A long-simmering controversy about the private life of California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring has erupted into a divisive public conflict within the political organization.
Last week, the San Diego Republican Party executive committee, led by Tony Krvaric, chairman of that county's party, called a meeting to discuss removing Michael Crimmins, an ex-officio member of its central committee.
The executive committee recommended Crimmins' expulsion, in part for sending an e-mail to state party leaders raising concerns about behavior by Nehring and Krvaric.
The controversy follows other concerns raised by some party activists about Nehring's leadership during a critical midterm election year.
Crimmins, a retired Marine Corps officer and congressional candidate in the 53rd District in San Diego County, referenced allegations, initiated in an anonymous e-mail broadly disseminated to the party and media last fall, that Nehring physically abused a former romantic partner.
In a memo mailed this week to its central committee members, the executive committee called Crimmins' claims "malicious rumors and false charges."
No criminal complaint or legal actions have been filed by the alleged victim.
A separate, anonymous response was distributed via e-mail Thursday among party activists and the press, announcing a news conference of San Diego party leaders that purportedly would call for the removal of Krvaric and Nehring from their posts.
One justification, the e-mail stated, was that the two men allegedly harassed Nehring's girlfriend when she considered bringing her allegations to the attention of legal authorities.
In a statement sent by the party office, Nehring called the allegations false and the situation "witch-hunt politics."
"Truth is always the best defense and there is absolutely no truth to any of this," he said. "I have never assaulted anyone in my life and I deeply resent these libelous allegations."
Krvaric, in another statement issued by the state Republican Party, said that Crimmins has been accused of several transgressions, including veiled threats to other party members, "inappropriate and harassing" actions and "remarks with a racial meaning."
Those accusations are "malicious" and "patently false," Crimmins said.
In his Sept. 25 e-mail, Crimmins accused Krvaric and Nehring of actions "atrociously abusive of their power."
This referred to Krvaric's alleged pressure on Sycuan Resort near San Diego to end the employment of Nehring's former girlfriend, Michaelene Mansour.
Mansour left her job as a resort manager late last year.
A Sycuan representative said the resort would not comment on personnel matters.
E-mails, text messages
A Sacramento Bee investigation of Mansour's allegations included a review of thousands of e-mails and text messages she said were exchanged with Nehring, and photos showing bruises allegedly associated with the abuse.
The Bee interviewed Mansour, several women who said they'd had relationships with Nehring, and Republican activists.
None of the other women alleged Nehring physically abused them.
Sheriff's Department and police records in San Diego County and the city of El Cajon, where both Nehring and Mansour live, turned up no charges.
One woman who spoke on the record was Elizabeth Blackney, a political writer in Oregon who formerly was active in California Republican political affairs.
She said she'd had a brief romantic relationship with Nehring in 2006.
"Ron was 100 percent a gentleman with me," Blackney said.
Blackney cautioned that Nehring's critics might include women who pursue powerful men to advance their careers, but that young or insecure women might easily regard him as emotionally abusive.
"Ron is an extremely intense person on his best days," Blackney said. "He can be very intimidating."
Long history in politics
Nehring, who is not married, is a protege of the influential anti-tax activist Grover Norquist.
He has been a political volunteer and leader going back to his college days at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
After serving as party chairman, Nehring worked his way up to vice state chairman and has been elected twice as statewide party chairman, with his final term to end next winter.
Last year, he was appointed chairman of the national Republican Party's State Party Chairmen Committee.
Mansour, also single, is a longtime Republican activist in the San Diego area, but she said hadn't met Nehring until they found each other on the online dating site Match.com.
She worked as a hotel manager at Sycuan and volunteers on campaigns. She is unemployed.
Mansour and Nehring met in 2006. They quickly became involved romantically, Mansour said, and early in the relationship, he talked about marriage and children.
Photographs of the couple, provided to The Bee by Mansour, show the two broadly smiling while vacationing in San Francisco and the Middle East.
But Mansour claimed Nehring became incensed when she quizzed him about suspected infidelities.
Several women contacted independently by The Bee said that they also had been involved with Nehring during the time he was seeing Mansour.
After the alleged abuse, Mansour said, she considered legal action but never followed through.
Mansour acknowledged that she continued to hope that the relationship could be repaired.
Rumors of Nehring's alleged abuse of Mansour were widely circulated last fall in anonymous e-mails and mailings to party and elected officials, and to reporters.
When members of the San Diego party moved against Crimmins this week, they in the process circulated the allegations of physical abuse to a much wider circle.
Party problems
Some of Nehring's colleagues found claims that he would abuse a woman implausible.
"I've been with Ron in both official and social situations, and I've never seen him act once in a way that is inappropriate or reproachable," said Thaddeus Taylor, Inyo County Republican Party chairman. "From my own personal knowledge of the man, it's impossible."
Mike Vallante, former chief operating officer of the state party, said the allegations follow other internal concerns about his performance as party leader.
"If this was just something that came out of the blue, people might say, 'Forget it, it's crazy.' The problem is that there have been missteps all along the way," said Vallante, who served as an executive for the Republican national convention in 2008.
In 2007, Nehring was widely criticized for hiring Michael Kamburowski, an Australian immigrant, as chief operating officer after Vallante left.
Kamburowski resigned after it came to light that years earlier, he had been involved in an immigration issue that resulted in his brief jailing and subsequent lawsuit against the government.
Nehring also caused consternation in the party after he hired a Canadian, Christopher Matthews, as his political director. Matthews left the job after it was reported that he had visa complications.
Last year, a complaint and affidavits about Krvaric and Nehring were filed by local San Diego party activists.
Their concerns are now under investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
Among the allegations, they claim that Nehring overused his expense account and that Krvaric ignored parliamentary procedures to control the central committee.
Under Nehring's leadership, fundraising problems have radically shrunk the state party's staff ---- a concern for some supporters in an important election year.
Some in the party worry the recent personal allegations could become a further distraction, Vallante said.
"Right now the focus should be on how do we raise the right kind of money," he said, "that is going to help all of our candidates in 2010."
