Montgomery County Republican Party of Texas Statement on Slanderous Accusations Made by Raquel Lewis
May 13, 2023 | Media Inquiries: info@mctxgop.org
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX - Yesterday, one of Chairman Bryan Christ’s improperly appointed “officers,” Raquel Lewis, showed utter contempt for the Republican voters of Montgomery County by sending a slanderous email to Texas Senator Brandon Creighton on the eve of the Montgomery County Republican Party’s first annual prayer event for elected officials.
Lewis’s email accuses Montgomery County Republican Party (MCRP) Vice Chairman, Jon Bouché, of misappropriating Republican Party funds in the amount of $52,105.41. Full text of the email may be found here.
Lewis falsely claims that these funds “mysteriously disappeared from our bank account at Sunflower Bank shortly after Mr. Bouche was made a signatory to that account,” and asks Senator Creighton to question Vice Chairman Bouché about the funds at the prayer event.
This is ludicrous. The decision to remove Chairman Christ from a bank account owned by the County Executive Committee (CEC) was made by the Party majority at a properly called August 13, 2022, CEC meeting (see pages 3-4 and 6-7) due to concerns that the Chairman would use funds for purposes other than Party Headquarters rent and Get-Out-the-Vote efforts leading up to the November 2022 election. The Party consulted with counsel and the bank prior to voting on a Resolution to replace Chairman Christ with other Party officers on the CEC-owned bank account. It is important to note that at no time has Vice Chairman Bouché or any other member of the Party majority claimed that Christ is no longer the MCRP Chairman.
Documentation of Party Expenditures
Party expenditures are publicly available. In spite of Lewis’s false narrative, money never “mysteriously disappeared” from the CEC-owned bank account and all funds have been accounted for with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC). TEC filings are available at ethics.state.tx.us:
The Biennium Income Statements from Dec. 31, 2022 and March 31, 2023 (posted on mctxgop.org under CEC Meetings) show the progression of the account balance:
Quarter 2, 2022 - The account showed a balance of $54,401 as of June 30, 2022.
Quarter 3, 2022 - Expenses including monthly rent and other miscellaneous office and operating expenses brought the balance to $48,386 as of Sept. 30, 2022.
Quarter 4, 2022 - Expenses including $13,777 in Get-Out-the-Vote printing and mailing costs, as well as rent and other miscellaneous office and operating expenses, brought the balance to $31,134 as of Dec. 31, 2022.
Quarter 1, 2023 - Expenses including monthly rent and other miscellaneous office and operating expenses brought the balance to $29,336 as of March 31, 2023.
The next Income Statement will be presented at the CEC meeting scheduled for June 6. The account balance as of May 13, 2023, is $35,348.85, which includes $8,198.21 raised at the Get-Out-the-Vote Bowling Tournament.
Additional information is publicly available at mctxgop.org/news-releases:
March 20 news release addressing slanderous accusations made by Chairman Bryan Christ and Precinct Chair James Byers
Response to April 10 email sent to Montgomery County Republicans by Chairman Bryan Christ
Addressing Other False Claims
Lewis claims that Chairman Christ’s group was “never contacted about the [prayer] event.” This is not true. Chairman Christ was notified of and invited to the prayer event but chose not to participate. Instead, he and his group of improperly appointed officers did their best to defame and ruin it.
This attempt to undermine the prayer event follows on the heels of a February 18 email in which Chairman Christ attempted to derail the Party’s April 30 Get-Out-the-Vote Bowling Tournament. Rather than supporting Party prayer events and fundraisers, Chairman Christ is devoting his time to fundraising for his Political Action Committee’s new “Republican Clubhouse,” so he can further bypass Party rules and demoralize the majority. This is a pattern Chairman Christ follows as illustrated in the Mediation Report provided by the Republican Party of Texas.
The continued attacks, slanderous statements, and outright lies are an attempt to keep the Party’s focus off the serious business of electing and supporting conservatives who will fight for Republican principles in Montgomery County. It could not be more obvious that Chairman Christ and his “officers” are trying to circumvent the majority using any methods possible. This is insulting to Montgomery County Republicans who elected Precinct Chairs on the primary ballot as the voting members of the County Executive Committee.
The Party Remains Focused on Keeping Montgomery County RED
Meanwhile, the Party majority is spending its time lobbying for the Republican Party of Texas’s Legislative Priorities through Legislative Alerts, weekly visits to the State Capitol to testify at bill hearings on behalf of the grassroots, holding a prayer event for our elected officials, testifying at local school board meetings, and raising funds for Get-Out-the-Vote efforts. In spite of efforts by Chairman Christ’s group to take us off course, we remain laser-focused on keeping Montgomery County and Texas RED.
At today’s Armor of God prayer event, State Republican Executive Committee District 4 Representative, Pastor Dale Inman, reiterated a theme that had been shared throughout the morning when he said, “Things we thought unthinkable 10 years ago are now being done. We must command the narrative in our culture. We can’t stay in our churches and our homes and say, “let someone else do it.” It’s going to be the people in this room that change the culture.” This is where our focus must remain, rather than on the fiery darts that come against us in the form of lies, deceit, and deception.
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More Information
View supporting documents on Attorney Warren Norred’s website here.
Email the Steering Committee with questions at info@mctxgop.org.