Legal questions raised on Christian Ziegler’s future, potential election of a successor

The definition of chutzpah?

The Republican Party of Florida virtually eliminated Chair Christian Ziegler’s salary and set in motion a process of removing him from his position.

But at an Executive Board meeting, it also became clear that legal questions surround the party’s next — and recent — steps.

Most notably, an attorney provided for Ziegler challenged whether Vice Chair Evan Power even had the power to call a Sunday meeting on the Chair’s ongoing sex scandal.

A memo obtained by Florida Politics shows attorney William Klimon, of Compass Legal Group said Republicans extended past any authority granted in bylaws by calling a special meeting.

“The State Committee is governed by its Constitution. The Constitution states that meetings of the Executive Board may be called only by the State Chair. No exception to that rule applies in this case.”

Power, though, has argued Ziegler faced a financial conflict of interest because of his $120,000 annual salary. He asked for Executive Board members to sign onto a call for the Sunday meeting in Orlando. More than three-quarters of the Board members signed onto the meeting, and at least 34 members of the state Executive Committee have now joined the call for a Jan. 8 meeting to vote on Ziegler’s formal removal.

“We have the legal authority, the lawyers and the general counsel ruled,” Power said after the Sunday meeting. “We talked to parliamentarians who ruled that we did. And we reiterated as an Executive Board, that has the powers of the state Executive Committee, that the meeting was in order,” he said.

But reaching out for independent legal advice alone likely signals Ziegler could still challenge the decision. He voted in the meeting against concluding the gathering was in order. Ultimately, Ziegler did not vote on any actions taken against him, which all passed on unanimous voice votes.

This all occurs as Ziegler deals with legal problems of a criminal nature. He remains under investigation for sexual assault. A woman said he forced her to have sex in a Sarasota apartment on Oct. 2. Ziegler has admitted to the relationship but said the tryst was consensual. He and his wife, Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler, also admitted to a prior threesome with the accuser more than a year prior.

Many party members said even if Ziegler avoids criminal charges, with a video taken by Christian Ziegler on his phone contradicting key parts of the accuser’s story, he still can no longer effectively lead the party.

“It’s very hard whenever you have the Governor of Florida, his Cabinet, you have members of the Congressional delegation from Rick Scott, Marco Rubio, Matt Gaetz, and all call for his resignation,” said Jovante Teague, a Dixie County Republican Party Chair. “And for him not to do that, I believe it puts us in a bad place.”

But that still leaves questions of who should lead the party. Power will act as Chair heading into the January meeting now that Ziegler has been stripped all but $1 of his salary and any authority over party resources.

At the Sunday meeting, questions arose about whether to remove Ziegler and electing a new Chair on the same day were appropriate. Both are expected to appear on the agenda for Jan. 8.

Power is expected to seek the state Chair role permanently, but other figures, including National Committee member Peter Feaman, may also throw their hat in the rink.

Several left the Sunday meeting questioning if, once Ziegler is removed, Power will (or should) have the authority on Jan. 8 to oversee the election for Ziegler’s successor. That decision, like Executive Board actions taken on Sunday, could depend on the sense of the Executive Committee members. Of note, comprising the Executive Committee is a larger group of 256 members, not just the 40 members who sit on the Executive Board.