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National CP Tells SD Factions to Settle Own Convention Duel

Having failed to nominate anyone at its July 14 convention in Sioux Falls, the Constitution Party of South Dakota plans to convene again in Pierre on August 14. Twice. The Lora Hubbel faction of the CP will meet Tuesday, August 14, at 9 a.m. at the Ramkota. The Lori Stacey faction of the CP will meet the same day at 11 a.m. at the Governor’s Inn. Both factions have until 5 p.m. that day to certify any nominations to the Secretary of State up the street.

And if the Hubbel and Stacey factions haven’t worked out who really speaks for the party, the Secretary of State may be forced to disregard any such nominations and leave the CP off the ballot entirely.

I know better than to get involved in the CP fight. Now, after an ill-advised weighing-in in Hubbel’s favor in July, so does national CP chair Frank Fluckiger (not fake news—that’s his name), who sent the competing SDCP factions this apology and hands-off letter Monday:

Saturday evening, July 28th there was a conference call of Executive Committee members of the national party to discuss the situation in South Dakota. I was severely chastised (and rightfully so) by a number of the members of that committee for becoming involved in the controversy over who is the authorized state chairman of the Constitution Party in that state. The national party bylaws make it clear that the national party is not to interfere in the internal matters of the states.

Even though I did not draft the letter that went out on July 13th, I did put my signature on that letter and should not have done so. Later, upon reading the bylaws of the South Dakota Constitution Party, it became clear that some of the information in the letter was incorrect. I am sorry for any damage this interference in your affairs may have caused. As a result of my having signed the letter I did both myself and the national party an injustice. It was a hard lesson learned and I sincerely apologize for the discord that has arisen from my having signed and sent out the letter.

It is the responsibility of each state to resolve their own internal issues. The national party would only become involved if there was more than one delegation from a state that wanted to be seated at a national nominating convention or national committee meeting. The issue has brought forward information that was not previously known and it is my hope that the two parties will be able to arrive at a solution to the issues that have arisen.

Respectfully,

Frank Fluckiger [national CP chair, letter to SDCP factions, 2018.07.30]

Alas, leaving this matter to the South Dakota CPers to solve may be a recipe for loggerheads. Whatever caused their crackup at the July 14 convention, I don’t get the impression either is eager to kiss, make up, and surrender the claim to lead South Dakota’s tiniest political party.

35 Comments

  1. Rorschach 2018-08-01 13:18

    I don’t know who’s in charge of the constitution party, but Lori Stacey failed to give enough notice to the Secretary of State of her version of the party convention. The law requires “at least thirty days previous to the date so chosen.” Stacey gave only 29 days notice prior to the chosen date (July 15 filing for August 14 convention).

    12-5-17. Biennial state convention–Time and place–Notice to secretary of state. Each political party shall hold a state convention in each even-numbered year in which they are necessary for the purposes of § 12-5-21. The time and place of holding such convention shall be determined by the State Central Committee of each political party, the chairman of which shall notify the secretary of state at least thirty days previous to the date so chosen.

    Sounds to me like no matter what Krebs does she might get sued by one side or the other – or maybe both. I doubt that either side will be able to figure out how to bring a lawsuit though.

  2. John 2018-08-01 15:05

    Good points Rorschach—how about this question to help resolve it…did the State Central Committee of the Constitution Party decide the time and place of holding the convention???

    It does not matter who is chair to decide that…but then yes the chair must notify of that decision within 30 days prior….so Krebs should not have to decide the central committee had to decide if they did not…sounds like neither made the proper notice…..

    thoughts?

  3. Rorschach 2018-08-01 15:50

    Good question John. The Secretary of State does not appear to publish documents on the SOS website showing who the parties have designated as the chair or members of the central committee. All I could find on the SOS website were the party by-laws and candidate certifications from the conventions. Krebs did send letters to the dueling Constitution Party chairs on July 17th though, and that letter is posted on the SOS website.

  4. grudznick 2018-08-01 17:51

    What happens in the caucuses, stays in the caucuses. Party delegates are just dumbed-down versions of those in the legislatures, and that’s saying a lot right there. Then, put the insanerness of this particular party into the mix and you have a real whistlin’ kitty chaser.

