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Missoula Republican Chair Calls Police on Another Member

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Missoula Republican Chair Calls Police on Another Member

This is not the first time Vondene Kopetski has called the police on a fellow Republican, but Missoula Republicans should make it the last

County GOP Chair Vondene Kopetski speaks at Missoula County Republican event hosting Ryan Zinke. October 23, 2021.

Missoula County Republican Central Committee Chair, Vondene Kopetski, called the police on yet another Republican during Tuesday night’s monthly Central Committee meeting. In 2021, Kopetski called the police on another individual at a committee meeting, a new member, claiming to police that the person had committed elder abuse because of a difference of opinion.

Kopetski’s recent target was a person who was a long-time Party member and current Central Committee member. This person, and other members, were asking for the minutes from a past meeting. The meeting that members wanted minutes for was one where bylaws were allegedly approved that amended how endorsements were to be made and party resources expended.

According to the person, in the past, the Central Committee members would vote on who the party would endorse and how much party resources to provide each candidate. Kopetski told the committee member that the bylaws had been changed so only the “Executive Committee” or a portion of it would vet the candidates. She explained that any change to expand what she called the “vetting committee” would require a change to the bylaws.

After this admission, additional members also expressed interest in the minutes for the meeting for which the bylaws had changed. Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, a discussion of the endorsement process was promised to be placed on the agenda by the Chair, but was not included, resulting in additional support from other members to make public the meeting minutes.

There was no physical altercation or name calling or other logical reason members could determine for the Chair to escalate the request for meeting information to law enforcement. But Kopetski called the police after one member pressed for the meeting minutes after being told by the Chair that the amendment changing endorsement procedure did not need to be approved by the committee because the new bylaws had already been transmitted and filed with the Secretary of State’s office.

That is a curious misrepresentation of official procedure for someone that claims to have taught courses on Robert’s Rules. Usually (and under the law), the board of an organization votes to approve or change bylaws and the submission of new bylaws to the state is a formal requirement for any similarly state-registered organization.

Many members were baffled and despondent at Kopetski’s action to call the police. Former Montana House Representative and current Executive Director of the Montana Public Service Commission, Brad Tschida, was at the meeting and sat with the person as they waited for police to arrive to escort them from the building.

The police came and left after Tschida spoke with a Missoula Police Department officer and a groundskeeper for the church where the committee meetings are held.

Notably, in 2017, Kopetski also went “scorched earth” for political power and control and was involved with a lawsuit where the deposits of the Missoula County Republican Women’s bank account were completely withdrawn in an obvious coup attempt after the GOP woman’s group voted to replace Kopetski.

Kopetski also went ballistic during a recent Pachyderm meeting in mid-February that was hearing a presentation on election integrity. Kopetski starting yelling at the presenter, shocking many in attendance. The outburst could be related to the fact that only Democrats and the Republicans looking to follow the Chair up the clout ladder are buying the excuses for the 4,592 extra ballots that were counted in Missoula County’s 2020 election.

Missoula County Young Republicans were also in attendance Tuesday night, by invite of the leadership. As the young bloods watched everything unfold, they no doubt received a real taste of what it means to be a Republican in Missoula and of Kopetski’s leadership style.

By all accounts, Kopetski has been Chair of Missoula County Republicans for at least a decade and Missoula has only grown more mired in Democrat-style politics including steadily rising property taxes, inflated bureaucracy, high crime, and a nearly all Democrat city and county governance that will continue to grow the leviathan.

Kopetski does not appear capable of mounting a serious challenge to Democrats in the county. She was unable to find a Republican candidate to run against Democrats in 2022 in five major races including Clerk and Recorder, Treasurer, Sheriff, County Attorney, County Superintendent of Schools, or District Court Judge for District 4.

It was only a handful of months before the 2021 Mayoral race against Engen that she finally put out a request for a candidate to challenge the 16-year incumbent mayor of Missoula.

She had 4-6 years to prepare a candidate to relieve Missoula tax payers and families of their pain and waited just a handful of months before the election to even begin the search.

Sure, Democrats are largely responsible for making Missoula even less safe and even more expensive for working families trying to put down roots, but blame should be spread to the Missoula Republicans lack of skill, planning, or seriousness in challenging the Democrat status quo. The failings start with leadership.

