Manatee County Republican Executive Committee chairwoman is under fire over financial woes

The handling of finances within the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee under Chairwoman April Culbreath has led to the resignation of two executive board members and caused a rift between many executive committee members and those remaining on the board.

The Manatee REC is the governing body of the Republican Party of Manatee County. Members are preparing to hold a special meeting Monday evening to elect two new board members and to impose financial constraints to curb spending by board members without committee approval.

Manatee REC members say they forced the meeting by petition, and it was also called for by Vice Chairman Nathan Knight on Jan. 11 per procedures. Members say Culbreath — who is also a candidate for the Manatee County Commission — had not scheduled a meeting until after the March presidential primary.

Monday's special meeting agenda calls for a vote for two new executive board members to replace former Treasurer Bruce Stamm and former Secretary Marnie Matarese, who each resigned in December, and includes a vote on new financial control policies aimed at restricting and defining spending of party funds by executive board members.

The agenda also calls for a new petition to force another special meeting on Feb. 26, to open all executive board meetings to any committee member, and to appoint a new Sergeant of Arms.

Even the special meeting itself is contested. When reached for comment by the Herald-Tribune, Culbreath responded by email on Thursday evening stating that "there is not a January Manatee County REC meeting." She did not respond to further questioning.

Discord has steadily grown since Culbreath was elected as chair of the Manatee County REC last year, starting with conflict with Stamm, who resigned because he did not want to authorize expenses submitted by Culbreath and two other executive board members without a vote by committee members. He balked at Culbreath's email when he shared a copy of it with the Herald-Tribune.

"What she's doing is deliberately attempting to sabotage a duly called meeting of the REC," Stamm said. "She has no authority to cancel a special meeting that was called by the vice chair, nor does she have authority to cancel a meeting that was called by petition. She's making stuff up."

Two resignations, same concerns

Both Stamm and Matarese said they resigned from the Manatee REC's executive board in December over financial management concerns, and that the committee's coffers have dwindled by about $42,200 over the past year because of a lack of donations.

Stamm, who has intimate knowledge of the committee's finances from his experience as treasurer, said he took issue with a reimbursement made by Culbreath to herself and two other executive board members, state committee members Cindy Spray and Dave Matthews, without his knowledge. He cited the outfall of the situation as the reason for his resignation.

He told the Herald-Tribune that Culbreath reimbursed herself $2,306.30 for expenses that included a night's stay during a trip to a Republican Party of Florida quarterly meeting in September that cost an extra $188, and about $966 in total charges in November for a hotel room and two tickets to the Freedom Summit in Kissimmee. That event featured speeches from former President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, and many other high-profile presidential candidates.

Culbreath also reimbursed Spray and Matthews for expenses during their trip to the Freedom Summit to the REC, Stamm said. He said Matthews was reimbursed $370 for hotel expenses, while Spray was reimbursed $402 for hotel expenses because she also paid for valet parking. Spray also currently serves as a member of the Manatee County School Board. Matthews was the recipient of the extra ticket expensed by Culbreath.

"It wasn't for Manatee County REC business; they went to a political rally to see the presidential candidates," Stamm said. "Trump, and all the rest of them that were there."

Drop in funding

Manatee REC funds have dropped from about $137,600 in November 2022 to about $95,400 as of the end of 2023 because of a lack of donations, Stamm said. That's a chief concern among a handful of Manatee REC members who spoke to the paper. The last donation received by the Manatee County REC was made in November 2022, worth a total of $20.

"It's got to the point that I was not going to be in a position where money is being spent and I have no idea. None of this stuff, in my opinion, had anything to do with REC business. None of this stuff was ever brought to the attention of the executive committee," Stamm said.

Matarese said she believes Culbreath's candidacy for Manatee County Commission and role as chair of the Manatee County REC are in direct conflict. Culbreath has already raised at least $15,461 for her campaign.

"How can you raise money for the REC and raise money for your own political campaign?" Matarese said. "In the entire year of 2023, we did not raise $1. Not one person donated last year. The biggest problem right now is the spending of the funds without approval by the entire membership."

"The meetings have been very fractured, very noisy, and we haven't been able to come to agreements on anything," she said. "That's why at the December meeting I said, 'This is not going anywhere good, I don't want to be a part of it.' That's why I resigned."

To meet or not to meet

The member-driven effort to call a special meeting of the Manatee County REC continues to meet resistance.

Former Manatee County Commissioner and past Manatee County REC Chair Donna Hayes told the Herald-Tribune that REC members easily surpassed the 40% margin required to call for a special meeting despite resistance by the chair.

On Thursday, Culbreath sent an email addressed to MCREC members to a list of undisclosed recipients urging them not to show up to the meeting venue and that there will not be a meeting in January because "we've been very busy with the "Fun in the Air" themed Manatee County Fair as well as several other pressing Republican Party issues."

"You may have received an email from an individual, claiming to Petition for an MCREC Special Meeting, to be held next Monday, however, that petition has been verified as improper and not valid," Culbreath wrote.

Culbreath's email also calls for a Feb. 26 Manatee REC meeting, the same day proposed on the special meeting agenda.

In response, another Manatee County REC member Michelle Martin sent an email on Friday on behalf of members who called the special meeting contesting Culbreath's claims. Members indicate Culbreath forced a change in the venue by canceling arrangements at the original meeting location.

"What a wild ride … who would have thought we would get such resistance for holding an MCREC Meeting!" Martin wrote. "The Chair does not have the authority to cancel this special meeting. Whatever concerns she imagines with the petition are unfounded and leveled without proof. Her preference does not supersede our rules."

"We will hold our special meeting, as announced and according to the agenda, on Monday, Jan. 22, at 6:30 p.m.," she wrote. "We are looking forward to a peaceful and productive meeting."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee GOP executive committee chairwoman April Culbreath under fire