  5. Kelly 2018-08-01 18:33

    The GOP is afraid of who’s running on the constitution party.

  6. Rorschach 2018-08-01 19:21

    Looks to me from reading the other blog that a GOP lawsuit will settle the issue of Constitution Party conventions and candidates. There won’t be any this year.

  7. Kal Lis 2018-08-01 19:52

    I just read that too, Ror.

    I’ll bet dollars to donuts that Lederman has a rough draft of another letter to SOS Krebs ready to use immediately the Dem’s upcoming redo convention.

  8. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2018-08-01 20:25

    Hang on, hang on: count the days: July 15 is 30 days before August 14. 31 days hath July. Plus, SDCL 1-5-4 says that any act appointed to take place on a holiday may be carried out on the next business day and be treated as if it was carried out on the appointed day. Now Lori Stacey sent her letter on July 15. SOS Krebs stamped it received “July 15”. Whether Stacey and Krebs performed these actions on Sunday or Monday doesn’t matter; in the eyes of the law, the actions happened in time to satisfy the 30-day notice.

    The CP’s real problem is that no legitimate chair filed the notice. Neither Hubbel nor Stacey says anything about the CP State Central Committee determining the time and place, per SDCL 12-5-17. I appreciate John’s point on that statute: the CP-SCC could not have authorized both the Hubbel convention and the Stacey convention. It’s likely that one and possible that both received no actual vote of committee CP-SCC members. The SOS could resolve this matter pretty quickly by calling committee members and asking if they voted and if so for what.

    Kal Lis, Ror, other friends, what’s your read of paragraph #21 in Lederman’s complaint, in which he contends that state statute, in commanding that “Each political party shall hold a state convention in each even-numbered year…” forbids any party from holding more than one convention? Is “a” restrictive?

  9. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2018-08-01 20:43

    Can we argue against Lederman’s paragraph 21 by stating that statute sets out minimum requirements for political parties—convene at least once every two years to nominate candidates for office—but does not and cannot prohibit the free association of political parties to convene on additional occasions?

  10. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2018-08-01 20:50

    Or we could just look at SDCL 2-14-6, which repeats an apparently common legal principle: “Words used in the singular number include the plural, and the plural, the singular, except where a contrary intention plainly appears.” No intention contrary to multiple conventions plainly appears in SDCL 12-5-17 or any other statute in Title 12; Lederman’s P21 argument thus fails.

  11. Kurt Evans 2018-08-01 21:00

    Cory asks:

    Can we argue against Lederman’s paragraph 21 by stating that statute sets out minimum requirements for political parties—convene at least once every two years to nominate candidates for office—but does not and cannot prohibit the free association of political parties to convene on additional occasions?

    Obviously yes. It seems unlikely to me that any judge will grant a remedy as drastic as the one Lederman seeks based on technicalities this trivial, and it’s amazing to me that Republican insiders can be so tone deaf regarding how badly their heavy-handed intervention to keep other parties off the ballot is going to play among rank-and-file South Dakota voters.

    It’s like Lederman is intentionally proving the GOP’s harshest critics right.

  12. Rorschach 2018-08-01 21:10

    As you said, Cory, the Constitution Party’s main problem – and likely the decisive one in the court case – is that neither Hubbel nor Stacey could legitimately claim under the law to be the party chair at the time they each gave notice.

    But Stacey’s notice also failed to arrive at the SOS office “at least 30 days previous to the date so chosen.” Even if one accepts that it arrived some time on Sunday, July 15th, the 30th day from then is some time on August 14th which is the day of the convention. That means that the day of the convention (August 14th) arrived before a full 30 days had elapsed from June 15th. 29 days and change does not meet the requirement of “at least 30 days previous.” But once again, their battleship is sunk before the court gets that far.

  13. Kal Lis 2018-08-01 21:22

    I’m not a lawyer, but it seems to me that your analysis is correct as long as party bylaws are followed. It also seems as if the Democrats and Libertarians can claim that they convened, had a long recess, and then reconvened. That scenario is a single, albeit unusual, convention.

    On August 14, the Constitution Party will be holding 2 competing conventions which certainly is not “a convention.” In fact, each convention will claim the other is illegitimate.

