Swatting Down Special Meetings
In Part 5, we looked at the myriad ways Bjorlie’s opposition group worked to topple the GRCC leadership. In this article, a shift occurs as Clayton Sova steps into the spotlight as the face of the disgruntled malcontents, nosing his way to the forefront of the effort to create a parallel committee and oust GRCC Chairwoman Ashley Sullivan.
The June Meeting
On June 20, 2023, four hours before the official Gloucester Republican City Committee monthly meeting, Cynthia Bjorlie sent an email to Maura Cronin, Legal Counsel for the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), that contained a copy of a physical letter mailed to William Campbell, Director of OCPF. 1
The letter also contained a list of grievances previously laid out in this series: questioning Chairwoman Sullivan’s legitimacy, alleging voter fraud among committee members, challenging membership status of officers, complaining about meeting minutes, claiming State Committeewoman Orlando has “taken over meetings,” and restricted member input, etc. In the end, the group requested intervention by the OCPF:
Bjorlie’s group had met at her house earlier that day to organize the formation of the Cape Ann Political Action Committee.2 Group members had previously approached Chris Ryan, Chairman of the Western Mass GOP Patriots PAC, at the June 9th MassGOP State Committee Meeting looking for help forming a PAC.3 The paperwork was filed on June 26th and accepted on the 29th.
Ostensibly organized to provide a fundraising vehicle for their future State Committee campaigns, the filing seemed to legitimize their efforts to oust Sullivan and take over the GRCC by using official filings with a state agency.
The official June GRCC meeting was held at 7 pm at the Pilot House.4
However, the meeting ended early because of the chaos and disruptions, which now had become a frequent occurrence, a partial description of which Amanda Orlando submitted in an affidavit on June 26th (Exhibit P, Orlando vs. Bjorlie et al.)
The affidavit was filed as part of a Complaint for Protection from Harassment that Amanda Orlando filed against Nicole Coles in the Gloucester District Court.
Swatting Down Special Meetings
The next day, June 21st, Clayton Sova emailed GRCC members a letter announcing a “Special Meeting” on July 1st to discuss “the GRCC leadership.”5
Sova sent the email from his personal account and stated the “Special Meeting” would be held at Mortillaro Lobster, unlike most of the previous official GRCC meetings held at the Pilot House. In response, Chairwoman Sullivan emailed members, alerting them that the “Special Meeting” was not official.6
A few hours later, Clayton Sova sent another email from his personal account and, this time co-opting official GRCC letterhead without permission, he announced the “Special Meeting” had been rescheduled for July 2nd and included the agenda.7
Chairwoman Sullivan was compelled to issue another email to members, iterating that the rescheduled July 2nd “Special Meeting” was illegitimate.8
The email also listed some of Clayton Sova’s recent actions, including an attempt “to videotape members at our last meeting without their permission and consent, as required by law.” As a result, the three other leadership team members (Sullivan, Parsons, and Charpentier) met and voted to remove Sova as Vice Chair of the GRCC.
The next day, Clayton Sova emailed his opposition group cohorts, claiming the legitimacy of the July 2nd “Special Meeting” and that the GRCC leadership must attend. Robin Hubbard responded the next day by suggesting they use their false claims of voter fraud against the Orlandos as a way to “develop a narrative that hypothecates” prior knowledge of wrongdoing on the part of Orlando and Sullivan and to “make it their handiwork.”9
On the same day the opposition group was planning to amp up false claims of voter fraud to scandalize Orlando and Sullivan, Amanda Orlando’s mother, Connie Orlando, filed a defamation lawsuit against Cynthia Bjorlie, Robin Hubbard, and Nicole Coles. (Orlando, Concetta v. Bjorlie, Cynthia et al. 2023)
Ignored Interventions
Faced with a rogue group who refused to follow the GRCC bylaws and continuously ignored the previous intervention by the state GOP Chair, Orlando once again emailed Amy Carnevale and John Milligan on June 29th, asking for help.10On the morning of June 30th, Carnevale issued a letter that Sullivan forwarded to all GRCC members:11
Sullivan added: “THERE IS NO GRCC MEETING ON SUNDAY JULY 2ND.”
On Saturday, July 1st, Clayton Sova sent an email to Chairwoman Sullivan announcing the formation of the Cape Ann PAC (mentioned above) and signed it as Chairman.12
Despite repeated notifications and statements to the contrary, Clayton Sova, Cynthia Bjorlie, and the rest of the opposition group insisted on proclaiming themselves as legitimate actors for the GRCC. Determined to sow chaos and “hypothecate” false narratives to overtake the committee, they did indeed hold their “Special Meeting” on Sunday, July 2, 2023, launching the group into yet another level of hubris, including possible signature fraud, which will be detailed in the next article.
Part 7: The July “Special Meeting”
by Citizens for Truth Contributor
Sources
1Bjorlie, C. (2023, June 20). Gloucester Republican City Committee. 3:53 pm
2(Clayton Sova), C. A. P. A. C. (2023, July 1). Cape Ann Political Action Committee Formed: Notice of OCPF CPF ID: 81106 6-26-2023.
3Ring, J. (2023, July 17). Fw: BOSTON BROADSIDE NEWSPAPER Shoots Itself in the Broadside. (Original author WMA-GOP Patriots PAC)
4Gloucester MA GOP. (2020, June 20). Important!!
5Sova, C. (2023, June 21). Special Meeting of the GRCC to be held 7/1/23. 3:14 pm
6Gloucester MA GOP. (2023, June 21). Special Meeting on 7/1 – NOT AN OFFICIAL MEETING OF THE GRCC. 7:05 PM
7Sova, C. (2023a, June 21). GRCC Special Meeting Rescheduled. 10:27 pm
8Gloucester MA GOP. (2023b, June 24). Special Meeting 7/2-NOT AN OFFICIAL MEETING OF GRCC. 1:00 pm
9Orlando, Concetta v. Bjorlie, Cynthia, et al. (Essex Superior Court December 14, 2023). Exhibit 3, Opposition to Defendant’s Special Motion to Dismiss
10Orlando, A. (2023, June 29). Fwd: Special Meeting 7/2-NOT AN OFFICIAL MEETING OF GRCC.
11Gloucester MA GOP. (2023c, June 30). Message from MassGOP Chair. 10:30 am
12(Clayton Sova), C. A. P. A. C. (2023, July 1). Cape Ann Political Action Committee Formed: Notice of OCPF CPF ID: 81106 6-26-2023.
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