Hillsdale County GOP feud lands in court after dueling factions claim control

HILLSDALE — A faction of the Hillsdale County Republican Party led by Brent Leininger has filed a verified complaint for declaratory relief in court.

Declaratory relief is when the court decides the rights of parties without ordering any specific action or listing awards for damages.

More:Hillsdale Republican Party rift widens, Shirkey calls for unity

The complaint asks the Hillsdale County Circuit Court to intervene and rule in favor of Leininger’s faction — consisting of county-level elected officials, state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and state Rep. Andrew Fink — and recognize them as the true leaders of the Hillsdale County Republican Party Executive Committee.

It also seeks declaration that a meeting on July 28 by the “America First” faction and its leaders — Daren Wiseley, Lance Lashaway, Jon Smith, Jon-Paul Rutan, Josh Gritzmaker and Belle Stier — to remove elected delegates and members of the executive committee was improper and not allowed under election law and the party’s bylaws.

The party rift became evident Aug. 11 when Leininger’s faction and dozens of newly elected precinct delegates from the Aug. 2 primary election were barred from entering the county convention.

On Aug. 25, days before the state’s convention, Leininger’s faction convened its own meeting and elected a temporary executive committee to serve through the end of the year, ousting Wiseley and the “America First” faction, who dismissed the Leininger faction’s actions that day as unlawful.

Reportedly, the “America First” faction then stated it would also bar Leininger’s faction from entering and participating in a November county convention where a new executive committee board would be elected to take office Jan. 1, 2023, for a two-year term.

The court complaint lays out these matters in detail in a 12-page document filed this week by Lansing-based Jonathan Lauderbach of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP.

A hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 24.

In response to the civil suit, “America First” faction Secretary Jon Smith posted a statement to social media Thursday.

Smith opened up his statement by reiterating claims that Leininger’s faction “rigged the 2022 precinct delegate election.”

“What is the point of this court case other than to hurt the Republican name?” Smith rhetorically asked. “Regardless, the party executive board steps down in a month. I made it public back in the early spring that I was planning on stepping down as secretary and had zero interest in running for the position again. The same was true for several of the other officers including the chair and vice chair.”

More:Rogue Republicans: Party holds separate county conventions, picks separate delegates

Smith called the court case a waste of time, energy and money.

“I believe the reason behind all of this starts with our censure of the most corrupt senator, Mike Shirkey,” Smith continued. “In my opinion, the majority of the Republican ‘local government’ body in Hillsdale County seeks to have unchallenged power without being questioned and without doing any of the hard work. They have a lot of growing up to do and personally, they can all kiss my ass!”

The “America First” faction previously dismissed Leininger’s Aug. 25 meeting and actions, stating the precinct delegates in Leininger’s faction were disavowed from the party prior to the Aug. 2 primary election and were therefore not acting as members of the party when they called for and held a special meeting.

Despite being disavowed and barred from entering the Aug. 11 county convention, Leininger’s faction held a separate convention nearby on the same night and nominated a slate of delegates and alternates to attend the Michigan GOP convention Aug. 27 in Lansing.

More:Shirkey censured by local republicans; draws backlash for comments

The Michigan GOP ultimately sided with Leininger’s faction in this instance and allowed their delegates to be seated at the Aug. 27 state convention.

It was during the state convention that a letter signed by Michigan GOP Chairman Ron Weiser acknowledged Wiseley’s faction as the standing executive committee.

Despite this ruling, Leininger and his faction still claimed to be in control.

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In response to Weiser’s letter, Leininger earlier authored his own letter stating that Michigan Election Law, the Michigan Republican Party bylaws and the Hillsdale County Executive Committee bylaws are “quite clear in the fact that the state party has no authority in determining who the officers are of the local executive committee and any statement as such is contradictory to Michigan Law …”

“It is also clear that the Chairperson of the Michigan Republican Party did not have all the information or was not aware of all the legal actions taken by a quorum of legally elected delegates in Hillsdale County to restructure its leadership and bring the county into compliance with applicable state and federal reporting requirements,” Leininger stated at the time.

— Corey Murray is a staff writer for The Hillsdale Daily News who can be reached at cmurray@hillsdale.net. Follow him on Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale County GOP feud lands in lawsuit after dueling factions claim control