    The concern I expressed in my previous comment comes from Lederman’s sentence “We have reviewed their bylaws . . . ” If I were a Democratic or Libertarian party official or candidate, I would worry that the Republicans will claim the respective parties’ bylaws were not followed and sue to prevent all non-Republican candidates from appearing on the ballot

  14. grudznick 2018-08-01 21:23

    Mr. Evans states:

    It’s like Lederman is intentionally proving the GOP’s harshest critics right.

    grudznick points out that Mr. Evans, a swell grammar nazi himself, never just comes out and states things. He always has to quote people because the cops are probably snipping his bloggings for some future harassment they are planning, and he wants to build a body of evidence for when he represents himself in court during the next harassment trial.

    grudznick would have just said “Hey, that Lederman fellow is really screwing the pooch.” grudznick has no need to always quote people except where it’s fun.

  15. Kal Lis 2018-08-01 21:26

    I hope Kurt is correct when he asserts “their heavy-handed intervention to keep other parties off the ballot is going to play [badly] among rank-and-file South Dakota voters.”

  16. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2018-08-01 21:37

    On Kurt’s comments about proving the GOP’s harshest critics right: Lederman may just be testing how far Republican corruption can go without being challenged. They got a judge to keep illegitimate candidates on the ballot in District 7 in order to dilute the anti-Republican vote and give the GOP candidates a better chance of winning by arguing that certificates of nomination are immune from challenge. A week later they the SOS to throw out seven certificates of nomination for Democrats who pose a threat to Republicans’ chances of getting elected. Lederman is just pushing the boundaries, seeing how much the mostly Republican-appointed judges will let them get by with.

    We need the rank-and-file voters Kurt and Kal Lis mention to take this craven Republican corruption seriously at the ballot box and elect non-Republicans. But we need candidates on the ballot for those voters to choose for change, and that won’t happen unless the opposition parties stop screwing up their paperwork. The CP in particular needs to do something to expand beyond its tiny core of cranks who keep getting in crazy fights with each other (seriously? competing conventions?) and establish a serious strategy for recruiting members, donors, and candidates who can win elections and govern intelligently.

  17. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2018-08-01 21:39

    Kelly, minor correction: the GOP isn’t afraid of anybody running under the CP banner. Per Ror’s observation, the GOP is afraid of the CP label in general getting on the ballot and giving an outlet to cranky/fringy voters who would otherwise reliably pad the GOP’s margins.

  18. Kurt Evans 2018-08-01 22:46

    The controversy in the state Constitution Party stems from the fact that Lori Stacey failed to submit a filing pursuant to SDCL 12-5-24 after Lora Hubbel resigned as chair in February 2017. Prior to the failed convention on July 14, party members were told by the secretary of state’s office that, according to the most recent records on file, Hubbel was still chair.

    Hubbel then filed notice for an August 14 convention on July 13, the day before the failed convention. My impression is that most of the party (excluding Lori Stacey) has since concluded that former vice-chair Joel Bergan was the rightful chair at that time. As I’ve already indicated in my previous comment, it seems unlikely to me that a judge will keep an entire party off the ballot merely because the convention notice was filed by Hubbel rather than Bergan.

    Bergan has since resigned from the central committee and supports the following current officers: Gordon Howie as chair, Matt Johnson as vice-chair, Lora Hubbel as secretary, and Janette McIntyre as treasurer. The “Lori Stacey faction” of the state party has essentially dwindled to Terry LaFleur and Lori.

  19. Lora Hubbel 2018-08-01 23:01

    Here is a similar letter I sent back to Frank, granted this is a private letter that i am sharing so you can see both sides: Dear Frank,
    The letter you wrote was needed (because you were asked by the SOS for clarification) to help remove someone who acts like a tyrant, who took advantage of the Constitution party of SD for her own good at the expense of all of SD Constitution party members. Many people wanted to belong to the SD Constitution Party but I feel Lori pushed them out with her tantrums, yelling, belittling of others and most could not tolerate her dictatorial ways. There is room for all kinds of people in the party but the chair the of CP Party should not be a dictator.

