Ada County GOP says its finances are amiss, blames former leaders.

State Central Committee Chairman Thad Butterworth

Nearly five months after six senior officers resigned en masse from the Ada County Republican Party, the group’s new chairman said it has improved its working relationship with the state Republican party – but that some dysfunction remains at the local level, including an ongoing feud over the party’s finances.

“We have a great working relationship with the state party chair and with all the members of the State Central Committee,” Chairman Thad Butterworth said. “I think the future of the party is great. I think we are recovering from this, and we’ve learned a lot, and we’re looking forward to really establishing our credibility with our donors, the Republican voter base.”

Since the resignations, however, the county party has not been able to access or update its website, because former Chairman Victor Miller – one of the officers who resigned in October – retains control of the domain, Butterworth said.

“It’s been one of the things that’s kept me fairly busy,” said Butterworth, a Meridian resident who works in software development and has advocated for expanded gun rights, greater school choice for parents and lower taxes. “We are trying to negotiate that release … we’re working with an attorney and trying to get control of the website back.”

At the time of their resignation Oct. 5, the six officers cited ideological differences and decisions by the state party that had made it “impossible” for them to effectively lead. They recited grievances against the state party, including that it does not trust voters to select candidates and has created a “new oligarchy that values control” and “un-Republican” bullying tactics.

“We can no longer support this system,” they wrote. “We hope that when the State GOP’s intentions and tactics are fully brought to light, the ship can be ‘righted’ to include all Republicans and to return power to the voters and the counties.”