Perot Tells Reform Party to Avoid Splits

Ross Perot urged Reform Party members on Saturday to quit bickering and focus on national issues.

Internal power struggles threaten to weaken the fledgling third party that backed the Texas billionaire in two failed presidential campaigns, Perot said.

“I think as we create this party and as you put it all together, we have got to avoid any divisiveness and games and things that destroy,” Perot told a gathering of more than 300 party members.

Representatives from 42 states and the District of Columbia met in hopes of reinforcing initial efforts to create a viable third party. By all appearances, it seemed that leaders of opposing party factions were trying to do what Perot wanted.

They compromised on a plan to include both Perot supporters and those who want Perot to relinquish control of the party.

“There is no way to be totally fair, but it’s the fairest process that could be agreed upon,” said Ralph Copeland, chairman of the party’s national steering committee.

Representatives of six states were still battling over whom they wanted to represent them on a committee that was to vote on creating a national executive committee for the party.

Those states were California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Tennessee. States that sent no representatives to the meeting, which runs through today, were Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming.