HENDERSONVILLE — During its May 11 breakfast meeting, the Henderson County Republican Men’s Club voted unanimously to censure Brett Callaway, the enbattled chair of the Henderson County Republican Party.

“I never saw an opposing vote. You may quote me on that,” Bruce Hatfield, the Men’s Club chair, told the Daily Planet on May 16.

The Men’s Club also called for Callaway to resign, as it aired various grievances against him during the meeting at American Legion Post 77. 

The meeting provided the first opportunity to publicily criticize the actions of Callaway and his two top deputies — and GOP 11th Congressional District Chair Michele Woodhouse. 

Callaway and his deputies were accused — repeatedly by Men’s Club meeting attendees — of trying to snag control of the HCGOP from its longtime grassroots workers, with the aid of Woodhouse.

The Men’s Club, which has about 60 paid members, drew an estimated 75 people attended the nearly two-hour session. Prior to the meeting, it had been widely reported that Callaway had been charged with “assault on a female,” after Kathy Maney, the former GOP precinct chair for Hoopers Creek, said Callaway had grabbed her forcefully.

Regarding the HCGOP controversy, the Hendersonville Lightning reported on May 15 that, “based on Woodhouse’s interpretation of the state party’s review of the county party’s actions, the precinct chairs were removed for having been improperly elected and a new plan of organization was adopted by Callaway and the few remaining committee members.”

Hatfield began the May 11 Men’s Club gathering with a stern warning that “this meeting is to discuss what happened with the HCGOP...  if you’re asked to leave and don’t leave (the Men’s Club meeting), we’ll call the police — and have you escorted out... We’re not playing any games….”

In its story on the Men’s Club meeting’s start, the Lightning noted the following:

““Hatfield opened the meeting with a lengthy review of the past two months of turmoil, starting with a determination by state party officials that (the Republican Party of) Henderson County’s plan of organization was invalid because of ‘inconsistencies,’ followed by the March 23 county convention that erupted into shouting and a crossfire of accusations (and) then a special called meeting of the party executive committee on April 15, when Hoopers Creek precinct chair Kathy Maney was ejected — and around half the room walked out with her.”

In its story, parenthetically, the Lightning added, “Although earlier reporting of the party turmoil said no one was allowed to speak at the 11th Congressional District convention in Waynesville on April 27, Republicans said Saturday (May 11) that attendees were permitted to speak at that (April 27) meeting.”

Early in the May 11 meeting, Hatfield asserted, “Let me just say something about the precinct chairs. They’re the closest to the voters that anybody could be. When you elmiinate those precinct chairs, the word doesn’t get out. And we need to have those precinct chairs out there working to get the vote out.”

Speaking more generally, he added, “About the coming election, you might not like (Donald) Trump, but the alternative is much worse. If we’re not careful, we’ll have the fourth term of Barack Obama in 2024” with the re-election of Joe Biden as president... We either re-establish the (constitutional) republic — or go with a socialist dictatorship.”

Hatfield then stressed that the meeting was open to discussion, but again asked for there to be “no pontification” and, “if you’re unruly, you’ll be asked to leave....”

One of the early focuses in the meeting’s topics of discussion regarded Callaway’s alleged assault of Maney — and what local Republicans could do about it 

(As for Maney’s complaint, the Lightning reported the following:“Maney’s complaint that Callaway roughly grabbed her arm and tried to take away her cell phone during the county convention resulted in an assault on a female charge against him. The fact that an assistant district attorney on Wednesday (May 8) insisted that Maney and Callaway attempt to resolve the dispute through mediation drew new howls of protest from her allies at the Men’s Club meeting on Saturday (May 11).”

At the Men’s Club meeting, Susane Brown asserted, “We have the travesty against Kathy, which is really a travesty against us all, for intimidation... persecution. So we have that and the threat that it’s gonna just be dismissed because all the judges at the courthouse — except for one — are Republicans... because they’re afraid to get involved because they know Republicans vote for them and keep them in office, which they like, and they don’t want to get into the controversy of dismantling the (HCGOP) chair.”

Wayne Garren, a former precinct chair of Hoopers Creek who claimed to have witnessed Callaway’s actions, added, “I know what’s going on. It’s a power grab and we have got to stop it. I was in court with Kathy (Maney) the other day and she was required to go to mediation, or the assistant DA wouldn’t go with prosecution. Now if that’s not corruption, I don’t know what is....

