Queen of the Beaufort County Republicans | Eastern NC Now
Garris attempts to enforce autocratic rule over local party.
Queen of the Beaufort County Republicans
BY: HOOD RICHARDSON
I received an email on January 6 from Carolyn Garris, Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party that I had automatically resigned from the Beaufort County Republican Executive Committee. Garris made this determination on her own without a vote of the Executive Committee.
Garris says that because of my involvement with a marked sample ballot that had Republicans Nick Fritz, Sheri Clark, and Max Perault with unaffiliated candidate for city council Joseph Davis that I automatically resigned. We called this slate the “Tax Cut Team”. Queen Garris also sent similar emails to Janet Knight, Second Vice Chair and Sheri Clark a member of the Beaufort County Republican Executive Committee.
I am Chairman of the Beaufort County Conservative Club. We support conservative candidates for public office. Most of the time they are Republicans. The club is mostly Republican, but we have conservative Democrats and unaffiliated members. We do not support liberal Republicans.
Queen Garris needs to look at her political soul before she goes after anyone. The dirty work in the city elections was caused by Queen Garris, Representative Kidwell and two or three of her liberal buddies supporting a nonviable candidate for City Council in order to split the vote, thus supporting Democrats.
The City Council is a nonpartisan race. There are no party affiliations beside the candidate’s names on the ballot. The Beaufort County Republican Executive Committee never endorsed any candidate for this election.
After Garris and her so called and unidentified “Victory Committee” became aware the Conservative Club had a slate of candidates, the Victory Committee swung into action without the approval of the Executive Committee, to defeat the efforts of the Conservative Club. Queen Garris and her cronies dislike the Conservative Club because we do not support RINOs (Republicans In Name Only).
Ashley Woolard, candidate for county commissioner, convinced his brother, Wiley Woolard, to run for City Council. Wiley Woolard is a very nice person but, had he been elected, he would have required Ashley’s assistance to hold the office. Wiley Woolard, to my knowledge did not lift his hand to campaign. He was a candidate simply because Ashley badgered him to run.
People who knew Wiley Woolard would not vote for him. So, Kidwell and some of the “Victory Committee” campaigned throughout early voting, telling people that Wiley Woolard was their candidate and saying that the Conservative Club was not legitimate.
This behavior cost two Republicans, Sheri Clark and Tex Melton, a seat on the City Council. The reason for this is that Wiley Woolard got between 360 and 370 votes. Clark and Melton lost by about 120 votes each. The behavior of Kidwell, Queen Garris, and Ashley Woolard defeated Clark and Melton and allowed two Democrats to be reelected to the council.
Garris on her own cannot remove anyone from anything. The rules of the Beaufort County Republican Party clearly state that Queen Garris’ actions require the consent and approval of the Executive Committee. There was not an Executive Committee meeting from September until December 8th. Garris sent her emails on December 6th.
There is a lot more to this than what I discussed above. I am not a member of the Executive Committee except as an ex-officio member. That is, I am on the committee as a right from my election as a County Commissioner. I guess Garris will tell me that I am no longer a Commissioner.
Sheri Clark is a voting member of the Executive Committee, elected by the Beaufort County Republican Convention. Her removal requires action of the Executive Committee and can be appealed to the State Republican Party.
Janet Knight was elected to be the Second Vice Chair by the Beaufort County Republican Convention. Her removal requires the same action as for Sheri Clark.
Queen Garris is a worm in hot ashes. She is desperately trying to cover up the more than ten thousand dollars spent by her without the approval of the Executive Committee to defeat the Conservative Club candidates. She has a threatened lawsuit that was noticed to her during October that she has not brought to the Executive Committee. There are issues with members of the Executive Committee recruiting retired schoolteachers to run for the School Board. This is a violation of the party rules during primary elections.
Garris is desperately trying to whittle down the number of people who demand that we follow the Beaufort County Republican Party Rules so she can cover up her behavior. You will recall that in order for her to get the Register of Deeds job she withheld the notice of the vacancy from the Executive Committee. She had been party chairman for a short period of time, but her behavior shined a light on her future behavior.
