You may not have felt it, but the earth shifted this week while
candidates up and down the state were busy with their final push toward
Election Day.
The epicenter of that shift? L.A.
The Republican Party of Los Angeles County (RPLAC) scored a major
victory this week as a Judge ruled in the organization’s favor –
throwing out a frivolous lawsuit brought by a wily group of Ron Paul
activists that claimed they had legal rights to run the Party, even
though they handily lost their Board elections last year.
What’s more important than the Judge’s decision to throw out the case
is the fact that he’s ordered the backers of the frivolous lawsuit to
pay the Party’s legal fees.
The legal fees are upwards of $50,000 –
money that could have, and should have, been spent registering
Republican voters, recruiting good candidates to run for office, and
Getting Out the Vote during a busy Election Year. The Judge’s order to
pay legal fees is important, because it sends a strong signal to other
fringe activists attempting similar, tyrannical, and oh yeah,
illegitimate takeovers of other County Party organizations in
California and other states.
Major kudos go to Jane Barnett, Chair of the Republican Party of Los
Angeles County, a true lady who has shown nothing but class and dignity
through this nine-month-long nightmare. Standing with Jane has been
her steadfast board, including: First Vice Chairman Gary Aminoff;
Second Vice Chairman John Cozza; Treasurer Leonard Lanzi; Secretary
Alex Burrola; Assistant Treasurer Gwendolyn Patrick; and Assistant
Secretary Davina Keiser.
And no one can forget Harmeet Dhillon, the lead Attorney representing
the club in court this week, who apparently did quite a number in the
courtroom against the plaintiff’s case. Harmeet and her associates,
including Peter Smith, have spent countless hours on this
now-precedented case.
With their fresh victory in hand, the L.A. Party can now move forward
victoriously to register voters and Get Out the Vote during what is
already shaping up to be a promising year for Republicans across the
state.
And, of course, the message that’s left for anyone seeking to shake
things up and play fast and loose with the rules: You’d better be
prepared to pay up.