Queen Garris Shoots Herself in the Foot - Again | Eastern NC Now
An attempt to weaponize the judicial system fails.
Queen Garris Shoots Herself in the Foot - Again
BY: HOOD RICHARDSON
My trial began on Friday morning at 9:30 AM in District Court in the Beaufort County Court House with a Judge from Harnett County. Queen Carolyn Garris, Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party was seeking a “Permanent No-Contact Order for Stalking”. Queen Garris filed her complaint on a form titled “Notice of Hearing on No-Contact Order for Stalking or Non-Consensual Sexual Conduct”. This was a civil case. It did not take long to get the sex part out of the way. She did not cross out the “Non-Consensual Sexual Conduct” part. This makes the charges look a lot worse.
Because this is a civil case Queen Garris had to prosecute it herself. She was so confident of winning she did not show up with a lawyer although she allowed during the trial that she should have hired a lawyer. Had she hired a lawyer, there would not have been a case because her lawyer would have told her there is no case. The reason is that both of us are public figures.
Queen Garris brought her supporters: Gary Ceres, Scarlet Stokes, Paul Varcoe, Jackie Van Essendelft and Gail Breed.
Queen Garris put herself on the stand. She testified that I am a bad person, who shows up asking questions and will not obey her. She swung back and forth between she was there in her capacity as a private citizen but as Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party she did not want me to attend meetings of the Executive Committee. She admitted that she only saw me at official Republican Party events or occasionally when I visited the Register of Deeds office in my capacity as a licensed surveyor. She testified that there were no problems that involved me as a surveyor but there were a lot of problems in my capacity as a Republican elected official. She explained that she feared for her safety in my presence and in going to and from her car. She explained that I would not leave political meetings so she could convene closed sessions (secret meetings) when she demanded.
Queen Garris presented several articles I have written that have been published in the online version of the Beaufort Observer and the County Compass, a newspaper. Queen Garris argued that these are offensive and stalking.
Garris testified that I have “Automatically Resigned” from the Republican Party. Garris could not present any authority for my supposed resignation other than she had declared me “Voluntarily Resigned” and sent an email to every Republican she could think of. I have not voluntarily resigned; I am a registered Republican with the Beaufort County Board of Elections.
Then came Gary Ceres a defeated candidate for the City Council and recently the Board of County Commissioners. He claimed I was a bad person who used foul language. He presented no evidence I had stalked Queen Garris. His testimony was about the same as Garris--I did not leave Executive Committee meetings when she ordered me to.
Gail Breed gave a whiny testimony that was about the same as Ceres and Queen Garris. All three witnesses had big problems with the truth.
I did not testify. The judge dismissed the case after hearing these three “Republicans” testimony. There was no evidence I violated the stalking law. The only time I am around Queen Garris is during official Republican Party events.
This case is about the First Amendment to the US Constitution, free speech. Queen Garris and her cronies in the Beaufort County Republican Party do not understand the principles of free speech. A part of their belief is that offending them either because they claim they are the Republican Party or their feelings are hurt is a punishable offense. The law and the Constitution are clear. Public officials can be criticized. Unless one has thick skin, do not become a public figure. Politics is a give and take game that allows the character, intelligence, competence and ethics of an individual to be exposed and examined by the public. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the public is too forgiving of these failures in public officials.
I shall continue to ask the Beaufort County Republican Party, the elusive Republican Victory Committee, and David French the Treasurer why Party money is spent without a vote of the Executive Committee? Why are Executive Committee meetings scheduled at the same time as Conservative Club meetings? Why is Republican Party money used to attack conservative Republicans? Why Ashley Woolard’s brother Wiley Woolard became a ringer in the City Council elections that caused two Republican candidates to lose and two Democrats to be elected? Who authorized the spending of more than $10,000 of Party money for negative advertising about Republicans who were not (even) candidates in the municipal elections? Why has not an official list of members of the Beaufort County Executive Committee been published during the past year? Why did the Plan of Organization, signed by Queen Garris the same day as the County Convention, change the way people are elected to the Executive Committee without the approval of the Executive Committee? Why did Queen Garris deliberately leave out how we elect Executive Committee members when she falsely signed the Plan of Organization (Party Rules)? Why is there no item on the agenda for both old and new business during the past year? Why am I asked to leave meetings for no reason? Why does Queen Garris refuse to allow me to ask a question, then demand I leave the meeting, and then shut down the meeting with no action by the Executive Committee? Why when she does not allow me to speak will she not allow anyone else to speak?
Queen Garris is trying to rig the Beaufort County Republican Convention, scheduled for March 26, so she has an exact vote count before the convention starts. This is so the Convention can conduct more of her unfair and unethical activities. More on this in another article. Republicans beware, suspicious and question the growing dictatorship. As a donor, you deserve to know how your money is spent.
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Someone tell me if what I have been told is right. In the local Republican Executive Committee meetings (when they have one) the Chairman sometimes asks for a report from the County Commission. Doesn't she always ask for that report from Frankie Waters or Randy Walker and never from Commissioner Deatherage, Dunn or Richardson? Coincidence or indicator?
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Van Zant: You might be right in your suggestions that the local GOP is working to build a party of recently converted Democrats, who now wish to become involved in party politics and run for office as right leaning moderates, get elected, and serve as left Fake "Republicans," controlled by the ideals of the present day Democratic Socialist party. That prospect is frightening on its face that Beaufort County's local party apparatus is inviting the RINO element within our midst, but that propect should not surprise anyone, especially myself and The Hood.