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I've got more questions and concerns regarding the unscrupulous people in the local party. About this "Victory Committee:" Who is on it besides Carolyn Garris and Keith Kidwell? I've asked executive committee members that I know and they tell me who they think may be on the committee, but they don't know for sure. Let that sink in. Executive Committee members do not even know who is on one of their standing committees.
Also, under Powers and Duties of the county plan the County Chair and Vice-Chair shall be ex-officio members of all committees. Have the present-day 1st Vice-Chair or 2nd Vice-Chair ever attended a "Victory Committee" meeting? The current 2nd Vice-Chair has been "pronounced" off the executive committee solely on the made-up authority of Chairperson Garris and the rumor of dubious testimony to her from her Philly friend that has a long record of lying and scheming to legendary heights of dishonesty. I get the feeling that these duly elected officers are not welcome on this shadow committee or any other committee. That is just one more rule violation by these people that have no respect at all for rules. Consider this: The "Victory Committee" was not formed by the existing Beaufort County Executive Committee. I'm led to believe it was created by present Chairperson Garris with the possible blessing of the previous executive committee before the last county convention or not. This is surely not a legal committee at this time. Also consider this: The "Victory Committee" does not report to the Beaufort County Republican Party Executive Committee. This is not legal either. And consider this: The "Victory Committee" acts independently of the Executive Committee and spends money independently of the Executive Committee. At this time, they are illegally acting in place of the Beaufort County Republican Party Executive Committee. If there is a more corrupt party organization in the state of North Carolina than this one, I would be very surprised. They make past serious indiscretions of previous committees look like Sunday school. They are a disgrace. RH: I agree, Monica Davis running for school board in district 6 looks like a Lib plant and many of us can guess by who. Her incumbent Republican opponent is solid. That is an easy choice. Vote Rader in district 6. The NC House District 79 race is more complicated simply because thuggery and harassment is not an issue by some and is an issue by others; especially when it involves friends and family. |
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VZ, two RINOs that can be identified with Democrat roots running as RINOs are Monica Davis running for School Board in district 6, a longtime Democrat who only recently became a "Republican", and Darren Armstrong, a longtime Basnight Democrat from Hyde County running for NC House. Frankie Waters tried to recruit him as a county commission candidate, which is also telling. The Raliegh RINOs did recruit him for NC House.
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Van Zant: Thank-you for your confidence, and I, too, despise Limited Voting as much as any Beaufort County voter who would rather have better representation by having more votes for what seats are available, but, that is just not the way it is now, and it has been this sorry way since 1992.
With Limited Voting in place, and limiting voting for all, there is a tendency to split votes in families, and that kind of action got me beat in a primary once in 2014, and nearly got Hood beat two years earlier. I remind all when I lost that primary, as the assumed front runner, Frankie Waters was elected with Ron Buzzeo, which began a spending spree in Beaufort County, which put the Bureaucrat Class in control, which helped lift Beaufort County's GOP into a landing pad for RINOs. Remember that The Hood was alone on that board of commissioners, as the only Conservative for 4 years, until I was elected as a non incumbent for the third time. Now we have 3 Conservatives, and granted we need another, but can we afford to lose me again like in 2014? It is a conundrum Van Zant that can backfire, so respectively Van Zant, I ask for all of your votes, all that you can muster, and yet, I still pray for a second Conservative to be elected as well. Beaufort County needs that voting Conservative block, but not without me, and all I know from all my experience. It is not an easy task governing without guidance. At this point in this long career, I have plenty of guidance to give. Between The Hood and myself, and two more votes, we can straighten this mess out that Beaufort County has become, a cesspool for stupid, and often corrupt governing, bad governing within so many levels of smaller governing bodies, all of which I have been powerless to rein while in the political minority ... The Conservative minority. And one more Van Zant; you are right about Carolyn. |
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Stan: "Who are the Democrats running as RINOs this time around...?" At this point all I know is there are two I'll consider, there are two I'll not consider, and there is one I'm waiting to see about. Of course, the registered Democrat will not be considered, because he is a radical socialist and he voted against Snowden School. Stan Deatherage has a conservative record, and he voted for Snowden School, so he is one of the first two.
