The Carbon County Republican Party has adopted resolutions calling for the resignation of three state House of Representatives members and one top GOP leader, saying they stayed silent while one of their colleagues wrongly weathered defamation allegations for calling out controversial check-passing on the House floor last week.
The first resolution calls for the resignation of Republican Reps. Joe Webb (Lyman), Marlene Brady (Green River), and Darin McCann (Rock Springs), according to a copy of the resolution obtained by Cowboy State Daily.
A separate resolution the party also adopted Tuesday night calls for Rep. Nina Webber, R-Cody, to resign her post as the Wyoming Republican Party’s national committeewoman.
That resolution doesn’t call for Webber to give up her state legislator seat, though that’s what the county party is asking of Webb, Brady and McCann.
None of the four representatives responded by publication Wednesday to voicemail requests for comment.
CheckGate
The resolutions stem from the controversy Capitol regulars have been calling “CheckGate:”
Conservative activist Rebecca Bextel handed out checks on the state House of Representatives floor after the session adjourned for the day Feb. 9.
Guests are not allowed on the floor without an escort. Bextel’s escort was Webber, eyewitness Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, told Cowboy State Daily on Monday.
There was no rule or law against the simple act of handing out checks on the House floor, though it’s now being investigated for possible bribery.
But it exploded into controversy Feb. 11 when House Minority Floor Leader Mike Yin, D-Jackson, urged his fellow House members not to vote in favor of introducing a bill Bextel championed, saying the “optics” would be bad.
House Appropriations Chair John Bear, R-Gillette, said Yin was making a claim that was “offensive to this body.”
Bear has since told WyoFile that he accepted a check from Bextel that day, though not on the floor. He told Cowboy State Daily last Wednesday that he did not accept a check on the floor, nor accept a bribe.
Later, Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody — who is not listed among the people the donor intended to receive checks — registered a formal protest targeting Yin.
“A representative made a defamatory statement that ‘checks’ were distributed on the floor, and this alleges that legislators accepted these checks from the floor — which essentially would be bribery and unethical,” said Rodriguez-Williams at the time.
That same day, however, Bextel confirmed publicly that she had handed out checks on the House floor.
Silent
The Carbon County GOP’s resolutions style themselves as Wyoming Republican Party resolutions since they’re poised for possible consideration at the state party’s Feb. 28 Central Committee meeting in Cheyenne.
“At no time during the debate did any of these individuals with intimate firsthand knowledge of these transactions exercise the honor, integrity, or principles that is expected of an elected official by rising up and substantiating the legitimate claims being brought by the Minority Leader (Yin),” says the resolution.
While Rodriguez-Williams accused Yin of making defamatory claims, the resolution says, “these same individuals with intimate firsthand knowledge of these transactions continued to remain silent.”
The resolution pertaining to Webber contains similar language.
It also calls for the resignation of any other state representatives later found to have stayed silent despite having “intimate firsthand” knowledge to support Yin’s statement of last Wednesday.
Both resolutions go beyond the principle of speaking up or staying silent. They lament that because of debate on CheckGate that followed Yin’s statement, nearly 50 bills failed to meet the Feb. 13 deadline for introduction in the House.
More than 30 of those align with the Wyoming GOP’s priorities for this session, the documents add.
“Then the fullest demand for accountability of the individuals who contributed to the business of the Wyoming Republican Party being inhibited must be demanded,” the documents say, “just as it has been demanded and punitively executed by this body in the past.”
The sponsor of both resolutions, Carbon County GOP Vice Chair Joey Correnti, told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday that the party had lively discussions on them, then passed them unanimously.
This is nothing new for the outspoken county party, Correnti added.
“I think Carbon County has a fairly solid record of having expectations for people who carry the brand Republican, and what the word representative or officer means,” Correnti said.
The party spearheaded the censure of then-U.S. House Rep. Liz Cheney in 2021, and a challenge pertaining to the Natrona County GOP in 2024.
Correnti, who is also an aide this session to state Senate leadership, told Cowboy State Daily he acted apart from that duty and on his own.
Yin told Cowboy State Daily in a Wednesday phone interview that he did not want to comment, because he didn’t want to meddle in the resolutions of a party to which he doesn’t belong.
'Too Strong,' But...
Webb, McCann and Brady aren’t from Carbon County, but rather Uinta and Sweetwater.
Uinta County GOP Chair Rowdy Dean told Cowboy State Daily that as an individual, he finds the Carbon County resolutions too strong, especially this early in what has now become a law enforcement investigation.
But as leader of a county party, said Dean, he’s seeking input from his executive committee and then potentially from the “grassroots:” the central committee.
“What I’ve done so far is, I’ve sent (the resolution targeting Webb) to my executive committee for feedback from them,” said Dean. “If they feel that’s something we take forward to our committeemen and women, then we’ll do that.”
