Connelly Censured for his “Unfair Behavior; his Violations of Roberts Rules of Order; and his Insulting, Untruthful and Libelous Public Comments” During and Following the May 4, 2013, State Convention
With Representatives of 84 Greenville County Precincts present and voting, 73 of those representatives voted in favor of a strongly worded censure motion detailing unacceptable behavior of State GOP Chairman Chad Connelly and his associate, Myrtle Beach lawyer and state Rep. Alan Clemmons, during the 2013 SC GOP State Convention in Columbia.
Convention delegates from Greenville believe Connelly’s apparent hate for Greenville County Republicans was a result of candidates from Greenville County challenging him in the election for party chairman. The motion for censure details the “dirty tricks” used on his challenger, including only 2 minutes for the challenger to present his candidacy to the delegates before the vote.
The four page motion was read and discussed during an Executive Session of a special called meeting of the Executive Committee Monday, June 24, 2013.
The motion listed some sixteen instances when Connelly and/or Clemmons willfully violated South Carolina GOP State Rules and Roberts’ Rules of Order.
Four days after the state GOP Convention, Connelly gave an interview to the Greenville News describing the Greenville County Delegation’s attempts to adhere to parliamentary rules and procedures as “borderline anarchists” and “hardline libertarians” who figure “if they can’t build a party they’d rather disrupt ours, and I think they learned just how popular that is.”
The resolution expressed disapproval of Connelly and Clemmons “open and willful actions to threaten, intimidate, and undermine the GOP minority portion of the delegates for our right to voice opposition, as well as their blatant violation of Roberts’ Rules of Order.”
The Greenville County GOP Executive Committee strongly disapprove of Connelly and Clemmons “willful and deliberate violation of parliamentary rules and procedures when denying the members of the Greenville County Delegation their right to make motions and debate; and for their refusal to entertain points of order and proper appeals in violation of Roberts’ Rules of Order.
“We never had an expectation that the SCGOP Chair would adopt ‘the end justifies the means’ or ‘winning at all costs’ tactics because of his fear of losing his position.”
Finally, it was resolved that “the Greenville County Executive Committee censures, disapproves and strongly objects to Chairman Chad Connelly’s unfair behavior, his violation of Roberts’ Rules, and his insulting, untruthful and libelous public comments, and demands that Chairman Connelly make a public apology to the Greenville County delegation for his unfair, unprofessional, and unsportsmanlike behavior during the State Convention of May 4, 2013, against our delegation.”
The Executive Committee Directed Greenville County Chairman Betty Poe to disseminate the motion of censure to media and place it on the County GOP website within five days.
State Executive Committeeman Jim Lee was instructed to present the motion to the State GOP Executive Committee at their next regular meeting.