Following recent community concerns regarding Republican Councilman Wes Scarbrough, I reached out to the Sullivan County Republican Party for an official comment. The newly appointed County Chair provided a statement clarifying that the recent disciplinary action taken against Scarbrough was related not to general conduct, but specifically to his open support of a political opponent.
Here is the full response detailing the state party's process and the local party's vision moving forward:
"When I became Sullivan County Republican Chair on August 1, I stepped into the role during a difficult time for our party.
The previous Chair and Vice Chair had stepped down because of their busy schedules, and there were already concerns within our community about the actions of Republican Councilman Wes Scarbrough. The previous County Chair had publicly stated that the party did not condone his actions.
As County Chair, I believe leadership means listening to concerns, following the rules, and doing what needs to be done—even when it isn’t easy.
At our first meeting after I became Chair, our committee voted to move forward with a complaint based on the Indiana Republican Party rules regarding openly supporting a candidate against a Republican nominee. A complaint was initially filed but later withdrawn. Another vote was taken at our next Republican meeting and it was unanimously voted to further this action against the decisions of Mr. Scarbrough.
The matter was heard through the appropriate State party process on September 3, and Wes Scarbrough was found to be a Republican in bad standing through December 31, 2030.
I did not take this responsibility lightly, and I do not want this announcement to be about negativity or drama. I simply believe that when you are in a leadership position, you cannot walk away from difficult decisions because you are afraid of criticism, backlash, or what someone may say or do to you.
I did what our party felt was right and now, I believe it is time to move forward.
Our vision for the Sullivan County Republican Party is to bring people together, work as a team, support our local and state candidates, and build excitement and positivity for the future. We don’t have to agree on everything to work together for a common purpose.
We want our focus to be on unity, growth, and moving forward—not on continuing the drama of the past.
Let’s put the negativity behind us, work together, and build a stronger Republican Party for Sullivan County."
-Sullivan County Chair, Tonya Bedwell
