Politics & Government

On the Outside Looking in at GOP Infighting

County Republican chairman and committee air grievances behind closed doors.

Tony Campbell, chairman of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee, and members of the group have spent the better part of his first week in office trading barbs in published stories and in e-mails—some sent to the media and some that were never meant to be read by outsiders.

Campbell even invited the media to attend a special meeting of the committee Monday night at the Holiday Inn in Timonium to witness the airing of the grievances or what Campbell, an ordained minister, called "a come to Jesus meeting."

But when push came to shove, Campbell and the committee voted to go into executive session and expel the invited outsiders, including the media and even other Republican activists who are not elected members of the committee.

Find out what's happening in Catonsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Over the last week Campbell's fellow party members have criticized him for wanting two new Republican councilmen to as the next council chairman and for offering to raise money for some Republican candidates in return for a .

Campbell has fired back, both in the press and in a series of e-mails, at critical committee members. In those e-mails Campbell complained that some committee members were out to get him and that they should impeach him if they thought they could.

Find out what's happening in Catonsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Let's save ourselves a lot of wasted time and energy fighting over scraps of power and bring your charges now!" Campbell wrote in that e-mail.

Campbell summed up his first week in office on Monday night, which was also his birthday.

"I have not had a good week," Campbell said before closing the meeting to the public.

What went on in the room over the next hour or so was not exactly a mystery.

Visitors who remained in the hall were able to watch through windows in the door to the meeting room as Campbell's supporters and critics each rose in turn to voice their issues.

You didn't even need to press a glass to the door to hear the raised voices.

"You're not even giving Tony a chance," said Georgie Trudil, a committee member who supported Campbell in the 2010 primary election campaign against previous chairman Chris Cavey.

Gloria Murphy, a committee member and wife of former chairman and state delegate Don Murphy, told Campbell what many out in the hallway had been saying.

"You're supposed to be the most partisan person in the Republican party right now," Murphy said.

After the meeting, both sides said that a lot of issues had been aired but there was no consensus on whether the gripe session helped.

"I think everyone knows where everyone else stands," said Fran Harris, a committee member and aide to Del. Pat McDonough. "Hopefully, we'll start over."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here