Two incumbent Catoosa County commissioners and a former commissioner were denied a spot on the Republican primary ballot Monday morning — a new effort, county party leadership says, to only run candidates who adhere to the party's platform.
Steven Henry, a candidate for chair of the County Commission, said he was one of the candidates disqualified for the Republican ballot Monday. County party officials had the nerve, he said by phone, to give him paperwork about how to run as an independent candidate.
"I'm going to do everything I can to be on the Republican ballot," he said by phone. "I believe if we don't take a stand now, this behavior is going to spread. I don't think we can tolerate a small group making decisions for the whole. I think it's what we used to call communism."
Henry previously served as chair of the County Commission for six years.
A small group of party officials shouldn't have the power to kick people off the ballot, he said, but the voters won't have that choice unless something changes. He said he was consulting with an attorney on how to proceed.
"I have Republican values," Henry said. "I am a Republican."
Party platform
Sample planks from the Georgia Republican Party platform:
— We believe that personal freedom and personal morality are indivisible. When personal freedom and personal morality are separated — society is in peril; when they are united, liberty and tranquility reigns.
— We believe in the right to life from conception, beginning at fertilization, to natural death.
— We believe that the right to self-defense is a God-given right, recognized by the Second Amendment.
— We believe that revenues collected at all levels of government should be used only for well-defined, legitimate government functions and should be carried out efficiently so that tax rates may be kept as low as possible.
Read the entire platform at bit.ly/GOP-GA
(READ MORE: Catoosa County GOP imposes rule to decide who can run as a Republican)
Larry Black, chair of the Catoosa County Board of Commissioners, hadn't attempted to qualify yet but said two other incumbent members of the commission, Vanita Hullander and Jeff Long, were also denied qualification by the county party.
Hullander is the District 3 commissioner, representing a north central portion of the county, and Long represents District 1, the western portion of the county.
Black, who is running for his first full term as chair, criticized the county GOP's decision to reject candidates from qualifying. In 2022, he replaced Henry, who stepped down from the chair position to run for state Senate.
"I think it's very unconstitutional, and mostly likely illegal," Black said by phone of the decision by the county party to not approve some candidates. "I will also have an attorney with me when I attempt to qualify."
Hullander and Long could not be reached for comment by phone. Long's attorney, Art Farrar, said in a phone call that he had no comment. Hullander's attorney, Allan Norton, said in a phone call that he can't comment on pending litigation.
"The qualifying for me was uneventful," Jimmy Gray, candidate for District 3 commissioner, said in a Facebook message. "I went in and filled out my papers and that was about it."
Nick Ware, a candidate for chair of the County Commission, said he was able to qualify Monday. He said in a phone call that he didn't have a comment about the issues surrounding primary qualification.
In an email, Joanna Hildreth, Catoosa County GOP chair, said the list of candidates qualified for the county's Republican primary would be released Friday. Candidate interviews are being held from Feb. 24 through Thursday, and the window to qualify with the party is open until noon Friday.
The Catoosa County Republican primary is May 21, and the general election is Nov. 5.
A question emailed to Hildreth about why each candidate was denied inclusion on the Republican primary ballot was not answered before deadline.
She explained the party's decision to interview and approve candidates prior to qualification in a letter released early last month.
Voters are often disappointed by candidates who run as Republicans, Hildreth said, but abandon the party's platform when they're elected. The 20-point Georgia Republican Party platform advocates the Constitution, limited government, traditional families, a balanced budget and multiple other conservative positions.
"Our qualifications process is designed both to increase communication between Republican politicians and the citizens of Catoosa County, as well as ensure that any candidates running as Republicans vote and act in accord with the party and thereby provide greater accountability," the letter said.
According to the party's rules filed with the Elections & Voter Registration office, the interviews are conducted by the county committee, and candidates are approved by a majority vote.
(READ MORE: Catoosa County voters are deciding whether to extend 1% sales tax for capital projects)
Henry said that when he was interviewed by the party's committee, he told them he didn't agree with their decision to vet candidates according to the Republican platform.
The committee asked him, he said, about his thoughts on smaller government, lowering taxes and how many of the 20 points of the Republican Party of Georgia's platform he could name. They also asked him how the county government and county GOP could coordinate better, he said.
Cherise Miller, a Republican who lives in the north end of the county, said she has contacted Hildreth several times to criticize the new candidate approval rule.
In an email, she said taxpayers of Catoosa County will fight the new rule that denies candidates the freedom to run for their chosen political party.
"Needless to say, I as well as many others are extremely disappointed in the new rule," she said.
Even though she said she thinks the county needs new leadership, she condemns the party's decision to exclude some candidates from the Republican primary ballot — calling it an issue of vindictiveness and control.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.