By Dan Harvell
Anderson County Republican Party Chairman
The bi-annual convention of The Anderson County Republican Party (ACRP) was held April 15 at T.L. Hanna High School.
Last week’s Journal article about the convention, written by reporter Stan Welch, was lacking on some important facts. Furthermore, it would appear from the “anonymous” quotes used by Mr. Welch that this piece was more an subjective editorial than a news article.
Only two quotes were attributed by name, one of those being ACRP member Kurt Gibson, He denies making such a statement that to the reporter. Mr. Gibson’s interview was done by phone and no one I have spoken to saw Welch present at the convention.
The circumstance that occurred has been totally resolved and the assertion of wrongdoing by anyone associated with the ACRP has been completely debunked. Human error was the one and only factor that rendered “confusion” at the convention.
As chairman, I made every effort to stay hands off and away from the voting process of electing officers for the next two years. The ballots were placed in the delegate packets entirely by the registration committee and handed to the delegates as they checked in using the list of delegates formulated from the precinct reorganization that occurred in March.
Any accusation of “unsecured” ballots is false. At the Greenville County Republican Party convention this past Saturday, the same basic procedure was observed. As the delegates approached registration they were identified by the master lists and handed a delegate ID badge and the packet. The ID badge contained a sticker with the name that could be removed and placed on the packet, if that was done. However, the original packets as given out were unsealed and without names. They trusted their volunteers at the registration desks to be honest. We trust our ACRP volunteers just the same.
At our convention, the number of credentialed delegates was fifteen less than the number of ballots cast, therefore the problem. Most unfortunately, no re-count of the number of delegates certified by the Credentials Committee was done. Had that re-count been performed between the Credentials and Tally Committees prior to the public announcement of “a problem,” the matter would have been resolved, the confusion averted, and those in attendance would have left without any questions concerning the election.
But human error in accounting and judgment occurs. We should all be understanding, kind and thankful for all the volunteer time and effort that goes into such endeavors.
We as Republicans in Anderson County strive for transparency, accountability and integrity in all levels of public service and government, therefore this issue had to be resolved.
Thank you for allowing the ACRP to clarify the confusing nature of Mr. Welch’s article.
Dan Harvell, chairman
The Anderson County Republican Party
