Claiming Colorado GOP chairmanship, Eli Bremer asks court to declare Dave Williams was properly removed

By Ernest Luning

Aug 28, 2024

from The Denver Gazette

Photo: Dave Williams, current state GOP chairman

One of the two Colorado Republicans who lay claim to the title of state GOP chairman sued the other on Wednesday, escalating a battle for control of the party just weeks before ballots start going out to voters.

In the days since a group of the party's central committee members met to oust Dave Williams, the incumbent chairman, and elect Eli Bremer as his replacement, both men have insisted that they are the Colorado GOP's rightful leader while comparing the other to an illegal squatter.

Both have also filed court documents in different jurisdictions this week, each purportedly on behalf of the Colorado Republican Party, asking judges to order that his rival lacks legitimacy. Bremer, who was elected to chair the party at a meeting his opponents contend was "fake" and "illegal," filed a complaint Wednesday on behalf of the Colorado GOP in El Paso County District Court that accused Williams, who has run the party since last year, of being in breach of contract by refusing to step aside and refusing to relinquish control over the party's apparatus.

The lawsuit also names Hope Scheppelman and Anna Ferguson, the party's former or current vice chair and secretary, respectively, depending on whether the meeting held last Saturday at a church in Brighton was authorized to conduct party business or not.

After electing Bremer, the Republicans gathered in Brighton elected former Routt County Treasurer Brita Horn as party vice chair and picked former Mesa County GOP Chairman Kevin McCarney as state GOP secretary.

Williams rejected the results of that meeting as "fraudulent," saying in a statement that it had been convened by a "fringe element of our State Party" intent on damaging former President Donald Trump's chances in the November election.

Since his election at the disputed meeting, Bremer, a former chairman of the El Paso County GOP and Trump supporter, formally endorsed every Republican nominee in the state, something he said Williams had not yet done. Bremer also told Colorado Politics the party would immediately stop working to undermine some of its own candidates, addressing one of the charges leveled at Williams and his fellow party officers by critics.

"The republican candidates have felt they've been under attack from the former leadership," Bremer said. "That's issue No. 1, is to stop the bleeding."

Bremer also opened what he described as a temporary state party headquarters in Colorado Springs at an office occupied by Peak Republicans, an offshoot of the local county party formed two years ago amid complaints that the El Paso County GOP wasn't helping some Republican nominees.

At the same time, Williams' allies warned state Republicans that "hackers and thieves" were trying to steal the party's identity and urged central committee members to ignore anything that happened at last weekend's meeting and instead attend a rival meeting scheduled for the upcoming Saturday at a church in Castle Rock.

Williams' defenders, meanwhile, attacked Bremer and his supporters in party emails and social media posts as "self-promoting Republicans in Name Only" who were jeopardizing Trump's chances in Colorado.

In an email sent to state GOP central committee members on Wednesday, former state Rep. Ron Hanks, the party's ballot and election security chairman and an unsuccessful congressional candidate, branded the meeting that elected Bremer as party chairman a "fraud" and accused Bremer and his cohorts of engaging in "identity theft."

"Sadly, some foolish and gullible candidates took the bait and threw their support behind this sophomoric coup d etat, firmly establishing their true political views and how easily they would be manipulated by the Deep State if they ever attained office," Hanks said.

Following Bremer's election on Saturday, six of the state's eight republican U.S. House nominees issued a statement backing the change in leadership. Shortly after that, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee said the group considered Bremer and his fellow newly installed officers as legitimate and added that the NRCC looked forward to working with the party.

Citing party bylaws and state statutes in the lawsuit filed Wednesday, Bremer asked the court to rule that Republicans who organized last Saturday's meeting followed procedures when they voted out Williams and his lieutenants.

"Defendants — the officers removed — refuse to acknowledge their removal and continue to exercise control over party property including bank accounts, office space, and web domains," Bremer's complaint says. "This lawsuit seeks to vindicate the party’s control over its own affairs and leadership."

Williams didn't respond to a request for comment on the new lawsuit.

On Tuesday, Scheppelman and several of her colleagues, including Ferguson and state party treasurer Tom Bjorklund, congratulated Williams on the birth of his son the day before in a mass email sent to state Republicans.

"This precious new life brings immense joy and reminds us of the values we all hold dear — faith in God, the sanctity of life, and the strength of family," the party email said. "Dave Williams is not only our current, rightfully elected Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party; he is also a dedicated husband and father to four amazing children."

The email, which featured a photo of a smiling Williams holding his newborn, went on to refute assertions made by Bremer while lobbing attacks at Williams' detractors.

"Under Chairman Dave Williams' strong leadership, we are on a winning path, laser-focused on the upcoming general election and fully dedicated to our 226 candidates," the email said. "Unlike the fringe minority faction that seeks to disrupt our progress through deceit and lies, we remain undeterred and united."

A lawsuit initially filed last month in Arapahoe County District Court by Williams and the state GOP — asking the court to declare that Williams' critics lacked standing to call a meeting to try to remove him — is working its way through the appeals process following multiple adverse rulings against Williams.

This week, Williams filed an amended motion seeking an injunction from appellate judges to prevent his opponents from taking over the party.

With just 10 weeks to go until the election, Williams' court filing said, "the Republican Party in the State of Colorado – depending on factional allegiance – claims two chairpersons, two vice chairpersons, and two secretaries. Such a situation is not sustainable and dangerous to the public in an election cycle desperately requiring open, honest, accurate, and fair elections."

By 5 p.m. on Wednesday, the court of appeals had yet to issue a ruling.