In 2020 I was elected to serve as the Harris County Republican Party Chairman. Part of my responsibility is overseeing the Republican primary elections and recruiting Republican election workers for general elections. Additionally, I serve as the only Republican on the Harris County Elections Commission.
HOUSTON — Today, the Texas House passed critical legislation restoring accountability to Harris County elections. SB 1750 rightfully returns the responsibility of running elections to duly elected officials rather than a partisan appointee.
“The Elections Administrator’s office has been a colossal failure since the moment it was formed,” said Harris County GOP Chairman Cindy Siegel. “The responsibility of running elections should have never been taken away from the Harris County Clerk and Tax Assessor-Collector, both elected officials, to begin with.
“The only things we’ve seen come from the Elections Administrator’s office are mismanagement and incompetence, resulting in countless missteps that have led to grossly underserving Harris County voters. Ultimately, if the EA could pull off an election without major problems, the state legislature wouldn’t have had to step in. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen from unprecedented issues, whether that be missing ballots or ballot paper shortages and everything in between, they can’t get it right. Someone eventually has to step in and say, ‘Enough,’ and today, the Texas Legislature did exactly that by passing SB 1750.
“I would like to thank Senator Paul Bettencourt for authoring this bill and the entire Harris County delegation of Republicans for seeing this through to the end, and I look forward to Governor Abbott signing SB 1750 into law.”
I am writing to ask that you pass SB 1750 and SB 1933 and present facts as to why the passage of these bills is important to Harris County and the entire state of Texas.
Harris County is the largest county in Texas and, for the last decade, has consistently had either the most or second most Republican voters out of every county in the nation. Unfortunately, since 2020, Harris County has been more infamously known as the poster child on how not to run an election.
I, along with many other Harris County Republican leaders, election workers, and subject matter experts have spent countless hours testifying in Austin this session. While giving testimony, I consistently heard members say, “I’m tired of hearing about the problems with how badly elections are run in Harris County.”
Let me assure you — no one is more tired of the problems that have plagued Harris County elections due to poor leadership and mismanagement than I and the Harris County GOP grassroots and primary voters are.
As the Chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, I have been dismayed by what appears to be the lack of action by the Texas House of Representatives regarding passing critical election integrity legislation, including SB 1750, SB 1933, and several other election bills that have withered on the vine.
Why should you care about what happens in Harris County? I’m a CPA by training, so let me break it down with cold-hard numbers.
With over 2.5 million registered voters, almost 14% of the votes cast this past November in the state were from Harris County voters. Harris County has had multiple chances to get running our elections right since the Elections Administrators office was formed in 2020, and they simply can’t. Some examples include, but are in no way limited to, the suppression of the Republican vote by eliminating historical Republican polling locations, undersupplying multiple polls with ballot paper resulting in countless voters being turned away, nearly 10,000 ballots not being initially counted, polling locations opening hours late, and more.
For the sake of Harris County voters and confidence in elections for all Texans, it’s time for you all to step up and say “Enough” through decisive legislative action.
Harris County could be the deciding factor that leads to losing close Statewide, Congressional, and Senatorial elections because elections in Harris County are so problematic. If things get worse in Harris County (and they will without preemptive legislation), they will undoubtedly get worse for all of Texas. You all have an opportunity to correct many of these election issues, and if you neglect this, you will own the blame. Our primary voters and donors know this and are watching carefully.
Today there are 21 election challenges by Harris County Republican candidates related to the November 2022 election. We hope all or some of the 21 election challengers will get new elections. However, our primary voters and donors know that without robust election integrity laws passed this session, we will have the same group running the elections in Harris County who refuse to display any accountability or integrity, and Republican voters will continue to be disenfranchised. Additionally, it’s not a stretch to see what has happened in Harris County could be perpetuated in other counties across the state in future elections.
It’s time to take action and pass SB 1750 and other important election integrity bills like SB 1933. The passage of SB 1750 will eliminate the Harris County Elections Administrator’s position and give the voters their voice back by putting our elections back in the hands of the duly elected County Clerk and County Tax Assessor with oversight from the Secretary of State.
