As the Republican party prepares itself for a heated contest among party candidates for the presidential nomination in 1996, the mudslinging has already begun among Harvard Republicans.

A list of allegations of improprieties about the Harvard Republican Club (HRC) was anonymously delivered to The Crimson last week. Among other charges, the list accused the HRC of "electoral fraud" in its February election of officers and engaging in "exclusion and lying" in the expulsion of William Zerhouni '98 from its executive board.

When The Crimson attempted to confirm the authenticity of the charges listed, students responded by portraying a wide rift between the leadership of the College's two Republican groups, complete with name-calling and accusations of "shady dealings."

After the February HRC executive board elections, several members of the club, upset by alleged "under-handed behavior" in the HRC, split from the club to form the Harvard Republican Alliance (HRA).

According to Luke A. Sarsfield '95, a member of the HRA, the new club embraces "all brands of Republicanism" and differs from the HRC in that it does not exclude those who fall short of a conservative "ideological litmus test."

Amanda P. Williams '96, president of the HRA, said the club was formed not only because of an ideological conflict but because of the "under-handed behavior" of the previous board members of the HRC.

"Our original intention was not to found another club, but it soon became apparent that we could not compete with their underhanded election methods," Williams said in a telephone interview last week.

Election Padding

Williams alleges that conservative members of the HRC, led by former president Bradford P. Campbell '95, enlisted personal friends to join the club to stack the election in favor of candidates who shared their "ultra-conservative" views.

"If you look down the list of members, you'll notice the relationship of approximately a third of those members to the Peninsula: girl-friends, brothers, neighbors," Williams said. "And then you'll also look at the activity of the people since the election, and you'll see that they've done nothing since."

Williams lost in a two-person race for president of the HRC in February to James M. Dickerson '98.

Campbell is a Guardian on Peninsula, a conservative publication on campus. In addition to Campbell, Peninsula Guardian G. Brent McGuire '95 and Peninsula council member Brian E. Malone '96, who are both Crimson editors, also held executive board positions on the HRC during Campbell's administration.

In addition, Williams said that members of theHRC had exploited a November promotion to attractDemocrats to the organization. Following theNovember Republican election landslide victoriesin the House and Senate, Campbell offered membersof the Harvard Democrats an opportunity to jointhe HRC at five dollars, half of the normal price.

Williams said that under this cover manystudents signed on to the club who were not evenmembers of the College Democrats, and eventuallyvoted in the executive board elections, paddingthe election in favor of the ultra-conservatives.

Response from the HRC

Campbell dismissed Williams' charge that theHRC is essentially a "Peninsula puppet."