precinct chair – Carol A. Spencer

Do Your Job

To quote Bill Belichick, NE Patriots coach, for a team to win, players must “do your job”. The same applies to precinct chairs.

Precinct chairs are elected by the Republicans in their precincts. Do voting Republicans elect precinct chairs to do their job or just hold the title?

Having been a precinct chair, I know that rarely do they get the opportunity to choose our Republican candidate. They have that opportunity on Saturday.

There are four candidates for the position of Republican candidate for State Board of Ed in District 5, Bastrop County’s district: David Doman of Travis County, Robert Westbrook of Guadalupe County, Perla Hopkins of Travis County, James Dickey of Travis County. Yet, only two (out of 26) Bastrop County precinct chairs were named as participants on the Zoom candidate forum Wednesday night. (The GOP chair also attended.) Two out of 26!

The vote to replace Mark Loewe, who unfortunately passed away after winning the primary, is tomorrow, Saturday August 6 from noon to 3 p.m. at Pinballz Lake Creek, 13729 Research Blvd., Austin.

If Bastrop County precinct chairs don’t show up, they’ll have abrogated their role in choosing our Republican candidate for STATE Board of Education…. the people who set curriculum, who determine text books, who constitutionally are required to manage the Permanent School Fund.

(update 2:45) I’m excited to hear that the County Chair is calling all of them letting them know how important this is. That’s great. Hopefully, our Bastrop County precinct chairs will do their job!

What’s the Score?

The score is 14 – 7. We’re losing.

I’m not talking about football. I’m talking about social media and digital communication. The Bastrop County Democrat Party in December (so far) has posted twice as much as the Bastrop County Republican Party. And, they’re on both Instagram and Twitter.

Social media is the preferred communication method for all age groups. Entities must be in these spaces to connect with the public.

The Republican Party website is out of date. The Election Information page showed Nov 4 ballot info as recently as Saturday, December 7. The cutoff date for filing to run for office was December 9. Until mid-day December 8, not one word was on the website about how to do so.

Silence about the new precinct created in Bastrop County last month even though it affects more than 2,000 voters. Nothing about how to register to vote, yet that’s the top priority for TexasGOP. And, the news page’s last article is from June 2, 2018! Its subject? A joint event with the Democrats.

Twitter? The last tweet from the Bastrop County Republican Party was April 25. The Democrats? December 3.

Instagram? (70% of 18 – 29 year olds use Instagram)
The Republican Party doesn’t even have an account. The Democrats last post? November 25.

YouTube? (90% of 18 – 49 year olds use YouTube)
The Republican Party doesn’t even have an account.

“You’re a digital communications expert and a precinct chair. Why don’t you volunteer to fix this,” you might ask. I have. The chair refused my offer. It’s one thing to lose a football game because of poor communication. It’s quite another to lose elections for that reason.

Leave ALL signs alone. Don’t trespass. Don’t steal.

A few days ago, some Democrat signs in Tahitian Village were apparently destroyed by someone driving through the neighborhood. This prompted a post on the Republican Party’s Facebook page condemning the action and forcefully stating that when the perpetrators are found, they’ll be turned over to the authorities. Because the signs were on Democrat properties, the Bastrop County Young Republicans went so far as to blame the Alt-Right for this wrong-doing.

It’s interesting to me that these two Republican organizations have been silent in the face of trespass and sign theft of Republican signs. Not a peep out of either organization as Cruz signs have been stolen from private property in more than a few cases. Perhaps they didn’t know, you say. Well, maybe, but that’s really hard to believe in the face of property owner reactions, some like the one at left.

It is inappropriate to point fingers at anyone, call out any group without proof, laser focus on only one instance of this type of behavior when it’s happening across the county to all sides.

No one should trespass on private property to remove or destroy anything, including political signs. It doesn’t matter what candidate from what party a person is supporting, they have a right to display signs supporting that individual or party. TXDOT regulations require signs to be on private property so anyone taking or damaging a sign is violating trespass and destruction of personal property laws.

Business Continuity or Outright Coup

I ask you: do you know one successful corporation that is lead by a steering committee without a powerful executive at the helm? (And let’s face it, political parties ARE corporations.)

Think GE under Jack Welsh, a company that now, under weak leadership, has lost its place on the Dow. Think JP Morgan Chase under Jamie Dimon. Study the difference in IBM under Lou Gerstner and Jack Akers. Remember Chrysler under Lee Iococca? Apple – Steve Jobs. Microsoft – Bill Gates. I could go on naming recognizable corporate names.

Yet, in Republican political organizations the recent push seems to be to overthrow strong, successful leaders, allegedly to “empower the grassroots”, to change a top-down organization to a bottom-up organization, implementing a weaker committee leadership style instead of a strong chief executive.

First, it was Travis County which created the roadmap on how to emasculate a county chair. Using the same technique of bylaw modification, Bastrop County, Montgomery County, Galveston County followed suit. At a minimum, these four counties have seen controlling interests among Republican precinct chairs completely strip the duly elected county chairs of their power. Only time will tell how successful this move is in growing the Party, getting out the vote and Keeping Texas Red, but I have my doubts.

