Want to shape Spartanburg's future? Get involved.
If you’re a Democrat — or even relatively left-leaning — it’s probably worth few moments of your time to check out the Spartanburg County Democratic Party’s website, which has been steadily improving since the near-stagnant version seen during the last election. Key features include a “Happening Now” section for local and regional political news, an event calendar (which is a little light at the moment) and plenty of resource links for ways to get involved.
Meanwhile, over at the Spartanburg GOP’s site, the set up isn’t bad, but there’s real lack of content. Blame it on the shake-up earlier this year which saw longtime GOP Chair Rick Beltram ousted and newcomer LaDonna Ryggs put in charge. There’s nothing wrong with the site’s structure, but there’s very little in the way of content. For instance: They have an event calendar, but as of this writing, it’s completely empty; there’s a contact page, but with no contacts; there’s a profile page for the local GOP officers, but with practically no information. And if you were looking to get involved with some of the GOP-affiliated groups or movements, there’s very little here to connect you. So, if you’re into the GOP’s mission and want to help out at the local level, you’ll have to put in a bit more time and effort than your Democratic counterpart.
And then we have the Libertarians, which don’t appear to have an organized chapter here in Spartanburg. Then again, given that Libertarians tend to be more individualistic in their political beliefs, maybe that’s not surprising. The state’s Libertarian party site appears to have been inactive since 2008, but here in Spartanburg, things are different. Credit local political blog Spartanburg Libertarian for that.
The site’s most recent post? A call to local Libertarians to organize, of course!
To all of my local (Spartanburg County, SC) Libertarians, you are needed. Your attendance is needed.
On Saturday July 11th at 12 noon the Libertarian Party in South Carolina will be organizing the Spartanburg County Party. There will be members of the State Party present to oversee the process. There will be a need for volunteers to be county officers for the party.
If you are a Libertarian and live in Spartanburg County please attend this event. Be part of moving forward the part in our county. Pushing for Libertarian values has to start at the local level. So come out and show your support.
Why should you care about all of this? After all, didn’t we just finish an election cycle? It’s certainly a lot less appealing to get involved during the lull periods, I’ll grant you that, but now is when the ground work for the next big elections must be laid. A little intelligent organization and planning a year in advance can make a huge difference in turnout and support by the time elections happen.
If you are one of the increasing number who believe that local politics matter, and that the biggest changes need to happen first at the city, county and state level, this is the place where your voice is most likely to be heard, and your actions can have the most direct influence. And in a rapidly changing, revitalizing place like Spartanburg, you have a direct stake in helping to shape that future, regardless of which party you belong to.
Steve Shanafelt
In all honesty it is thanks to The Spark that I have manage to learn about local politics and even begin to feel passionate about the goings on here politically. I’ve even harbored thoughts of tossing my hat in the ring, in brief moments of insanity. Problem is, I no longer am sure where I belong party wise. I know there is likely a place for me in this arena. I am thinking I am best suited right where I am at the moment.
Steve:
It is very sad that the Spartanburg GOP has fallen down.
One point you missed……the GOP has no HQ such as the DEMS…..without local presence…it makes recruiting very difficult!
COME to our:
Piedmont Republican Club
07/18 9AM
Country Hearth Inn
Program: Blogs
RSB
Beltram: But, in fairness, didn’t you kind of say “I’m taking my GOP headquarters and going home!” after you lost the Spartanburg GOP chairmanship?
I agree that it would be useful for them to have a headquarters and all, but wasn’t it your job when you were in charge of the local GOP to ensure such a place would continue to exist? Didn’t you have years to set up a physical location and infrastructure that could have survived your ouster?
I’m not saying it’s your fault, but it seems like you were in a position to prevent exactly this kind of thing from happening.
Steve:
You are NOT correct…….one of the newcomers tried to come to the office and disturb my business activities and the landlord’s other tenants…….the owner of the building said he had “enough” of that crowd and told LaDonna to move the GOP belongings in 24 hours.
At $175/month…. and much other infrastructure….there was a deal in place for survival at an affordable rate! I even had the volunteer corps still ready to work the HQ !…but they were all excused….there is much sadness in the Spartanburg GOP.
Now, they have no funds for rent….$$$ has dried up!