“She (Maney) has done an awesome job — and she has fought Brett Holloway all of the way. If we don’t put a stop to his power-mongering,” the situation will worsen. “We’ve got to stop him. I plead to all of you not to allow that to happen.”

An unidentified man told of his recent communication with Woodhouse, whom, when pressed by her for comment on an issue, eventually “said she is too busy to speak with me... I (later) posted on her Facebook, ‘If you’re too busy to answer this question, you should step down, and the same with your friend Brett, too!’” (His comments prompted laughter from a number of the HCRMC meeting attendees.)

The man added, “Michelle’s out there saying of those local Republicans who are unhappy with the actions of Callaway and her... that ‘we’re all wrong.’”

At that point, Hatfield interjected, “There are about six counties (in Woodhouse’s district) having the same problem as ours.”

When an unidentified man stated that “nobody was allowed to speak at the 11th District Convention,” Hatfield complained “I might note that the Men’s Club’s meetings are not posted on the HCGOP website.” (The Men’s Club, while a Republication organization, is independent of the HCGOP, Hatfield told the Daily Planet earlier).

When pressed by meeting attendees on the extent of his first-hand knowledge, Hatfield noted that “I was not at the 11th District Convention. but I was at the (Henderson) county convention.”

As several people debated whether party members were allowed to speak at the 11th District Convention, Men’s Club member Mark Delk from Asheville asserted the following:

“What we have here is an argument over semantics, versus including the people who are the very lifeblood of the party...” Delk said nobody he knows is perfect — and “I’m imperfect.... We’ve got to work together. America is at stake here... 

“This is about Henderson County. This is about the mountains of WNC (Western North Carolina). This is about the Republicans who aren’t going to send you thank-you notes....Nobody has asked who has complained about the plan of orgnaization of the HCGOP....”

Rhetortically, Delk then asked, “What are we going to do?”

Answering his own question, he asserted, “We’re going to use our God-given right to elect Republicans. The good news of the Republican Party is we are the party of redemption for the sin of slavery.... Folks, they (the Democrats) think we (the Republicans) were the slaveholders....”

Hatfield added, “Right now, the party (the HCGOP) is definitely divided. We’ve got to figure out something quickly.”

An unidentied man noted, “We have to do this without hate, anger or bitterness.”

To that comment, an unidentified woman asked, “How can you reconcile with someone who won’t speak with you?”

To that, meeting attendee Jan Parker suggested, “Ask God about that.”

Men’s Club member Tom Johnson noted, “I’m the author of much of what you just read…. I think that’s a way to propose to the Republican Party here in the state. I did that to get feedback and corrections. I’d propose thats a way to do it… Here’s an after-action review… and how they propose to fix it… “

Hatfield added, “If you listen to the ‘lame-stream media,’ it’s just a different reader from the same page... Sorry about that to our local media who are here today…”  (Covering the Men’s Club were the Daily Planet and the Hendersonville Lightning.)

Continuing, Hatfield asserted, “We’ve got to win in 2024 — and we’ve got to win with Donald Trump. When he (Trump left office, gasoline was less than $2 per gallon — and I just paid more than $4 per gallon... We’re up to $31 trillion (or more) in (federal) debt... When is someone going to say, ‘stop!’ or ‘enough!’

“The only way to make that happen is through precinct chairs. We can’t give up the right. The election is too critical.

“Henderson County is pretty good about only letting qualified voters to vote, but that’s not true everywhere.

“They’re trying to tie up Donald Trump in court until election day. We’ve got to get the word out — and it comes through the precinct chairs.”

An unidentified woman said, “The principle is that you don’t need an enemy when we are fighting among ourselves.”

Jan  Parker said, “So Tom Johnson gave us a good review and we can turn it over to the state GOP review and they can work that over while we go out for voters.”

Agreeing, Candler Willis said, “We are in the process with the state to do exactly what you’ve suggested. I’ve been advised by the state… that we can do just that.

“The co-author of the notice of inconsistency on the plan was our convention chair. We could formally adopt the plan and then amend it to get rid of the three inconsistencies. So the inconsistencies were corrected. But the motion passed unanimously, so the sense of the party was represented. The effort to change it at the April 15 meeting was totally illegitimate.” (Willis garnered sustained applause for his comments.)

