After just three months as Trumbull County Republican Party treasurer, Nicole Gorkie resigned the position, criticizing Chairwoman Julia Shutt for ineffective leadership.

Gorkie, of Niles, who resigned Tuesday, said: “As a leader within our county, it is imperative that we exhibit strong and effective leadership. Unfortunately, I believe that we do not currently have that in Julia Shutt.”

Gorkie said Shutt’s “priorities seem misaligned with the fundamental needs of our party. Instead of focusing on critical tasks such as finding new Republican candidates, preparing for upcoming elections, rallying our Republican base and expanding our party, the focus has shifted to unnecessary rebranding and decorating. Given that we won every single seat in the county in November, rebranding is not a priority.”

While Trumbull Republicans won every contested race on the ballot in the 2022 and 2024 elections and have turned the once-Democratic stronghold into a red county, the party has dealt with considerable dysfunction during that time.

Gorkie is the third party officer to resign in the past few months. Before her, Cheryl Tennant resigned as treasurer — she stayed on to assist Gorkie during her short tenure — and Mike Bollas left as party chairman in November. Between September 2021 and August 2022, eight Republican Party officers resigned, largely complaining about previous leadership.

Bollas was replaced in December by Shutt, who beat party Secretary Marleah Campbell on Dec. 3 on a second ballot by one vote after the first vote was 27-27.

Including two interim chairs, five people have led the Trumbull Republicans in less than three years.

The party officers had an internal argument over a procedural error in how it appointed Robert Carr to the county board of elections on Jan. 27 that forced a Feb. 13 revote.

At a Feb. 4 officers meeting, the argument over that revote meeting resulted in a heated discussion. Several Republican Party officials, including Gorkie, accused Niki Frenchko, the party’s auxiliary chairwoman, of throwing two large lemons at Campbell with one hitting her in the chest. Frenchko denies throwing the lemons.

Howland police were called and no charges were filed.

Gorkie said Shutt downplaying the incident was the final straw for her and she chose to resign.

Other issues, Gorkie said, include Shutt wanting to spend money on new chairs and window blinds rather than raise money for the party and candidates. Also, “the spread of rumors and lies on social media has been met with inaction on (Shutt’s) part,” Gorkie said.

Regarding Shutt, Gorkie said, “She ignores officers’ responses and attempts to change policies unilaterally, showing a lack of foresight. Instead of planning for progress, she engages in attacks and witch hunts, which is not beneficial to our county, citizens or party.”

Shutt said: “I am a cup half-full person all the time and when there are problems, I work on solutions. I’ve been on the job for two months and I’ve had to deal with a lot of personality problems. Having one of the board members resign and go to the press before speaking to me is one of the issues I’m dealing with. What I will continue to do is unify, attract and promote the party. I will do my best for the GOP.”

She called Gorkie’s resignation “one step in the process of restructuring the Trumbull County GOP into a winning body. We’ll see how these things play out. We’ll focus on our goals and that’s all I can do. There’s been a lot of stories with the board members in the GOP. I can only control how I respond. I have a positive outlook for the future and this (resignation) letter doesn’t change it for me. Running to the press first doesn’t reflect on me. Everything is going to be fine.”

Asked about Gorkie’s criticism of her focusing on her paying more attention to decorating the party’s headquarters and rebranding the party, Shutt said, “That’s nonsense and I’m not going to acknowledge that statement. That’s pure ridiculousness.”

Shutt said, “The bottom line is that some problems take care of themselves. Change is good. I’ve got a lot of support and I’m doing the best I can.”

Gorkie wrote in her resignation letter that she plans to help Republican candidates in “a more private capacity.”

In the letter, Gorkie wrote: “I am confident that this change will allow me to continue contributing to our cause in a meaningful way. Some people have taken advantage of my nature and were unwelcoming in addition to sending multiple inappropriate and harassing emails and texts. This position is a volunteer position, and at every turn, I was met with condescending and accusatory questions regarding my methodology and choices made.”