FOUR SAY THEY INTEND TO RUN AS INDEPENDENT
The Platte County Republican Central Committee has announced its formal censure of four former Republican candidates.
The committee has censured Dale Brouk, Kevin Robinson, Chris Kendall, and Holly Cayer who withdrew from the Republican primary for the office of Platte County Presiding Commissioner, Platte County Auditor, Platte County Treasurer, and Platte County Collector respectively on Monday, May 4.
Their withdrawal came in the moments before the Platte County Commission was scheduled to vote on their potential removal from the ballot for failure to file the personal financial disclosure with the county clerk, as required by Chapter 105 of the Platte County Code.
The county commission, by a 2-1 vote, ended up voting not to remove seven affected candidates from the ballot. But by that time four of the seven had already withdrawn their candidacy.
The four indicated to The Landmark they withdrew to make a clear path for them to be able to legally file as an independent candidate. Had they been removed from the August primary ballot through the county commission’s action there was a legal question as to whether the four could then pursue office as an independent candidate in the November general election.
Hours after his withdrawal from the Republican primary, Brouk announced his intent to file as an independent candidate for the same office. Kevin Robinson, Chris Kendall and Holly Cayer announced that they too would be filing as independent candidates.
The committee said its decision to censure the four is based on the following:
Dale Brouk filed for the office of Platte County Presiding Commissioner, Kevin Robinson filed for the office of auditor, Chris Kendall filed for the office of treasurer and Holly Cayer filed for the office of collector under the banner of the Republican Party. They met with the Platte County Republican Central Committee and personally attested that they were strong and true Republicans.
“When they were about to (potentially) be held accountable for their failure to comply with the most basic statutory requirement that applies to every candidate — the timely filing of their personal financial disclosure — Mr. Brouk, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Kendall and Ms. Cayer did not stand and answer for that failure as the other candidates before them did. Instead, they withdrew, in a procedural maneuver designed to avoid the commission’s ruling and announced their intent to run as an independent,” the Republican Central Committee said in a news release.
“The withdrawal was not a matter of conscience. It was a matter of self-preservation,” the committee continued.
“The committee censures Mr. Brouk, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Kendall, and Ms. Cayer and declares them persona non grata within the Republican Party of Platte County. The committee will withhold its endorsement, support, and infrastructure from any future candidacy by Mr. Brouk, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Kendall and Ms. Cayer,” the news release states.
“The Republican party of Platte County is not a flag of convenience. Filing under the Republican banner carries with it an obligation of sincere alignment with the principles, the candidates, and the voters of the party. The conduct of these former candidates treated the Republican party as a convenience to be discarded when it became inconvenient,” the central committee’s press release goes on to state.
“The conduct that led to this censure raises a question that voters in Platte County will have to answer for themselves: if Mr. Brouk, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Kendall and Ms. Cayer cannot be trusted to keep faith with the party they chose, or to stand and answer for their failures rather than evade them at the first sign of accountability what can they be trusted with?
“Candidates who abandon their party the moment their party holds them accountable are candidates who will abandon their voters the moment their voters hold them accountable. Candidates who walk away from the ideals they publicly subscribed to as soon as those ideals become inconvenient are candidates whose ideals are not ideals, they are postures. Candidates who maneuver procedurally to evade an unfavorable ruling are candidates who, once in office, will maneuver procedurally to evade unfavorable consequences for the public they are supposed to serve.”
Statement from the Committee Chair
“The Republican Party of Platte County stands for personal accountability and for the rule of law. A candidate who breaks faith, with both by failing to comply with the law and by then withdrawing to avoid being held accountable for that failure, is not a candidate this committee will support, recognize, or work alongside. The voters of Platte County deserve candidates who are willing to live by the same rules they expect to enforce, and who are willing to stand and answer when they fall short. The Committee’s Censure reflects that judgment,” said Tammy Thompson, chair, Platte County Republican Central Committee.
