Conservative Party chairman decries ‘shady tactics’ from Shelby town supervisor

Editor:

This is my response to the Shelby Town Supervisor. Plain and simple we had a set date for interviews just like Shelby. Neither you, nor the Republican-endorsed candidates, or your town chairman made an effort to make intent. The Conservative Party-endorsed Republicans made their intent early and came for an interview on the set date.

I am the Chaiman. I do not tell my committee who to vote for. I make it clear to the candidates that they are not guaranteed an endorsement and it’s up to the committee interviewing them not me who gets endorsed.

I also make it known that everyone in the room is elected conservative party committee, and no one is there who does not belong there. I accept whoever they endorse. I make it clear that if a candidate seeks or takes the Working Families Party endorsement, (Communist Party) we will pull their endorsement.

The candidates that came before us were totally qualified. How is that? They attended meetings and workshops for years. They knew what was going on. They had documentation and FOILS to back up their case. They presented themselves as conservatives, not one bit liberal as you accuse, sir. Just like you did when you came and then governed the opposite.

Your town is a mess. It’s not made up. “Nothing to see here” is insulting. These candidates have better things to do than run for public office. It’s being done because they are at ends wit. Are you to blame for all of it? No, but the tactics you are using are out of the Democrat Party playbook, so you have that backwards.

Mr. Supervisor, we endorsed you before. We gave you the benefit of the doubt because you had a great resume but from what has transpired over the last two years, I can guarantee you, had you come again you would not have gotten the endorsement. The Republicans may endorse incompetence and shady tactics, but the Conservative Party does not do that. How can I say these things, well here’s why.

I wasn’t going to publicly bring this up but here’s how it went. After we did our endorsements, about when the petitions were about to circulate, I got a phone call from your town Chairman asking me about interviews. He acknowledged that it was late and was wondering if there was still a chance.

I explained that it was too late and petitions were made up and about to be circulated. He let me know Mr. Heminway was a Democrat that changed parties. I have news for you, most of the Republicans in this county are Democrats (RINO’s) and you can tell by the way they govern and the tactics they use but that’s for another letter.

About another week or so goes by and I get another phone call from your chairman asking me if I can just sign a paper authorizing you and the other candidates that he endorsed, no interviews, no nothing, just put his guys in because “he doesn’t want to have to deal with our endorsed candidates in November in the general election.”

I can tell you the conversation got real tense after that. Can you imagine calling another party’s chairman and asking him to screw over his committee, his candidates and make a complete fool of himself to do him a favor or as I call it tamper with the election.

The total disrespect and delusion of this man that I thought was friend and we had endorsed before having the gall to make such a request. I repeatedly told him during the conversation that I could not believe he could even ask such a thing, I could not believe it.

He blamed you for the phone call Mr. Supervisor and the other candidates. He said you were on him to call me and ask me this. I told him I would never ever do what he was asking to my committee, my candidates and my party, repeatedly. Mr. Supervisor, that is not corrupt? That is not shady? You expect me and others not to believe what is being said about you when a tactic like that was used on me?

Oh, it wasn’t over yet, your town chairman hadn’t finished convincing me he had lost his mind, in my opinion, oh no. The petitions start circulating and I get a call from my Shelby committeeman stating that he had been to a house and the registered conservative would not sign his petition because your town chairman had been there with a conservative and already got a signature for you and the candidates so they could be on the conservative line. Yeah, kind of twilight zone.

He even went to the Board of Elections in which they shut him down completely. Only my secretary and I can authorize the Conservative Party-endorsed candidates, and I would never as I made it clear ever risk my reputation to conspire to rig the election in favor of incompetence and inexperience.

To be clear the Shelby chairman never offered me anything to do that, but it burned his bridges at both ends with me and the Conservative Party and he won’t be welcomed back. Some people should never be entrusted with power because it turns them into monsters. So, there you have it. On June 24th please vote for the Conservative Party-endorsed candidates, James Heminway, Larry Waters and re-elect Ed Zelazny because Shelby deserves better.

Paul Lauricella

Conservative Party Chairman