Grant GOP resolves leadership crisis

MOSES LAKE — The Grant County Republican Party has had an identity crisis for the past several months after some Precinct Committee Officers opted to remove David Hunt as Grant County Party Chair during an Oct. 5, 2023, meeting, citing legal issues Hunt is facing and electing Andrew Koeppen as chair. Hunt said the October meeting’s chair election is invalid.

Washington GOP Chair Jim Walsh expressed frustration in a letter to both sides of the issue. 

“Frustrated Grant County officials have reached out to me with questions about who is authorized to speak and act for the Grant County Republican Party. So, in my capacity as Chairman of the Washington State Republican Party, I am writing this letter to help you resolve your differences and operate the Grant County GOP more effectively. If you cannot, the people of Grant County may not be able to participate in the 2A24 caucus and convention process as well and as completely as they deserve to,” Walsh wrote.

In a Tuesday email, Washington State Republican Party Communications Director Liz Economou said the WSRP recognizes Koeppen as the permanent sitting chair. That decision was made after an eventual April 4 meeting in Ephrata and confirmed during this past weekend’s WSRP convention in Spokane.

Hunt said he was unaware of any change in acknowledgment by the WSRP during a Tuesday phone interview.

“I haven’t been made aware of that yet,” Hunt said. “I have been told quite the opposite.” 

WSRP documents provided by Hunt prior to April 4 indicate support for Hunt as the party chair, though that has changed, per Economou, who said the acknowledgment was permanent.

Background

Hunt was elected chair of the Grant County GOP in January of 2023. At the time of the election, he said he was straightforward with the local PCOs who elected him and disclosed legal issues he had dealt with at the time. 

However, multiple PCOs indicated in interviews that they had not been aware of the extent of Hunt’s legal woes. Primary among their voiced concerns was a domestic violence case. Hunt also has a history of unpaid workers' compensation taxes from the mid-1990s. In the most recent case, concerns were documented that Hunt had threatened to shoot his wife from the top of Larson Elementary School, among other accusations of abuse and harassment toward his spouse, Elsa Hunt. The domestic violence case began in March 2020 with reports of verbal abuse, threats, intimidating behavior and telling his wife she should commit suicide. That report caused his wife to file for a restraining order which Hunt violated, according to court documents. A police report filed by Grant County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jason McDonnell reports that Hunt was arrested after sending text messages that he felt posed a credible threat. 

During an Oct. 5, 2023, meeting, some PCOs said the question of Hunt’s credibility under the circumstances led to them wanting to remove him as the county chairperson. After a contentious meeting which led to Hunt declaring the meeting over and leaving, Koeppen, Candace Erickson and other PCOs voted to remove Hunt. They said the removal was legitimate because Hunt had not properly closed the meeting under local bylaws which require a motion, a second and a vote to officially close the gathering.

Hunt said he did cancel the meeting without proper motions because he was concerned about safety.

“I have not only the right, but I have the duty to end that meeting when it becomes so out of hand that people are yelling and cussing at each other, for everybody’s safety,” Hunt said. 

Since the October fracas, the two sides have gone back and forth, involving the Grant County Auditor’s Office, various attorneys within Grant County government, private attorneys, Walsh — a Republican state representative who represents Aberdeen in Olympia – law enforcement and others to solidify their respective positions as the official Grant County Republican Party. 

An assessment from WSRP General Counsel Rob Maguire advised that Grant GOP’s current bylaws do not properly address removal and replacement of a sitting party chair or officer. 

“The Grant County Bylaws are not well drafted to address the removal and replacement of the GCRP Chair. The GCRP would be well-served by forming a bylaws committee to improve its bylaws and address the role of proxies, non-PCO voters, and the process for removing leadership,” Maguire wrote in a written recommendation to Walsh. “Such an undertaking may mitigate future disputes, and other county parties should consider similar reviews of their bylaws.” 

