Davidson County (TN) GOP Sets Hearing For Ouster Of Ron Paul Supporter

What's up with this, anyone?

http://politics.nashvillepost.com/2009/11/17/davidson-county...

Davidson County GOP Sets Hearing For Ouster Of Ron Paul Supporter
By Kleinheider Posted on November 17, 2009 at 10:31 pm

The Davidson County Republican Party has set a date for the closed-door hearing where its executive committee will decide whether controversial First Vice Chair Matt Collins will be stripped of his official party position.

The executive committee will meet at the Green Hills Hampton Inn at 6 p.m. Nov. 24 to decide Collins’ fate. A party spokeswoman confirms the meeting will be closed both to the public and to the press.

As the Davidson County party has no specific rules regarding the removal of a member, the county party will operate under Rule H of the state party’s bylaws.

The state bylaws list the parties who can conduct a removal hearing. In order of succession, they step down from county party chairman to county party vice chairman to a designate appointed by the state party chairman.

A DCRP spokeswoman tells Post Politics that Chairman Kathleen Starnes has recused herself from presiding over the hearing Tuesday. As Matt Collins is the first vice chair and is the member in question, the state party will choose the person who will preside over the hearing.

TNGOP chairman Chris Devaney told Post Politics in an email that a decision on who will preside over the hearing will be made in the “next couple of days.”

The Tennessee Republican Party, according spokeswoman Kim Ketchel, has been advising the Davidson County party on the process of removing Collins.

“The state party is a resource for anyone seeking interpretation or information regarding the state party’s bylaws,” Ketchel said. “Upon request, we provided the DCRP information about the bylaws and how they pertained to this specific situation.”

In October, the county party executive committee voted 14 to 5 (with two abstentions) to trigger the process of removal. The stated reasons for Collins’ removal were his “unprofessional actions and words” as well as his use of his title when expressing opinions “derogatory to and disrespectful of Republican candidates or elected officials.”

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http://politics.nashvillepost.com/2009/11/17/davidson-county...