*Updated*. Ooops. Minnehaha GOP Did it again. More infighting in our state’s largest County Political organization

It’s like the Minnehaha County GOP is the gift that keeps on giving, as the group – once again- is involved in a bout of infighting where the back seat of the clown car is trying to drive in one direction, and the person with the wheel is sending out e-mails declaring “we’re not going in that direction.”

Good morning Minnehaha County Central Committee Members,

I hope this message finds you well.

I am writing to address and clarify recent rumors concerning a special meeting allegedly scheduled for Tuesday, June 24th. Please be advised that this meeting has not been coordinated with the County Chair, as explicitly required by our bylaws. The bylaws state:

“Prior to the regular meetings of the State Central Committee, they shall cooperate with the county chairman in arranging a county meeting to review the problems, programs, and prospects of the county, or they shall take other procedures to determine the situation so that they may report thereon at the following meeting of the State Central Committee.”

As of the time of this message, I—along with several committee members—have still not received official notice of this meeting. This also directly violates another bylaw requirement, which clearly outlines:

“Notice: Five-days notice must be given for any meeting, excluding weekends and holidays. Notices may be sent by mail or email.”

Given the lack of proper coordination and notice, the meeting in question is considered out of order and improperly called.  Therefore, Minnehaha County will not recognize any actions taken during this unauthorized meeting.

For full transparency: On Friday, June 13th at 7:02 AM, I emailed the Executive Board proposing an informal Zoom meeting with the Central Committee at 6:00 PM on Thursday, June 26th, and requested their availability. However, I was later made aware that a notice for the inappropriate June 24th meeting was sent at approximately 1:30 PM the same day—by individuals who were included in my initial message. To date, I have received no responses to my original email.

Please watch for the Zoom invitation later today for our informal meeting on Thursday, June 26th at 6:00 PM. Your participation is essential as we work together in alignment with our bylaws and shared responsibilities.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation.

Best regards,
Korry Petterson
Chairman
Minnehaha County Republicans

I’d ask if they’re going to get involved in the upcoming Mayoral race down there.. but maybe the Republicans in the race don’t want them to…

*Update*

And we have more bickering through the e-mails over who is wrong and who is right:

From: Marsha Symens <marshasymens@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 20, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Subject: June 24th Special Meeting

June 20, 2025
Dear Central Committee Members,

Thank you, Chairman Petterson, for your recent communication regarding the June 24th special meeting. I would like to respectfully clarify a key point you did not include concerning the procedural legitimacy of this meeting. While the Chair is correct in emphasizing the importance of by-law compliance, the by-laws also provide clear provisions for calling a special meeting that do not require coordination with the County Chair. Following the by-laws is crucial to all organizations, which is why this meeting is being called. In light of your concerns and to do our due diligence, we contacted the Regional Director, Senator Tom Pischke, who put in a call to Chairman Jim Eschenbaum. The state Chairman confirmed our position that this is a legally called “Special” meeting and the county Chairman has no right to cancel it.

Specifically, the by-laws state that two members of the Executive Board may call a special meeting, provided that proper notice is given. In this instance, two board members did indeed initiate the meeting, and notice was sent in accordance with the five-day requirement (excluding weekends and holidays), via email on Friday, June 13th, 2025. See the following bylaws from the state SDGOP.COM ‘s website. https://www.sdgop.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/SDGOP-Bylaws.pdf

Section III. County Central Committee. 7. Meetings, A. Regular and Special Meetings: The County Central Committee shall meet at least twice each year on call of the county chairman. The county chairman may call a special meeting at any time. One-fifth of the members of the County Central Committee or two officers may call a meeting in writing.

While the Chair, Korry Petterson, mentioned rumors of a meeting, he too, has received the notice of the meeting via email as did 187 other members. One of which was Tanna Brummett, who contacted me with the error of my sending it to her. Also, Korry’s wife, Kim, received the email notification of the special meeting. The email addresses used, including the one to his business email, are the official emails listed on the Secretary of State Website.

Therefore, under the authority granted by the bylaws, the June 24th special meeting has been properly called and noticed, and its legitimacy should not be dismissed solely based on the absence of coordination with the Chair. While collaboration is always encouraged, it is not a strict prerequisite in the case of a special meeting called by two board members.

We all share a common interest in upholding the integrity of our organization and ensuring transparency and accountability within the Central Committee. I look forward to a productive and respectful meeting on June 24, as well as continued cooperation with all members of the Executive Board and Central Committee. Doors open at 6 for credentials. The meeting will start at 6:30.

Respectfully,
Marsha Symens Vice Chairwoman

I especially enjoy the part where they went complaining to the state chair, and are asserting that he says we can do this.

The back & forth is just the kind of thing that says “come be a part of your Republican Party,” doesn’t it?

*Update to the update*

The children are continuing to bicker, and it shows no sign of letting up:

From: Tanna Brummett
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2025 4:46 PM
To: Marsha Symens
Subject: Re: June 24th Special Meeting

Good afternoon, Madam Vice Chair–

As you have noted in your second unsolicited email to me– I have previously requested that you remove my email from your list. In both your response back to me, and here in your communications to your body, you have acknowledged that you know you are sending communications to someone who is CLEARLY NOT a member of your committee. One can only assume for what reason–all of which, in my humble opinion, are not upright.

However, since you have neglected to honor my simple request to be excluded from ongoing communications of your body, I do feel it important to further assist you in correctly communicating with them. The “minutes” you have presented to the body for “amendment” in your initial email are not the tabled minutes from your last meeting. As such, here is a link to a copy of the minutes that I understand are currently tabled for review.

https://1drv.ms/w/c/65b5cb05590abf52/EcyKQzJ5_PhFkf-wI2HS6owB-ZaSJG7sA5WrLlCHJ2U0Vg?e=L7YMCs

And to be extra helpful for the body (prior to whatever meeting you all finally can agree to meet on) here is a portion of the audio file from the January 9th meeting for further, in depth review to check for accuracy as I am told was stated as the reason for tabling. One would think that finding unethical banking access to the county party bank accounts by individuals not authorized as signatories would be something that the body would find important to have included in its historical records.
New Recording 89 copy 2.m4a

I have not included all of the audio for the meeting–but rather the business portion up to and including the Chair nomination speeches. If a member of the body would like to review the rest of the audio, they may issue that request to me VIA THE CHAIR, if he deems it necessary to pass along to me.

Have a good rest of your evening and I look forward to this being the LAST communication from your board to me regarding MGOP body business.

Sincerely,
Tanna Brummett

PS DO NOT contact me again via this email. I will report any further communications from your or your board regarding the Minnehaha Central Committee.

Tanna Brummett

The main thought that comes to mind, is: are these the people you want to be picking your Attorney General?