Buncombe GOP chair won't be removed after assaulting school board member: NC party rules

The Buncombe County Republican chair won't be removed from his position after being found guilty of assaulting a GOP school board member.

County party Chair Doug Brown was found guilty July 8 of misdemeanor assault on a female in Buncombe County District Court. The trial came after county school board member Amy Churchill said Brown last year pushed her forcefully and then laid his hands on her again after she told him not to. The judge said lack of witnesses made the question of whether Brown pushed Churchill "debatable" but that witnesses and even Brown said he put his hands on her in the second encounter. In the sentencing, the judge gave a prayer for judgment, a type of judicial action carrying no punishment.

The Henderson County GOP chair was also accused of assaulting a female party official, but prosecutors dropped the charge June 12.

Churchill has called for Brown to be removed. But on July 17, Michele Woodhouse, chair of the party's 11th District organization, told the Citizen Times that because there was not a felony conviction, Brown will stay.

"The North Carolina GOP plan of organization outlines the policies and procedures in this case. Per that, Doug Brown will remain the BCGOP chair. A misdemeanor does not rise to an automatic removal," said Woodhouse. She said the county and district party organizations were focused on winning key races and "delivering victories from the bottom of the ballot to the top."

The plan of organization as available online says that a party official is to be removed "automatically upon such member’s conviction of a felony."

Woodhouse had previously declined to answer if Brown would face repercussions, saying after the verdict last week that she needed more information. But on the conservative Skyline News Facebook page Woodhouse posted a comment, saying "Doug has my full support."

Responding to the news, Churchill said "physical intimidation of a woman by a man who persists in shoving her after having been asked to keep his hands off,  should have consequences."

"When the intimidator is in a position of power, the ramifications of his actions should be taken seriously by the organization he is leading. Not taking action implies that that sort of behavior is acceptable, and that's not okay," she said.

Churchill, 53, said she planned to file as an unaffiliated candidate for reelection, leaving the party that she joined as a teenager.

Judge Edwin Clontz said that while Brown laying hands on Churchill met the definition of assault, finding him guilty was a "hard thing to say." Clontz said the conflict was indicative of the state of political acrimony in the country, something with which Churchill took issue, saying she would not have dealt with the situation for a year if it had been "something as trivial as politics."

The assault happened at Asheville party headquarters after Churchill had opposed a party plan to have the GOP-majority General Assembly impose gerrymandered school board electoral districts. The districts, now passed into law, replace electoral districts based on school districts with new maps meant to give Republicans a better chance at winning. Brown said he was trying to get Churchill away from state Sen. Warren Daniel, the Burke County Republican who sponsored the districts legislation and with whom Churchill was registering her complaints after a party meeting.

The prayer for judgment received by Brown continued his sentence, giving him no punishment as long as he does not break the law for a year. The judicial action is considered a conviction in many ways, but not all. It is counted as a conviction in terms of lengthening a sentence after any later conviction, for example. But it would not require registration as a sex offender in the case of a sex crime.

Commenting July 17 to the Citizen Times, Brown pointed to the multiple people who showed up to support him at the trial and said the prayer for judgment "speaks to the trivial nature of the plaintiff's set-up."

"The judge's comments reflected on the nation's divisiveness even within the two main parties. The audience of my supporters speaks to my character. The plaintiff, however had none," he said.

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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe GOP chair won't be removed after assaulting school board member: NC party rules