At the Feb. 1 meeting of the Livingston County Republican Party, Rob Rodriquez-Pelizzari of Brighton Township was elected to replace embattled former Chair Jennifer Smith for the remainder of 2024. Jessica Barefield of Putnam Township was elected to replace Sean Carleton, the party’s former vice chair, and James Dettling of Oceola Township was elected to replace Treasurer Alisa Davis.
The meeting comes in the wake of the resignation of Smith, whose year-long reign was marked by party infighting, controversy and chaos. Under her watch, the local GOP also missed filing its 2024 Annual Campaign Statement with the State of Michigan, which is now priority No. 1, according to Rodriguez-Pelizzari.
“Since the filing of the campaign finance report was due while Ms. Smith was still Chair, I cannot answer why she did not oversee its timely filing,” Rodriguez-Pelizzari said before the Feb. 1 meeting. “However, upon being elected tonight, whoever the new Chair is will need to immediately address this issue, as well as any other currently unknown issues that may arise. I am aware if I am elected, it will need to be first on my agenda to accomplish.”
In internal communications leaked to the The Livingston Post, Rodriquez-Pelizzari, Barefield and Carleton expressed their concerns with Smith’s leadership. Smith resigned soon after, claiming harassment from her fellow Republicans.
In a release, Rodriguez-Pelizzari, said he will also work with his team to create a welcoming atmosphere for all Republicans to participate.
“With this year’s Michigan’s Presidential and U.S. Senate races to fight for, as well as numerous local races, we must put aside all differences and cohesively work toward electing our candidates,” Rodriguez-Pelizzari said. “All energy and focus on ‘people and personality issues’ need to be steered toward supporting our candidates.”
Rodriguez-Pelizzari has served as the President of 2A Patriot, a Second Amendment rights support organization, since 2020. He intends to utilize the same successful strategy for the LCRP of setting goals and creating an environment where all are encouraged to help meet those goals.
“When people are actively working side-by-side toward a common goal, they tend to put any differences aside,” Rodriguez-Pelizzari said. “I intend to offer plenty of those opportunities for Republicans to engage in.”