    The letter you wrote was not read at the convention…I took it as a letter to use at my discretion. I actually had an award to give to Lori for helping with the petition drive – because I did not want people wanting to come into the party to know there was any past of bad blood. There is NO evidence of her filing notice that she became Chair again. In fact Joel Bergan WANTED to be chair but Lori told him it was “too late” the day after I resigned via email on Feb 2, 2017 (I had no idea if my resignation was accepted – I just walked away from her drama).

    At the July 14, 2018 convention I was going to resign as “chair” again (being given a “Pro-Tem” Chair position because Lori had no records or minutes of meetings) and have an election for that office…which Lori could have contended for (but she was not at the Convention on July 14). My files show that fact – but they were stolen at the convention allegedly by James Biolata (who the non-chair Lori appointed as non-secretary). Jame was so disruptive at the convention he was motioned and carried to leave (and he refused). Finally the Convention Chair (Joel Bergan) fired him to the sigh of relief from all who were there.

    The matter still remains that Lori was derelict of her duties as chair. THAT is the reason she is no longer chair. All I got from Lori when I was chair….was not the codes to the website; was not the access to the bank account; was not even one piece of paper or tool to build the party….all I got was to be constantly yelled at by her.

    Now that the party had some standing to support candidates the SD Constitution Party needs structure if candidates are going to spend a ton of their own money to run for the Great Truths American’s Constitution Party defends.

    Regardless of what you said in your letter, Lori did NOT adhere to State rules used by the Secretary of State’s office to file any new Chair position with that office. Plus she was the Chair AND the Treasurer (a blatant by-law infraction) so NO one saw the financials except for Lori…she wrote the checks and drew up “contracts” for petition gathering where she was the recipient of National Party money – yet it looks like she doesn’t want the National Party looking into the financials. Going into the convention the paper work Lori filed was so poor that we had to scramble to save the convention. She did not follow the bylaws (or Roberts Rules of Order when the By-Laws are silent) and I believe she thought she could just use her forceful personality to make people put her in power without the needed paperwork. While trying to make the CP of SD look official to attract more candidates I saw how horrible she left records and how she had abandoned her post. I feel that is the definition of dereliction of duty.

    She even abandoned the convention…and left no one as her replacement…what were we to do? Joel just found out he was probably the chair the day before and I was granted “pro-tem” chair so we knew we may need another convention. With the convention just hours away and the party in shambles we tried to do what we thought was best for the appearances of a respectable party.

    Lori did not act like a Chair..she acted (and indeed WAS), a PAID (by the National Party) petition signature gatherer. Most Chairs organize to do that for FREE, but it cost the National CP several thousand dollars. The 2016 Campaign financials filed with the SOS, show that there was a contract from which Lori may have benefited exclusively for over $7000 (up to $11000?) for signature gathering…yet no one in SD saw that contract but Lori.

    The SD Constitution Party has cleaned up her mess and decided to remove Lori for cause. She does not live in South Dakota, but lives in hotels and off others as she crisscrosses the nation as a petition gatherer. She owes myself and other people several hundred dollars which she makes no attempt to repay. I personally helped her move from her rented house into a rental storage unit and lent her my vacuum because she did not own one. Her rented house was such that I had to have my vacuum serviced after she borrowed it to clean her floors. I’m sure the house had to have been professionally cleaned before it was rented again because the tar from her constant smoking left drippings of tar on the walls. I only say this to help you see her disregard for other’s property and other’s sacrifices. There are givers and there are takers in this world. In my opinion, Lori is a taker and it has become obvious that her antics will not be tolerated in the South Dakota Constitution Party any longer.

    Lora Hubbel

  20. Rorschach 2018-08-02 00:32

    The constitution party better lawyer up. The sooner the better.

    Your by laws prohibit having a convention more than 60 days after the primary. Uh Oh!

    They also require notice of any convention to be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least 14 days before the convention. Uh Oh!

    Still no legal party chair. Uh Oh!

    Idiots!

  21. Kurt Evans 2018-08-02 23:18

    “Rorschach” writes:

    The constitution party better lawyer up. The sooner the better.

    Maybe Lederman doesn’t much care who ultimately wins in court, as long as he forces the Constitution Party to bleed time and financial resources into legal action.