We have now, and have had the RINO element earlier in greater quantities within our midst on the Beaufort County Commission. It is as if the local GOP wishes fully round out the Beaufort County Commission with RINOs forever. |
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Stan: Yes, I believe you are stating the obvious, even though it is not obvious to a lot of people in the general public. The local Republican Party is bizarro world.
You're right. This corrupt party organization did everything but get the vote out for Republicans. The only thing these disparate factions come together on is their opposition to most conservatives - the exception seems to be Kidwell. The big mystery with Kidwell is his conservatism in Raleigh weighted against his alliance with those working against conservatives at home. That strategy did not work for him in this primary with a well-funded challenger. Excluding most conservatives is a very bad strategy for building the party. These stupid strategies create a blissful environment for the liberals coming over from the Democrat Party looking for an election platform to operate from. They are the group benefiting most from this local party run by morons and crooks. |
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The local GOP has absolutely "gone off the rails" having NO idea what their charge was in the recent primary election, which was to get the vote out in the March 3 primary; in which they made the corrupted decision to do NOTHING; having just poorly spent around 11 thousand unauthorized dollars in the non partisan City of Washington election.
Instead of recognizing what a local Republican party is supposed to do, three factions within the local GOP's core functionies emerged, all consisting of RINOs and RINO Whisperers, seeking to elect three disparate factions of candidates that were predominately not conservative in ideals, or in knowledge of governmental practice. The great irony here exposed within the local GOP's effort of NOT getting out the vote for all candidates, as in their charge helping the conservatives as well, and which they disdain, they aided in defeating their one inner party core incumbent, who has voted as a Conservative in Raleigh - Keith Kidwell. I sometimes wonder since I truly understand how all this works, how getting people elected works - am I in a bubble here in understanding what I consider the obvious? |
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CT: I agree the major task before us is the general election and that what happens in the dysfunctional party will largely have to be dealt with in conventions. But I also disagree somewhat. I do think that those of us who know should warn those in the public that do not know about a local GOP that has gone off the rails in a very big way.
I one hundred percent agree with JS and what our priorities must be going into the general election. With all due respect, the intrigues within the local GOP are largely caused by the leadership of the local GOP. They made their own bed. Let them be responsible for the mess they have made. CV is absolutely right about Randy Walker. He changed his party registration in order to get elected. He did not change his party philosophy as a public official. He governs as a liberal. He is a liberal pretending he is not at election time. It's time for that farce to end. Same for his ultra-liberal wife on the school board. |
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We definitely cannot trust sitting Commissioner Randy Walker on taxes. He failed in his bid for commissioner as a Democrat and then tried again as a nominal Republican. During the primary in his first GOP run, Walker widely advertised that he stood for "No New Taxes" and then immediately after winning the primary, he took all of his material about taxes down and acted like he had never run on that issue. Once he took office, he became a constant ally of the two Democrats on the count commission.
If we are going to get a pro-taxpayer majority of genuine Republicans on our county commission, his history says we cannot count on Randy Walker. |
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Our upcoming elections should be our top priority. We must, indeed, reelect our state seantor, Bob Brinson, and our sheriff, Scot Hammonds. They are doing great jobs.
The county commission is also critical. Right now we have a governing coalition of two actual Democrats and two ex-Democrats in Republican clothing. The opposition is three actual Republicans. We need to get to a governing majroity of four actual Republicans. The three seats not up for election are one actual Democrat, one ex-Democrat masquerading as a Republican, and two actual Republicans. That means we will need to elect two actual Republicans to get a real Republican majority whixh is four members. Four candidates are seeking three seats in November. Looking at their commitments to lower taxes, the list from most to least pro=taxpayer would be as follows: 1) Stan Deatherage 2) Ashley Woolard 3) John (Rebholtz) Edwards 4) Ed Booth That list would also be a good analysis of most Republican to least Republian. Indeed Booth is an actual Democrat. There is probably little differece between Deatherage and Woolard on loyalty to the Republican Party. The order of finish, however, in the GOP primary was: 1) John (Rebholtz) Edwards 2) Ashley Woolard 3) Stan Deatherage There was no Democrat primary, but with only one Democrat running and the way our crazy limited voting system works it will be hard to block Booth from winning one of the seats. A huge GOP turnout and a small Democrat turnout might do it, but even then it would probably require something that moves some usual Democrat votes over to one of the Republicans. The ideal result would be electing all three Republicans, but given the numbers and the system that is not likely to happen. The important thing, then, is to get Deatherage and Woolard finishing as the top two Republicans. that is going to take some work, which needs to start now. There are some positive signs for Deatherage. Many of his primary voters had spouses split their support with one voting for Deatheage and the other for Travis Martin. Deatherage should get most of the Marin vote in November. The mix of voters will be different in November as well, since some elements come out stronger in November than in the primary. One also has to look at who might join a coalition with Democrats. Deatherage has stood strongly against such coalitions. Woolard has often been at loggerheads personallywith Hood Richardson, but he has openly denounced doing dealings with Democrats for board control, and could also be relied upon. However John Rebholtz 'major role in Edwards' campaign raise some real issues there, since as long as Rebholz was a commissioner himself, he did deals with Democrats for board control. The tax issue is also critical. Ed Booth is an unapologetic tax and spend liberal. Stan Deatherage has never voted for a tax increase in 20 years on the county commission and often proposed tax ccuts. Woolard makes cutting tax the main issue of his campaign. Edwards, however, has not taken a clear stand on taxes, and his mentor Rebholts never supported tax cuts. There is a lot of work to do between now and November. There is no time for intrigues within the local GOP organization. |
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Both Walkers come up for election again in 2028 and all of their activities in the 2026 primary are likely to motivate a lot of folks to help take them both out of office then. there is a saying that elephants have long memories.