The Clark County Republican Party chose not to censure U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, at today’s meeting.
Instead, Joseph Wagner, the precinct committee officer who originally pushed the censure vote, introduced a substitute resolution to create a different system that would monitor votes and other actions taken by all elected officials.
“Joseph Wagner said the idea of censure appeared to be divisive and we wanted something that everyone could agree on,” Party Chairman Kenny Smith said of the change.
The resolution, which passed by a narrow margin, will create reports on votes by elected officials from all parties in the area to be presented at the county GOP’s quarterly meetings.
“It’s a pretty interesting mechanism,” Smith said.
The first such report will be due at the third quarterly meeting, which hasn’t yet been scheduled, sometime between July and September, Smith said.
Wagner’s original resolution to censure Herrera Beutler outlined a list of her votes that he believed “established a pattern of voting with Democrats to increase spending, increase the debt and increase regulations.” He introduced a motion for consideration to censure at the party’s meeting in early January.
That original resolution is now off the table, Smith said.
If the censure had passed, Herrera Beutler could have been banned from speaking at any campaign events sponsored by the Clark County GOP or from being featured in any of the local party’s literature.
The new reporting system will allow precinct committee officers to judge how all of their lawmakers are performing, Smith said.
“I’m really proud of the Clark County Republican PCOs,” Smith said. “There were some diverse opinions expressed, but everyone was respectful. … Everybody heard each other out. I think that’s a great step in the right direction.”
