IS IT TRUE we have gotten a rush of calls and emails from long time Republicans since the end of the primary expressing their desire to see Wayne Parke removed as Vanderburgh County Republican Party Chairman?…the reasons are varied but the common theme has been that first the use of party funds to bankroll a primary candidate is not acceptable, secondly that aggressive treatment of supporters of Bruce Ungethiem is not acceptable, and thirdly that attempting to interfere with the business relationships long established by the City County Observer exposed the Republican Party to financial liability?…here is an email exchange between Sean Selby and Mr. Parke that we have been given permission to publish by Mr. Selby that is typical of the depth of disappointment that we have been hearing from others?
Wayne,
I hope this email finds you well and you have had time to recuperate from all of the political activity this week.
Numerous sources have indicated you may have been questioning my loyalty recently as Republican in regards to my letter endorsing Bruce Ungethiem and I wanted to give you an opportunity to respond to the veracity of those claims. If you have any question as to the length and/or merit of my exclusive service to the Republican Party, I will be glad to printout my candidate bio that I provided at the January special election caucus for your review.
Is it also true that you authorized $5,000 to $10,000 of Vanderburgh County Republican Party funds to finance Marsha Abell’s recently failed campaign by nearly 10 points but did not help Bruce at all? Some are particularly interested in this as these funds could have been instead dedicated to state convention delegate fees or some other more applicable use, for instance. Further, I hope that now you will be changing your perspective on Mr. Ungethiem going forward as he is now the official candidate for the Republican Party.
You might recall my concern at our sit-down a few weeks ago about party chairmen being overly involved before the primary process decides the Republican candidate, as we learned the hard way at USI College Republicans that it was not the proper way for us conduct ourselves because of all the problems that resulted, for one.
You might also recall that I publicly asked whether you had thought about resigning after what was perceived as threatening behavior toward fellow Precinct Committeemen like Brenda Bergwitz over their political activity. I would kindly repeat that inquiry for your consideration as to whether you are still effective in your post as Republican Party Chairman in light of recent events.
I look forward to your responses,
Sean Selby
IS IT TRUE that Wayne Parke’s response to Mr. Selby’s respectful email is as follows:
Sean–
I am surprised/disappointed by the tone and comments of your email. You should not be listening to other sources before talking to me because it appears they do not know what they are talking about regarding the issues you mentioned. Please identify the other sources, so I can contact them.
If you wish to meet and discuss each of the points of your email, I will be happy to do so. Let me know when you would like to meet. Bring your sources with you to the meeting if you want to.
I can tell you this now, I will not be resigning as Chairman. Remember the opponents are the Democrats not me or not other Republicans.
Wayne Parke
IS IT TRUE we expect that this is just the first of many articles coming forward that will have long established Republicans attempting to get Mr. Parke to step down for the reasons set forth in the opening paragraph of this IS IT TRUE?
IS IT TRUE we just posted a new Readers Poll that addresses the Wayne Parke issue. Â …you may express your opinion by going to our poll to vote weather you support Mr. Parke of not?
Steeve Jean, of Plaine-du-Nord, Haiti, is the 2014 recipient of USI’s Peace Ambassador Award, recognizing an outstanding international student whose actions and involvement in campus and community life have contributed to greater cross-cultural awareness and to increased understanding of the world, its peoples and its traditions.