Editor’s Note: Sean Brennen, a Central Committee member from District 4, sent the attached letter dated June 4, to all members of the Contra Costa County Republican Party Central Committee. Halfway To Concord obtained the letter, verified its veracity from several sources, and presents it below here verbatim, with archived photos added, courtesy CCRP website.
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Committee Members,
Since there is no allotted time during the Committee meetings for duly elected members to bring topics of concern to the forefront (i.e. open session), I feel it necessary to email all the members with my concerns and views of the current state of the committee. Unfortunately, new members have not been made to feel welcome or as part of the process. Open session during an organized meeting is essential in confirming the legitimacy of the elected members by allowing them to speak and be heard openly. We have no such process or openness.
As a duly elected new member of the CCRP, I have had the opportunity, and in some cases, the indignity, of all the privileges and the associations that come with the position. There have been moments where I’m proud to be associated with the group (when all the new members were allowed a few moments of time to introduce themselves and why they were here) and there are moments that I feel less fortunate to be associated with the CCRP (namely the events of the May 19th meeting). The events of May 19th are most concerning.
First, (I) want to offer our apologies to Ms. Hunt for being chastised in open committee for having a private conversation with me and asking valid questions. Unfortunately she was made to feel very unwelcome. I had the opportunity to meet Ms. Hunt recently at the CoCo Taxpayers and we were exchanging comments about the financial report that Ms. Linn handed out. The CCRP welcomes ALL Republicans… even the ones we don’t agree with.
Second, Ms. O’Day should never verbally question the veracity of a completely legitimate question in open committee. If she doesn’t like it she should keep it to herself. Ms. O’Day has no authority, legal or implied, to do so. By allowing Ms. O’Day to do so shows the lack of leadership at the Executive level and divides our committee even more. There is such a thing called common courtesy that I thought is one of the tenants of conducting an organized meeting of like minded individuals. We are allowed to ask questions regardless of whether others agree with them. I respect all the hard work that Ms. O’Day has done for our party but that shouldn’t permit her to determine the validity or veracity of questions being asked.
Third, Mr. Krepps had asked to make a presentation during the meeting, which was completely ignored. Mr. Poulos called for an adjournment of the meeting and when Mr. Krepps tried to interject; our Chairman ignored him and adjourned the meeting as soon as he got a “second to the motion.” As I watch Mr. Poulos ignore the First Vice-Chair of our committee, I had become incensed with the lack of respect that was shown Mr. Krepps and the nature and method in which he was dismissed.
Inasmuch as I would like to be a contributing member of this Committee, I am forced to chose between my own morals and conscience or remain silent and not put forth the effort to “do the right thing”.
Therefore…
The May 19th Central Committee meeting caused me great concern; both as a member of the Committee and as a banker. Ms. Linn’s financial reports could be construed as misleading. In her attempts to present the information in the form that would be “understandable” to everybody, it is actually causing more confusion than needed. Maybe in the future if we adhere to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), there would be less confusion and no appearance or malfeasance.
We were presented with a financial status report that made it appear we were solvent. But when questions were asked of our Treasurer, Ms. Linn admitted we had no money. In fact, it appears we are in debt. This is particularly troubling since we have just had our big fundraiser for the year. I was aware that we still owed $2,051 to the Contra Costa Country Club for last year’s Speaker Series, but there are other items mentioned that are of real concern.
The members of the Central Committee need to know the true financial condition of the CCRP and that we are in compliance with campaign reporting requirements. To that end, I think that the following questions need to be answered to the entire committee immediately:
- Ms. Linn said we were paying rent from last year still. How much do we owe? If we are behind in rent, why is that amount not being disclosed on the financial reports filed with the government as required by law? Do we have a lease agreement in place for this year? What are the terms?
- Ms. Linn said that we were behind in our payments to Michael Caporusso. Since his $4,000 a month consulting fee is the largest expense, how far behind are we in those payments. If we are behind as she stated, why is that amount not being disclosed on the financial reports filed with the government as required by law?
- It was stated that Mr. Caporusso does not answer phones because he is not a secretary. What does Mr. Caporusso do for the organization? How many hours is he contracted for? What other expenses do we pay for him such as cell phone, etc. How will working as the campaign manager for David Harmer affect his duties as our executive director? What other projects does he work on that are unrelated to his duties as the ED for the CCRP?
- Phone expenses seem to be paid erratically. Exactly what are we paying for in the way of phone service? Are we behind in those payments? If we are behind, will those amounts be disclosed on the financial reports filed with the government as required by law?
- Are there any other expenses that are outstanding that were not disclosed during the meeting?
These issues are of great concern to many of the people that are on this committee. Hopefully they can all be addressed prior to, or at, the next meeting of the Central Committee.
It is with the greatest respect and concern that I put forth these questions and hope that there is and equitable solution to our financial situation so we can get about the business of repairing our party… our state… and our country.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Respectfully,
Sean Brennan
CCRP
District 4
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Why in the world does the CCRP keep a consultant like Caporusso around for $48K a year when he won’t even answer the phone? Call the GOP office and usually no one answers the phone. So why do they even have an office?
Just what does Caporusso do? No one knows and he isn’t talking. Guess his main duty is propping up inept Chairman Greg Poulos. But even if Caporusso is doing a fantastic job, it’s a fact that the CCRP can’t afford him. It’s totally insolvent with many bills, even some from last year, unpaid.
This situation is further proof theat the CCRP leadership is out to lunch. The CCRP is kind of like the State, paying out more than it takes in.
To Tom Del Beccaro and friends – Those folks are volunteering their time and you’re insulting them? Why would anybody waste their time going to another meeting?
Run away Mr. Brennan and help out the candidate of your choice.
As somebody that attends these meetings on a regular basis, I have to say the Mr. Brennan is far too generous and gracious in his account of what goes on at those meetings.
Why does the CCRP leadership hate America?
It sure is sad that an Elected Member of the County Committee, with the professionalism and attention to detail that Mr. Brennan has to offer must resort to addressing the other Members of the committee through an email regarding these important issues, as opposed to addressing them face-to-face during the regularly scheduled monthly meeting. The committee leadership should have more respect for their individual Members on the committee.
Similar exclusionary tactics were used in the past in Alameda County by the former Chairman Paul “do-nothing-but-file-lawsuits” Cummings. We have since done away with the elitist type attitude that discourages openness, accountability and participation, and decided to embrace more of a constitutional approach that not only welcomes the comments of our Members on the committee, but also allows for a regularly scheduled Public Comment Period to be placed on every meeting agenda, so that members of the public can even have a chance to be heard by their Party representatives. This has generated more involvement on multiple fronts in Alameda County.
Contra Costa should consider adopting something along the same lines, which I’m sure will help to make members (from the public & committee) feel welcome, appreciated and a part of the political process.
Hats off to Mr. Brennan for taking a stand.
“In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.” – Mark Twain