Queen Garris Doubles Down on Finance | Eastern NC Now
Questionable finances, corruption and dictatorship round out another Executive Committee meeting.
Queen Garris Doubles Down on Finance
BY: HOOD RICHARDSON
The Beaufort County Republican Executive Committee met on Thursday July 9 at 6:00 PM at the Ag Building at the airport. These meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM at the Ag Center. They are open to the public. Time and date can vary. Verify before attending.
This meeting was conducted by Queen Garris, the chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party, in the same dictatorial manner as past meetings. That is, unless you are in complete agreement with what Queen Garris and her Victory Committee want to hear, every hostile effort imaginable is used to shut the speaker down. For example, Representative Kidwell objected to my being able to speak at all. There is a definite hostile division that separates the conservative Republicans from the Queen Garris crowd.
Hostility toward conservatives who ask questions has resulted in many conservatives dropping off the Executive Committee. This suits Queen Garris and her ilk perfectly. It makes their presence more powerful. I would say “their vote” but every effort is used to avoid voting unless Queen Garris has made sure her people are there. Some people rarely, if ever, attend. If they support Queen Garris, they are always excused. If they are conservative, they must toe the line or be removed from membership.
The members of the Victory Committee identified by Queen Garris are Ashley Woolard, Steve Rader, Paul Varcoe, Keith Kidwell and Greg Dority. Take note of how many of these people have run for office during the past year or are running at this time. They have remained on the Victory Committee even though our rules specifically state they should not.
The charges about noncompliance with the State of North Carolina Election rules came up. Treasurer David French reported that he thought his books were in order because of the bank statement. He also reported that he had talked with Election Board officials in Raleigh and they did not have an answer to his problem. His problem is that he has not accurately reported all of his donations and expenditures for many months. In my opinion their response was more like: “This is your problem and you need to file amended reports to balance your books and disclose where the money came from”.
The issue of how money is authorized to be spent remains unresolved. One conservative member of the committee raised this question. Queen Garris tried to confuse his question but never answered.
Queen Garris is trying to clean up her act by appointing an audit committee. The Audit Committee is important with the charges about improper campaign reporting. A clean Audit Committee report could be used by Queen Garris and Treasurer David French to try to convince the Board of Elections that there are no violations of the election laws. We know there are violations because the reports to the State Board of Elections are not complete and the Executive Committee never approved any campaign spending. Queen Garris appointed Gail Breed, Keith Kidwell and Jimmy Whichard to the committee. All of these people are loyal to Queen Garris. I requested that the Audit Committee be enlarged to include at least two conservatives. There was an immediate motion to adjourn from members of the Victory Committee. It was seconded and we adjourned.
The tactic of making a motion to adjourn when there are motions or business being discussed is not in compliance with Robert’s Rules of Order, which is the rule book used to maintain order for Executive Committee meetings. This is a corrupt practice when the motion is made with an immediate second, no discussion, a voice vote is called by Queen Garris with no opportunity to call for a division of the vote. A division of the vote would mean that there would have to be an actual count of who voted for and against the motion to adjourn. A vote was not taken on who will serve on the Audit Committee.
When Robert’s Rules of Order are used properly, meetings are conducted fairly, honestly and with all persons interested having an opportunity to be heard.
Queen Garris and her cronies are far from doing the things that build confidence within the public. Holding dictatorial power is of great importance to Queen Garris and her Victory Committee.
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Van Zant said:
( July 30th, 2026 @ 7:17 am )
As things are now, this recently put together audit committee amounts to being the fox in the henhouse, and the big bad wolf chasing Goldilocks and the three piggies, all rolled into one. A lot of people don't want to hear it, but Hood is right about putting together a representative audit committee people might have some faith in. Please, please, please, no more coverups. I think Ms. Davis' recommendation for a third-party audit is a good idea.
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The audit strictly needs to come from a third party.
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The hypocrisy is off the charts. The same people that will shut down a meeting and call the police before they will answer committee questions or provide a committee report are making demands on everyone else. Of course, they always do it combined with an insult. These nasty party leaders owe the Republican Party Executive Committee and Republicans in general at least a year's worth of reports and answers as well as an apology.
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David, You missed the question again. With people of character on the audit committee, the question is "what about the allegations of credit cards". This is a question for the audit committee to answer. Not for you to become hostile about. We will never truly know until people of investigating character serve on the audit committee. Why not allow the conservatives to have two people on the committee?
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It looks like the GOP is caught at the hypothetical crossroads that ain't hypothetical anymore.
Our crowd spoke with Executive Committee members in Pitt County about this concern in 2021. We were trying to help them get ahead of the problem and avoid a total future meltdown. When they realized that the solution to the problem involved cleaning house and putting in "boots on the ground" people who don't live in Bizarroworld, who aren't afraid to sensibly question, they looked as lost as a fart in the wind. We knew then that nothing was going to be done, they'd have to leave Bizarroworld. While I do not politically favor several members of the Victory Committee or Executive Committee, they aren't stupid. They know more than they're willing to publicly state the same as we do. They should know by now that the GOP, as a whole, MAY have to distance themselves from the "stupid" due to changing demographic atmosphere. The face of the GOP has changed and is changing. Stances have changed |
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Hood, you didn't respond to my question about your allegations of the party having credit cards. Are you dreaming this up or are you delusional? You sling lies like mud hoping something will stick.
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Whats going on here ... the total control of outcomes... reminds me of what Stalin said about elections:
It doesnt matter how they vote, what matters is who counts the votes. |
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Several things are going on here. This executive committee was formed in early 2025. Why are they just getting around to creating their Audit Committee in mid-2026? The just formed Audit Committee itself is made up of Victory Committee members and friends of Victory Committee members. No consent vote by the Executive Committee. It's pretty easy to see what these folks are up to.
So, what are we left with: It must be Gremlins. Nameless Gremlins spent on those campaign items. Nameless Gremlins authorized campaign spending. Nameless Gremlins have harmed good Republicans using the name of the Republican Party. How convenient. How ridiculous. |
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