County attorney says bylaws and meeting minutes show Susan Breen remains Democratic chair; board approves three precinct committeemen

County Attorney Gary Griffith advised the Greenlee County Board of Supervisors on the board’s duties for recognizing the county Democratic Party chair and related precinct-committee appointments, and the board then approved three Democratic precinct committeemen to fill vacancies.

Griffith told the board he reviewed party minutes, the Greenlee County Democrats’ bylaws, case law and Robert’s Rules of Order and concluded the statutory process for selecting a county party chair had not been properly satisfied by the two sets of minutes that attempted to remove the incumbent. "On the face of those . . . minutes . . . they didn't have the numbers present to make that kind of decision," Griffith said, referencing a March 26 executive-committee meeting and an April 24 regular meeting. He reported that the chair chosen at the statutory precinct-committee meeting in January was Susan Breen, and recommended the board rely on the results of that statutory meeting for official dealings.

The board then considered appointments to fill Democratic precinct-committee vacancies and approved nominees for vacancy R. Reyes (Precinct 5), York Sheldon (Precinct 5) and S. Lundin (Precinct 3, Clifton). The motion to approve the appointments was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Griffith warned the board his review did not address broader allegations that had been raised internally about the party’s officer conduct; he said his legal task for the board was narrowly to identify who the county should recognize as the party chair for statutory purposes. He described two defects in the minutes presented: insufficient executive-committee attendance to meet the bylaws’ two‑thirds removal threshold and, at the April 24 meeting, the absence of the quorum required under the party bylaws to elect a replacement.

Because Arizona case law and statute create a public purpose in having a clear process for identifying party chairs — so county and state officials know who to deal with — Griffith said the county should continue to rely on the chair elected through the statutory precinct-committee meeting unless presented with clear, valid evidence of a lawful change.

The board’s action on the precinct‑committeemen appointments was limited to filling the named vacancies; the board did not take additional action on the internal party dispute.

Members of the public who had earlier submitted a letter to the board were asked to have the board clerk and county attorney review that material; supervisors debated whether to recess before the agenda item to permit review. Griffith said the county attorney had reviewed the minutes provided by the party secretary and confirmed the secretary’s role in maintaining those minutes; he did not meet with the competing claimants to the chairmanship as part of that review.

The board’s approval of the three precinct‑committeemen was recorded by voice vote as approved.