Chairman Makes False Claims and Solicits Votes at City Council Meeting
Chairman Christ’s False Testimony at the Shenandoah City Council meeting begins at the 2:40 mark.
October 30, 2023 | press@mctxgop.org
SHENANDOAH, TX - Chairman Bryan Christ gave false public testimony during the October 25 Shenandoah City Council meeting and asked for the Council Members’ votes in the upcoming March 2024 Primary Election.
We ask voters and Elected Officials to please research this situation rather than taking Chairman Christ’s words at face value. Since Chairman Christ does not have the majority behind him, his strategy is to try to invalidate the hard work of the Party Majority made up of Precinct Chairs who were elected by Montgomery County voters.
In his own statement at the City Council Meeting, Chairman Christ says “there is strife in the Party,” but he takes no responsibility for this as the Chairman and offers no solution. Instead, he launches into another slanderous attack on the Party Majority. The problems are always someone else’s fault.
His appearance before the Shenandoah City Council is one more example of his failure to effectively lead the Party during this critical time in our state and nation.
Chairman Christ’s False Claim #1: The Republican Party wants to keep people off the ballot
“At state convention 18 months ago, a rule was adopted that purported to allow the County Chair to keep someone off the ballot if they so deemed them not Republican enough outside of the qualifications that the Texas Election Code clearly spells out. I will not be that person. I absolutely will not be that person. I have been standing in the gap against that.”
Montgomery County Republican Party Response:
There is no rule that has been adopted or proposed to allow the County Chair to keep someone off the ballot if the County Chair “deemed them not Republican enough outside of the qualifications of the Texas Election Code.”
It’s possible that Chairman Christ is incorrectly referring to Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Rule 44, which could potentially allow a County Chairman to reject an application to be on the ballot after the passage of a censure by a Republican Party County or Senatorial District Convention, or a County or District Executive Committee. A censure is not taken lightly and requires the office holder to have taken three or more actions in opposition to the core principles or Legislative Priorities of the Republican Party of Texas. It also requires passage by a two-thirds vote of the body, which means the violations leading to censure are usually egregious. Rule 44 does not allow a County Chairman to unilaterally keep someone off the ballot. The checks and balances provided by the two-thirds vote of the body prevent that.
Chairman Christ was censured by the Montgomery County Republican Party CEC during this biennium, so that may explain his opposition to this rule.
Resolution to Censure Chairman Bryan Christ
A Call for a Vote of No Confidence on County Chair, Bryan Christ
In Chairman Christ’s own words from his testimony before the Shenandoah City Council, he “absolutely will not” support this measure to protect Republican voters. This is why it is VITAL for the elected Precinct Chairs who make up the Conservative Majority of the Montgomery County Republican Party to provide checks and balances on behalf of Montgomery County voters.
Chairman Christ’s False Claim #2: The Republican Party wants to abolish the Primary Election
“The folks at the top of the party to the bottom of the party who are advocating for this are seeking to abolish the primary. In other words, they want to go back to the way it was 100 years ago in smoke filled rooms at convention when party bosses and fat cats nominated who you get to vote for. I think that is unpatriotic. I don’t believe that my fellow congregant, family member, neighbor, should be deprived of their vote.”
Montgomery County Republican Party Response:
We are unaware of anyone in the Republican Party of Texas or the Montgomery County Republican Party who wants to abolish the Primary Election. Precinct Chairs are elected on the Primary ballot. The Montgomery County Republican Party CEC is made up of Precinct Chairs, so that would effectively abolish the CEC.
More than 5,000 delegates at the 2022 State Party Convention voted to add Plank 246, supporting a closed Primary system in Texas, to the Party Platform. This was done to PROTECT the Primary Elections from “campaigns to get liberal Democrats to cross over and move the Republican Party to the left in the Primary.” Republicans across Texas are tired of elected Uniparty leaders who pledge allegiance to the Republican Party Platform, but vote with Democrats once elected.
Trick-or-Treat Politics: Local Democrats Masquerading as Republicans
State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) Member for Senate District 4, Gwen Withrow, is running against Chairman Christ in the 2024 Primary Election on a platform of “Restoring Unity in the Republican Party.” The SREC is the governing board of the Republican Party of Texas.
