Hermey, er, Paul Gosar has some ‘issues’

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Hermey the Misfit Elf Paul Gosar, the dentist who plays a congressman on TV, has some staffing problems at the highest level which has thrown his office into disarray. Maybe he should go back to doing root canals. Politico reports Paul Gosar plagued by staffing turmoil:

Staffing problems at the highest level of Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar’s office have thrown his operation into disarray — spurring a string of departures and prompting members of the congressman’s inner circle to reach out for help, internal emails obtained by POLITICO indicate.

Republicans are growing worried that the leadership vacuum is hampering office productivity or worse — impeding fundraising efforts crucial to Gosar’s reelection bid. [oh, the horror!]

“Gosar has serious congressional staff issues,” said one Arizona Republican familiar with the operation. “It’s a total cluster.”

The emails, written by former staffers while they were still on the payroll, implicate chief of staff Rob Robinson and legislative director Tom Van Flein as the heart of the problem.

Gosar’s decision to hire the pair after he was elected raised eyebrows from the beginning — both men had no prior congressional experience and both had close ties to Sarah Palin, who boosted Gosar’s campaign with an endorsement.

Gosar’s relationship with Robinson began long before his recent venture into politics. They met when both served on the American Dental Association’s government affairs council, and eventually grew so close, Robinson quit his Wasilla-based dental practice in 2009 to become Gosar’s chief adviser. Robinson got to know Palin during his time dabbling in Alaska politics and through Van Flein, who also counts as clients Palin and the Alaska Dental Society.

In January, Gosar assured those concerned about Robinson and Van Flein’s lack of political experience that he trusted both men and that their relationships with Palin wouldn’t affect his office. “When it comes to politics, it’s nice to be mired with Sarah Palin. But I’m Paul Gosar. I’m my own person,” he told Roll Call at the time.

But the emails demonstrate that the initial concern over the hirings might have been well founded.

In a lengthy message sent in late January by Gosar’s former communications director, Stefani Zimmerman . . .she accused Van Flein — who remains one of Palin’s most trusted advisers — of spending office time on Palin and other clients. . . Zimmerman claimed, Van Flein “asks questions that would benefit Sarah, not Paul,” and “advises Paul from a tea party perspective, not Arizona 1st’s perspective.”

Several paragraphs about how Tom Van Flein has a Sarah Palin fixation — get professional help man!

In the email, sent to Max Fose, Gosar’s general consultant, Zimmerman also griped about Robinson, insisting he “doesn’t take anything seriously, sleeps in the office, won’t sit down and have a budget meeting with the appropriate staff, won’t sit down and discuss the communications budget with the appropriate staff, does not give the staff guidance in meetings.”

She questioned the effectiveness of Robinson’s guidance, saying he “won’t say anything when Paul needs to focus, goes everywhere with Paul but doesn’t loop other staffers in, even though a meeting/contact would be best suited for legislative staff.”

Zimmerman also claimed that Robinson wanted “to buy a car with Paul and Tom to share” and “asks the staff to do things like wake Paul up, even though he is with Paul.”

* * *

Zimmerman left the office June 3. Tiffany Dinneen, the office’s scheduler, who sources say also complained about Robinson to superiors, vacated her post about a month earlier. Dinneen did not return multiple emails from POLITICO. Rachel Aja, a district staffer in Casa Grande who also quit, could not be reached by phone.

Those staff departures preceded the early July resignation of Blake Schritter, a caseworker in one of Gosar’s district offices who quit after it was revealed he posted a series of violent Twitter messages about wanting to open fire at a post office and recovering from whiskey-fueled hangovers. [See David Safier's earlier post, More AZ GOP guns in the news: Blake Schritter].

Following that incident, The Yellow Sheet Report, an Arizona-based political website, reported that National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions approached Gosar directly, out of concern that “the congressman’s top aides were not doing their jobs.”

The NRCC would not confirm whether a meeting with Sessions ever took place.

* * *

The GOP source familiar with the office’s operations suggested the congressman’s close personal relationship with Robinson has clouded his judgment.

“Gosar has spent the past six months covering up for his friends/employees, and the NRCC is clearly frustrated,” the source said.

The most tangible evidence of the turmoil is Gosar’s paltry bank account.

* * *

Gosar raised $169,112 over the past three months, following a dismal $91,012 first-quarter haul. As of June 30, Gosar had just $138,392 on hand and $34,121 in debt — placing him toward the bottom of the fundraising barrel for GOP incumbents.

An email sent May 3 from a fundraising staffer to Gosar’s chief fundraiser . . . wrote he was “reaching out to donors, asking them to host events and have started getting negative feedback.”

“Just got off the phone with Dave Cook, cattle man from Globe, who said he will not contribute, ask his friends to contribute or host an event because of Rob Robinson,” the email continued.

Uh-Oh, trouble on the Island of Misfit Dentists. These misfits will probably take a few deep drags of nitrous oxide and just laugh it off. In the meantime, the residents of CD 1 are poorly represented and should be looking to send these misfits packing back to the North Pole Alaska.