republican – Page 2 – Carol A. Spencer

Come on, Candidates

Campaigning = Communicating

I don’t care if you’re a local candidate representing a county or portion thereof. I don’t care if you don’t have an opponent (yet). I don’t care if you’ve raised money or not. Have a website. Have the courtesy to communicate in some detail why you are running and what you hope to accomplish.

Facebook is not a website. Twitter is not a website. Instagram and TikTok are not websites. They are social media channels demanding short, visual posts.

The use of social media channels varies by age group. Who do you want to reach? Want to reach those aged 18 to 29? According to Pew Research, you should be posting on Instagram: “eight-in-ten adults ages 18 to 29 say they use Instagram”. Nearly every age group uses YouTube. Pew Research continues, “About half of U.S. adults go on Facebook and YouTube daily, 24% do so on TikTok.”

That means about half of U.S. adults do not go on Facebook. If a candidate is only on Facebook and not on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok, that candidate is not connecting with potentially 50% of voters.

YouTube and TikTok are video platforms. Short, 30 second to 1-minute videos work well. Instagram requires a photo or video to post. Every channel demands short posts.

So how can a candidate connect with the details they want to share with voters: a platform, a page for donations, a place for email signups, an appearance calendar?

A website, of course. And, in every social post, include a link to that website. Keep the domain name as relevant and short as possible. It should be in the bio / profile of each social channel so visitors can link to it.

For years, I’ve taught government officials that people want posts coming to where they live online. They’re not coming to look for you. You must go to them. And once you connect on a social channel, lead them to more detail on a website.

And please, please, please test the website and all its links on Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari at a minimum. Desktop percentages of use are:

Desktop Browser Market Share in United States Of America – October 2025
Chrome	71.25%
Edge	10.39%
Safari	8.64%
Firefox	5.23%

And, test it for mobile use (which is likely at least 50% of web visitors). In fact, if you can, design mobile-first. Mobile percentages of use are:

Mobile Browser Market Share in United States Of America – October 2025
Safari	49.4%
Chrome	42.26%
Samsung Internet	3.38%
Brave	1.51%
Firefox	1.44%

Stats courtesy Statcounter Global Stats

This country is blessed to have elections for those who represent us. A representative republic demands an informed constituency. Candidates should have the common courtesy to inform those they expect to vote for them. A website is a necessity. It should be created before a candidate files to run. It’s the least a candidate can do to build support.

This blog post was written after looking up the websites for all state-wide and local candidates who have filed to run in the Texas GOP primary on March 3, 2026. That list will be published on LostPinesRW.club for voters to access and learn about candidates.

Election Integrity: Highest Priority

For many elections, I have served as presiding judge of the Early Voting Ballot Board, Signature Verification Committee and Central Count. This position is critical to the validity of our elections. (These committees are described below.)

I filed to run for Republican Precinct Chair in my precinct, 1008. A few weeks later, so did someone else. That made it a contested race. Contested candidates cannot serve as the presiding judge of these committees. So, I had a choice: continue to serve as presiding judge or run for precinct chair.

I chose election integrity and serving as presiding judge.

Below is the letter I sent to Justin Bezner, Bastrop County GOP Chair. I have withdrawn my name from the ballot. As I said in my letter, there are many ways to serve the Republican Party. I’ll continue my involvement through the Lost Pines Republican Women, the Bastrop County GOP Club, and when called upon, through the BCRP.

What’s the “Early Voting Ballot Board” and “Signature Verification Committee”? What’s “Central Count”?

These are two groups, made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, that are critical to ensuring election integrity.

Early Voting Ballot Board
An early voting ballot board (EVBB) shall be created in each election to process early voting results from the territory served by the early voting clerk. No matter what type of election an entity is having, they must have an early voting ballot board.

In Bastrop County, the EVBB also typically serves as the Signature Verification Committee, ensuring that a ballot signature matches the application. This is a critical function for election integrity.

Central Counting Station
A central counting station (“CCS”) is the place on election night where ballots are counted, vote totals are accumulated, precinct returns are completed and the unofficial elections results are generated.

Running for Precinct Chair

Ready to Serve Republicans in Precinct 1008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2025
Contact: Carol A. Spencer
RepublicanCarol@gmail.com

Carol A. Spencer Republican Carol Spencer has filed for a place on the ballot in the March 2026 primary to serve as Precinct Chair in Bastrop County (TX) Precinct 1008. Spencer is currently president of the Bastrop County GOP Club. She served as a Bastrop County precinct chair from 2018 – 2022. She is a founder and past-president of the Lost Pines Republican Women. And in 2023, she was named a Texas Federation of Republican Women “Ten Outstanding”, representing the best of the best Texas Republican women.