After viewing Chairman Christ’s remarks, Withrow said:
“It was an embarrassment that my opponent would use the forum of a city council meeting to give his fallacious political speech. I was then shocked at his misrepresentation of the position of the Republican Party on Primary Elections. There has been no attempt by the Republican Party to do away with those Primary Elections. Chairman Christ, standing before this body and making such a ridiculous and false accusation, was disgraceful.”
Chairman Christ also could be voicing his opposition to Plank 248 of the Republican Party of Texas Platform. Plank 248 supports “the election of Republican County Chairs by their respective County Executive Committees” instead of including the County Chairman election on the Primary ballot. The CEC is made up of Precinct Chairs who are elected by voters on the Primary ballot to represent them. Just like the U.S. House of Representatives elects its own Speaker, and recently replaced Uniparty leader Kevin McCarthy with conservative Speaker Mike Johnson, this would allow Precinct Chairs to elect their own Chairman to preside over meetings of the body and remove him if he is breaking the law or going against the will of the Party Majority.
Because Chairman Christ does not have the votes of the Party Majority, he does not support Plank 248. In fact, he and his wife, Kristin, who owns a political consulting firm that benefits from his position as Chairman, testified against Plank 248 on the floor of the July 2022 state convention. Chairman Christ also testified against it in the committee room. Only one other person testified against Plank 248 on the convention floor.
Later, Chairman Christ and a few of his minority supporters attempted to talk convention delegates into voting against Plank 248; however, Plank 248 still passed by a sizable margin.
Chairman Christ’s False Claim #3: The Chairman was dragged before the Texas Supreme Court, but prevailed
“And it is the reason, my fight, I have been dragged before the Texas Supreme Court, and those that oppose me have tried to force and coerce their way using the court. Thankfully, I provailed [sic] in that court case, but I assure you they will not relent. Neither will I.”
Montgomery County Republican Party Response:
The majority of the Montgomery County Republican Party CEC filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus with the Texas Supreme Court in an effort to compel Chairman Bryan Christ to perform his statutory duties and stop violating state laws and Party rules.
This action was taken at the suggestion of Republican Party of Texas leadership after the CEC majority had exhausted every available path to resolve serious issues with Chairman Christ that began with the very first meeting of the newly elected CEC in July 2022. (See “How Did We Get Here.”)
Republican Party of Texas Mediation Report
The Texas Supreme Court denied to give a hearing on the Petition for Writ of Mandamus. The Supreme Court’s denial signals that internal political party disputes must be handled within the Party without intervention from the courts, clearing the way for the Republican Party of Texas to take action.
“Chairman Christ did not prevail in the Supreme Court suit as he claimed,” said SREC Member Withrow. “That case was an attempt to force Chairman Christ to perform his duties in listing the correct Precinct Chairmen on the Secretary of State website. To date, over 20 Precinct Chairs have been denied their rights…as a result of Chairman Christ’s lawless actions.”
The Party Is Moving Forward
This has been a very difficult biennium for the Montgomery County Republican Party. The easy thing for the CEC to do would be to let Chairman Christ have his way and get on with their lives. Yet, the Party Majority continues to press forward because each member was elected on the Primary ballot to represent the people in their individual precincts. They believe in “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
Here are some of the CEC’s recent efforts to keep Montgomery County RED:
Block walking and working parking lots for the current Joint Election (November 7 Election Day).
Raising funds for Get-Out-the-Vote efforts.
Connecting Elected Officials and Constituents at local Town Hall Meetings.
Lobbying for the Republican Party of Texas’s Legislative Priorities through visits to the State Capitol and Legislative Alerts.
Preparing for upcoming elections.
Praying for our Elected Officials.
Passing resolutions on issues important to voters.
For more background on this situation, please visit County Party Updates or contact:
Jon Bouché, MCRP Vice Chairman, jon.bouche@cbunited.com
DJ Fike, MCRP Secretary, secretary@mctxgop.org
Dale Inman, State Republican Executive Committee Member for Dist. 4, dale77304@gmail.com
MCRP Communication Committee, press@mctxgop.org