TAKING DOWN A CORRUPT PARLIMENTARIAN

The State Central Committee (SCC), as the governing and policy making body of the Utah Republican Party of Utah (UTGOP) is a deliberative assembly. The fundamental rights of deliberative assemblies require all questions to be thoroughly discussed before taking action requiring the assistance of a Registered Parliamentarian while conducting all of its meetings. As a deliberative assembly, “the leader’s role is to facilitate the group in making decisions. The focus is on the will of the members, not the will of the presiding officer.”
 
After being elected Chairman of UTGOP in 2017, Rob Anderson “contacted the Republican National Committee (RNC) to ask for the best Parliamentarian in the RNC Western States region and they recommended Professional Registered Parliamentarian, Carrie Dickson.” She has since served as the official parliamentarian for Rob Anderson as he conducts the meetings of the UTGOP SCC. (For the record, Carrie Dickson has been providing her services as a professional parliamentarian to the UTGOP for years).
 
The National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP) is the national body that certifies Professional Registered Parliamentarians, including Ms. Dickson. According to their website, “NAP’s members are Professional Registered Parliamentarians…who have reached the highest level of proficiency in the practice of parliamentary procedure.”

On October 16, 2017, I filed a 43 count complaint with the NAP Ethics Committee against Professional Registered Parliamentarian Carrie Dickson regarding our UTGOP SCC meeting held on September 9, 2017. Because of the extent of the complaint and the intervening holidays, the NAP President granted a 30-day extension for the committee to conclude its investigation.
 
According to the NAP, each of the examples given in the Ethics Complaint was reviewed individually based on the Ethical Standards in Relation to Clients cited in the complaint. In conducting this review, the committee considered the narrative in the complaint, the response from the respondent, the circulated agenda for the meeting, the script prepared by the Parliamentarian, the Utah Republican Party Bylaws, and the Utah Republican Party Constitution.
 
A parliamentarian’s work includes two essential components of effectively preparing for and presiding over a meeting. (1) Follow the agenda, and (2) handle motions fairly and consistently. And let’s be clear, the parliamentarian may give an interpretation of a rule, an opinion on a rule, or even be asked to cite a rule, but never rules. The parliamentarian is an advisor and therefore makes no final decisions. Decisions are the Chair’s job…These are just as much his mistakes as they are hers…it just so happens the complaint was filed against her.
 
Upon the conclusion of its investigation, the NAP Ethics Committee reprimanded Professional Registered Parliamentarian, Carrie Dickson, for the following: 

1. “Not acting properly in failing to call to the attention of the presiding officer a violation of the UTGOP Bylaws.”
2. “Preparing a script in conflict with UTGOP Bylaws”
3. “Violating the basic tenets of parliamentary procedure.”  
4. “Deviation from the governing rules that may be harmful to the organization.”
5. “Not acting properly and violating the rights of SCC members.”

It is important to note that when a Professional Registered Parliamentarian prepares a script to assist a presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, and something goes wrong, either the advice given to the presiding officer by the Professional Registered Parliamentarian is incorrect and the presiding officer acts on the advice…or the presiding officer ignores the advice of the Professional Registered Parliamentarian and acts on his own. Neither of these outcomes properly serves a deliberative assembly in the conduct of its affairs.

While in these cases, Chairman Anderson was not served properly by the Professional Registered Parliamentarian, Carrie Dickson, he has consistently chosen on countless other occasions to ignore Professional Registered Parliamentarian Carrie Dickson’s advice resulting in State Central Committee meetings devolving into chaos.  Here are just a few examples of Chairman Anderson’s apathy toward our governing rules precedence including the UTGOP’s Constitution, Bylaws, and Robert’s Rules of Order, as well as our parliamentarians apathy or ignorance of our rules:
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Chairman Anderson:

1. Allowed members private electronic communications to be intercepted at our Sept 2017 meeting (perhaps knowingly) and attempted to have his attorney Mr. Peay persuade the SCC at our Nov meeting that this was not a privacy violation and is normal.
2. Ignored valid motions from several members at the Sept 2017 meeting.  Specifically did not allow a valid motion by Weber County’s Elizabeth Carlin to vote on each individual auxiliary to be considered by the SCC, and Morgan County’s Kera Birkeland to bring forth her motion to use both paper and electronic ballots, both motions were properly seconded.  
3. Wrongly advised SCC members that an SCC called meeting for Dec 2017 was first valid, then labeling it invalid and encouraging members not to attend.
4. Hired a lawyer without SCC authorization and paid said lawyer, Mr. Peay, to investigate petty and admittedly “immaterial” matter of our Party Secretary making minor helpful clerical changes to bylaws and calling for her censure (via his lawyer) over an immaterial matter.
5. Campaigned in support of the lawsuit against SB54 but using subterfuge and an improperly composed budget committee (too many non-SCC members per Article VI, A1) to drop said lawsuit without SCC concurrence and in opposition to SCC (Utah Republican Party Governing Body) resolution.
6. Campaigned in support of eliminating the party’s debt and strengthening finances, yet refusing, inexplicably,  to accept the extraordinary generosity of Party Member Mr. David Bateman to eliminate SB54 indebtedness and receive additional funds in clear violation of the SCC’s stated will, thereby causing disunity and funding problems in our Utah Republican Party.
7. Failed to call or properly notice State Executive Committee meetings in accord with traditional schedule and means by not calling any meetings (Oct - Dec 2017) and then notice through Facebook versus email in Jan 2018.
8. Changed dates and places of SCC meetings with little notice and not allowing enough time at the Park City meeting in Nov 2017 for a full meeting, adjourning as a motion to censure against him was being initiated.
9. Called for new elections for CD4 Executive Committee members and CBC members rather than continuing the elections already in progress from the Sept 2017 meeting per Robert’s Rules of Order (RRO p444).
10. Used paid staff to usurp the specific constitutional duties given solely to the elected Party Secretary and sending notice in her name, but not actually originating from her violating Bylaws 1.5, A-D.
11. Failed to present a budget to the Executive Committee & the SCC violating Bylaw 1.5, C.
12. Referred to our party in an official email by the wrong name, using a name Count My Vote backers have reserved for use in the case they can surreptitiously destroy the Utah Republican Party (Republican Party of Utah).
13. Reprehensibly, secretly, removed the protection against lawsuits of the Davis County Ethics Committee (indemnity insurance) and then weaponizing his personal lawyer, to personally, unethically, intimidate fellow party members on that Ethics Committee so they would not render a proper finding on his Davis County ethics charge. This should never be repeated on penalty of the sure call for removal (repeated as necessary) from present office.  Were this fact known by State Delegates, I doubt he would have been elected in April of 2017.
14. Ignores motions made on the floor by elected SCC members, including appeals to the ruling of the chair,  in violation or Roberts Rules of Order,
15. Makes his own motions, which he no authority to do so.
16. Violates the bylaws with his meeting agendas.
17. Has tried to allow candidates who missed filing deadlines to participate in elections.
18. Promotes the use of voting methodologies not allowed by governing documents.
19. Has demanded the State Central Committee take certain actions during meetings without authority to do so.
20. Has attempted to circumvent GOP bylaws to approve auxiliaries so Daryl Acumen (aka, spammer) and his wife Kathleen Anderson could receive seats on the SCC.
21. Failed to recuse himself while rejecting a women’s auxiliary from being recognized by the Party because it was competing with his wife’s auxiliary.
22. Misinterpreted the Constitution & Bylaws to deny the rights of SCC members to have roll-call votes to ensure the Chair wasn’t improperly declaring voting results of the body.
23. Has on multiple occasions ignored “Appeals to the Rulings of the Chair”.
24. Violated a motion from the floor to take an official recess until votes for SCC officers were tallied.  During the recess an attempt was made to quickly recommence the meeting, wherein Daryl Acumen brought a motion with members of the body still out of the meeting to drop the SB54 lawsuit, and then quickly adjourned the meeting.
25. Registered the UTGOP as a QPP without the consent of the SCC (ART.V.A)
26. Allowed mockery of SCC members during an open, public meeting (Tin foil hats) (RRO p.450)
27.  Failed to respond to Audit Committees request for financial data for their written report (ART.VI.A.4)
28. Failed to convene an Executive Committee meeting to advise the SCC regarding party policy (ART.V.A)
29. Operates  the UTGOP without an approved budget (BL.1.5.A.B.C.D)

 
Additionally, Mr. Anderson has also exhibited behavior unbecoming an officer of the UTGOP, including:

• Irresponsibly placing UTGOP propriety data on a server owned by an unelected member of the SCC.
• Using a divisive leadership style dismissive of several SCC members’ authority.
• Failure to post the CD3 convention winner on the UTGOP website.
• Failure to establish unity in the Party with his behavior and edicts.
• Engaging in character assassination of a fellow elected officer and SCC members.
• Permitting and defending, along with staff, libelous posts on the official SCC Face Book page.

 
Statements about Carrie Dickson
The Ethics Committee of the National Association of Parliamentarians drew the following conclusions:

1. “Carrie Dickson did not act property and was reprimanded for allowing violations of the Utah Republican Party Bylaws.”
2. “Carrie Dickson’s actions were found to violate party Bylaws.”
3. “Carrie Dickson was reprimanded by the NAP for misleading State Central Committee members.”
4. “Carrie Dickson was reprimanded for violating the basic tenants of parliamentary procedure on multiple occasions.”
5. “Carrie Dickson was found guilty of violating rights of SCC members by unexpectedly reconvening an SCC meeting during the middle of a recess against the timing determined by the ruling of the SCC.  It just so happens that a motion from Daryl Acumen to drop the SB54 lawsuit was made immediately after reconvening early, excluding several SCC members…violating their right to vote for an extremely important issue.