Believing strongly in the necessity of communicating with the grassroots, Spencer started a newsletter for her precinct and later continued that communications via RepublicanCarol.org. She spearheaded a joint project, The Bastrop County Voters Guide, with the Republican Party. This guide is mailed head-of-household to all Republican households in Bastrop County. This guide contributed to Republican sweeps in each of the last two election cycles.

“Conservative values, Texas values, are the core of my political positions. I’ve brought those core values to everything I’ve done. I’ve worked hard for 35+ years for open government, smaller government, lower taxes, and operational efficiency”, Spencer stated. “My record is solid and with the votes of Republicans in Precinct 1008, I’ll continue those efforts on their behalf.”

Currently serving as Presiding Judge of the Early Voting Ballot Board (EVBB) and Central Count, Spencer is dedicated to ensuring election integrity in Bastrop County. She’s held this position for numerous elections, overseeing mail-in ballot and result count accuracy.

Spencer, a web designer by profession, created her RepublicanCarol.org blog. She designed and manages content for the websites of the Lost Pines Republican Women and the Bastrop County GOP Club. She previously authored the Bastrop County Republican Party website.

Spencer will appear on the ballots of those in Precinct 1008 in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary.

Carol Spencer can be reached via email at RepublicanCarol@gmail.com, on X (formerly Twitter) as @RepublicanCarol, on Gettr as ChazTX, on Facebook at FB.com/RepublicanCarol.

Bills Wither and Die on the Vine

To get to the Governor for signature in order to become law, Texas bills originating in the Texas House must be assigned to a committee, must have a hearing and be voted out of that committee, must be assigned to a calendar by the Calendar Committee and then must pass on the House floor.

In my business (IT), we would call every one of these a possible point of failure. But those aren’t the only ones because after passing the House, a bill goes to the Senate and the same process happens all over again.

So, last Thursday at midnight, any bill that originated in the House and hadn’t yet had a floor vote was effectively dead. DEAD. And, that night, many bills died. Texas also has a rule that bills are all single subjects, so thousands are filed each session.

Wondering how the list of bills authored or sponsored by HD-17 Rep Stan Gerdes faired? I can tell you that the one I’ve pushed now for two sessions never made it beyond committee assignment. Apparently, it found its way pretty quickly to the circular file again this session. Developers don’t want it and they have far more influence (and money) than we citizens do.

But here’s an article about a few possible (possible because they’ve not yet been signed by Gov Abbott) wins for Rep Gerdes: https://www.kbtx.com/2025/05/18/most-bills-die-texas-house-deadline-heres-what-brazos-valley-lawmakers-secured/

Eventually, I’ll post about the status of his various bills. That’s hours of work so it won’t happen before the end of the legislative session. Oh, did I mention that’s a mere 13 days away? Sine die, the end of the session, is on June 2.

It sure doesn’t look like a great session for Republicans, but then again, many of us predicted that when the Speaker vote shenanigans took place. See also: The Poison Pill, No Dem Chairs Vote Rings Hollow, and The Clock is Ticking.

J6 Choir: Let’s be Very Clear

Let’s be VERY clear about the J6 Choir controversy the Democrats used to delay the vote for Kash Patel as FBI director. Let’s be VERY clear.

The J6 Choir video that the Judiciary Committee Democrats are SO opposed to is one of incarcerated J6ers singing the National Anthem while President Trump cites the Pledge of Allegiance. The Democrats have now clearly shown their true colors. Shameful.

Watch the video that they object to, the patriotic video that they want to use to deny Kash Patel, a highly qualified individual, the Directorship of the FBI. Shameful.

These Democrats want to deny Kash Patel the Directorship of the FBI, but they were fine with these people serving in the Biden administration. Democrat Party Judiciary members have gone nuts and clearly shown themselves for the kooks they are.

The Clock is Ticking

Did you know that the Texas Legislature meets for only 140 days every 2 years? Some of us think that’s good as it limits the damage they can do. Others think it’s not enough time. One would think that with only 140 days, they’d work every single day for the State of Texas and its citizens.

At least in the Texas House, they don’t.

A quick look around the website Capitol.Texas.Gov shows the work done so far by the House and Senate. The Texas Legislature (House and Senate) gaveled in on January 14, 2025.

The Texas House

The full House has met 8 of the 18 days since then. They won’t gavel in again until February 4.
The House elected a Speaker and adopted rules, without debate or amendments being allowed. (more on that in another post)
Speaker Dustin Burrows has not yet assigned committees. Thus, House committees have not met.

The Texas Senate

The full Senate has met 6 of the 18 days. They gavel in again on February 3.
Senate committees have met 9 times: Sunset Advisory Commission, Finance Committee, Education K-16 Committee, Administration Committee.
Senate Bill 1 (SB1) Appropriations, was sent to the Finance Committee on January 22.