Dean said in his view, the optics of the check-passing were “horrible” and the deed was “in poor taste.”
“I’m not 100% sure if it raises to the level of calling for resignations on that,” said Dean. “I’ll leave that up to the constituents.”
He said several Uinta County constituents have contacted him voicing disgust over the incident.
Ideally, he said, they’d debate their own resolution at their own meeting rather than potentially gathering signatures in support of Carbon County’s.
But Uinta County’s meeting is set for March 10 — which is 10 days after the state party meeting a week from Saturday.
Sweetwater, Lincoln, Teton County Parties
Dean also said the Sweetwater County Republican Party is considering that same resolution, as it pertains to its representatives McCann and Brady.
Sweetwater County GOP Chair Tony Niemiec, who is also a former state representative, did not return a Cowboy State Daily voicemail request for comment by publication.
Dean said people in Lincoln County are pushing their party leadership to act.
Lincoln County GOP Chair Lance Oviatt did not return a Cowboy State Daily request for comment by publication.
Teton County Republican Party Chair Kat Rueckert on Saturday issued a statement condemning Bextel’s actions but urging people to stay focused on the merits of the housing issue and not let the media or others pit divide them in purpose.
Bextel is a leader of that party, as its state committeewoman.
After Ruckert’s statement, Teton County GOP Vice Chair John Fox resigned his post, Rueckert confirmed Wednesday in an email to Cowboy State Daily.
She also confirmed that her county party is slated for its required precinct caucus meetings Saturday, in which any registered Republican in Teton County can participate to discuss potential changes to the party’s governing documents.
Fox could not be reached Monday via his listed phone number.
In Her Words
Bextel has commented on the incident multiple times via social media since Feb. 11, saying these were lawful campaign checks she was distributing on behalf of another donor.
She’s also theorized that people are using this controversy to thwart her long-held mission of curbing affordable housing mitigation schemes like those prevalent in Jackson and Teton County.
Every House member implicated in the check incident voted in favor of introducing House Bill 141, one of at least two bills Bextel championed this session.
On Tuesday, she clarified via Facebook that though she was credentialed to attend the session as a member of the media, she did not use her press pass to approach the floor, nor had she retrieved it from the Legislative Service Office.
She was credentialed as media under her startup site the Open Range Record.
“Many representatives do not have offices since they are in Cheyenne for only a few weeks each year. Most legislators transact normal business at their desks,” wrote Bextel. “There is no law or rule on the books which disallows passing a check or having discussions with representatives after a session has ended. If you don't like the rules, change them.”
The Senate did just that on Tuesday, passing a rule banning the soliciting and active acceptance of campaign donations in the parts of the Capitol it controls.
It also banned the soliciting and active acceptance of campaign contributions during the body’s lawmaking sessions, but included an exception for passive receipt of donations — like going to one’s mailbox and discovering a new campaign donation despite not soliciting it.
Later that same day, Gov. Mark Gordon also banned campaign donations in buildings where state business is conducted, including the parts of the Capitol the executive branch controls.
Yin and his Republican counterpart, House Majority Floor Leader Scott Heiner of Green River, are fielding a proposed House rule change mirroring the Senate’s, Yin told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.
‘I Welcome An Investigation’
Bextel wrote that she welcomes an investigation.
Provenza successfully urged the House on Thursday to appoint a seven-person investigative committee to vet the controversy in public.
But that investigation has stalled after the committee decided Monday not to continue its work until after Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak, who opened his own investigation Saturday, has finished his case.
House investigation committee Chair Art Washut, R-Casper, told the House the delay is meant to preserve the rights of anyone implicated in a criminal matter.
“The House will hold hearings,” wrote Bextel, “and I do hope this leads to the establishment of clear rules for various types of engagements with representatives and activities on the floor.”
Bextel claimed that Yin and Provenza violated legislative rules for filing an ethics complaint.
Neither has filed an ethics complaint.
Bextel's post also noted that Provenza received a donation last year during the legislative session. That was for $350, from a man named John Davis.
That donation to her candidate committee, Provenza told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday, came via her website, not in a check.
"This is just an attempt from Rebecca to deflect the dishonor that her actions have brought on the People's House," wrote Provenza.
This Little Memo
Correnti signed a memorandum Tuesday, saying the party didn’t find it appropriate to discuss criminal, constitutional, election code or campaign finance issues, but to stay within its bylaws and expectations.
The county party members also “discussed in great depth” whether they saw fit to target Bextel’s actions.
“And after robust deliberation, this body has chosen to not address Ms. Bextel’s individual actions out of fear of reprisal,” the memo reads, citing members’ “great concern … to their own wellbeing as well as that of their families, their professions and their social standing.”
Bextel did not respond by publication to a voicemail request for comment.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