Many Missoula Republicans have told me that they believe the committee is run less for the benefit of Missoula, and more for the benefit of the political capital that can be expended on the progeny of the Chair.

Right now, the Missoula County Republican Central Committee is a “private club,” as Kopetski is fond of telling those she banishes, and it is obviously not run to the benefit of Missoulians.

Missoula conservatives and taxpayers should consider that taking back their city and county will require that they first take back their sclerotic and necrotizing county Republican central committee. Republicans need to get back to the important work of training conservatives to present a challenge to Democrat rule, rather than training Republicans on how to run a good “Lincoln-Reagan Dinner” and how to add 911 to speed dial.

Roy McKenzie
Roy McKenzie

Update on this story. Kopetski’s behavior got Republicans evicted from church meeting place in Missoula:

https://www.westernmt.news/user/roy/voice/138885

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Doug Bohn
Doug Bohn

Sunlight is the best disinfectant! Thank you Roy for opening the drapes and exposing Vondene for what she is; A Dictator!She represents the worst of the worst found all too often in today’s “republican” party. Those that truly HATE the true conservative values of Constitutional Conservatives. I lament that this attitude is not a rare one in our local Republican Central Committees around the state. Even exposed in our current legislature in SB-503. A move to kill the grassroots involvement in our political process. This bill was co-sponsored by the current Senate President and sitting member of the Ravalli County Republican Central Committee, JASON ELLSWORTH. It is disgusting what WE have allowed our Republican Central Committies to become. It’s TIME TO TAKE THEM BACK!! GET INVOLVED!!! Please

4 Likes
Hilly
Hilly

Was “this woman” Theresa Manzella?

Roy McKenzie
Roy McKenzie

No. The woman is a member of the committee. If it was Manzella, would that make a difference?

Mudbaby
Mudbaby

Thanks, Roy, for writing about this incident, although it was a waste of police time and the Central Committee’s. Ms. Kopetski was way out of line. The lady who was the reason for the call to police, was polite, calm, and within her rights to be asking a question about the agenda (which then lead to many other issues including minutes and bylaws). The issue could have been handled with a simple answer as to why the requested item was not on the agenda, but Ms. Kopetski did not respond professionally or respectfully. She dictates the meetings and never lets anyone speak unless she gives them the “ok”. She has blocked many attempts of others who request to speak and discuss issues within the Committee. Members are silenced and rebuked. As a member of this committee, I hope a solution is found soon for getting a leader with integrity and decency to replace Ms. Kopetski. Her actions are helping nobody and definitely hinder the desired positive effects on the community that many on the Committee would like to see. Ms. Kopetski’s actions are not representative of Missoula Republicans!!! We want better for our communities! PA

2 Likes
Hilly
Hilly

Seems to me the same obnoxious people operating in the Bitterroot Valley may be trying to move into the Missoula GOP. And ROY – a former Democrat? Former?

Roy McKenzie
Roy McKenzie

Yes. Former Democrat. Outside of ad hominem, what do you think about the Missoula County Republican Chair calling the police on fellow Republicans twice?

Hilly
Hilly

ROY – I depends on who the woman was and why was Brad Tschida there? That tells me it was probably Theresa Manzella? YES?

Roy McKenzie
Roy McKenzie

Brad lives in Missoula County. He frequents the central committee. Why does it matter the identity of the woman (it wasn’t Manzella) when Kopetski has a history of calling the police on members and other Republicans? It appears that you are willing to gloss over the worst actions of party leaders in order to hold up an imaginary fiction of what you believe the party is. The GOP and its leaders are not unimpeachable.

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Roy McKenzie
Roy McKenzie

I encourage all committee members to read Robert’s Rules and realize that they have the authority to overrule the chair and to direct priorities. Here is a three-page cheat sheet:

https://www.westernmt.news/user/roymckenzie/voice/135766

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MTDude
MTDude

Perfect analysis of the situation. Replace the locals. Infiltrate the committee. No one should serve more the 2 yrs. Time for new blood and quick expulsions of the old corupted dead wood. It all starts locally. Goes for school boards and city commissioner’s too. If the foundation is rotten the whole structure is comprimised.

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