March 20, 2023 | Media Inquiries: info@mctxgop.org

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John Wertz is the Assistant Treasurer for the Montgomery County Republican Party. He served as the Treasurer for the party in the last biennium.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX – As a Republican voter, I know that you may be concerned about the Petition for Writ of Mandamus filed against Chairman Bryan Christ by the majority of the County Executive Committee (CEC) and I am sure that you have questions. Rather than rehash that issue, which is before the Texas Supreme Court at this moment and has been presented in factual detail in earlier Montgomery County Republican Party newsletters and in our embedded writ, I’d like to clear up some misinformation and address the slanderous accusations spread by Chairman Christ and Precinct Chair James Byers. For information about how these two are perceived by the Republican Party of Texas, please read the official Mediation Report. 

Facts about party use of funds

1. In 2019, I chaired a Montgomery County Republican Party golf tournament at April Sound that netted $25,000. We used some of the proceeds from that tournament and other funds we raised to help underwrite the Nov. 2020 campaign of 85,000 Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) mailers at a cost of $35,000. The net result of that effort was that we increased turnout by 7% over 2016. 

2. In Sept. 2021, I chaired our second fundraiser, which was a golf tournament and luau at Margaritaville on Lake Conroe. This event raised around $55,000 and netted $35,000 to get the vote out for the local and statewide candidates. Since we were on the heels of funding an $18,000 headquarters upgrade, we only budgeted $25,000 to a more targeted audience than in 2020. In formulating our election cycle strategy, we correctly calculated that the Republicans who turned out in previous primaries would show up and vote again, so we turned our attention to those who either only voted once or twice out of the last three elections. By taking this approach, we significantly reduced our expenditures to only $15,500 and were still able to greatly increase Republican voter turnout. 

I think it is fair to point out that Chairman Christ has not assisted in raising any funds for the Republican Party even after assuming office again in 2022. Despite this, Chairman Christ still asks for free admission to party fundraising events when everyone else in the party is working to make the event successful and paying to attend because it helps the party.

Because Chairman Christ refuses to respect the vote of the CEC and conduct our business in a fair and impartial manner, the majority of the CEC body voted to remove him from the bank account on Aug. 13, 2022 (see MCRPTX CEC Special Meeting Minutes, pages 6-7), and then instated Party Treasurer Charles Shirley and Vice Chairman Jon Bouche onto the account. 

When Chairman Christ attempted to gain access to the account with a letter from his illegitimate Steering Committee and was informed that he had been removed from the account, he then sent out a newsletter in which he claimed that we had committed fraud against the party by embezzling the difference between the $53,587 that was in the bank as of our Aug. 13, 2022 meeting (see Exhibit F: Financial Report) and our year-end 2022 amount of $31,134 (see Exhibit D: Income Statement) - a roughly $22,400 difference. 

Chairman Christ published this false information publicly despite knowing that every penny of that money was accounted for in three Texas Ethics Commission filings: 30 days before Nov. 8 election,  8 days before Nov. 8 election, and Dec. 31, 2022 year-end report. In reviewing these reports, you will also note that we have been paying the monthly rent for the headquarters and a nearly $300/month x 5-year legacy copier lease that the former chairman saddled the party with before retiring.  The party has been paying those expenses despite Chairman Christ locking the County Executive Committee out of the headquarters.

The CEC controls the party and the majority determines its direction

The County Party Chairman and Precinct Chairs are all elected in the Primary Election.  The Chairman’s job is simply to preside over the meetings of the CEC and perform statutory duties on its behalf. The Chairman is not a dictator. The CEC controls the party and the majority of the CEC determines the direction of the party.  

Conservatives have held the party majority, which is verifiable in the minutes of each meeting called. Chairman Christ and his minority faction don’t even bother to list the names of those in attendance at their meetings because he knows that he does not have a quorum of legitimately elected or appointed Precinct Chairs to fill vacancies or to conduct any business on behalf of the party.  Despite this, Chairman Christ has been uploading his illegitimate appointments to the Secretary of State website, which is a violation of state law. That’s what the Petition for Writ of Mandamus is really about. 

All funds toward the lawsuit have been paid out of pocket by the 60-plus declarants in the lawsuit. No party money has been used for this lawsuit.

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More information

Other false statements that were included in Chairman Christ’s email are addressed in the Petition for Writ of Mandamus.

For updates on the progress of this situation, please subscribe to official communications from the Montgomery County Republican Party at mctxgop.org/subscribe. Click here to read more about the party’s new website, newsletter, and logo.

• Read the official Republican Party of Texas Mediation Summary here.

• View supporting documents on Attorney Warren Norred’s website here.

• View all news releases here.

• Email Assistant Treasurer John Wertz at info@mctxgop.org.