The former chairman of the San Benito County Republican Central
Committee was expelled from the committee during a closed session
Wednesday night.
Hollister – The former chairman of the San Benito County Republican Central Committee was expelled from the committee during a closed session Wednesday night.
“The Republican Central Committee, using a democratic process, voted as a committee to expel former chairman Marvin Jones from membership on the committee,” Chairwoman Jennifer Zapata said Thursday. Expulsion required at least a two-thirds majority vote.
Zapata declined to give specific reasons for the expulsion “out of respect” for Jones, she said.
“We appreciate his service to the committee,” Zapata said. “The committee is looking forward to moving on with our mission, which is to get Republicans elected to office.”
Jones could not be reached for comment by press time. Committee member Ron Stubblefield declined to comment on the decision for fear of expulsion, he said Thursday. Zapata said Stubblefield’s fear of expulsion was unfounded.
Last month Zapata threatened Jones with a civil suit if he did not resign as a member of the committee. When he declined to do so, she filed a $5,000 small claims action, alleging he illegally spent money from the committee’s account without approval.
A day after an article appeared in the Free Lance about the lawsuit threat, Jones said Zapata sent him a letter saying that unless Jones resigned from the Central Committee immediately, she would report her allegations of fiscal misconduct to the Fair Political Practices Commission, the Federal Elections Commission and the Secretary of State’s office.
Zapata’s complaint was the result of an audit committee’s determination that Jones had been irresponsible in his management of the party’s finances and that his “failures in judgment and in the handling of party funds has damaged and embarrassed the party.”
Jones has previously asserted that District Attorney John Sarsfield was pulling the strings behind his expulsion as part of a larger pattern of attacking political opponents who supported an effort to recall the DA.
Jones has offered no evidence to support his assertion, and the recall effort failed to gather enough signatures. Sarsfield has not been a member of the Republican Central Committee since he resigned as chairman in 2000.
Two weeks ago, prompted by an uncouth e-mail sent from the e-mail address of committee treasurer Mark Schroeder, Jones filed a defamation suit claiming the missive could potentially hurt his ability to run for public office.
Jones is seeking $5,000 for “potential loss in consulting fees” and “negative impact on potential public office,” according to the small claims complaint filed two weeks ago with the San Benito County Superior Court.
The suit alleges Schroeder publicly defamed Jones when Schroeder called him “a moron, a faggot, other sexually explicate terms, a geriatric white bastard and other racial epithets.”
The e-mail also besmirched the San Benito County Militia, an informal group of some 15 people who meet for coffee and discuss politics. Jones is a regular attendee.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
