Even though the San Benito County Republican Central Committee
chairwoman and former chairman dropped lawsuits against one another
recently, the dispute between them continues to simmer even after
the state party declined to moderate the matter.
Hollister – Even though the San Benito County Republican Central Committee chairwoman and former chairman dropped lawsuits against one another recently, the dispute between them continues to simmer even after the state party declined to moderate the matter.
In June, San Benito County Republican Central Committee Chairwoman Jennifer Zapata filed suit against former chair Marvin Jones for allegedly mishandling party funds during his tenure. Then in July, Zapata engineered Jones’ expulsion from the party central committee.
Jones sued, then dropped the lawsuit, saying it was in deference to party rules. He then took his case to the state party rules committee during the Republican Party Convention in Anaheim over the weekend.
The committee unanimously declined to address the case, telling Jones he could drop the matter, appeal it to the state party’s Executive Committee or file another lawsuit against Zapata, Jones said.
“I’ll probably appeal it,” Jones said.
Zapata was pleased the committee declined to address it and considered the decision a win for her camp, even though the rules committee decision was not based on the merits of the case.
“The rules committee recognized it was outside of their jurisdiction because they don’t have the authority to appoint members or have the authority to remove members,” Zapata said. “By declining to hear it, that leaves the decision of the (local) committee in place.”
California Republican Committee spokeswoman Karen Hanretty said the state party never weighs in on matters concerning local county parties because the bylaws don’t allow it.
Zapata said she dropped her lawsuit against Jones two weeks ago because an attorney for the state party recommended she drop it so she could participate in the moderation process. She was unable to answer why her dropping the lawsuit was necessary if the state party’s purview doesn’t extend to local matters.
“I don’t know the answer,” she said. “From my point of view I assumed we did it in good faith so we could move forward.”
Zapata was disappointed to hear Jones might not let the matter drop, but declined to comment on whether she would fire back with another lawsuit if Jones again involved the courts. “It would depend on the type of lawsuit, I imagine,” Zapata said she hopes the entire matter disappears.
“We want to move forward,” she said. “The (special) election is less than a month and a half away and that’s what our focus should be on.”
Although Jones was uncharacteristically mum on the subject Monday, he has said in the past he believes the dispute between himself, Zapata and a coffee group he belongs to, the San Benito County Militia, stemmed from Zapata attempting to remove people from the committee with whom she disagreed politically.
The two sides have spent a lot of time in court this summer taking shots at each other.
In July, Zapata asked the court for a restraining order against members of the militia, whom she claimed were harassing her and invading her privacy.
Jones responded with a lawsuit claiming that the request for a restraining order was a thinly disguised effort to prevent him and others from attending party meetings. Both parties agreed last month to drop these actions.
In July, Jones initiated a defamation of character suit against Zapata and county Republican treasurer Mark Schroeder concerning an uncouth e-mail Schroeder sent Jones. Schroeder made an informal apology and the judge threw out the suit.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