Walsh provided Maguire’s recommendations to both sides of the issue via email earlier this year.

WSRP intervention

On March 13, Grant County PCOs, taking Maguire’s advice, called for a special meeting to be held in the events room at Time Out Pizza in Ephrata at 6 p.m. April 4, according to a letter to Walsh from Washington GOP State Convention and Order of Business Committee Chair Paul Hess. That letter indicates that proper notification was given to PCOs in accordance with Grant GOP bylaws. 

Members of both of the Grant County Republican Party factions — both viewing themselves as official — showed up to the meeting which was run by Hess at the request of the PCOs that called the meeting. Marlene Pfeifer, WSRP National Committeewoman and Chair of Kittitas County, also attended the meeting to review the credentials for each PCO and party officer at the meeting, according to a written statement to Walsh from Hess. 

“Let it be noted that David Hunt and those elected PCOs that were in his camp all refused to sign in or show their government-issued photo IDs,” Hess wrote in that report. 

Hunt said that he arrived and went to seat himself as party chair but was denied the ability to do so and was told by Erickson and Hess that Hess would act as temporary chair for the special meeting. Hunt further said bylaws did not allow that situation. 

Video footage provided by the Ephrata Police Department indicates that EPD officers responded to the event after the discussion became heated, prompting someone at the meeting to call for law enforcement. That video shows Hunt in a heated debate with Hess which eventually led to Hunt stating that the meeting was canceled since it couldn’t be run properly. 

EPD officers eventually had to step in and inform attendees that only the people who had called the meeting could remain, and those who did not could only if they agreed to behave in an orderly manner. At that point, Hunt and his supporters left the meeting.

Moses Lake City Council Member David Skaug said the meeting was properly called, but not properly run. 

“Any PCO can call for a meeting, but the chair runs the meeting. That’s the bylaws,” Skaug said. “(Hess) even said, ‘Well, we’re not going to use your bylaws.’”

The meeting was run outside of normal bylaws for the Grant GOP, as recommended by Maguire, Hess’s report to Walsh indicates. 

Former Moses Lake School District Board Member Shannon Hintz said she attended the meeting.

“Paul Hess called the meeting to order, and immediately, David Hunt objected and ran towards the front desk where Paul Hess and the other (state-level) officials were sitting and started arguing loudly and wouldn’t allow Paul Hess to really explain or talk about why this was happening,” Hintz said. 

It became concerning enough that one PCO who had brought her child left and there was a concern that the meeting might get physical, she said. That led to the call for EPD to come and intervene.

Hintz said that the subsequent vote, which supported Koeppen’s bid for GCRP chair, appeared to be conducted fairly. No PCOs appointed by either Koeppen or Hunt were allowed to vote; only elected PCOs were included in a secret ballot. The contention, she said, was that Hunt felt PCOs he’d appointed should have been able to cast ballots.

Maguire’s legal advice had suggested only elected PCOs vote to avoid perceived biases toward Koeppen or Hunt, depending on who had appointed them. 

Hunt and Skaug both said they felt the election held on April 4 was illegitimate because the meeting wasn’t conducted in accordance with bylaws, nor did it have what they believed was a true quorum of PCOs. However, minutes from the meeting and Hess’ report indicate a quorum was present. 

According to the credentials report portion of the meeting minutes, 25 PCOs were elected and would have been eligible to vote. However, PCO Timothy Harris had passed away April 2, which reduced the number of elected PCOs to 24. Sixteen elected PCOs, totaling two-thirds of the total number were present, which met the requirement of 50% plus one PCO to form a quorum. 

A document listing all PCOs for the county’s GOP indicates 81 positions for PCOs, several of which are vacant or filled by appointees.

Skaug said one PCO attended via Zoom, which was not allowed under the bylaws. However, the minutes indicate that precedent existed and those present approved the remote participation via unanimous vote. Likewise, PCO Mindy McManis had left the meeting with her child after disruptions became heated and was allowed by unanimous vote to participate via telephone.

