON, Colo. — Members of Colorado's Republican Party voted to remove the party's top leadership from office Saturday.
Dave Williams, Vice Chair Hope Scheppelman, and Secretary Anna Ferguson were voted out as leaders of the Colorado GOP Saturday, but those party leaders have already said they considered Saturday’s meeting and vote fake.
Party members also voted on who will now lead the state party, electing Eli Bremer as the new chairman.
“To those who say don’t change the rider in the middle of a race, that’s a valid argument, unless of course the rider is trying to kill the horse,” said El Paso County Republican Vice Chairman Todd Watkins.
Watkins has been trying to oust Williams for months.
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“We have zero confidence in the ability of the current leadership,” Watkins said. “The only reason for a political party to exist, the only reason to have a political party is to get your people into policy-making positions. The current leadership of this party is not going to get anybody in any position, and they’ve really taken no effort to do that. In fact, they spent money to attack their own during the primaries. I can’t fathom that.”
Colorado Republicans began calling for Williams' removal in June after he signed a mass email sent by the state party attacking Pride Month, referring to the LGBTQ community as "godless groomers," Colorado Politics reported. Criticism increased after the state Republican Party posted a call on social media to "Burn all the #pride flags this June."
Efforts to remove Williams hit a snag in July when an Arapahoe County District Court judge granted a temporary restraining order preventing a meeting to potentially oust him from happening. The same judge later rescinded that restraining order, allowing Watkins to call for Saturday's meeting in Brighton.
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But the Colorado Republican Party sent out an email to its members after the judge's ruling, saying the next "properly called" meeting would be on Aug. 31 because the State Executive Committee had decided that the meeting on Saturday was invalid and illegal. The issue of Williams' removal is expected to be discussed again there.