The Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s state committee meeting did little to settle the ongoing dispute between the county’s two competing GOP committees.

A state committee member’s report received by the political action committee United Republicans of Butler County stated that neither group’s representatives were present Friday, Feb. 3.

Butler County Republican Committee member Fred Hensel stood in for the state-recognized chairman Gary Vanasdale, and the incorporated committee’s representative, Denise Tabacchi, did not attend, according to the report.

“We could care less about whether they recognize our representative or not,” said Bill Halle, president of the Butler County Republican Committee Inc. Halle explained that their representative did not receive formal notice from the state GOP regarding the meeting. The next step, he said, will likely involve legal action.

“There’s a lot of pressure building because the state wants to exercise control that we don’t believe they legally have,” Halle said.

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