Several Montgomery County GOP precinct chairs, State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) members and concerned citizens turned out for city council’s November 15 meeting. During citizens forum, 13 of them presented Shenandoah officials with a long list of grievances against county chairman Christ. Since the mayor and three councilmen have endorsed Christ, one attendee said they came to publicly refute allegations Bryan Christ made against state and local party members during the last council meeting.
Gwen Withrow, Precinct Chair 72 and SREC member introduced herself as Christ’s opponent in the March 2024 primary. She said she would not have normally done this at a council meeting, but felt she had no choice because of Christ’s October 25 speech to council. She listed her extensive experience in the party and promised to “follow the rules” and bring unity.
Precinct Chair 61 Donna McAleer criticized the way Christ abruptly shut down the GOP county headquarters in Conroe earlier this year without prior notice to precinct chairs. She said many precinct chairs have a “low trust level” of Bryan and have called for his resignation.
Pastor, SREC member and Precinct Chair 27 Dale Inman said he had been personal friends with the Christs and could provide a unique perspective. He said he would not “speak poorly” of Bryan but had “begged” him to schedule a meeting with the hope of unifying the party. He asked three times — first as a friend, second as a fellow political person and finally as Christian brothers. Christ declined all three requests. Inman noted that the strife in the county party is well known throughout the state.
Inman pointed out that in 2022, they had requested mediation of the issues by third parties, including State GOP Chair Rinaldi. Inman read the conclusion of the mediation report.* “Ultimately, the rift is a result of a complete failure of leadership of Chairman Christ….it is the Chair’s job to find a path through these disputes that works for both sides. Mr. Christ has not only failed in this principal duty, but seemed entirely uninterested in solving the problems. On questioning, he offered no solutions nor explanations of how things have gotten this far.”
Shenandoah resident and Precinct Chair 31 Betty Anderson said after 27 years of her involvement in the party, she has “never seen such extremely poor leadership” even though there has always been division in the party. After the meeting she added “Gwen has been a full-time Republican servant leader having volunteered her time for many years, unlike Bryan who works a full time job.”
Precinct Chair 97 Kim Weber pointed out that Bryan’s wife, Kristin “is a highly paid political consultant, with her company, Southern Heritage Consulting. She runs the campaigns of several high profile elected officials here in Montgomery County.” Weber compared Bryan and his wife to Joe and Hunter Biden, “because they are compromised and use their position for Kristin’s clients, to gain influence over the local party.” Luis Pedraza, Precinct 110 Chair said that he initially supported Christ, but after witnessing recent events, he no longer supports him.
Stephanie Cox who represents The Woodlands Precinct 98 told council she was duly elected and appointed by a majority of party executive committee and yet her name was not reported to the Secretary of State. The facts surrounding Cox’s situation and many others like her are detailed in the writ of mandamus filed earlier this year.
Precinct Chair 87 Robert Walker challenged a request made by councilman Ted Fletcher earlier in the meeting that speakers not engage in “personal attacks” against Christ since he was not there to defend himself. Walker said, “What you’re seeing here today is the precinct chairs defending themselves from when you didn’t call out Mr. Christ when he came before you at your last meeting and spoke against CEC [County Executive Committee] members in a bad light.”
Walker asked the council members who already endorsed Christ to reconsider those endorsements after hearing from precinct chairs. According to Christ’s campaign materials (photo below), Mayor Escoto and councilmen Fletcher, McLeod and Raymaker have all endorsed Christ. In addition, former councilman Ken Smith is listed as a grassroots supporter. Escoto’s, McLeod’s and Raymaker’s positions will be on the ballot in the May 2024 city elections.
The next city council meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 20 at 7 pm, city hall.
*Although the report is marked “Confidential” it has been widely distributed and posted in the public domain.