    Your by laws prohibit having a convention more than 60 days after the primary. Uh Oh!

    When their party bylaws are inconsistent with the laws of the state (such as the statutory requirement of 30 days’ notice before convention), the laws of the state take precedence:
    https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/Codified_Laws/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statute=12-5-1.1

    They also require notice of any convention to be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least 14 days before the convention. Uh Oh!

    https://www.yankton.net/community/article_d6ee27ca-946f-11e8-b0e7-67dc9410d9f4.html

    Still no legal party chair. Uh Oh!

    Joel Bergan has resigned from the central committee and supports the following current officers: Gordon Howie as chair, Matt Johnson as vice-chair, Lora Hubbel as secretary, and Janette McIntyre as treasurer.

    Idiots!

    That seems a bit harsh.

  22. Rorschach 2018-08-03 11:26

    Kurt, you really don’t have a clue. Lederman wants the constitution candidates off of the ballot because they will siphon votes from republican candidates and maybe turn a republican victory into a defeat like you did to John Thune in 2002. If the constitution party does not file a response in this court case the republican party has a 99% chance of winning and keeping the constitution party candidates off of the ballot. These idiots need to sort out their own issues immediately by establishing a legal chain of command and then respond as quickly as possible to the court case.

    So Joel Bergan inherited the chairmanship when Hubbel resigned? File a certification with the SOS identifying him as the party chair. Bergan doesn’t want to be chair? The bylaws say the party chair appoints the vice chair – so Bergan, after establishing himself as chair with the SOS office, appoints as vice chair the person he wants to take over as chair. He then resigns. The new chair then files a certification with the SOS identifying that person as the new chair. The new chair then appoints a new vice chair and any other offices. These all get certified with the SOS – pronto. They change the by-laws to remove the prohibition of holding conventions more than 60 days after the primary – and file those by-laws with the SOS.

    All of this may be too late to salvage this election year, but twiddling thumbs while the GOP party’s court case moves swiftly forward is a recipe for disaster. Idiots!

  23. Dr. Terry LaFleur 2019-04-22 20:46

    Greetings & Salutations my fellow South Dakota Patriots. The 7 links posted below present a factual and evidentiary case of how the Lora Hubbel coup faction cannot possibly be the legal faction of the CPSD. I challenge you to view all 7 videos in their entirety, and I challenge the Hubbel coup faction to refute anything therein with hard evidence, not just unsubstantiated claims!

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1005724139546956/permalink/2169766333142725?sfns=mo

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1005724139546956/permalink/2169767063142652?sfns=mo

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1005724139546956/permalink/2169767599809265?sfns=mo

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1005724139546956/permalink/2169767963142562?sfns=mo

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1005724139546956/permalink/2169768619809163?sfns=mo

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1005724139546956/permalink/2169769139809111?sfns=mo

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1005724139546956/permalink/2169769616475730?sfns=mo

  24. Dr. Terry LaFleur 2019-04-22 21:06

    Lori Stacey sent two emails, one on February 3, 2017, and another on February 6, 2017 to Shantel Krebs and Rachael Schmidt giving notice to the Secretary of State that Stacey was the new CPSD Chairman. Both of these emails substantially comply with SDCL 12-5-14 and constitute writings.

    More over, Lori Stacey called her second Convention on July 15, 2018 at 11:55 pm, which also substantially complied with SDCL 12-5-17.

  25. Dr. Terry LaFleur 2019-04-22 21:48

    July 25, 2018 is 31 days prior to August 14, 2018. Lori published her calling more then 24 days prior to the August 14, 2018 Convention. SDCL 12-5-17 requires a 30 day notice, not a 30 working day notice. Learn to read.

  26. Dr. Terry LaFleur 2019-04-22 21:50

    Correction of my last post: July 15 is 31 days prior to August 14, 2018….

  27. Dr. Terry LaFleur 2019-04-22 21:52

    Correction to my last post: Lori Stacey published her Convention calling in the ARGUS Leader more than 14 days prior to August 14, 2018….

  28. Dr. Terry LaFleur 2019-04-22 22:26

    Go to my Governors Page, or my website, or my personal FB Page, and even my federal lawsuit 18-4125 and you can find all the documentary proof we’ll need to discover that the Lori Stacey CPSD is the legal entity herein SD.

