Despite credible doubts about his recent residency, Joseph Raymond Linares will keep his seat on the San Diego County Republican Party’s Central Committee.
GOP chair Paula Whitsell’s memo on Joe Linares issue. (PDF)The local GOP’s Executive Committee on Monday voted 15-0 not to declare his District 3 seat vacant after members sought to show proof Linares, 22, was living in Riverside when he was sworn in Dec. 10.
San Diego GOP chair Paula Whitsell on Tuesday reported the decision of her “ExComm.”
“Because the proceeding was conducted in closed session, I am not able to disclose specific facts or arguments or to attribute statements to any individuals,” she wrote in a 480-word statement obtained by Times of San Diego.
“However, it is reasonable and proper for the members of the Central Committee to expect that our discussion would, of necessity, be mindful of the controlling law, i.e, the party’s bylaws, California statutes and interpretations of those statutes by the courts.”
Whitsell argued in the note that Linares (whose name is never mentioned) had one “domicile” in San Diego but “may have more than one residence.”
“The challengers seem not to have considered this notion,” she said.
GOP insiders who spoke on condition of anonymity dispute Whitsell’s contention, including two who said “the fix was in.”
Blamed for the Ex-Comm’s unanimous vote was Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, who employs Linares at Reform California.
One source said: “It seems that current party leadership would rather hide behind closed doors and cower to threats from Carl DeMaio rather than stand on principle and follow concrete evidence where it leads.
Assemblyman Carl DeMaio employs Joseph Linares (inset) at Reform California. (Times of San Diego photo illustration)“It is no surprise that the Executive Committee, for the second time, decided to ignore clear evidence and sworn statements and take the word of a twenty-something-year-old felon who recently had a warrant out for his arrest,” said one.
They called the party “not only bankrupt financially but … bankrupt morally.”
Still unclear, they said, is whether “this kid is employed by the party as claimed in court documents or not. The cover-up is now complete. Courage was in short supply [Monday night].”
Another insider told me: “ExComm will do exactly what Carl DeMaio tells them to do. They do not have free will — they just do as they are told.”
Before Monday’s meeting at party offices in Mission Valley, the source said, several members of the Executive Committee expressed in writing that they’d already made up their minds on Linares, who will serve until December 2028.
“That is not a fair process,” the source said.
Late Monday, I emailed DeMaio, Whitsell and Linares. None responded to my questions.
In her note to the 50-member Central Committee, Whitsell decried the “unrestrained, callous, agenda-driven commentary encountered on social media.”
She called it the responsibility of party leadership to exercise self-control and prudent judgment, “with respect for the rights of others and in the best interests of the Republican Party of San Diego County.”
Calling the matter “an exasperating experience,” Whitsell added: “I am particularly pleased that this matter has concluded. It is an understatement to say that it has been distracting to the committee and has diverted members’ attention and energy away from the demanding task of rebuilding the party’s presence in San Diego County.”
Meanwhile, DeMaio, the former San Diego councilman and radio talker, is undergoing deeper scrutiny on his fundraising.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported last week that DeMaio is “raising money hand over fist while his campaign spending is under investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.”
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