Monday, February 17 was the first meeting of the Lake County Republican Executive Committee since the Hostile Takeover in December 2024. The following is a synopsis.

We all know about the Deep State corruption of the Washington, DC Uniparty. So, don’t be surprised to see the same tentacles of corruption reaching into Lake County from Tallahassee.

I’ve been a member of the Lake County Republican Party (LCREC) almost since I moved into Lake County on Election Day 2018. From December 2021 until November 2022, I served as Treasurer. From December 2023 until November 2024, I served as Vice Chair. During that time, I believed that the County Republican Party was intended to represent the Republican voters of the county, and serve as a conduit of information to Republican voters in the county. The Cartel now running the Committee is operating under a different set of objectives. It seems that their motto is “Sit Down and Shut Up.”

Is it fair to call somebody a liar if their actions do not align with their assertions and promises?

When elected as Chair of the Lake County REC in December, Taylor Yarkosky promptly adjourned the meeting, prohibiting the admission of new members, promising to bring new members into the organization in January 2025. Then, in early January, he cancelled the expected January meeting, denying waiting applicants an opportunity to join.

Now, the February meeting:

New time, new location, new date. Many people were confused.

Formal notice, 10 days in advance, as required by the Rules of the Republican Party of Florida, was not properly given to many members. But, interestingly, many non-members did receive notice.

Arriving at the door to the meeting venue, we are greeted by a State Trooper car and three officers. We are directed to enter the building by a long-haired, toothless doorman – members must pass through one door, non-members must use the other – to get into the same room.

Once inside, there is a gauntlet to navigate: one sign-in table for members, one for non-members. Then, we are funneled down the hallway past a table where members are required to sign a newly revised Party Loyalty Oath.

This whole process seemed like in-processing to a prison camp, with guards patrolling up and down the waiting lines.

Once inside the meeting room, with too few chairs for all the people in attendance, non-members are again segregated from members. After all the chairs were filled, an employee of the venue brought in a few extra chairs. Even so, nearly a dozen had to remain standing during the majority of the meeting.

At the opening of the meeting, the Chair asked for approval of the Proposed Meeting Agenda. I had to object, because two conflicting agendas were present – one with an agenda item for admission of new members, and one without. The Chair explained that they had only planned to admit one particular new member, Carey Baker. But, since he was not able to attend, they were taking that item off the agenda. To be clear, there were approximately 30 people in attendance wishing to become members. Many had submitted applications prior to this meeting, as required by Party Rules, and expected to be admitted at this meeting, in accordance with Party Rules.

(Is it fair to call somebody a liar if their actions do not align with their assertions and promises?)

During the meeting, the Chair was unable to state when and where the next meeting would be held, and emphasized that he was only required to have 6 meetings per year.

In my nearly 6 years with the Lake County Executive Committee, we have NEVER cancelled a meeting. The meetings have ALWAYS been on the fourth Tuesday of every month (except when in conflict with Thanksgiving and Christmas). Most of the meetings during that time have been at the Tavares Civic Center. The meeting dates, times and locations have ALWAYS been published months in advance, so that members and guests can plan to attend. (This reminds me of the Legislative clause in the Indictment Section of the Declaration of Independence.)

Read the Declaration of Independence on Wikipedia – ESPECIALLY the Indictment Section.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence

But, back to the details of this meeting . . .

After a brief opening, the 30 or so “guests” who were expecting to be admitted as members, were told to leave the room.  The reason was that there would be an “executive session” in which “sensitive financial information” would be discussed.  What actually happened was that there was a limited discussion about a tentative budget, and the bank account balances were discussed.

What was shocking to many members was that Ralph Smith, who had been serving as Lake County’s Republican State Committeeman for the past 8 years, was removed from the meeting by State Police.  His crimes: supporting Bowen Kou for Florida State Senate against Keith Truenow, and running for State Committeeman against Keith Truenow employee Jonathan Germeroth.

Members tried unsuccessfully to extract the date of the next meeting from Chairman Yarkosky, but he had no plan – or if he did, he refused to share it with members.  So, once again, we have no idea when the next meeting will occur.  Clearly, Chair Yarkosky is hoping that the Hostile Takeover he is Chairing will not be encumbered by honest Republican voters joining “his” Party.

One of the most dishonest, disrespectful and arrogant statements made by Chair Yarkosky during his first meeting as Chair was that, “Now, we will begin to follow the Rules.”  In my nearly six years with the Lake County Republican Executive Committee, we have ALWAYS followed the Rules.  I told him so.

Lake County needs honest, patriotic Republicans to join the Republican Party of Lake County, and STOP the top-down tyranny and corruption that is trying to impose total control over the political process in Lake County.