Things are heating up as Election Day is upon us. One expects the metaphorical shooting matches between candidates. Less expected is Williamson Families taking heavy fire from none other than the Williamson County Republican Party (WCRP).
As the allegations fly with “Scam Alerts” and even a highly dishonest stint by the WCRP Chair on Diamond and Silk, it may be hard for the average voter (with a life) to sift through all the rhetoric that surrounds the county party.Nobody wants to read a blog that just slings mud at someone else (can someone please explain that to the Jack Johnson campaign?), so I ask a simple question: What has the WCRP done for YOU lately?
I’m serious. Clear images of Janet Jackson from your mind and ask yourself: “What has the Williamson County Republican Party done for me, the average Republican voter, lately?”
1. Have they stood up to the liberal agenda affecting our children in school? No.
Quite the opposite. The WCRP chair would rather donate to the pro-BLM group Franklin Justice and Equity Coalition (FJEC) than the conservative parents fighting for their children in Williamson County Schools. The WCRP chair sought to donate $1500 to this group in May 2021. The WCRP County Executive Committee (CEC) voted this down.
2. Have they worked to advance election integrity in Williamson County? No.
The WCRP has been completely silent on this most crucial issue. Grassroots organizations, such as Tennessee Voters for Election Integrity, Tennessee Stands, the Heritage Sentinels, and Williamson Families Election Integrity Committee, all based here in Williamson County, have been entirely carrying the election integrity torch. While other county parties have invited these leaders to speak, the WCRP has yet to take an interest.
The WCRP was also indifferent to the county’s use of Dominion voting machines. Those same machines caused upheaval in the October 2021 Franklin Alderman election when six tabulators bracketing Ward 3 malfunctioned, revealing an illegal software version in use. Controversy over that election is still ongoing. Predictably, the WCRP has been silent.
Last June, without warning, the County Election Commission inexplicably deviated from set precedent and transferred responsibility for candidate voting machine inspections to the WCRP. The outcome was predictable: the party was late to notify candidates of their inspection windows and provided NO NOTICE of machine inspections to Independent candidates and some grassroots Republican candidates, such as Gary Humble.
Poll Watcher trainings, though included in WCRP emails, was entirely the work of grassroots citizens. The WCRP was a conduit for enrollment, and even then, the organizer encountered problems with retrieving the roster of names from the WCRP. Recently, the WCRP told the organizer that the State Executive Committee (SEC) felt it had enough Poll Watchers, when, in fact, the SEC indicated the very opposite.
The WCRP is not exactly on fire for Election Integrity, one of those issues that rank in the Top 3 for most Republican voters.
3. Have they executed due diligence to ensure their endorsed candidates align with the Republican Party platform? No.
In their support of District 10 School Board Incumbent, Eric Welch, they share a 2018 endorsement with the Democrat Party and endorsements with Williamson Strong, and they refuse to say a word about it. It’s actually in their bylaws to conduct candidate vetting, however, the most recent version that they submitted to the state party for approval (and are not yet approved), removed any language that implied candidate vetting.
4. Have they made any efforts to increase voter turnout or engagement? No.
When is the last time you witnessed a WCRP voter registration drive or a “get out the vote” effort? Yeah, we’re laughing too.
5. Have they done anything to stand up to the woke agenda in Williamson County? No.
In fact REPUBLICAN mayor Ken Moore (up for reelection in 2024, btw) sanctioned the Franklin Pride festival at Harlinsdale Farm, which was marketed to children and featured drag queens in violation of county decency laws. (LINK)
Also, our REPUBLICAN county leadership quietly took the 2022 Juneteenth celebration from the African American Heritage Society (AAHS), which has been putting on a positive and uplifting Juneteenth event for the last 20 years, and handed it to FJEC, the far left, pro-BLM organization which then turned around to bully the AAHS out of the event altogether.
Additionally, our REPUBLICAN county leadership was in negotiations with this same organization, FJEC, to place “racial terror” historical markers (just like this one) across the county to highlight racial violence in graphic detail. Does that sound like conservative Republican leadership? And these leaders, Franklin Mayor Ken Moore and County Mayor Rogers Anderson, are the darlings of the WCRP.
6. Have they partnered with grassroots conservatives to advance the cause of liberty? No.
In the proposed changes to their bylaws, they removed any kind of support for “other Republican organizations,” presumably to officially throw off any pretense of partnering with grassroots organizations.
Rather, they have declared open hostility on Moms for Liberty, Williamson Families, Tennessee Stands, the Heritage Sentinels, and any other of the riff-raff that would dare encroach on their luncheons and mixers. The WCRP actually did a commendable thing last fall by agreeing to financially sponsor the “Truth be Told” conference….until they found out Gary Humble was a speaker. The sponsorship was quickly withdrawn, leaving event organizers in a financial lurch. Now that’s working together.
7. Have they advocated for medical freedom in any way? No.
But they are obsessed with supporting the Williamson County Medical Center, as our county commission voted $150M to the hospital last November, where five of them are also trustees on the hospital board . Check out the tip of the iceberg HERE. Mind you, the TN Star must have felt some Establishment heat and declined to publish the next two articles in this series. But stay tuned, because we at Williamson Families “ain’t scared.” The Williamson County Medical Center is yet another part of the “Tangled Web.”
8. While habitually quoting Ronald Reagan, have they embraced Reagan’s “big tent” philosophy in uniting with grassroots conservatives? No.
In a complete upset in April 2021, local grassroots helped to elect four members to the WCRP County Executive Committee (CEC) that were perceived to be friendly to grassroots causes. Three of the four either quit, resigned under protest, or were forcibly voted off. The WCRP 1st Vice Chair, 2nd Vice chair, Treasurer, Secretary and Assistant Secretary all left the CEC in the last year. To summarize, on an elected board of 8 members, 4 resigned and the 5th was ousted in June 2022.
Side Note on the ousting of 1st Vice Chair Sean Raesemann: Transcripts (coming soon) of the meeting reveal that their #1 allegation of his wrongdoing was his perceived involvement with grassroots organizations, namely Tennessee Stands, Moms for Liberty, and Williamson Families. They accused him of being on the board of directors for all three organizations! Which he wasn’t… but if he was, most of us would say “Patriot.” For the WCRP, this was grounds for removal. Only one person voted against the motion: SEC Committeewoman Cyndi Miller and we applaud her courage for being the lone dissenter in what Mr. Raesemann described as a show trial.
9. Have they embraced Williamson Families-backed Republican primary winners? No.
In fact, the establishment is quietly backing Democrat Independent Michael Gallick, who is pro-Critical Race Theory and pro-Social Emotional Learning, for District 5 county commissioner. Why? Because he’s not perceived as a threat to the good-ole’-boy power structure like Mary Smith is. (We love you, Mary!)
10. Are they transparent about how they spend your money? No.
Fellow Republicans in Williamson County have generously helped the WCRP build a war-chest of over $100,000.00, which I can only assume you thought would support candidates in local elections. In reality a paltry percentage ($15K) of donations actually went to the candidates, and those endorsed by Williamson Families faired even worse. How are they spending your donations? Taking a look at their financial reporting, one sees a lot of fancy lunches, parties and private security. Is this how you envisioned your dollars being spent? There has been recent controversy over the personal expenditures of the WCRP chair (Link), who incidentally refused to grant full financial disclosure to the elected treasurer. Might want to rethink that next donation to the WCRP.
11. Do they promote the Republican Party platform? Is it even on their website? No. If you asked them to recite it, could they? No – and yes, that’s been verified.
Like you, I probably received a dozen 4th of July emails from various organizations last month, including this one [link]. Most of these emails gave homage to the founding fathers, the Declaration of Independence, God-given rights and self-evident truths. Did the WCRP comment to any of this effect? No. In fact they skipped July 4th and sent an email on July 5th touting their Reagan Gala and comparing grassroots conservatives to liberals without a single mention of the birth of our country. [link]
12. Did they change their bylaws last fall to make it more difficult for you to run for office? YES.
In Fall 2021, the WCRP proposed new county bylaws to the state party that would implement a 3 year residency requirement to run for county office. Up until the 2022 legislative session, such a requirement was not even in place for our congressional seats. So why last fall? (Note: Williamson Families announced its existence on October 6th, 2021). The Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) followed suit in December 2021 by changing its bylaws to require voting records be in state when determining Republican bona fide credentials. (Note: bona fide credentials would come into play two months later with the petition filing deadlines for county offices). This would quietly impose a 6 year residency requirement. Now, is this inclusionary or exclusionary? To say nothing of the TRP’s shameful treatment of Robby Starbuck (which may have also contributed to Nashville’s loss of hosting the next National Republican Convention in 2024). Way to go, guys.
13. Are they responsible for Williamson Families’ 4 endorsed Independent candidates? Yes.
Given the revelations about the changes to the county bylaws, the open hostility towards grassroots organizations, the difficulty in getting a straight answer from the WCRP chair, multiple phone conversations with our Williamson County SEC committeewoman, and additional intel from other sources, we had VERY GOOD reasons to worry about our Republican candidates being unfairly kicked off the ballot. Mind you, this is after an unelected “non-votiing” CEC member told her audience that anyone could be on the ballot with the appropriate “donation of time and money.” We learned there are two tiers of Williamson County politics, and our candidates were most assuredly on the second tier.
Case in point: two of our endorsed bona fide candidates nonetheless received letters threatening removal from the Republican primary ballot. One had a sterling GOP record, but had moved to Williamson County in 2018. The other had no reason to be challenged—local resident with the requisite primary votes—“they” just didn’t want an outsider running. So “they” invented a story about not enough participation in the party. It took considerable work to get these two across the line. Not to mention that a person assisting us in this effort was DOXXED from within the WCRP for their efforts! So, if that was our experience to keep two bona-fide Republicans on the ballot, we are confident we could not have pulled it off for 6 or more.
14. Did they call the police on grassroots conservatives at their June meeting for the ousting of 1st Vice Chair Sean Raesemann and then lie about it? Yes.
Here’s the 911 call (Audio and Transcript). And here’s the unruly mob that the WCRP was so afraid of:
Side note: At 4:06 PM, less than two hours prior to the start of the meeting, they texted a location change to board members with no explanation why. This was highly unusual, illegal per their bylaws, and no doubt an effort to discourage grassroots attendance in support of Mr. Raesemann. Then in another departure from standard practice, they closed the meeting to the public and posted security outside. Something about “democracy dying in darkness” comes to mind…. Or maybe it’s the Republican party.
15. Did they host fair candidate forums last Spring to help inform voters? No.
Many of their questions were openly hostile and specifically targeted towards Williamson Families and Moms for Liberty. All three forums are posted on our website HERE. A supporter created a time-saving video montage (4 mins 30 sec) of the second county commission forum HERE.
So… what do they do for you?
Answer:
- Luncheons
- Mixers
- Galas
Folks, we are fighting un-trusted elections, massive encroachments on medical freedom, the indoctrination of our children, they destruction of our economy, compelled speech, a loss of 1st and 2nd Amendment rights, a corrupt DOJ that targets parents over criminals, declining military capability, and an administration that actually tried to institute the Ministry of Truth…. (I could go on). We are officially in a recession and for the first time in decades, are facing a declining quality of life, the extent of which we do not yet know. We are worried about not only providing for our children, but the country they will inherit.
We are not going to save this country with luncheons, mixers and galas. We are in danger of losing this republic. We have to put our noses to the grindstone if we’re to have a prayer to pass on freedom and liberty to our children and grandchildren.
We need True Conservatives in office. The ones that will lean forward and put their shoulder to the grindstone. The ones who seek God’s favor above political favors. THOSE CONSERVATIVES. The WCRP and the TN GOP seem little interested in THOSE CONSERVATIVES, who are We the People.
And that’s why Williamson Families exists. Alongside Tennessee Stands, the Heritage Sentinels, TN Conservative News, Moms for Liberty, etc, we are a conservative grassroots organization doing the job the WCRP is not interested in doing. Our mission is to put True Conservatives in office.
So… as the WCRP points a finger at us and yells “SCAM ALERT”, refers to us as public enemy #1 (ahem, Jay Galbreath), accuses us of “messing up” the election, ask yourself…. What has the WCRP done for you lately? Are they working for you and your Republican ideals? Or is it the Williamson County “elites” working for themselves?
You be the judge.
Williamson Families remains Of, By, and For the families of Williamson County.
Yours In Liberty,
Robin Steenman
Chair, Williamson Families