Vote to oust GOP Chairman Dave Williams is scheduled for Saturday, but the fight is likely far from over

Critics of controversial Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams are meeting in Brighton on Saturday to try again to oust him from office.

A similar meeting was thwarted earlier this summer after Williams filed for a temporary restraining order to temporarily prevent it. Although the judge ultimately concluded that the courts have no jurisdiction over an internal GOP dispute at this time, Williams continues to call the upcoming meeting illegitimate and resists calls for him to resign.

Those behind the effort to oust Williams say they have collected enough signatures to force a vote on their motion by the party's central committee.

“It's a pretty phenomenal change in the Central Committee,” former El Paso County Chairman Eli Bremer said of the growing number of party insiders who he said now support Williams' ouster. Bremer has put forward himself as a possible successor if Williams loses his job.

Election losses, party turmoil and frustration with Williams' leadership spilled over into open revolt earlier this summer. He angered many Republicans by changing the party's longstanding practice of remaining neutral in primaries and drew public criticism for a series of emails and posts targeting the Pride scandal.

“If we can kick him out, that would be great for the state Republican Party. The man is totally unfit for the job,” said Republican Sen. Larry Liston of Colorado Springs, who plans to send a proxy to vote at Saturday's meeting.

In June, Liston won a primary against a challenger backed by Williams. Most candidates backed by the state party lost their primaries. Liston is also concerned about fundraising under Williams. Republicans recently reported that they raised just $13,000 in July.

“Why should we trust him?” Liston said. “I mean, no legitimate donor, no normal major donor to the Republican Party would give Dave Williams any money.”

But even if his opponents receive the most votes on Saturday, it will not be easy to unseat Williams.

Williams did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but defended his actions as chairman. He and his allies describe Saturday's meeting as a desperate power struggle by RINOS – Republicans In Name Only – who are angry that they no longer control the state party. In a letter to the state central committee, party officials called the meeting rigged and illegitimate and said Saturday's vote will not be the end of things.

“Your invalid and divisive efforts will only cause the conflict to continue for months to come,” the letter said.

Many are concerned about the timing of this action, coming so close to the November election. Former Republican Party Chairman Steve House said that regardless of what some may think of Williams' leadership, this public power struggle is a distraction the party does not need.

“This is not the time or place for that right now,” House said. “The focus should be entirely on winning elections where elections can be won in the state of Colorado, and any issues of the chairman himself or the chairman and his leadership team should be dealt with after the election.”

Dispute could come down to a single statute in the party statutes

There is a major complication for those pursuing their attempt to unseat Williams: The party's charter is not entirely clear on how many Central Committee votes are needed for success.

The statute states that the Central Committee may dismiss any party official at any time and for any reason, “by a three-fifths majority of all voting members of the CRC at a meeting convened for that purpose.”

The committee includes about 400 people, including state legislators, local elected officials, party organizers and activists.

The group seeking to oust Williams takes this wording to mean that it only needs the support of 60 percent of the Central Committee members present at the meeting. However, Williams could argue that the wording actually requires a vote of 60 percent of the entire Central Committee, a much more difficult hurdle to overcome since the meetings are held in person and are not always well attended.

This lack of clarity means that even if Saturday's vote is successful and those attending the meeting elect a new leader, it could only fuel unrest. Two different people could potentially claim to be the rightful leader of the Colorado Republican Party.

Republicans familiar with the situation said such a split could be resolved in several ways. One side could sue and the district court could step in, or the final decision could rest with the Republican National Committee, or both.

A similar dispute over efforts to unseat controversial Michigan GOP leader Kristina Karamo ended with both the courts and the RNC affirming that she was properly voted out of office, but Karamo has appealed.

The drawn-out battle in Michigan suggests that Republicans in Colorado are facing a period of limbo and intraparty chaos at a time when most candidates on the ballot could use their help the most.

“The Republican Party is just an empty shell right now. They don't do anything for candidates except attack candidates who disagree with Dave Williams,” said former state Republican Party chairman Dick Wadhams, who is no longer a voting member of the Central Committee but supports efforts to unseat Williams, even if they don't succeed immediately.

“It must be demonstrated that a majority of Republicans on the state Central Committee reject Dave Williams' corrupt leadership. That's why it's worth having this discussion.”

Colorado is not a swing state in the presidential race, and there are no statewide elections on the ballot this year. But Republicans have several electoral goals in mind, including winning a crucial seat in the U.S. House of Representatives – the 8th Congressional District, north of Denver – and retaining the 3rd Congressional District, which spans southern Colorado and the Western Slope and nearly went to Democrats last time.