Horry County GOP leadership battle to continue despite judicial ruling
The head of an Horry County group of breakaway Republicans says he’s still in charge of the party despite a judicial order compelling him to turn over property the state GOP says is no longer his.
“There have been several media outlets falsely reporting that Judge Mayer in the most recent hearing has ruled that Reese Boyd is the chair of the HCGOP. That is not accurate, as a Magistrate Judge does not have the jurisdiction to rule over party leadership despite the claims of our opposition,” Roger Slagle, who is not an attorney, wrote in a Feb. 4 email provided to The Sun News this week.
The email doesn’t provide a legal explanation for Slagle’s interpretation of Meyers’ ruling.
It was sent on behalf of Slagle, self-identified vice chairwoman Jeanette Spurlock and state executive committee representative Shannon Grady.
“We are still the duly elected representatives of the HCGOP, we are moving forward with the business of the party, and we are evaluating several legal measures to halt the illegal activities of the Reese Boyd pirates group,” the email states.
Magistrate Judge Bradley D. Meyers ruled Jan. 30 that Slagle and other former party leaders must return a computer printer, several tables, old campaign buttons, political memorabilia, social media passwords and financial ledgers to Reese Boyd, who was picked Oct. 11 as the county GOP’s new leader at special meeting attended by 47 of 80 executive committee members.
Meyers gave Slagle’s group 21 days to hand over the property, which has yet to be done.
The Horry County GOP has been plagued by infighting for more than a year
Slagle ended his rocky 18-month tenure on Sept. 12 when he said he planned to resign at month’s end, alerting the state GOP by mail three days later. But on Sept. 26, Slagle said he changed his mind and would stay on through April of this year, when his term was set to lapse.
That set up an ideological battle for control of the party - Slagle and his supporters said the group’s bylaws permitted him to keep leading, while a majority of party members and SC GOP elders disagreed, setting up the election which put Boyd in charge.
Boyd, an attorney, sued Slagle and other former Horry County GOP leaders on Dec. 6 after the group refused to hand over the materials.
Boyd said he would continue to serve as chairman.
“This is not even about politics. This is about raw power, ego and money,” he said. “No Democratic Party chairman in Horry County, no Democrat initiative, has ever done more damage to the Republican party than what’s been done here in the last two years.”