To the Editor:

My name is Mitchell E. Powell and I was elected vice chairman to the Haywood GOP on the same day Pat Carr was elected chairman. I resigned from this position only a few months into my term and only a couple of months after our newly elected treasurer resigned. I resigned because of personal attacks from the same “group” that is currently attempting to remove Pat Carr. 

By the time this letter is published, a June 3 Haywood County GOP meeting will have already been held. Those who attended know what this group is doing to the local party. The turmoil this group is causing will have a tremendously negative impact on the local elections in the fall.

The people who are at the root of the effort to remove Pat Carr have been attempting to undo the election that she soundly won. This small – but LOUD – group of so-called Republicans continually attempts to derail the local GOP at every opportunity. An actual affidavit against Pat Carr was filed with the State of North Carolina and Haywood County by Monroe Miller. The group that signed the “Formal Charges Filed Against Patt Carr” include Monroe Miller, Eddie Cabe, Tomile Cure, Greg Burrell, Ken Henson, Andrew Jackson, Jonnie Cure, Mark Zaffrann, Rebecca Mathews and Eleanor Worley (name information posted on Monroe Miller’s Blog internet site).

Note that Debbie King’s name appears to have no signature on the form. Her husband Dennie King is running for county commissioner. Debbie King is a central player in the group, but likes to work in the shadows. These are the same people that seem to cause consistent problems at every meeting, even voting against the meeting agenda. 

They accuse Pat Carr of having secret meetings and anything else they consider “out-of-line” in any of the never-ending charges the group dreams up. To my knowledge, Pat Carr has never had any secret meetings, nor committed any action that could be grounds for her removal. The only so-called secret meetings I am aware of are the ones held by many members of this group prior to the county convention where Pat Carr was elected. I attended two of these meetings (they call them dinners) thinking that I was working with a good group of Republicans. Their number one goal was to beat Pat Carr and now they seemed obsessed with it. Their hypocrisy knows no bounds!

The actions this group takes are an embarrassment to the Haywood GOP and to all citizens of Haywood County. In my opinion, these people are more Libertarian than Republican. 

Mitchell E. Powell

Haywood County