On Thursday on Fireweed Lane, an executive committee of Alaska's Republican Party took a vote and ousted incoming Republican Party chairman, Russ Millette from the Republican Party top spot one day before he could sit in the chair. Since he was not yet in office, Millette did not to vote on his own forced departure.

Prior to the meeting on Thursday, party officials moved over $34,000 from the party’s coffers to the party’s sister group in Juneau on Wednesday, effectively putting the funds out of the incoming chairman’s reach.

Joe Miller ally, Millette, was under the gun for his claims that he was a life-long Republican as well as his lack of fund-raising for the party since he was elected to his position.

Earlier in January, the Republican Rules chairman, Frank McQueary, filed a complaint with the party saying Millette mis-represented himself and was registered as undeclared prior to the 2010 and 2012 conventions. Millette countered McQueary’s accusations saying that he has been a Republican for at least 44 years and that the party doesn’t require one to be “a Republican at all times in your life.”

Millette admitted to, and attributed his lack of fund-raising to being unable to access the donar lists and financial records, placing the blame for that on out-going chairman Randy Ruedrich. He pointed out that Ruedrich was not helpful and did not assist in setting up meetings with potential donors. Millette said that even so, he couldn’t be ousted from his chair because of that, because he was not yet in the chairman’s position.

The executive committee didn’t see it that way.

After the executive committee convened, considered and voted on Millette’s fate, they adjourned and the executive committee chair Ruedrich, announced, “He failed to perform his duty as finance chair. Grounds for removal is failure to carry out or perform.”

Shortly after the announcement of the executive committee’s dicision, Millette gathered his belongings, shook Ruedrich’s hand and left the building.