For the last few days, we've been getting questions from all over the place as to the plans for our friend Tommy Grimes after his close loss in Saturday's convention race.. After 14 years in the game, some feel he may be done in an official capacity, while others want him to stick it out... What really matters is what he wants to do. Now that the dust has settled, let HIM tell you what he thinks...
"I want to thank each of you for the hard work you personally put in to organizing the convention. As district conventions go, this was most assuredly one of the most interesting conventions I have been a part of in a long, long time.
I also want to thank each of you for your support and your county’s support in my quest for the Chairmanship of the 7th. I cannot thank you each enough for the encouragement and support. I know that some of you put yourselves at tremendous personal risk to your individual reputations and I can never thank you enough. It was a hard fought race that saw a lot of bitter and nasty mudslinging from some groups. I and those that helped with my campaign tried to remain above the nastiness and for the most part, we were successful. While I would have preferred a different outcome this past Saturday, I have no regrets on how I ran my campaign and with a few tweaks would do it the same way again. Elijah won an extremely close election and I ask that we all come together now, unite behind Elijah and move forward to elect our party’s nominee to the US House of Representatives this November.
Since the convention, I have received a number of calls and e-mails asking what I am going to do now that I no longer hold an official position? Let me be clear on this, I do not need another bullet point on a resume’ to work with and be involved, active and supportive of the SCGOP. It was not just campaign rhetoric when I talked about working in my dad’s tobacco warehouses as kid. It was not rhetoric when I talked of my summers at our family beach house in Garden City or earning my Eagle Scout badge and the times I spent at Camp Coker in Society Hill. The love, concern, passion and drive I have for this area we call the Pee Dee and the Grand Strand is borne from something some can never truly understand or appreciate.
As a young man in my twenties, I had the unique opportunity to stand on Mulholland Drive; look out over the Los Angeles basin and wonder why we could not have some version of that growth along the Grand Strand? I also lived in metro Atlanta and still frequently return to see old friends. Inevitably I will find myself sitting in the lounge atop the Peachtree Tower at sunset, looking out over the vast metro area of “Hotlanta” and wonder why we could not have some version of that growth and the jobs it brings across the Pee Dee and the Grand Strand? That has been, is and always will be, the one driving issue for me. I believe that our party, is the one party that can move this state forward where jobs and opportunity are available; where dignity and pride still mean something; where any child regardless of who their family is, can with hard work and determination rise to be whatever they dream of.
Judging by the calls, e-mails and comments on blogs and Facebook, many Republicans want me to remain active in the party. There are a few that wish that I disappear, such are the traits of ungracious winners. I will be honest, at this point I have made no plans past our state convention next month. I still have the SCGOP awards committee to chair and look forward to working with our state Chairman Chad Connelly for the best convention we can have on May 19th. After that, my calendar is surprisingly open for the first time in over a decade and half. About the only thing I know right now is that there is one place it appears I am not wanted and their wish will be granted.
There is still much work ahead of us and Saturday’s outcome didn’t change that. Even though I’m not sure what my next role will be, I’m looking forward to new opportunities to help move our Party and our state forward. I will continue to spend time with the rural county parties across the Sixth and Seventh Districts, where I have many long-time friends and allies, and I will continue working to make a difference, as I know many of you will be doing as well. Let’s move forward together."
Sincerely,
Tom Grimes
Former 6th District Chairman
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1 comment:
Mr. Reino, my name is Jack Deveraux and I have known Tom Grimes since our days in law school. Let me state that I have talked with Tom at length over the last 4 years regarding the slanderous defaming statements made by certain members of the Florence County GOP and have encouraged him to seek legal redress. I have advised him that I will represent him or that he should seek representation from Todd Kincannon. The copies of Facebook posts, e-mails and in one case a video that was recorded of the personal attacks on Tom’s reputation/character by certain people are childish at best and border on criminal intent to cause personal/financial harm to both him and his family.
Certain individuals have gone so far as to call his employer and threaten the employer with reputational harm to their business if they did not terminate Tom. There was an attempt three years ago to mount a legal effort to remove him from his position as district chairman. These individuals have made statements that Tom does not have the respect of elected officials in either the Florence legislative delegation or of the various municipal/county elected officials. Personally I would relish the thought of putting these individuals on the stand to defend these statements, followed by testimony from Senators Leatherman, Lowe, Cleary, Clemmons and others as to accuracy of these claims. There has been a strategy by these individuals to cause monetary, emotional and psychological harm by their insinuations that Tom has no integrity is devoid of good character and has engaged/used his position as chairman for personal/financial gain. Let me be clear as both a friend and one of his legal advisors, neither accurate nor true.
Based on our conversation of last night Tom has made no decision on what his future plans are either in regards to possible legal action or what he intends to do past your state Republican convention. I personally have encouraged him not to take a “you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” position and I pray he follows my advice. Knowing Tom as I do I am afraid that given his prior health issues these individuals have caused undue medical and emotional harm to him, that he has not let me or my wife know about. I do know that he is returning to Atlanta at the end of May and we will be talking about his future plans. For these individuals you should know that I will be advising Tom on what I believe should be his next steps including the filing of suits for damages both actual and punitive; for those holding a party office, requesting an investigation by the SCGOP on their actions and possible punishment and his permission to initiate a formal request for a investigation by the DOJ into the actions of these individuals for possible violations of various Federal laws and governances.
I have known Tom for over 25years; I watched as he buried the only woman he had every loved; as he gave up a promising legal career in Atlanta to return to SC to take care of his dying mother and sick father; he is a single dad who adopted and raised two teenagers to adulthood, a loving grandfather of two beautiful girls whom he loves more than life; a Eagle scout in every sense of the word. In a world where so many politicians put their personal and political egos/agendas in front of the best interests of those they are elected to lead and represent, Tom Grimes has been that rare exception. He took a job that was little more than a title and raised it to a new and influential level. I have talked with a number of people from Georgia NC and SC that know Tom Grimes and they are outraged at the actions of a small group from the Pee Dee/Florence County Republican party. I hope after his vacation to Atlanta at the end of next month, he takes my advice and pursues the allowable actions to the fullest extent possible. If he does not, there are some people that need to thank their lucky stars that Tom Grimes is more of a gentlemen, statesman and leader than they could ever hope to be with a lifetime of a hundred years. Thank you—Jack Deveraux/Atlanta, GA
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