Why Your Tom Green County GOP Chair Stepped Down

OPINION — After a decade as Chair of the Tom Green County Republican Party I have resigned. Under State law and Party rules the Executive Committee of the Party, the sitting elected and appointed precinct chairs, selected my friend Bruce Burkett to finish my term. Bruce will do a terrific job and hopefully will file to run for the position in November.

My wife and I have been active in the Republican Party here for almost 25 years. We have worked side by side to improve election integrity and voter confidence while fighting the increasingly radical elements of both political parties and their efforts to define and divide. We believe liberty and the American Dream does not have a gender or race, a sexual preference or cultural identity. The increasingly vitriolic propaganda from both political extremes has made our efforts to grow and expand the Republican Party to include all who value freedom from governmental tyranny very difficult but I believe the Republican Party has had great success here in the Concho Valley and I am pleased to have had some hand in that.

I was asked to run back in 2011 because the local Party had lost its way. As few as a half dozen Precinct Chairs were attending meetings and no meetings had been held for almost a year. The Party was regularly struggling to meet its financial obligations and democrats still held office here.

I am no politician. Few appreciate my candor or lack of subtlety. My goals were simple. I set out to stabilize the Party, increase participation, restore confidence that the Party was a trustworthy custodian of Republican donations and funds and get good Republicans elected to all offices.

Today every elected official other than the Democrat Party Chair is Republican. The Democrats do not even run candidates for most positions. State and federal Democrat candidates have not received a majority of the votes from Tom Green County in any general election during the last four election cycles. The Party has sufficient funds to maintain a year round meeting location, to host or participate in several events each year and meets monthly. During my time we have maintained an average of 20 elected precinct chairs on the Executive Committee and have had a number of contested elections for those positions.

Beginning almost five years ago I began asking for those interested in taking over as Chair to come talk with me. During that time several have come by, but none ever came back until Bruce Burkett.

I have accomplished the goals I set for myself and the Party. To take the Party further we need a Chair with grander goals than those I set for myself. I am proud that under my watch one women's group has become two, that extremists and moderates within the Party work side by side agreeing to disagree but agreeing that the socialist movement must by stopped, that great conservative voices can now be heard at the wonderful events hosted by the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, and that our Congressman is a native San Angeloan for the first time in my lifetime. I have run my race and it is time to pass the baton to another.

I appreciate the compliment that some pay me by asking me to run for higher office. At this time I have no plans to do so. I am just going to take a break and focus on my family and work. I am proud to represent several small cities in the Concho Valley as their City Attorney and to continue to do what I can to help the children who are the victims of abuse and neglect in our Child Protection Court.