Hess was voted in as chair for the purpose of the meeting and conducted multiple votes by secret ballot that unanimously removed Hunt from the party chair position. In a 15-1 vote, the other officers in Hunt’s faction were removed from their respective positions. These included Vice-Chair and Moses Lake School Board Member Kirryn Jensen, Secretary Carla Urius, Treasurer Dan Delano and Parliamentarian Jon Smith. 

Koeppen said it was especially appropriate that any PCOs appointed by Hunt after the Oct. 5, 2023, meeting not be included in the voting process on April 4, because they hadn’t been appointed by the legitimate chair after the initial vote ousting Hunt.

Koeppen was subsequently unanimously elected as chair of the Grant County Republican Party during that meeting. Erickson was voted into the vice-chair position while Josh Cooper became secretary and Tammy Turner became treasurer.

Erickson was reconfirmed as state committeewoman, Linda Bishop as congressional representative and Rick Heiberg as state committeeman. 

As of Tuesday, Grant County had not updated who it considers the official chair of the GOP at the local level. A Monday email from Grant County Prosecutor Kevin McCrae said the party members needed to settle their internal dispute themselves.

“It is apparent there is still a dispute over who is the legitimate chair and leadership of the Grant County Republican Party. Neither the Auditor nor I have the legal authority to make the factual and legal determinations necessary to resolve this dispute. There is correspondence attached and below that I have received from each of you over the past 24 hours. Hopefully this short cuts public records requests. At this time I do not see a need for the County to determine who is the chair of the party. If that changes I will take actions to ensure that determination is made. You are, of course, free to take whatever legal action you see fit,” McCrae said in the correspondence addressed to both parties.

Skaug said he feels that, eventually, the issue will end up in a courtroom. Both sides of the issue have said the party’s funds belong to them and that the situation has led to difficulties in obtaining mail, banking and other aspects of the organization. 

Multiple local elected officials affiliated with the Republican Party declined to comment on the issue and said they were focused on the work they’d been elected to do, rather than dealing with local infighting. 

Koeppen’s position as chair was confirmed at the Washington State GOP Convention in Spokane last weekend and continues to be backed by WSRP officials.

Efforts forward

While disagreeing with the state’s backing of Koeppen’s election, Hunt and Skaug said Hunt’s faction in the situation would move forward and focus on other things for now.

Skaug said there would be work to support Semi Bird for the governor’s office and other elections and causes.

Koeppen said he’ll be working to update the party’s bylaws to include an orderly process for the removal of officers that PCOs have acted poorly. He also said he would look at instituting background checks for PCOs and officers before they are in a leadership position in the party. 

During the past several months, Koeppen’s faction hosted multiple events, including the Lincoln Day Dinner, one of the largest fundraisers for the local party.

Erickson said PCOs were excited to move forward with several upcoming events. Plans are in place to attend Moses Lake Spring Festival, the Grant County Fair and other public events. 

“We will have a unit … that will go through a number of parades here in the county. That’s one of the things that we’ve been working toward. We’ve got the vehicle already, got people signed up, then we’re going to do the (Grant County Fair and) in September we’re going to do an old-fashioned political rally,” Erickson said. 

While both factions appear to be moving forward, Skaug said it is still likely that the issue of party leadership will end up in a courtroom. In the meantime, he said he supports Hunt because he feels like Hunt has done a lot of good for the community and has gotten clean. Hunt has admitted to having previously had a problem with methamphetamine after becoming addicted to painkillers due to a work accident. He’s gone to rehab and has reconciled with his wife. 

“He gets more positive things done than anyone I’ve been involved with,” Skaug said.

Hunt’s court case regarding the domestic violence charges and subsequent law enforcement encounters is ongoing, according to court documents.

Bodycam videos documenting the Ephrata Police Department's Response to the incident at the restaurant in Ephrata may be found on the Columbia Basin Herald's YouTube channel.

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