Fort Bend GOP sues itself

Oka, that's not an accurate headline. It should be Fort Bend GOP Sues Party Chairman. But my way is more fun.

The Republican Party of Fort Bend County filed a lawsuit Wednesday against its own leader, saying Chairman Gary Gillen abused his position by scheming to divert money from the party "for his own selfish purposes."

Filed in Fort Bend County's 240th District Court, the suit seeks a temporary restraining order preventing Gillen from "interfering" with what it says are the county Republican Party's contracts to host the Feb. 17 Lincoln-Reagan Dinner at Sugar Land's Marriott Town Square.

Gillen had not seen a copy of the suit when contacted Wednesday afternoon, but called it "certainly a sad way to use the money that people have donated to elect Republican candidates to office." He added he is "disappointed but not surprised" by the filing.

Filed by New Territory attorney Brent Carpenter and Houston attorney Michael Stanley on behalf of the party, the suit accuses Gillen of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, conversion, interference with a contractual relationship and "tortious interference with prospective relations."

Also named as a defendant in the suit is the Fort Bend Republican P.A.C., which was formed by Gillen and Fort Bend County GOP precinct chairman A.D. Muller. Muller, who since resigned from the political action committee, was not named in the suit.

It seeks unspecified damages, attorneys fees and an accounting of the PAC's finances, among other forms of relief.

There's a long backstory to this, which I largely haven't followed, but which you can catch up on via the links provided within that article. Check the Other Stories Of Interest on the right sidebar for most of it. And pass the popcorn, because this sort of thing is always entertaining. Thanks to Juanita for the link.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 04, 2007 to Local politics | TrackBack