An unidentified man then said, “Now, the fact is that Michele (Woodhouse) will not release a copy… I’d suggest that all of you ask for a copy to put pressure on her. So if everybody does that, it may push the situation. But at least you know where you stand. As far as Kathy (Maney) goes, I do agree shes been railroaded into mediation. She doesn’t have the money to get an attorney. I suggest everyone throw in some money and get an attorney. Otherwise (through mediation), someone will just get a slap on the wrist.”

An unidentified woman said, “We have two travesties going on right now — the travesty against Kathy (Maney), who, she said, has suffered “persecution for about a year. “The concern is that it (her case) will be dismissed because all of the judges in the courthouse are Republicans and they don’t what to get into the controversy of dismantling the chair of the party. The second travesty is that we are effectively shut out of the (HCGOP) office.” 

The unidentified woman added, “In the meantime until next March, when we can elect a new (HCGOP) chair and a new board, we must function on our own. This will make us stronger… The only benefit we’re getting out of this office (now) is the (emailed) newsletter, but she compained that the newsletter has failed to mention some recent visits/speeches by prominent Republican speakers in Henderson County, “including one by (gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson in Mills River two weeks ago.”

“In the (HCGOP) newsletter, if we’re lucky, we get a treasurer’s report. So there was no accountability on all of the money he (Callaway) spent, which was considerable....”

Rhetorically, the woman asked, “What do we have to show for it? 

Answering her own question, she half-quipped, “Just a bunch of technology and a new refrigerator!” (Many of those in attendance erupted into laughter at her comments.)

The woman then urged the Men’s Club attendees, “We can do it. We don’t need him (Callaway) and his cohorts. We can put out the info.”

An unidentified man said, “I wrote an analysis of what took place and asked that it go out to everyone. I’d like to ask this group’s chair to make sure it goes out. Secondly, I believe that was the ‘coup d’etat’” at the state convention. “The origin of this whole problem was an effort to change the governance of the HCGOP — from a ‘broad tent’ and turn it into a ‘narrow cadre’ of officials.

He added, “I’ve been a director of various government agencies and that (the HCGOP’s action) was violating every precept of how you run a government meeting. Either you are a part of the ‘party with oversight,’ or you aren’t. It’s really that simple.”

Later in the meeting, Hatfield said, “We’ve got to make an appeal to the independent voters to vote for Trump... I say to an independent, ‘If you stand in the middle of the road, you’re going to get whacked.’”

An unidentied man said,  “As long as we’re divided, there needs to be overlap.…” 

Hatfield noted, “Mark Meadows (former White House chief of staff under Trump) came to speak at the coffeeshop (in) downtown (Hendersonville), years ago — and he said, ‘Vote for the local candidates you support. The state and federal elections take the oxygen out of the room.’” (Meadows also served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina’s 11th congressional district from 2013 to 2020.)

An unidentified man said, “I’ve been a precinct chair for about 10 years. This whole ‘plan of organization’ thing is confusing to me. My understanding is that the only way a plan of organization can been approved is at a county meeting. But instead, they rewrote it” elsewhere. “The situation we’ve found ourselves in is deplorable — and it should never, never have happened.”

Continuing the man said in a reference to top HCGOP officials, “They’re statement these days is, basically, “No comment!” because they can’t defend what they did. To me, words are cheap and actions speak volumes. Let’s sit down and reason together because this is just… pathetic. It’s just so solvable. The chair of the HCGOP could solve this — just like that. So far we haven’t seen anything. Stay strong — and let’s stay together!”

At that point, Hatfield quoted Founding Father Ben Franklin’s famous admonition at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 in Philadelphia: “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”

To that, Hatfield reiterated, “We (Republicans) cannot let this country fall into the hands of the socialists in this election.”

Next, Fremont V. Brown III, who noted he is from Buncombe County, said, “The only way to change a plan of organization is through the county — unless they’ve changed that since I was in (office). So I’m saying this is ‘baloney.’ Stand up and go to the (HCGOP) meeting and tell them what you think! And the state (GOP) should be able to back you up on that! You need to get together, we need to be unified!”

With a grin, Brown added, “Forget about Trump’s tweets. It’s a matter of what he did — not his tweets.” (Brown’s comments triggered sustained applause.)

Next, an unidentified man said, “I’d like to see them go to Brett (Callaway) and tell him, ‘We’re not happy!’ We can’t ask him to do anything because we (precinct chairs) have been kicked out. Then if Brett doesn’t want to do anything, we can decide what to do.”

Haffield then triggered laughs when he suddenly (and jokingly) asked, “Does anyone have a key to the (Henderson County) Republican Party (headquarters)?”

