DENVER — An El Paso County judge has invalidated a vote removing Dave Williams as chair of the Colorado Republican Party after months of infighting over anti-LGBTQ messages the chairman shared in early June.
For the last few weeks, two men have claimed to be the chair of the party: Williams and Eli Bremer, the former chair of the El Paso County Republican Party.
Republican leaders in Denver and Washington, D.C., have been split on who they recognize as the rightful chair.
In a 21-page ruling this week, El Paso County District Court Judge Eric Bentley said an August 24 vote to remove Williams as chair wasn’t valid.
At that meeting, members of the Colorado Republican State Central Committee (CRC) also voted to replace Williams with Bremer.
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In his ruling, the judge stated the party’s bylaws require a vote of three-fifths of the entire central committee to remove an officer. Because not enough members were at that meeting, he said Williams remains the rightful party chair.
He also said the votes to remove Hope Scheppelman as party vice-chair and Anna Ferguson as secretary were also not valid.
“The vote to remove Williams, Scheppelman, and Ferguson was not in accordance with the CRC's Bylaws, and it is accordingly void and of no effect,” Bentley wrote.
Valdamar Archuleta, a GOP congressional candidate and president of the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans, was one of many in his party who hoped to see Williams removed as chair following multiple controversies, including Williams sharing anti-LGBTQ messages.
"It was a little disappointing, but I wasn't completely surprised either,” said Archuleta. “I knew it could go either way."
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Archuleta said while he's disappointed with the ruling, Republicans should focus on November’s election.
"We need to get out there and talk to the people and win some elections. And next spring we can regroup and talk about, where do we go from here with leadership in the future,” Archuleta said.
Williams celebrated the ruling and threatened to retaliate against those who tried to have him pushed out.
“The majority of our State Party always knew that none of the officers were rightfully removed, or replaced, by a fringe minority faction just because they screamed the loudest while the liberal press and crooked pundits carried [their] divisive message,” Williams said in a statement Thursday. “While we will seek legal accountability against these failed usurpers, the rest of our State Party must unite to defeat the radical Democrats with the remaining time we have left before November."
Bremer said he and his legal team are still sorting through the judge's decision and looking at their options.
He said it would likely be days before they know the next steps.
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