Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
The Putnam County Republican Party recently questioned my integrity because I chose to continue as a write-in candidate, so I think voters deserve a response.
I signed the pledge. When I checked yes, I meant it. I intended to support the Republican nominees. But if we are going to discuss integrity, loyalty, and party expectations, let’s have the whole conversation.
The party knew multiple Republicans were competing for chairman, District 3 and District 4 commissioners. Its own Facebook page posted the complete list. Yet throughout the primary, that same page repeatedly featured and promoted the same select candidates through events, photographs, and campaign-related material.
Other Republican candidates received no comparable treatment. I know; I was one of them.
During the contested primary, the party chairman also wrote a letter to The Eatonton Messenger discussing Republican candidates, including me, and questioning candidates’ integrity over alleged associations. He signed it using his title, Putnam County Republican Party Chairman, and the party’s official Facebook page shared it.
The Georgia Republican Party’s own Rule 7.6 places restrictions on county chairmen and county committee members using their official titles in connection with supporting a candidate when another Republican is competing for the nomination. I won’t declare who violated that rule. I’d just suggest, read it and look at the record.
A party organization that demands loyalty from its candidates should be prepared to answer whether it followed its own rules and treated all Republican candidates fairly.
There was more. Disturbing material about me appeared on the Taxpayer’s Watchdog Group’s Facebook page, administered in part by two Republican primary candidates who were also repeatedly promoted by the local party. One publicly identified herself during her campaign as a founder of the group.
Meanwhile, I was depicted locked in a stockade. Another image put my name on a grave marker. Other material portrayed me as a Trojan horse, called me “PDA owned,” and associated candidates with Satan.
When people later began questioning this material, some of it disappeared from the page. However, removing something from Facebook doesn’t erase the fact it was there. Screenshots remain.
I am not claiming any particular party administrator created a particular image. That is not my point. My point is that this happened while some Republican candidates received preferential treatment from the local party that others did not.
So, am I supposed to ignore everything I witnessed and support someone simply because there’s an “R” beside their name? No. Being Republican does not require surrendering my judgment or conscience.
My principles did not change. What changed was what I witnessed during the primary. The party can scrutinize my decision. But it cannot reasonably demand scrutiny of my actions while expecting its own conduct during the primary to escape the same scrutiny.
If we’re going to talk about integrity, let’s talk about all of it. Don’t take my word for it. Look at the record.
Then decide for yourself.
Charles Gray Write-In Candidate for District 3 Commissioner