How Did We Get Here?
June 24, 2023 | info@mctxgop.org
Just days prior to first organizational meeting of the newly elected CEC in July 2022, the Party majority learned that there was apparent collusion on the part of the Chairman and his most ardent supporters to establish the Chairman’s preferred bylaws by scripting the motions that would be made and who the Chairman would recognize for each. This is not how meetings should be conducted and it accomplished only one thing…it created an atmosphere of distrust toward the Chairman by the clear majority of recently elected Precinct Chairs.
That distrust grew during the meeting as we watched him continue to abuse his power as Chair in making decisions based on a very poor administration of Robert’s Rules of Order. He clearly failed to administer those rules objectively and correctly to the point that after about three and a half hours, the Chairman allowed a vote for an improper motion for adjournment.
This action set in motion a series of events that brought the majority of Precinct Chairs to the decision to file the Petition for Writ of Mandamus. This was a decision made by more than 50 Precinct Chairs and several people outside of the CEC. The Precinct Chair majority was forced to decide to either give up their principles, their integrity, and their honor to “go along to get along,” or to stand up for what they believe to right and honorable. They chose right and honorable. They believed in that choice so much that they pitched in their own money to hire a lawyer and file the Petition for Writ of Mandamus.
Since July 2022, the Chairman has made repeated attempts to take over the County Party. He has refused to preside over meetings called by the majority, manipulated rules in an attempt to build his own majority, refused to acknowledge the actions and decisions of the Party majority when filling vacancies, and used his position as Chairman to deny these dedicated people their rightful place on the CEC. Instead, he has manipulated the state Party rules to vote electronically to fill vacancies because he did not have enough votes or attendees at his minority meetings to meet quorum requirements.
After months of watching the Chairman ignore state election codes and abuse and manipulate Party rules, the Precinct Chair majority sought relief from state Party leadership through mediation. This endeavor was a complete and abject failure due to the Chairman’s lack of interest in resolving the issue per the state mediation team’s description of the meeting.
In March 2023, state Party leadership even went so far as to pass a rule change that prohibited calling dual meetings in an attempt to stop Chairman Christ from disrupting Party business. In June 2023, the Chairman again chose to ignore this rule and called a meeting of his minority faction at the same date and time but at a different location. This was an intentional move to antagonize the majority and intensify the chaos and animosity between the majority and minority Precinct Chairs.
The Chairman and his supporters even attempted to intimidate the Precinct Chair majority by accusing them of aiding and abetting criminal activity, while directly accusing duly elected officers and specific Precinct Chairs of committing fraud by embezzling Party funds, despite knowing the money was accounted for in three Texas Ethics Commission filings. These very serious allegations are defamatory and completely without merit.
Chairman Christ also falsely accused the majority Precinct Chairs of not paying the rent on the headquarters located at 310 Metcalf in Conroe, then asked local political figures and the Women’s Republican Clubs to give money to cover the rent. This false narrative can easily be disproven by reviewing the majority’s bank records and TEC filings.
The rent was paid from CEC funds because the Chairman’s corporate account that he is solely responsible for had no funds. This account is supposed to be a depository for funds raised by the Chairman to pay for office rent and expenses. However, the Chairman refuses to take the necessary steps to secure funds from corporations and businesses to fund the account. The CEC has paid all office expenses from funds raised for Get Out the Vote efforts by the fundraising committee and volunteers who hosted a golf tournament and the Stars Over Texas Gala. The Chairman, by his choice, had no part in either of these events.
Instead of bringing the Party together, Chairman Christ continues to exacerbate the problems, ignoring and manipulating the truth. The majority has held to the belief that the Chairman could at any time unite the Party by following the rules, by recognizing the majority’s will and votes, and by choosing to preside over duly called CEC meetings as he was elected to do. But time after time after time, he has refused to do so.
The Party majority is justifiably frustrated by the Court’s decision to deny the Petition for Writ of Mandamus, but is looking to the Republican Party of Texas to enforce its own rules now that the Supreme Court has answered the question of whether courts should intervene in political party disputes.
We will continue to hold our heads high as we do the work we were elected to do by our constituents. Our focus is to maintain Montgomery County’s standing as a leader in keeping Texas RED by holding to our mission statement:
“The Montgomery County Republican Party of Texas is committed to honoring God by exhibiting the highest levels of honesty, integrity, and accountability. It is our goal to inform and engage the voting public. We support Conservative Republicans to allow Montgomery County to be a safeguard for preserving the Constitutional principles and values upon which our great country and state were founded.”
We will continue to inform voters, raise funds, and work toward secure elections. We will work to support candidates and elected officials who stand up for Conservative, pro-American, Christian-Judeo and traditional values. We will follow and support both our State and National Constitutions, our flag, and our God’s teachings. We will be ethical and honest in our words and works. WE WILL STAND FOR WHAT IS RIGHT! We ask that the Chairman and his followers do the same, but until then, we will not “go along to get along.” We must do our work within the boundaries of the laws of Texas, the rules of the state Party, and the bylaws of the County Party if we are to come together and accomplish the work of the Party.