Colorado GOP sues county Republican officers to block effort to remove Dave Williams as party chair

By Ernest Luning Jul 19, 2024

from Colorado Politics

Photo:Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

The Colorado Republican Party sued two county GOP officers late Thursday in an attempt to block a group of Republicans from removing Dave Williams as the state party's chairman.

In a lawsuit filed in Arapahoe County District Court, Williams, on behalf of the state GOP, asks the court to rule that an upcoming meeting of the state party's central committee — called by Williams' critics to consider whether to fire Williams — won't qualify as official party business.

The lawsuit also asks the court to prevent defendants Nancy Pallozzi, the Jefferson County GOP chair, and Todd Watkins, the El Paso County GOP vice chair, from using party email accounts, the state GOP's logo and the official party database to pursue their efforts to oust Williams, citing a recent ruling by the state Republicans' executive committee that declared Pallozzi's and Watkins' activities "null and void."

It's the latest development in a mounting feud between warring factions within the Colorado Republican Party,

Williams, a combative former state lawmaker from Colorado Springs, who has led the state GOP since March 2023, has faced demands that he step down since January, when Williams joined a contested primary for the congressional seat held by retiring U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn.

In early June, Pallozzi launched an organized drive urging Williams to resign or face a vote to remove him as chairman after Williams authored party emails and social media posts attacking the LGBTQ community's Pride Month. The calls grew louder after Williams lost the congressional primary by a wide margin to political operative and former radio host Jeff Crank, despite Williams' endorsement by former President Donald Trump.

Earlier this month, Watkins issued a formal call for a July 27 meeting of the state Republican Party's central committee at a church in Brighton after he said Williams and other state GOP officers failed to comply with a petition Watkins submitted in June demanding the party schedule a special meeting to consider removing Williams. In his notice, Watkins said the meeting could also consider whether to remove the Colorado party's two other statewide officers, vice chair Hope Scheppelman and secretary Anna Ferguson.

Scheppelman, a Williams ally, countered by scheduling a different meeting of the state central committee on July 19 in Bayfield, a small town in the southwest corner of the state, though she noted the meeting would only last long enough to gavel in and then recess until yet another meeting, set for Aug. 31 in Castle Rock.

The meeting in Bayfield, however, never happened. Last week, the state GOP's executive committee—a smaller group of party officers than the roughly 400-member state central committee—canceled the July 19 meeting after ruling that Watkins's petition didn't meet requirements under party bylaws. The executive committee also declared that since the petition was invalid, Watkins lacked the authority to call the July 27 meeting.

"Any potential meeting he holds as result of his invalid petition submission is illegal," read an order released by the committee.

The lawsuit filed this week in Arapahoe County — the location of the state Republican Party's headquarters — asks the court to affirm that the state GOP has the ability to enforce its order, though Colorado courts have previously ruled that political parties have to sort out their disputes within the party, rather than asking the court for help.

Watkins told Colorado Politics that he intends to go ahead with the July 27 meeting despite the state party's ruling, adding that leading election law attorneys he's consulted have advised him that his actions "were both legal and proper."

"When over 25% of the State Central Committee petitioned to remove our corrupt leadership, thus triggering a mandatory recall election, Chairman Williams refused to follow the Party bylaws and instead chose to protect his corrupt regime," Watkins said in a text message.

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"I will hold the properly called and only legally compliant meeting to remove the three corrupt party officers on the 27th of July," Watkins said. "Based on the continued incompetent and corrupt actions of the party officers, I have no doubt the state central committee will vote to remove our current leadership and replace them with conservatives ready to serve Colorado Republicans instead of themselves."

Added Watkins: "What should be troubling to people is that the leaders that are facing removal are trying to declare the movement to remove them null. What’s next? Canceling the org meeting? Kim Jong Dave."

The state GOP's biennial organizational meeting is held in odd-numbered years in March or April to elect party officers.

Watkins and Pallozzi declined to comment on the lawsuit Friday afternoon, both saying they hadn't yet been "legally notified" that they were being sued.

Williams, who chaired the Colorado GOP's delegation to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, didn't respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. Scheppelman, however, confirmed that the party had filed the complaint and called for state Republicans to stop bickering.

"The State Party has the right to govern its affairs according to our bylaws and we won’t allow rogue members to violate the rule of law and confuse other members with their illegal efforts, especially in a time we need to rally around President Trump to defeat radical Democrats," Scheppelman said in a text message.

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