Letter to the editor: Westmoreland GOP needs new leader

Bill Bretz, Westmoreland County’s GOP chairman, is causing voters to call for his immediate resignation due to seemingly politicized, unethical behaviors.

Recently, he discriminately kicked off certain elected committee members for collecting signatures for the most qualified candidates instead of the GOP’s endorsed candidates, while keeping on selected members who did the same thing. He accused us of violating a bylaw. However, the bylaw, states you can’t work against “… a Republican Primary candidate winner at the succeeding elections.” The primary election has not taken place yet. The bylaw is moot.

Also, he abruptly moved the GOP annual spring meeting to Feb. 11 and withheld the fact that they would be voting to “endorse” the party’s recommended candidates at that meeting — almost a month before other citizens had the right to declare their candidacy. During the meeting, Bretz became confused as several attorneys, a judge and others rushed to his aid to explain a proper procedure. He apologized to the members for not being very sharp on the bylaws — he had four years to learn them. He obeyed what the others told him to do.

Lastly, he tried to keep commissioner candidates John Ventre and Paul Kosko from being placed on the primary ballot . Bretz failed at the court of common pleas and the commonwealth appellate xourt. Now, he’s wasting money to go before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

It’s time — he’s too politicized and wrong for the party. Who’s controlling Bretz?

Susanna DeJeet

Salem