Then the e-mail scandal at BJU and all the “whys” were answered!
RSB
What exactly were they doing that got them kicked out? I can’t imagine they were throwing keggers or anything. Let me e-mail LaDonna and see if she’s interested in chiming in on this.
errr Wait. So the GOP headquarters is in hiatus, they got kicked out of their former digs and we are just now hearing about it???
Steve/Sylvie:
Details have been reported earlier…..sorry that you missed them!
TM (initials) came to the HQ on 04/08, mid morning, and tried to
assume possession of my office and my personal belongings. he was turned away and went to complain to the landlord who quickly showed him the valid lease in my name. At that point, TM called the police to gain access to my personal belongings. TM was again turned away….at that point the landlord called LaDonna to remove the GOP items……which had already been moved to different office in the same building.
Since that date, there has not been a local GOP office. A very sad fact!
My office is still open and functioning as my business officer and also HQ for Piedmont Republican Club!
RSB
So, the lease was in your name, not the Spartanburg GOP’s? You’ve basically proven my earlier point about not setting things up for the local party to have easy transitions. It sounds like you could have prevented this situation by getting a space leased in the Spartanburg GOP’s name, rather than your own. Why didn’t you do that?
who is TM? To whom was this ousting reported to? It sure didn’t make any local news, or if it was it was relegated to such a tiny square of ink, no one saw it.
Ok, let me get this straight. The GOP headquarters actually shared space with this business and really wasn’t housed in it’s own separate and individual facility? And that this particular office shared by the GOP was also used by the person who was elected the local party chairman?
First of all isn’t this a conflict of interest? Second how long does the former party head have to finish out his or her term making allowances for transitional happenings to occur? Third, how are separate records deemed to be kept separate and non-conflict of interest, if both business records are sharing the same space?
What communications have occurred to ensure that the new chair-person has access to GOP data, records, office equipment, etc and in a timely and smooth manner?
I do look forward to hearing from the current GOP head on this matter as well as the former.
And lastly what email scandal at BJU and what the heck is that and how is that relevant?
Steve:
It would appear that you have had limited business experience.
Normally, leases must in a name of an entity where an individual is responsible. Just like for 10 years, the GOP bank account had my s/s# attached. As Chairman, I was ultimately responsible for any financial or legal issues/problems. Fortunately, for 10 years, we had none.
All records for the GOP were segregated into a separate office as soon as the convention had concluded.
In fact, our office suite actually 5 separate rooms plus a common conference room. Business and GOP records were in different and well organized locations. ALL GOP members has access to all records at any time that was required. Our offices had been open to the public M-F 8AM-5PM.
Finally, in true GOP spirit, the frugality of the arrangement was perfect for ALL concerned.
Please visit us at any time for a tour. (1002 S. Pine St.)
Note: now also the home of the Piedmont Republican Club.
Rick Beltram
Rick:
Steve is right. You are spinning as usual. I know for a fact that the Spartanburg Democratic Party is in the party’s name as an organization. The individual names of the responsible parties on the lease (the chairman and/or the party treasurer) can be seemlessly changed with the election of new officers. This is how it works in most organizations with elected leadership whether it’s a local political party or a local Lions Club.
The problem here is that you are not accepting your defeat and not helping to facilitate a transition to put your party in the best footing possible. Sorry but anyone can see this whole thing looks like sour grapes on your part.
Instead of pledging to support the new leadership and moving into the role of “non-elected party leader” you are setting up your own Republican meetings, running it out of “your” HQ, etc. It’s fine to have an independent GOP club but think about how all this you are doing looks to the average political observer. Ironically your actions remind me of Bob Walker and his sour grapes when he was defeated in the primary by Millwood. Didn’t you hold a press conference and tell the SHJ that the GOP had its nominee in Millwood? Doesn’t the Spartanburg GOP have a chairman now as a result of a fair contest?
Ryan,
that is how it appears to me as well. I am not all that familiar with this aspect of the political process or if such practices with local chapters is a common one, but I do know that it doesn’t send a very positive message to voters. At the end of the day, who is party chairman is of little consequence or importance in light of who is running for office, or the needs, integrity and intent of the political party.
