Williamson County Republican Party elects new chair in divisive convention

The Williamson County Republican Party elected Tracy Miller as its new chair during the 2023 Mass Convention on April 18 amidst declarations of division and questions of unity ahead of the incoming 2024 election season.

More than 600 county Republican Party voters cast their ballots in The Factory at Franklin's Liberty Hall, and the now-former WCRP Chair Cheryl Brown conceded to Miller, congratulating him with a hug as the results were announced.

State GOP Chair Scott Golden hosted the convention and said that it was the largest turnout in WCRP history.

The convention followed the April 15 resignation of members of WCRP’s Contest and Credentials Committee, who in an email cited “a record of fraud, misconduct and corrupt self-dealing by Tennessee Republican Party leadership and State Executive Committee officials Cyndi Miller and Steve Allbrooks,” adding, “we cannot, in good conscience, offer our acquiescence to a rigged and deceptive process that deliberately undermines the rights of lifelong, loyal Republicans in Williamson County to an orderly and credible county convention that adheres to proper rules and bylaws.”

State GOP Executive Committee District 27 Representative Cyndi Miller is the wife of WCRP’s new Chair Tracy Miller.

In 2016, Tracy Miller and his brother, Andy Miller, agreed to pay $7.75 million in a settlement that alleged that the brothers defrauded a federal military health care program.

Other winners included Hannah Tiblier, who was elected to the position of first vice chair, Elliott Franklin to second vice chair, Brandon Bell to third vice chair, Diane Chenard to secretary, Christine Deekens to assistant secretary, Courtney Laginess to treasurer and Tim Raynaud to assistant treasurer.

All of the newly elected WCRP officials were allied prior to the convention, with flilers naming them “The Conservatives.”

In his remarks, Miller referred to the convention as “the swamp.” 

“It’s the Williamson County tributary, to be sure, but the tendrils twist and turn and reach all the way back to good ole’ Washington, D.C.,” Miller said.

Miller said he would work to collaborate with conservative groups.

“I thought that a lot of the grassroot groups, a lot of the old school Republicans as well, had kind of been alienated or allowed to drift away from the party or kept at arm's length, and if we are going to be unified, we’ve got to listen to everybody,” Miller told The News following his election.

Brown, the first Black chair of the WCRP, stepped into the role in 2019, and despite her pitch to party members to “allow me to continue this fight and mission together,” party members declined to stand behind her.

Brown told The News following the convention that she is now “free.”

“It is now in [Miller’s] hands,” Brown said. “I would have continued if I had the opportunity to continue and take the party to a new level, but, you know, the people spoke.”

“I think that [to] many voters who were there tonight, being called ‘a swamp’ was disappointing to them,” Brown said.

“That’s disheartening to hear that when you’re talking about bringing people together, you shouldn’t demean the other percentage of people, when you’re trying to bring unity, as you [Miller] say.”

The division and drama enveloping the WCRP and the 2023 convention also played out in the media and online, with Brown appearing on The Matt Murphy Show on April 14.

"It's about the control," Brown said on the radio show. "I think our Republican Party is trying to be hijacked by people who call themselves the true conservatives."

Brown specifically named conservative activist organization Tennessee Stands, which is led by former District 27 Senate candidate Gary Humble, as one of the groups who was challenging her leadership, calling the organization "the Gary Humble occult team."

"Everything that they say about the party is always negative," Brown said. "They throw the Republican Party under the bus."

Tennessee Stands said in a social media post that the election results mark "a new day in Williamson County.”

“The issue is the party should be able to have conversations within itself about things that we believe,” Humble told The News following Miller’s election.

“We love the Republican party, but we love the Republican party as much as it is an efficient and effective vehicle to promote conservative values -- That’s the purpose of the party.”

Another “grassroots” group that was mentioned on stage during the convention was Moms for Liberty, which has grown in popularity in Williamson County and beyond for challenging school boards, along with the Williamson Families PAC, which endorsed several school board candidates in 2022.

“We’re thrilled for a new chapter of the Williamson County Republican Party that actually wants to partner with Moms For Liberty because we think that working together we can go far in advocating for kids in Williamson County,” Moms For Liberty Williamson County Chapter Chair Robin Steenman told The News.

Despite the public dysfunction and division, Golden told The News that the overall health of the state and local Republican party is “fantastic.”

“In my time as chairman, Tracy Miller is going to be my fifth [Williamson County] chairman, so change is constant, so that’s part of it,” Golden said. 

“Of course, his wife has been on the board of the Tennessee Republican Party for over five years now, so I’ve known them well, and I think that Tracy is going to have his own ideas, and I look forward to working with him to make Williamson County great.”