Resolution to Support All Diplomatic Efforts to End the Ukraine War and An Account for All US Taxpayers’ Dollars Spent
Whereas, in December, Biden signed a bill with another $47 billion in military aid which brings taxpayers to nearly $100 billion dollars to Ukraine that has not been accurately accounted for. Whereas the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, Biden keeps sending military equipment and ammunition to Ukraine. There is no end in sight, and Biden has even said as much. Yet here in the United States, arms manufacturers can’t keep up with demand, and our own armed forces are already running dangerously low.
Whereas US leaders need to explain how this is a good investment for national security when our borders are wide-open, known terrorist and dangerous killer drugs are coming in and cartel sex traffickers who brutalize women and children thrive in what has become a billion dollar slave industry.
Be it hereby Resolved, that the Harris County Republican Party endorses reasonable and good faith diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine war and an account for all US taxpayers’ dollars spent.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia Anne Moore
Harris County Republican Party District, 0483 Precinct Chair
Resolution on Clarification of Affiliation
WHEREAS, Republicans are Republican; and
WHEREAS, Democrats are Democrat; and
WHEREAS, Lyndon LaRouche was a socialist and Democrat throughout his life; now
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Harris County Republican Party is not affiliated with Lyndon LaRouche, LaRouche PAC, LaRouchePAC.com, or any other Democrat affiliations.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert Jeter III
Precinct 662
Harris County Republican Party Resolution Supporting the Freedom of County Executive Committees
WHEREAS, Texas Election Code (TEC) Chapter 161 begins with the basic principle that a “political party retains all of its inherent powers except as limited”; and
WHEREAS, the government should allow County Executive Committees maximum flexibility and minimum limitation to conduct their internal affairs without state interference; and
WHEREAS, the county chair is currently elected by the countywide primary electorate, precinct chairs are currently elected by each precinct’s primary electorate, vacancies to each office are currently filled by the entire County Executive Committee (CEC), and the county chair and precinct chairs work together as elected party officers to conduct the business of the CEC; and
WHEREAS, the status quo in TEC Chapter 171 allows a State Party and each CEC to determine the method, through its rules and bylaws, for filling precinct chair vacancies and for conducting other internal party business (i.e., unrelated to the conduct of primary elections), with broad discretion; and
WHEREAS, a healthy deliberative CEC delegates to the chair and the voting members, through its rules and bylaws, a balance of authority and powers that reflects the representative will of the countywide partisan electorate that chooses the chair and the will of individual precinct partisan electorates that choose the precinct chairs; and
WHEREAS, a cookie-cutter, government-mandated approach to filling precinct chair vacancies, calling meetings, and setting CEC fiscal policies ignores the local political needs in each CEC and long-standing parliamentary principles about the balance of power between a county chair and the body that chair leads; and
WHEREAS, Texas House Bill 4636, as introduced, would give the County Chair the sole authority to “appoint a replacement” for each precinct chair vacancy, thus eliminating a current authority of precinct chairs; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 4636, as introduced, would give the County Chair the sole authority to “set the schedule for meetings and the agenda for each meeting,” thus eliminating any flexibility for CECs to have other methods of calling meetings or setting meeting agendas; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 4636, as introduced, would give the County Chair the sole authority as “administrator of all party accounts and contracts,” thus eliminating any flexibility for precinct chairs to provide for checks and balances in the CEC on whose executive board they were elected; and
WHEREAS, the House Election Committee substitute of House Bill 4636, on which Harris County Republican Representative Valoree Swanson was the only opposing Committee vote, made only minimal changes to the introduced version; and
WHEREAS, while the Harris County Republican Party (HCRP) is fortunate at present to have a County Chair who works respectfully with and who shares deliberations with the Executive Committee, the situation in our county may not always remain optimal under a future chair and unfortunately does not similarly exist in all Republican CECs in Texas; and
WHEREAS, statutes to eliminate every opportunity for precinct chairs in every CEC, regardless of the local circumstances, to have a say in filling vacancies, calling meetings, or exercising even limited authority over contracts would reduce precinct chairs to mere accessories to the powerful county chair; and
WHEREAS, the ability for outside forces to influence the election of a single chair is much easier than the ability to influence the many individual elections of grassroots precinct chairs in the neighborhoods of an entire county; and
WHEREAS, a model of CECs in which power rests solely with the county chair would necessarily weaken the current model in which precinct chairs and the county chair share authority and determine that sharing through the CEC’s properly adopted rules and bylaws; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 4636, as introduced, represents such a radical shift in tradition and parliamentary principles about the balance of power in CECs that, if passed, would render large portions of our HCRP Bylaws in conflict with TEC; now
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Harris County Republican Party STRENUOUSLY OBJECTS to Texas House Bill 4636, as introduced, and to any bill that would similarly alter the necessary balance of power that currently exists between a county chair and a CEC’s precinct chairs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to each member of the Texas Legislature.