As for the local GOP affiliation itself, I do like the upgrade to the website. It is more user friendly, and it does show that one doesn’t need a physical address to be accessible to party members, or those who have inquiries. The DNC which does currently have a physical location still has less contact information as to individual board members. BUT they have made improvements to their website as well. Hopefully both parties will recognize that more and more voters prefer gaining information about candidates from such sources as websites then going to an office that may or may not be in a convenient location. I look forward to improvements to both sites.
Ryan:
You have a right to your own opinion but the facts do NOT support your conclusion…..it would not be fair for me to disclose any more details about the current state of the Spartanburg County GOP or the many issues that have arisen……if you think that their performance since 04/07 to today is good…..then we will agree to disagree!
Bye!
RSB
“I know for a fact that the Spartanburg Democratic Party is in the party’s name as an organization. The individual names of the responsible parties on the lease (the chairman and/or the party treasurer) can be seemlessly changed with the election of new officers. This is how it works in most organizations with elected leadership whether it’s a local political party or a local Lions Club.”
This is how is usually works in my experience as well. I’m not sure where Beltram has gotten the impression that the way he set things up is commonplace, but it’s not at all. It causes problems exactly like the one we see here.
Steve:
Please fact check yourself!
Plus:
1) Security deposits?
2) TERM of lease ?
3) Amount of lease?
4) Limited options
5) Insurance?
RSB
Steve:
Now that you have fact checked…..IF it was so easy…..WHY does the new group NOT have a HQ since 04/07??????
After 20 years of continuous service to the community with a HQ……what has happened????
These are the points that should be explored and not anything about myself……will you be present at our Saturday breakfast….Tammy Stokes is one of the speakers!
RSB
Rick: I’ve been involved with many organizations that have rented space, and assuming it’s set up properly, it’s a relatively easy thing to arrange them to survive a change in management and responsibility. Every non-profit I’ve ever worked with has set themselves up in such a manner. Frankly it’s frightening to me that you’ve been in a leadership position here for so long and appear to be unaware of the need for this kind of planning.
What is the “plus” list supposed to signify? Clubs and non-profits deal with all of those things — and far more thorny issues — all of the time. Groups regularly survive a change in management (or even entire boards) without losing their leased spaces, bank accounts, databanks, violating leases or losing their insurance. I’m not sure where you’ve gotten the impression that they don’t, but it’s simply incorrect.
The whole point of such organizations is to provide a continuity, regardless of who is in charge at any given moment. That’s why there are boards and trustees, in fact, as well as any number of simple, common logistical tools to allow such a transition to be smooth. The fact that the Spartanburg GOP wasn’t set up in such a way during your time as its head is deeply troubling.
Errr. Why is it assumed that the Spartanburg GOP a new group? It is still the same organization. All that has changed is a change of leadership and sadly because of how things were set up under the Beltram tenure the need for whole new set of dynamics, such as a lease bank account, insurance etc. The transition should have been seamless as it likely was ten years ago when Mr. Beltram took the reigns of local party head. Only because arrangements were made, for whatever reason, to have things done on such a set up, that we have the lack of a physical location now.
Now it isn’t uncommon for an entity such as a small church to have some records, especially older records stored off site, or to have such tasks such as bookkeeping done in someone’s personal office. They’d have access to the bank account, but it would be one of several people who would as, as is common, staff changes. This would occur because of either a lack of good office/storage space, or budgeting that doesn’t allow for paid staff. Regardless, oversight often is put into place to allow for accountability of the church’s funds and records.
Of course as I already mentioned, one doesn’t need a physical office front to be a vibrant organization. Especially in today’s world with the communication opportunities we have access to. Yes it helps, but the local GOP seems to be surviving just fine
Steve is correct, most civic, non-profits and even political organizations keep things set up to allow for transitions within its organization.
One more thing. Just where did the GOP funds dry up to? I say it is a stretch to assume that just because they don’t currently have a physical location that the local party affiliation is broke, if so I doubt they went so in just three months. ESPECIALLY if they weren’t having to pay expenses like rent and utilities.
The more likely scenario is that the current leadership of the GOP decided to reorganize its infrastructure to better meet the normal operating practices usually found in such entities. That the decided on different people and another ultimate location should come as no surprise, considering the more unorthodox settings of before.