A Tale Of Two Parties

Ivan Holmes and Gary Jones have nothing in common politically; the only bond they share is that each just took charge of his respective state political party, Holmes as chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, Jones as chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party.

It's a tale of two parties, insiders say, and the differences couldn't be more pronounced even though they're not talking about political philosophy.

They are talking about the operational challenges both faced when they took charge and that Holmes apparently continues to face today.

Jones was elected to head the Oklahoma Republican Party on April 14th, defeating incumbent Tom Daxon, the man who replaced Jones when he resigned in 2006 to seek the office of auditor and inspector. The campaign for GOP chairman was contentious but not brutally so; underdog Jones' popularity with conservative party activists and displeasure with some of Daxon's actions (and inactions) resulted in Jones' election.

It's not uncommon during such a change in administration for personnel changes to occur. Jones, however, walked into the GOP's headquarters, the Bartlett Center on North Lincoln Boulevard, with some of his old staff intact. Asked if he "cleaned house" when he took over, Jones replied, "I was elected April 14th and took office that day. At the time we had 3 people on staff. The office manager who I had hired has been here 4 years. We kept everyone. One person made the decision to resign and do something different about 15 days ago. The others are still on board."

While Jones did not inherit a huge party operating fund, the party did have about $34,000 in cash on hand as of its last finance report, for the first quarter of the year. For the most part, party fundraisers and donors seem satisified with Jones' election and there's been no hint of reluctance to help. Jones has spent most of his time since taking office criss-crossing the state meeting with local party leaders and activists. His goal is Republican control of the State Senate in 2008. It was during Jones' previous tenure as chairman that the groundwork was laid, his supporters say, that allowed Republicans to achieve parity with Democrats in the Senate and solidify their control of the State House.

Holmes' initial days as chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party have been rocky. Elected by defeating front-runner Ben Odom, Norman attorney, Holmes resigned his job on the staff of Labor Commissioner Lloyd Fields, whose campaign he managed. Word spread that Holmes was going to "clean house" at the party headquarters, even getting rid of three staffers who were being paid by the Democratic National Committee, a gesture made by Chairman Howard Dean to keep the party operating as it staggered under a debt of half a million dollars left over from the 2004 election cycle and the "coordinated campaign" for Senate candidate Brad Carson.

Holmes did clean house; he's confirmed the entire staff has been asked to resign or is resigning, including the headquarters receptionist.

Some viewed Holmes' attitude as a slap in the face of Odom, who had been party vice chairman, and Chair Lisa Pryor, who spent much of her tenure trying to reduce the party debt. As chair, Pryor also was the party's executive director, paid $60,000 per year. Pryor instituted a party website, kept it updated regularly and is credited with trying to get the party's factions working together. Pryor's fans are fuming today after Holmes was quoted as telling a reporter on Tuesday the reason she wasn't asked to resign along with the staff members is because she just has a few days left to serve. It was, one Democrat confided, "the ultimate insult" to Pryor.

Odom disagreed with Holmes' action in dismissing the staff; Odom said he would have kept them.

What made Holmes' election a surprise to outsiders was how completely the party's most liberal activists (described by some as the "radical fringe element") took control of the convention and adopted numerous controversial resolutions. The convention was, one conservative Democrat moaned, "all about gay rights, gay marriage, abortion and keeping God out of schools."

Holmes, elected on May 19th, says that when he took over a week ago, the party had less than $2,000 in cash on hand. And, equally daunting, some Democrats say party fundraisers and donors are reluctant to help Holmes and the party given the influence of the liberals who now are in control. The party wasn't flush with cash in the first quarter; its finance report shows it had just under $11,000 on hand as of March 31st.

Former Governor David Walters could be an important player in whether the party can raise money quickly to help Holmes. In recent years, Walters has helped acquire the party's headquarters building on North Lincoln, held fundraisers for the party and candidates in his home, and raised money from others. He is credited with helping engineer the DNC's agreement to pay the salaries of the three staff members and is close to Dean.

A highly-placed party source says that although Holmes asked for the resignations of the three DNC-paid staff members, he will be able to replace them with those of his own choosing. The DNC has about the same number of staffers it pays in almost every state and apparently has assured Holmes it will continue to cover the three staff salaries here.

As Holmes struggles with building his headquarters staff without ready money on hand and facing ready critics among the party's moderates and conservatives, the political grape vine continues to sing with rumors about who might help him in the DNC-paid positions. Activist Todd Goodman is mentioned, as is consultant Jeremy Hendricks, said by several to be Holmes' choice as executive director. Whatever the real situation, it's clear Holmes faces a longer stretch of rocky road ahead, one that would be much more bumpy without the DNC financial support.

Share |