A push to oust Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams has led to the formal censure of the petition’s circulator — the Jefferson County party chair — and an apparent nullification of the effort by her own executive committee.
Nancy Pallozzi started the petition last week. It lists several concerns with Williams’ leadership, including the party breaking neutrality during this year’s Colorado presidential primary when it backed former President Donald Trump. The petition, which attracted backing from several GOP officeholders, also cites Williams’ history of “continually encouraging division instead of unifying the party.”
In an interview earlier this week, she said an anti-LGTBQ+ email and social media post encouraging people to burn Pride flags was the final straw.
She sought the county party’s endorsement of the push Thursday night — but was instead censured for going outside the party structure.
Pallozzi circulated the petition as an individual leader within the party, and not on behalf of the Jefferson County Republicans, she said this week, though she publicized the effort on the party’s Facebook account, under its letterhead, in calling on Williams to resign.
The formal reprimand states that Pallozzi’s actions “have not been in the best interest of the Jeffco Party, its candidates, its supporters or its members,” according to a copy circulated by the state party. In addition, it specifies that her actions are “null and void” — and demands she turns over all materials and records of communication on the matter, including media outlets she spoke to and contacts with other county chairs.
The censure also bars Pallozzi from further communication on the matter.
“This action concerns only the matter of the Chair acting without authority and is not to be construed as an endorsement of or opposition to statements or actions of any other party,” a statement from the Jefferson County executive committee reads.
Pallozzi did not return a message Friday about the censure. She said earlier that she had enough support from other members of the state central committee to force a vote on the leadership of Williams, who was elected chair early last year. It’s not clear if that will still happen.
The move had garnered public support from several prominent Republicans in the state, including state lawmakers Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and Rep. Lisa Frizell and candidates in this month’s primary.
The Denver Republican Party’s executive committee on Wednesday unanimously voted to call for Williams’ resignation or removal as state chair.
“This was not about Nancy Pallozzi,” Pallozzi said in an interview before the meeting where she was censured. “This was about protecting the Republicans in the state, and that this is not what Republicans stand for. We are not about hate, and we are not about burning Pride flags, or any flags for that matter — and that tweet was just horrible.”
In addition to outrage over Williams’ remarks about LGBTQ+ Pride supporters, whom he called “Nazis” in a recent debate, he has also faced backlash for using party resources to attack his primary opponent in the open 5th Congressional District race.
He’s facing Jeff Crank for the Republican nomination in the heavily conservative, El Paso County-based district in the June 25 primary election.
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