Respectfully submitted,
Vergel Cruz – Precinct 578 and SREC Secretary
Cindy Siegel – HCRP Chair
Dana Myers – RPT Vice Chair
Gwen Withrow – SREC SD 4 Dale Inman – SREC SD 4
Dawn McDonald – SREC SD 6 and Precinct
996 Scott Bowen – SREC SD 6 and Precinct 416
Deborah Kelting Fite – SREC SD 7
Tom Nobis – SREC SD 7
Gaylyn DeVine – SREC SD 11
Ken Moore – SREC SD 11
Milinda Morris – SREC SD 13 and Precinct 490
Gail Stanart – SREC SD 15
Rolando Garcia – SREC SD 15
Becky Green – SREC SD 17
Roman Klein – SREC SD 17 and Precinct 437
Ted LeBlanc – SD 4 Chair and Precinct 670
Rex Teter – SD 6 Chair and Precinct 302
James Buntrock – SD 7 Chair and Precinct 726
Robert Jeter – SD 11 Chair and Precinct 662
Gail Stolzenburg – SD 17 Chair and Precinct 509
Josh Flynn – Precinct 407 and former SREC
Marvin Clede – Precinct 8 and former SREC
Mark Ramsey – former SREC SD 7
Fe Bencosme – Precinct 33
David Barker – Precinct 126
Patricia Phillips – Precinct 189
Aaron Cichon – Precinct 233
Erich Wolz – Precinct 255
David Gratvol – Precinct 304
Matthew Cowan – Precinct 311
Jeff Larson – Precinct 349
Chris Kulesza – Precinct 380
Lillian Sockwell – Precinct 414
William Fagan – Precinct 421
Rufus Estis – Precinct 448
Melissa Rowell – Precinct 480
Ralph Fite – Precinct 499
Tom Bazan – Precinct 661
Nikki Fagan – Precinct 663
Bill Ely – Precinct 844
George Brian Vachris – Precinct 885
Resolution Supporting SB14/HB1686
WHEREAS, God created man in His own image; male and female created He them, and man cannot successfully override God’s creation; and
WHEREAS, children are a gift from God and should not be subject to the abomination of mutilation under the guise of “gender transition” and “affirming care”; and
WHEREAS, gender cannot be modified, or transitioned, and affirming a lie against the laws of nature, and nature’s God cause irreparable damage; and
WHEREAS, SB14/HB1686 protects Texas minors from atrocious practices such as sterilization, puberty blockers, and other “gender transition” or “gender reassignment” procedures; and
WHEREAS, public money or public assistance should NEVER be used to provide these horrific procedures and treatments; and
WHEREAS, in the past years, the public has seen the irreparable damage that “gender transition” and “gender reassignment” procedures have caused; now
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Harris County Republican Party fully supports passage of SB14/HB1686 to protect Texas children; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Harris County Republican Party publicly commends all authors, sponsor, and co-sponsors of this bill and strongly recommends that all necessary measures be implemented for passage of this bill.
Respectfully submitted,
Tara Beulah, Precinct 0909
Kristin Cobb, Precinct 0690
Darcie Wilbanks, Precinct 0516
Patricia Phillips, Precinct 0189
James Buntrock, Precinct 0126
Nikki Fagan, Precinct 0663
Vergel Cruz, Precinct 0578
Ralph Fite, Precinct 0499
David Barker, Precinct 0126
William Ely, Precinct 0844
Clark Denson, Precinct 0300
Teresa Thomas, Precinct 0173
Judy Dehaan, Precinct 0111
Terry Wheeler, Precinct 0972
Amy Duty, Precinct 0113
Resolution to Withdraw the Indictment of President Trump
Whereas The indictment of President Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a perversion of our institutions of government in order to silence political opposition, and
Never before has a former president been arrested or indicted, and
Donald Trump has demonstrated certain unique qualities hated by the establishment, such as the courage to stand up to that globalist establishment and also the ability to inspire ordinary Americans with a vision of a better future, and
This indictment is only the latest in a series of attacks on Trump, which began when he announced his campaign for the Presidency in 2015 and has been continuous for eight years,
Therefore, The Harris County Republican Party Executive Committee denounces the actions of the Manhattan District Attorney as out of bounds in the United States Constitutional Republic and calls for the withdrawal of the indictment.
