Infighting in Trumbull GOP prompts separate meetings Tuesday

WARREN

Infighting within the Trumbull County Republican Party that became public two weeks ago when chairman Randy Law filed a lawsuit against fellow Republican Martha Yoder widened when two groups of party central-committee members had meetings at the same time in different places.

Both groups say the actions taken by the other were improper and invalid.

The highlight of the meeting Monday at the Girard Multigenerational Center was a report by a committee appointed May 24 to examine Law’s actions and determine whether they were improper. Law did not attend that session.

If the committee had found Law’s actions to be improper, it could have ordered a “trial” at a central-committee meeting to determine whether Law should be removed as chairman.

The lawsuit asks a judge to order Yoder, a Farmington Township trustee running for state representative for the 64th District, to refrain from continuing to represent herself as party secretary, trying to call party meetings, or continuing her “stranglehold” on the party’s Facebook page.

As of Tuesday, Yoder still has control of the Facebook page and blocks Law from controlling its content, Law said.

A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 21.

The other meeting Monday, called by Law, was at the Johnson Community Center in Leavittsburg and featured approval of changes to the party’s bylaws. About 30 to 35 central-committee members attended, including all of the party’s “statutory officers,” Law said.

Read more about the battle in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.