An unidentified  woman prompted even more merriment from those present when she replied, “I did, but it doesn’t work any more!”

At that point, Cher Silvius, a member of the HCGOP executive committee and wearing a “USA” ballcap, got Hatfield’s approval to walk to the front of the crowd, where she stood near Hatfield (the Men’s Club president and moderator), clutched a microphone and — to the apparent shock of many in attendance (and the apparent amazement to others) — proceeded to defend Callaway in particular, and the HCGOP, in general.

“My heart is in as much turmoil as yours... I go to as many of the monthly meetings as possible,” Silvius told the audience. “I go to the (city) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion meetings. I go to the (Hendersonville) City Council meetings. I go to the (Henderson County) Board of Educatn meetings. I go the county commissioners’ meetings. 

“And, you know who I don’t see there? A lot of you!

“I’m working my tail off. What are you all doing, but tearing our party apart? Stop it!”

As several meeting attendees proceeded to vent their wrath at Silvius and questioned her support for Callaway, she smiled — and called for “peace.”

Silvius, an HCGOP activist for several years, added, “We need to come together as a party. I came in when Merry Guy was the chair. She had her way of running things. And Brett has his way of running things. I did what Brett asked us to do. I built my precinct. How many precincts that are here have done that?”   

Responding, Georgia Moffitt scolded Silvius and told her, “The ones who did accept those slots, shame on you... Are you going to make a motion at the next (HCGOP) secret meeting that the precinct chairs go back on? If you’re on our side, you’ll make that motion.”

As the audience looked on in apparent incredulity, Silvius calmly told a fired-up Moffitt with a smile, “I ask that we share the truth and the love... “

To that, Moffitt snapped, “Just answer our questions!” Others murmered their agreement with Moffitt’s challenge.

At that point, Silvius read from a religious document, which stated that “we do have unstable souls….”

Standing up to address Silvius, Jay Egolf, chair of the Henderson County Board of Education, told her, “I don’t understand why the precinct chairs were eliminated. At the (N.C.) Apple Festival (last year), I was left off the Green Sheet. There was an emergency meeting, during which the executive committee got together and voted (almost) unanimously to put me back on the Green Sheet... 

“I’m in favor of ‘all by many.’ I don’t undersand” why the action was taken” by the HCGOP, Egolf sternly told Sylvius.

Also, regarding the firing of so many precinct chairs, Egolf queried “Why was that their answer?”

Smiling, Silvius replied simply, “I don’t know!”

Meanwhile, the Lightning reported that Woodhouse has defended Callaway with the following statement:

“They (the Men’s Club) have the right to censure him if they choose to. Our focus is 100 percent on getting Republicans elected. We were No. 1 in the state (in voter turnout) in this primary. Henderson County Republicans are getting to the polls and voting. This is sadly and unfortunately a distraction from our work — and that is electing Republicans.” 

Immediately after Silvius’ address, Hatfield noted that a motion was on the floor to censure the HCGOP chair, which then passed unanimously.

Following the censure approval, Bill Robinson said, “It’s really important to us because we live in the ‘belly of the beast’ over there (in Buncombe County). The anger and hate that I’ve seen directed to her (Maney) needs to stop....

“I’ve talked with the prosecutor, who is just plain weird. They should be going after Brett Calloway because they’ve got so much on him…. Let me say that Kathy (Maney) has been nothing but a sweet granma — and if they’re after her, they’ll be after (all of) you,” eventually.

A man, who said he is a writer for the Epoch Times, said, “ I can tell you what I’m hearing here is correct.” He also decried the imposition of the “disloyalty clause against Kathy Maney.”

Further, he said, “The only thing that works for this whole thing is the resignations of Brett Calloway and Michele Woodhouse.”

An unidentified woman told the crowd, “So if you want to diminish the vote, you diminish the precinct captains... If we don’t get the vote out, we could be in trouble.”

Another unidentified woman asserted, “My thought is we don’t need that chairman (Brett Callaway). He doesn’t do anything for us.” In the meantime she said, “We need to use this organization (the Men’s Club), which meets once a month. We don’t need him (Callaway)” or the HCGOP under his leadership... We can do this!”

In closing the meeting Hatfield apologized for the event having lasted longer than usual (about an hour and 45 minutes versus the usual hour), quipping that “I’m in ‘overtime!’”

With a smile, the Men’s Club chief added once last time, “We need to get Republicans elected in November — and we need Donald Trump elected” as president.