With Limited Voting I can only vote for one, but my wife and I can vote for two. I've got to think about that though. When it is all said and done, we will know who the essentially Democrat Republicans are. The other tip off will be if Carolyn Garris calls on them, that's the Dem. |
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Van Zant: For me this primary feels like I am running against the RINOs and the RINO Whisperers; my ideas against theirs, and may this be a referendum on the People voting in this election, and not so much on the candidates, other than me. I am real and right as rain.
That is the way I see it, and now especially since I hear that they are coming for me again since I am the undisputed front running, tried and true, battle tested, and most unflinching Conservative in this local election. In these recent elections, the Democrats do not run any candidates now because they can easier get their candidates as RINO Republicans, at least that is what I have been told by some former prominent Democrats, ie Democrat Frankie Waters; Democrat Randy Walker, which begs the question to be answered: Who are the Democrats running as RINOs this time around in this 2026 Republican Primary? Additionally: To what extent are the RINOs and the RINO Whisperers in the Beaufort County GOP complicit in give great succour and comfort to these Fake Republicans in this 2026 general election? |
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Stan: Yes, there have been some unscrupulous characters in the local party. But as you correctly pointed out there was in the past always a large element of the Beaufort County GOP that could be depended on to be straight up, and they had some power and influence in the party. At times they had a lot of power in the party. Presently there are still good people in the GOP, but they are under such ruthless, devious and sometimes violent attacks from the unscrupulous elements that they do not have power like in the past. The credible people are beaten down because they are under constant attack by thugs that want this as their private club and as a base for their corrupt ventures.
I think the 2019 (Yellow Sheet) county convention was a dividing line. We found out then how much some of these people truly hate us. Time has proven the haters bring nothing good to our community. Because of the harm they have done, the party badly needs reform. At the very least, bring it back under the plan of organization and basic decency. That's really not too much to expect. In the meantime, the community and Republican candidates have to put up with this crap party. |
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Van Zant: If you had told me 22 years ago that we would have had all these RINOs in our political midst at this level of good governing intrusion, I would not have believed it.
Back then, in the party, we still had the RINOs, like then chairman "Hopeless" Van Dorp, who as chairman worked to have me lose in a special election to then Democrat Party Chairman Etles Henries (the Democrat candidate) to relace Conservative Commissioner Carol Cochran, who had hand picked me to as her successor. Hood still likes to remark that in this election, it was the "first time a Republican had won an election in Beaufort County where Stan defeated both the Democrat party chairman and the Republican party chairman in the same election. And then there was super RINO Jay McRoy standing in my political and governing way, who always liked to remark, in political settings, how he knew how to "work the numbers." My oh my, how "the fruit does not fall far from the tree." Still, back then, there was a large element of the Beaufort County GOP that I could depend on; not now., and they did not tolerate the long list of RINO pseudo political wannabes that were beginning to emerge as an established class, who would elect their RINO champions, not matter how sorry and non Conservative they all turned out to be. At least for now that "Forest Woman" is no longer squatting in the RINO encrusted local party's HQ disparaging me at every point possible. That was the 2022 election for the primary and the general election. I wonder: Is that not yet another instance of RINO "Party Disloyalty" as specified by the Party's Plan of Organization? Since I returned to the board in 2018 ... Again ... The Beaufort County GOP has been no use to me at all - just the opposite - especially during election. Even now as I seek my 8th term as a county commissioner, elected three times as a non incumbent, I sometimes wonder: What RINO plans they have for my demise? This will be an interesting primary and general election, and 'I will not go quietly into that good night.' That I promise Van Zant. |
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There will always be groupies that slobber over the goons running the party so unethically and illegally. I hope the general public is catching on to how fraudulent these people are.