Sunday, the Libertarian Party of South Carolina voted to approve a resolution requesting Arvin Vohra’s resignation as Vice Chairman of the Libertarian Party.
The State affiliate claims that the Vice Chair is not fulfilling his duties of representing the state party’s that “are not formally a part of a region”, a category of which the South Carolina party falls under.
“Mr Vohra promised to represent our state and others not in regions when he was elected in 2014. He did not. Upon being challenged by me at the last convention over his failure, he promised to represent us properly if re-elected. He has not,” states South Carolina chair Stewart F. Flood.
Loss of membership and removal of focus on state elections are consequences that the party claims have occured due to Vohra’s statements on the Military, even though he has clarified his views and expanded on them after the fact.
If you are one of the Libertarians who feel that Arvin has not been representing the party, consider checking out Trent Sommes III and Jake Porter, who have announced their intentions to run for Vice Chairman in 2018.
The letter to the National Committee and Resolution can be found below:
Members of the National Committee:
The duties of the Vice-Chair of the National Committee are stated quite clearly in Article 6, Section 4 of the Party’s ByLaws:
The Vice-Chair shall be the chief assistant to the Chair, performing such duties as the Chair shall prescribe, and holding such executive powers as the Chair shall delegate and shall perform the duties of the Chair in the event that the Chair is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of the office.
It has been stated at times in recent years that the Vice-Chair represents states which are not formally members of a region. Recent Vice-Chairs have agreed with this statement, and have even campaigned for election based on promises of representing those states. I find no language in the ByLaws to either support or refute this position, and therefore conclude that any such relationship is voluntary.
Mr Vohra promised to represent our state and others not in regions when he was elected in 2014. He did not. Upon being challenged by me at the last convention over his failure, he promised to represent us properly if re-elected. He has not.
Instead, Mr Vohra has taken it upon himself to continue to post position papers and inject his personal opinion as a representative of the entire party. More than one of these recent publications has included baseless and insulting attacks on a portion of the membership of our state party, as well as others throughout the country. When challenged, he continued to support his position, causing further damage. He eventually issued what some might consider a tepid apology, but that others view as merely political posturing to attempt to deflect attention from his true beliefs.
Our state party has started losing members because of these statements and has had to expend considerable effort to retain others. Mr Vohra’s error has had consequences.
I am certain that some will incorrectly believe this letter and the attached resolution to be a blanket denial of all that Mr Vohra has written. That is not the case. Unfortunately, Mr Vohra has caused more damage than good recently, and has forced some of us to change our focus from elections currently underway in South Carolina to refute his rash, inaccurate and inflammatory accusations.
I did not serve in the military, but I work with members of our state committee who have. They are devoted and honorable activists within the libertarian movement. Mr Vohra’s baseless accusations — directed at them and other current and former members of the military — leave me ashamed to be associated with him.
Having served on the Libertarian National Committee, I understand the difficult position some of you now find yourselves in. Do Mr Vohra’s statements rise to the level of requiring action? Is it necessary to deal with the situation, or will time allow it to fade away and be forgotten? How will the “political makeup” of the Committee change if he is replaced? What effect will this have on your own positions and will you risk reprisals from those you represent if you act — or don’t act?
While I can’t answer all of these questions for you, I hope that you will rise above the internal politics of your Committee and take action to resolve this situation. While he is certainly entitled to his own personal beliefs, and to express them in his political campaigns, Mr. Vohra can no longer be permitted to represent the entire Libertarian Party as a national officer. He is causing us too much unnecessary damage.
The attached resolution is not being submitted on a whim. It was adopted by our state’s Executive Committee at a regular meeting, after thorough discussion and debate, and represents the considered judgment of our state party. We believe this to be a serious situation that will continue to affect our members and our candidates if not satisfactorily addressed at the national level.
Respectfully,
Stewart F Flood Jr
Chair, South Carolina Libertarian Party
The Resolution reads as follows:
Resolution of
Censure and Disassociation
Whereas, Arvin Vohra, Vice Chairman of the Libertarian National Committee, has failed in his duties over both his current and past term to represent states not in a region; has alienated members of our party through his written statements containing insults and false accusations regarding membership in the military; has flaunted this insult through his refusal to offer an apology; now be it
RESOLVED, that the South Carolina Libertarian Party no longer accepts Mr Vohra as our representative to the Libertarian National Committee; and further be it
RESOLVED, that the South Carolina Libertarian Party censures Mr Vohra for his statements regarding our members who are former and current members of the military and for his inaction as our representative; and further be it
RESOLVED, that the South Carolina Libertarian Party demands Mr Vohra’s immediate resignation from the Libertarian National Committee and as Vice Chairman of the Libertarian Party; and further be it
RESOLVED, that the South Carolina Libertarian Party requests that the Libertarian National Committee remove Mr Vohra from office should he fail to resign by their next scheduled meeting.
Approved on this day, Saturday June 3, 2017, by the South Carolina Libertarian Party State Executive Committee.
