Conservative PAC angers some Republicans by endorsing independent candidate for Fayetteville mayor

A political action committee operated by Cumberland County Republicans has endorsed independent candidate Tisha Waddell for mayor of Fayetteville — a decision that has stirred unrest among some in the county GOP.

Former county GOP chair Nina Morton suggested on Facebook that the local Republican Party should punish members of the Independent Conservative Alliance PAC for supporting Waddell, who is unaffiliated with a political party, instead of Republican candidates Freddie de la Cruz and former City Council Member Paul Williams.

“Do others see something wrong with this situation, or is it just my concern?” she said on Facebook. “Is this not blatant party disloyalty? And why is the county GOP connected to this PAC?”

De la Cruz and Williams also disagreed with the PAC’s pick.

“They should have not have made that endorsement,” de la Cruz told CityView. He said he did not participate in the PAC’s endorsement process and prefers not to be tied to groups that seek to influence elected officials.

“I consider them RINOs,” said Williams, using an abbreviation for the phrase “Republican in name only.” “I don’t consider them conservatives.”

Williams said he thinks the PAC is secretly controlled by the Democrats, and called it “paid controlled opposition.”

PAC seeks ‘conservative values and strong leadership’

Waddell, de la Cruz and Williams are three of the 10 people seeking to be elected mayor. The other seven candidates are Democrats. 

The election is nonpartisan, with all 10 facing each other in the primary that ends Oct. 7. The top two candidates will face each other in the Nov. 4 general election.

The Independent Conservative Alliance PAC formed in late 2023 to recruit and support conservative candidates that it considers to be of quality after Republican former mayoral candidate Franco Webb was caught lying for years about his military record, and he was later charged with fraud. He died in January.

In a news release, the PAC said its “core members” are state Rep. Diane Wheatley, former Fayetteville City Council Member Bobby Hurst, former state Sen. Wesley Meredith, former state House Rep. John Szoka and former Cumberland County Republican Party Chair Jackie Taylor.

“The group is seeking to recommend candidates with conservative values and strong leadership to help lead the city of Fayetteville in a positive, secure and fiscally strong direction,” the PAC’s endorsement announcement says.

Hurst told CityView that the PAC is “completely independent” of the local GOP.

“We just all happen to be registered Republicans, but the purpose, really, is to look for conservative, like minded people for public service,” he said.

The PAC gave no consideration to Democratic candidates, Hurst said, and only interviewed unaffiliated and Republican candidates.

“And Tisha Waddell just stood out,” he said. “She’s ready to serve. And we were really impressed with our interview with her.”

In addition to endorsing Waddell, the Conservative Alliance PAC endorsed Republican City Council Member Lynne Greene for reelection to District 5, Republican candidate Kenneth Odegard for District 6, and Republican candidate Travis Hamed for District 8.

Hurst said the PAC made no endorsement in District 2, where Republican Gail Morfesis is seeking the seat, or District 9, where Republican Gary A. Hunt is running.

The PAC said the candidates it picked are knowledgeable of the issues facing the city, are financially sound and have fundraising plans, have a good base of support with a campaign team of volunteers, have organized campaign plans, and thoroughly answered the PAC’s interview questions.

Could be expelled for disloyalty?

The penalty for what the GOP calls “party disloyalty” would be expulsion from the executive committee of the Cumberland County Republican Party. The executive committee oversees the party’s activities, adopts its budget, recruits candidates and works with other GOP organizations, according to the party’s bylaws.

Morton, the former county party chair, posted on Facebook that under the county GOP’s bylaws, executive committee members who support any non-Republican candidate in elections against a Republican “shall have been deemed to have automatically resigned from the Committee.”

De la Cruz’s wife, Venus, commented on the post. “Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! I know who qualifies for this rule!” she said.

The five core members of the Independent Conservative Alliance PAC serve in the county GOP’s executive committee. The four current and former elected officials do so based on their service in public office. Taylor is on the executive committee because she is a former party chair.

Hurst and state lawmaker Wheatley were unconcerned by talk of ejecting them from the county executive committee.

“That’s very rare,” Hurst said, and if the matter were brought to a vote of the party executive committee, “I don’t think they have the votes for that.”

Wheatley argued that the “disloyalty” rule applies to individuals, not organizations such as the PAC. “The votes with the PAC — that is a group, is not an individual person — and I don’t think that speaks to that,” she said.

Wheatley went through a similar situation in November 2012, The Fayetteville Observer reported at the time. County GOP leaders voted to eject three Republicans from the executive committee: Wheatley, then-school board member Michael Boose (who later became a county commissioner), and school board member Greg West. This was for their support of Democrat Eddie Dees in an election to the state House of Representatives. PAC member Szoka defeated Dees in that election.

Wheatley told CityView on Wednesday that the 2012 decision was later rescinded.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

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