Leaders of the Horry County Republican party filed a lawsuit this week against, Roger Slagle, a controversial, former party chairman. Slagle and his support team were collectively sued in an effort by the HCGOP to reclaim financial records, social media passwords and memorabilia.
The lawsuit names Roger Slagle, Angela King and Barbara Treacy — for allegedly not relinquishing $5,000 worth of party property, including 70 folding chairs, meeting tables, social media passwords (and account control) and a computer printer.
“It’s a very frustrating situation,” Boyd told the Charleston Post and Courier. “All of this is just not the way that you want to have to deal with these situations, but we were just put in a circumstance where, what choice do we have?”
While these former leaders “claim” to still maintain control of the HCGOP, a recent posting states their meetings are not able to gather significant numbers. Also, the group is not sanctioned nor approved by the SCGOP.
Recent post about the unsanctioned group function
Slagle resigned effective last September, but then unsuccessfully attempted to have his resignation rescinded. King and Treacy are also former county party officers who resigned in a dispute with Drew McKissick, SCGOP.
This same former group of leaders unsuccessfully attempted to co-op McKissick’s role as SCGOP Chairman desiring to replace him with Attorney Lin Wood, who formerly resided in Georgia.
The coup, led by MySCGOP leader Jeff Davis of Greenville, SC, failed with Wood only garnering 22% of the party’s vote. Afterwards, local activist Chad Caton and Davis publicly fell out with Wood. The postings on social media between the Wood camp and former HCGOP leaders were the stuff of high drama.
Slagle continues to maintain that he is the leader of the county party even though the state party accepted his resignation and recognized Boyd’s election. Also, more than half of the local HCGOP group completely cut ties with Slagle, Caton and their associates. Slagle refuses to hand over the party’s passwords and records.
“I think I would hand it over once this is adjudicated,” Slagle said in November. “Honestly, it may go to court. I can’t really say much more than that.”
“There’s only one Republican Party in South Carolina, and in the law of South Carolina, as I understand, it is pretty clear that local parties are simply a division of the state party,” said Reese Boyd, a Myrtle Beach attorney and current HCGOP Chairman. “They’re not legally independent.”