Respectfully submitted,
Evelyn Lantz
256 Precinct Chair
The Houston Chronicle released multiple articles finding that, according to their research, Harris County voters were not significantly disenfranchised on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022. I couldn’t disagree more.
Whether it was systematic or due to incompetence, the fact remains the same: The actions (or rather inaction) of the Harris County elections administrator may have resulted in Harris County voters potentially not voting. An article in the Chronicle exclaims that one polling location was “one of about 20 polling locations that ran out of paper on Election Day” and then says, “That is a tiny fraction of the 782 polling places across the sprawling county that day.”
Let me offer an alternative point of view: Nearly three percent of polling locations ran out of ballot paper at some point, resulting in voters potentially not casting a ballot. That three percent is consequential when candidates lost by less than one-half of a percentage. “But there’s countywide voting, people turned away could go less than a mile away to vote at another location,” you might think. Tell that to the mom with a car full of kids, only a tiny window in which to vote and no time to hunt down another voting location. Or to the first-time voter who walks out feeling discouraged because they weren’t able to practice a fundamental American right.
If the elections administrator could get it right, we wouldn’t need bills in the state Legislature targeting Harris County elections. But, as we’ve seen repeatedly, they can’t. Someone eventually has to step up and say “enough,” and these bills do just that.
Cindy Siegel, chairman, Harris County Republican Party
HOUSTON — The Harris County GOP is devastated to hear of the passing of longtime activist and Ballot Security Chairman Alan Vera. He passed away this morning at the Texas Capitol building advocating for election integrity as he prepared to testify in support of multiple bills.
Alan served his country valiantly as a U.S. Army Airborne Ranger from 1970-1974. He received multiple awards and unit citations for his service. He was appointed chair of the Harris County GOP Ballot Security Committee in 2014, was one the original founders of “True the Vote,” and has received many awards for his activism regarding election integrity, including the Lifetime Achievement Award he and his wife won at last year’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner.
Chairman Cindy Siegel issued the following statement.
“Today, we lost a titan.
“Alan’s life was dedicated to selfless service, as seen from his time in the military, to working tirelessly towards getting Republicans elected and doing everything in his power to ensure elections across the nation are safe and secure through education and advocacy. At the Texas Capitol, he was always the first in the building and the last to leave as he devoted countless hours to testifying before the House and Senate, meeting with legislators, and speaking with other activists to push for election integrity legislation.
“Alan was a fearless leader, and his passing leaves a hole in our Party that no one will ever fill. Most importantly, he was a husband, father, and grandfather to a family that adored him. We ask that you respect his family’s privacy during this tragic time and keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
“Alan always said he gives all the credit for whatever good he’s accomplished to Almighty God. We will miss him and cherish his memory always.”
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Yesterday, Harris County GOP Chair Cindy Siegel gave testimony to the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee in support of SB 1911. This bill, one of five election integrity bills introduced Monday by Senator Paul Bettencourt, would increase criminal penalties for certain election offenses, such as failing to distribute supplies like ballot paper or releasing election results before polls close.
We’re thankful to the many Harris County election judges and clerks who traveled to Austin yesterday to testify and share their experiences about the terribly mismanaged November 8, 2022, Election Day. Our grassroots and party leaders are working around the clock to get legislation passed that will make Harris County elections safe and secure.
HOUSTON — The Harris County GOP supports the Texas Education Agency (TEA) decision to takeover Houston ISD. Chairman Cindy Siegel issued the following statement.
“While this is an unfortunate situation, I fully support the TEA taking over HISD in June. When a student repeatedly fails, they have to face the consequences. For years, HISD has failed. In the face of sharp criticism and a looming takeover, the district made no substantial progress in improving the quality of education for its students. We have to draw the line somewhere; today, the TEA drew that line.
Students must come first, and the TEA stepping in is an important first step to getting the largest school district in Texas back on track.”