Business continuity planning or outright coup? What’s the best way to manage an organization, to successfully move it forward? In my opinion, these people would do better to recognize the accomplishments of their predessors, learn from them, get experience in all facets of life (including life outside the political world), determine the appropriate management style for success, and then make their mark on the future of the Republican Party by appropriately modifying bylaws. Doing so would ensure Texas’ red status for years to come. But a coup, just because the votes are there, is not the quick fix they anticipate it will be.

What a Difference One Vote Makes

This fall, Bastrop County voters have the privilege of voting for four Third Court of Appeals justices. A total of six justices make up the Third Court. Votes for the four Third Court of Appeals justices are likely the most important votes you will cast in November 2018.

We’re lucky in Texas to be able to vote for our judges and justices. Votes matter! Some justices are appointed, for example, US Supreme Court justices. Appointees matter! Appointing authorities matter!

US Supreme Court building

I recall answering one “what are your three most important issues” poll prior to the November 2016 presidential election with “Supreme Court. Supreme Court. Supreme Court.” I know many who felt that way. Prophetic.

Today, President Trump’s “Travel Ban” was upheld, by a 5-4 vote. It held “The President has lawfully exercised the broad discretion granted to him under 8 U. S. C. §1182(f) to suspend the entry of aliens into the United States; respondents have not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that Presidential Proclamation No. 9645 violates the Establishment Clause.”

Yesterday, by a 5-4 vote, our Congressional District 27 map was upheld by the Supreme Court. It determined “The District Court disregarded the presumption of legislative good faith and improperly reversed the burden of proof when it required the State to show a lack of discriminatory intent in adopting new districting plans;[…].”

And, last Friday in another 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court determined that government needs a warrant to seize historical location data from cell phones. It ruled “The Government’s acquisition of Carpenter’s cell-site records from his wireless carriers was a Fourth Amendment search; and the Government did not obtain a warrant supported by probable cause before acquiring those records.”

In each case, Neil Gorsuch was among the five jurists in the majority. Would the majority have ruled the same way if a Barack Obama appointed liberal jurist were sitting in the seat occupied by Neil Gorsuch? I doubt it.

Your votes for the Third Court of Appeals will have similar impact. Don’t let this incredible opportunity to have an impact on your own day-to-day lives pass you by.

Political Activism or Community Activism

The current CD 27 Special Election is critical! Republicans need a 50%+1 win on June 30 to avoid a September runoff that will be costly to Texas voters, costly to our candidate, and potentially costly to the balance of the House of Representatives if not won by a Republican.

Political strategists would expect the Bastrop Republican County Executive Committee (BRCEC) as a whole to be working hard to get out the Republican vote for this election. Sadly, that’s not the case.

Community organizing is apparently more important. The Republican chair has asked for volunteers for an Elgin community event all day on Saturday, June 23, exactly one week before Election Day.

Elgin is not part of CD 27. In fact, Elgin sits at the most northwestern tip of Bastrop County, far away from CD 27. It’s in Congressional District 10, Mike McCaul’s district.

But getting known in the community is important, you say. Yes, it is. But when the balance of the U.S. House of Representatives is at stake, political activism trumps community activism every time.

For those in my precinct, look for this postcard in your mail this week. It has information about the Special Election, how to contact me, and where to find Bastrop County Republican information online. Even if you’re not in my precinct, but are in CD 27, please share with your friends, and be sure to early vote or vote on June 30!

Intro Postcard - Front with contact information

Diverting Resources Loses Elections

The most qualified candidate for a position can easily lose an election by running a poorly planned campaign, by losing focus, or by letting the opposition distract or divert attention to things that don’t matter to the outcome of the race.

A perfect example of this is happening right now in Bastrop County.

Bastrop Democrats

Early voting for a critical special election starts in just a few days, but the Republican chair-elect has spent her time over the past few weeks with the Democrats, planning a joint fundraiser for a local civic group. On May 19, while the Republican Chair-elect was at a CEC meeting convincing Republicans to do a joint fundraiser with the Democrats, Democrats were on the bridge in Bastrop publicly supporting their candidates.
While support for local organizations is a worthy endeavor, the number one priority of a political organization is to win elections, and winning takes time and money.

It’s sad, but apparent, that the possibility of giving the Democrats two opportunities in two months to defeat our Republican candidate doesn’t matter to Bastrop Republican leadership. They’d rather fraternize with the Democrats than defeat them.

With such a short window before early voting in the CD27 Special Election, this wasn’t the time to divert Republican resources away from Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts. We’ve yet to see any Bastrop County Republican Party emails or postal mails regarding the June 30 Special Election, the impact of this special election on the November general election, or the candidates involved.

I am fully supportive of raising money and awareness for local civic groups. A cursory review of my bio shows a long history of civic engagement. But right now, Republicans should be laser focused on GOTV efforts to win the CD27 Special Election with more than 50% of the vote.

If our primary winner, Michael Cloud, doesn’t get over 50% of the vote and is forced into a September runoff, it gives CD27 Democrats two chances to defeat him in a two month time span. It’s sad, but apparent, that the possibility of giving the Democrats two opportunities in two months to defeat our Republican candidate doesn’t matter to Bastrop Republican leadership. They’d rather fraternize with the Democrats than defeat them.