More than 10% of this session is over and the Texas House doesn’t even have committees assigned. They were to be assigned today, but Speaker Burrows announced on Tuesday that wouldn’t happen.

The Governor gives his State of the State address on Sunday, February 2. He will announce his priorities. Once done, those priorities can be addressed immediately, yet the House won’t even have committees to do so.

So much to look forward to in the coming days. Will Democrats be appointed as chairs of the new category of “Permanent Standing Subcommittees”? What will Governor Abbott specify as his legislative priorities? Will we get our overpayment of taxes (surplus) back or will the legislature spend it? Will loyal Burrows renegade House members be rewarded with committee chairmanships? Will we finally find out how much the House spent last session to impeach Ken Paxton? Will we find out how much Democrat vice-chairs can spend on committee work? Will legislators get raises or will we never see a 2025 Housekeeping resolution? The clock is ticking….

No Dem Chairs Vote Rings Hollow

Bastrop County Republicans overwhelmingly voted for Republicans in November. We swept all contested races. Why, then, would our Republican Texas House representative vote for Democrat chairs? He claims he didn’t. But, he did.

Perhaps he didn’t read the rules before he voted on them. After all, they were sent to House members at 4AM, all 232 pages of them. Perhaps he didn’t understand what he was reading. Perhaps he didn’t realize they were written by Democrat Hugh Brady, former Obama General Counsel and Democrat Parliamentarian whose decisions killed conservative legislation during the last session. Perhaps he thought WE wouldn’t understand what we were reading. Perhaps he thought we’d be fooled by the splitting of hairs: banning Dem Chairs for committees but allowing them for extremely powerful subcommittees.

Rep Gerdes’ Facebook post says “I proudly voted to implement a new House rule that BANS the appointment of minority party chairs to lead committees in the Texas House.”

Not true.

“Oh! What a Tangled Web We Weave/When First We Practice to Deceive!” – Sir Walter Scott

Permanent Standing Subcommittees

The Rules Gerdes so “proudly” voted for created 12 new Permanent Standing Subcommittees. Permanent Standing Subcommittees is an entirely new class of committee this session, clearly created to allow members to claim they voted against Dem Chairs, all while allowing Dem Chairs and influence over legislation.

These 12 new Permanent Standing Subcommittees have assignments of “all matters related to” specific areas. The extensive matters falling under the jurisdiction of each Permanent Standing Subcommittee are listed in Rule 3. STANDING COMMITTEES. Pages and pages of them.

The 12 Permanent Standing Subcommittees are:

Juvenile Justice
Defense and Veterans’ Affairs
County and Regional Government
State-Federal Relations
Family and Fiduciary Relationships
Academic and Career-Oriented Education
Disease Prevention and Women’s and Children’s Health
Telecommunications and Broadband
Workforce
International Relations
Transportation Funding
Property Tax Appraisals

The Rules Gerdes so “proudly” voted for allow the Speaker to assign bills to these Permanent Standing Subcommittees. (In reading legislation, underlined words are new. Strikeout words are ~~removed~~. The word shall means must. The word may means optional.]

“All proposed legislation shall be referred by the speaker to an appropriate standing committee, permanent standing subcommittee, or select committee with jurisdiction, subject to correction by a majority vote of the house.”

The Rules he so “proudly” voted for require the Speaker to appoint Permanent Standing Subcommittee chairs and vice chairs. The Rules he so “proudly” voted for require the Speaker to appoint Permanent Standing Subcommittee members.

“The speaker shall appoint the chair and vice-chair of
each standing procedural committee and permanent standing
subcommittee and the remaining membership of each such [~~the~~]
committee and subcommittee.”

And, there is no provision in the rules prohibiting the Speaker from appointing Dem Chairs to these 12 Permanent Standing Subcommittees. The additional words “permanent standing subcommittee” were not added in the Rules section below as they were in many other Rules sections.

If, at the time the speaker announces the membership of standing committees, the members of the house of one political party constitute a majority of the membership of the house, the speaker shall designate a member of that party to serve as chair of each standing committee. The speaker shall not designate a member of that party to serve as vice-chair of a standing committee.

I verified with three House members that these Rules allow the Speaker to appoint Democrats as chairs of any of these “Permanent Standing Subcommittees”, that the Speaker could assign bills directly to them, and that committee and subcommittee chairs would have the same powers to hold hearings on bills, refer them out unchanged or with substitutions, offer amendments, or just ignore them.

We’ll see when Speaker Dustin Burrows announces committee and subcommittee appointments. They were due this Friday, January 31, but Burrows announced yesterday that those appointments would be delayed.

If even one Democrat is appointed as a chair of any Permanent Standing Subcommittee, Gerdes’ words “I proudly voted to implement a new House rule that BANS the appointment of minority party chairs to lead committees in the Texas House” will ring hollow and untrue.