Following is the complete text of the e-mail Tony Yon sent to the Board of Commissioners and the e-mail he had previously sent to the members of the Rowan County Republican Executive Committee.
Sent: Sat 12/12/2009 1:52 AM
To: Ford, Carl L; Mitchell, Chad; Hall, Tina B; Barber, Jon S
Cc: Coltrain, Raymond D
Subject: E-Mail
Dear Rowan GOP Commissioners
Please allow me to apologize for a portion of my e-mail to our Executive Committee Members that recently appeared in the Salisbury Post. The last sentence of the forth paragraph was printed by the Salisbury Post, and when read alone out of context, would give the impression of a “threat” as some have wrote about. I assure you that is not the case. The beginning of that paragraph speaks of this having far reaching effects beyond Rowan County, specifically, our House District races. The last sentence was a reminder that we have three Republican Commissioners’ seats open, and in my mind at least, was inclusive of the aforementioned reference to the other races as well, when referring to “their defeat.”
While this was an impassioned plea against disassociating yourselves from our Party, it was by no means meant as a threat to you individually or collectively. Prior to my e-mail, I spoke with three of you about this very thing, so you know what I am saying is true. However, if you regarded it as other than an impassioned plea, I humbly apologize for any distress this may have caused. I hope each of you know me well enough to know that was not my intent.
Sincerely,
From: Tony Yon
Sent: Sunday, Dec. 06, 2009 2:02 PM
Subject: Executive Committee Recommendation for Sheriff
Dear Rowan Republicans,
I would like to thank all of you who braved the inclement weather and attended the special meeting of our Rowan County Republican Party Executive Committee yesterday. For those of you who were not there, I announced that I was resigning as your Chairman in order to run as a Candidate for Sheriff. By law, I was not required to do this until officially filing for the Office with the Board of Elections in February. However, in the interest of fairness to our Party, and to the other Candidates, I felt that this was the right decision to do at this time.
I have enjoyed being your Chairman, and have always considered it an honor and a privilege. We have a great group of delegates and I encourage each of you to stay engaged in our Party’s efforts and the political process. Our Vice-Chairman, Donna Peeler will act as Chairman until a new Chairman is elected by the Executive Committee at our January meeting.
Also, for those not attending our meeting, the Executive Committee heard from 7 Candidates (including myself) seeking the appointment for Sheriff by our Commissioners. Although I had recused myself from the proceedings, I later learned that all of the Candidates were well received in their speeches by all of you delegates. It always amazes me to see, and be a part of the fundamental process of our representative form of government in action. Of the 38 voting delegates, I received a 2/3rds majority vote by secret ballot. For this I thank you! I also later learned that you had overwhelming voted in favor of a Resolution urging our County Commissioners to elect me, your choice for Sheriff, to fill the vacancy at their next meeting tomorrow. Again, I thank you.
With that said, I am deeply concerned in what I am hearing back from our Commissioners that they will not elect me as you have directed them to do. Remember, America is a Republic; a representative form of government. You are delegates who represent the will the voters at large. Both of our political parties abide by this process of naming a successor as recommended by their respective Party Executive Committee. A recent example of this that occurred locally was when Register of Deeds, Bobby Earnhart retired and the Rowan County Democrat Party Executive Committee named John Brindle as a successor. For our on Republican majority Board of Commissioners to ignore your voice in appointing me as your Sheriff is simply unacceptable. You overwhelming saw that change was needed in our Sheriff’s Office and you saw that I was the best Candidate for the job! Believe me when I say that there are forces working behind the scenes that are influencing our Commissioner’s to ignore your wishes! You should be outraged!
I don’t think that our Commissioner’s are fully aware of the ramifications of ignoring your vote as if you didn’t exist. This goes far beyond Rowan County. We as a local Party are currently united in our cause to keep Rep. Fred Steen in the District 76 seat and to unseat Democrat Rep. Lorene Coates if District 77. I don’t need to remind you of the importance of doing that. The whole State Republican Party recognizes that we must gain a majority in the General Assembly in 2010 in order to control redistricting, and the District 77 seat is a must win for us. With favorable redistricting in this state, we can have a Republican majority in Congress. We don’t need our Commissioners disassociating themselves from our Party at this time. They must also remember that we have three Republican Commissioner’s seat open this election and their choice to ignore you will result in their defeat.
I look forward to being your Sheriff and promise to bring honor, professionalism and integrity back to our Sheriff’s Office. I urge you to call our Republican Commissioner’s before tomorrow’s meeting and demand that they stand together in honoring your representative and united voice!
Sincerely,
Tony Yon