TheMaineWire: It was a restless crowd at the Maine State Republican committee meeting Saturday in Augusta when grassroots activists in the party renounced the long-time party chairwoman Demi Kouzounas and voted by a wide margin to replace her with former Canaan state representative Joel Stetkis.
Stetkis won 57 votes compared to Kouzounas’ 25 in the final vote, with one member abstaining.
But the final result only tells part of the story.
The morning began with an eleventh hour effort to exclude one of the candidates, Rep. Heidi Sampson (R-Alfred) based on the interpretation of a rule that “officials” cannot also serve in party leadership.
Anticipating this move, Sampson wrote Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) on Friday night informing him of her resignation as a legislator. Faulkingham was unable to pass the letter onto House Speaker Rep Rachel Talbot Ross (R-Portland) by the time of Saturday’s meeting. In a dramatic intervention, Sampson addressed the committee saying she considered the Republican party a “family” and would not willingly tear it apart. She then withdrew her candidacy and threw her support behind Stetkis.
Returning to her seat, she and the Stetkis hugged. The meeting recessed while state party officials conferred with Faulkingham by phone. The effort to exclude Sampson inflamed a party already dissatisfied with its leadership in the wake of disappointing election results in November. more
The world has become a Monty Python skit.
and i am not amused……….
FJB
Kouzounis is a liar and an establishment lackey.
Also a Dentist.
I am disappointed Lepage supported her. He used to be so non establishment but was talked into being less in your face and it did nothing for his campaign.
One of my boys was what we call a place holder when no one wanted to run for state office. The Dirty Dems attacked him mercilessly and the press lied.
It’s happened to others.
When Kouzounis was asked about it she told the media she had contacted my son and asked him to step down. Liar. She never even asked the real story. She never contacted even me, the Town Chair.
She’s never done anything to move the Republican Party in Maine. She’s happy, just like the RINOs in DC, to be a loser.
Heidi Sampson is a champion and knowledgeable and would have been great.
Stetkis is the same and will probably do great things with the state.
Kouzounis is the reason I am now the unofficial Chair of our town.
She did so much more sneaky stuff I can’t list it here.
Those long posts belong to SNS. 😉
Seeing this article made my day!!
Especially as the state party didn’t notify us of any of this.