    Lori filed the 12-27-6 Statement of Organization on February 6, 2017. It was filed electronically and received (i.e. accepted) by Shantel Krebs on February 6, 2017. Krebs lies to aid and abet Lira Hubbel’s Coup. Lori filed the 12-5-17 notice of her second Convention at 11:55 pm on July 15, 2018. Lori published notice of her Convention on July 31, 2018 which was more than 14 days prior to the August 14, 2018 Convention. We have an affidavit from the ARGUS Leader substantiating this fact. July 15th is 31 days prior to the August Convention and substantially complied with SDCL 12-5-17 30 day notice.

    Hubbel’s coup faction has nothing whatsoever to substantiate their ludicrous allegations that Hubbel was the Chairman, Pro Tem Chairman or Dog Catcher anywhere in SD. We posted 7 videos stating our case in detail. These videos have been sent to over 160 NCP and NCM delegates to the May 3-4, 2019 meeting in Milwaukee, WI. The real CPSD Central Committee will be attending this NCM with additional evidence not presented in the 7 links above. We also have evidence implicating Dan Lederman, Marty Jackley, Shantel Krebs and Frank Fluckiger in the conspiracy to derail Lori Stacey’s hard earn rewards of holding a successful Convention.

  29. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2019-04-23 05:42

    Please present the evidence that backs up your claim that Lederman, Jackley, Krebs, and Fluckinger engaged in conspiracy.

  30. Dr. Terry LaFleur 2019-04-23 09:52

    We posted them on your Blog Page, you do your own research and watch the videos. Go to run randyrun.org and click on the CPOSD Tab. The evidence you request is right there. The Lori Stacey CPSD party has always had and tried to provide this evidence but the MSM and the Judge in Pierre refused to listen.

  31. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2019-04-23 12:20

    Oh good grief. Which video? Which part? Why not state the evidence here? I’m not going to slog through unnamed videos hoping to find the shred of evidence that no one else claims exists. What is the evidence? What are the documents? Who are the sources?

  32. Dr. Terry Lafleur 2019-04-23 12:43

    Mr. Heidelberger, I have provided you with every piece of evidence you would ever hope to have available to you. Hubbel wont tell you about this evidence. She makes unsubstantiated allegations all the time. These videos lay out the evidence in a chronological timeline. Its not just words out of my mouth, but testimony of others who actually investigated the facts in this case.

    These people have no axes to grind against anyone; they just followed the evidence to there natural conclusions. Watch the 7 links I posted right here on your page and I challenge you to watch every minute of every video. Then go to: runrandyrun.org and download all the evidence yourself. Now keep in mind that the videos only address who the rightful Chairman should be herein the CPSD. Pay additional attention to the one hour and fifteen minute recorded meeting between mike Gunn and Joel & Paula Bergan. Its a little tough to hear, but you can hear Joel and Paula telling how Shantel, Lederman, Howie and others were complicit in the coup of the CPSD Convention. Joel also admits he was the Vice-Chairman of the CPSD from February 2017. Joel also admits that he resigned from both Committees on July 21, 2018 and he was angry at Hubbel and Howie for not filing his resignation letter to Shantel in July 2018.

    Then go online and google 18-4108 and 18-4125 and read every word and look at all the documentary evidence filed with the federal clerk’s office. Do this investigatory work and I guarantee you that you will find the truth. Respectfully. I remain. Dr. Terry Lee LaFleur Candidate for Governor of South Dakota 2022.

  33. LaFleur 2021-01-07 11:51

    I’m glad this article is still out their. Still can’t post evidence because your technically challenged. But read my Work and learns the facts.

  34. LaFleur 2021-01-07 11:56

    Frank Fluckiger aided & abetted Noem, Hubbel, Krebs and Jackley to take down the Constitution Party and OUR Convention. Obtain a copy of Coup D’etat In South Dakota and read it for your own edification. Legal documents don’t lie. You can obtain a copy of every illustration at the source right here in SD.

    Fluckiger has been sanctioned by the NCP and removed from office for violating the NCP’s By-Laws and the NCP’s Constitution, Article III. Google it.

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