Hijacked: How the County Chairman is undermining the Party and Montgomery County voters
May 22, 2023 | Montgomery County, TX
The Montgomery County Republican Party has been hijacked by Party Chairman Bryan Christ! At the direction of Chairman Christ, and without the knowledge and consent of the County Executive Committee (CEC), Chairman Christ has:
Permanently closed down the Party Headquarters,
Liquidated the Party’s assets, and
Appropriated some of the Party's equipment to Chairman Christ and his wife’s new "Montgomery County Republican Club” Political Action Committee (PAC).
And now, Chairman Christ is transferring money from a Montgomery County Republican Party bank account directly to his “Montgomery County Republican Club PAC” account.
Republican voters need to know that the money they have given to Chairman Christ’s minority faction of the Party, operating under the Texas Ethics Commission filer name of the “MCTX REPUBLICAN VICTORY PAC,” has been transferred to the Christs’ new “Montgomery County Republican Club PAC.”
List published by the Christs’ PAC showing their donors. The “MCTX REPUBLICAN VICTORY PAC” is a Montgomery County Republican Party bank account.
So, if you are keeping score, Chairman Christ has now shut down Party Headquarters, liquidated the Party’s assets, appropriated Party equipment to his Republican Club, and is now transferring money from the Party to his PAC.
Chairman Christ has done all of this simply because he was unable to force his agenda upon the County Executive Committee (CEC) since the majority of the CEC would not vote to support his chosen officers or his attempts to replace appointed Precinct Chairs who refuse to acquiesce to him.
Chairman replaces Party Headquarters with a facility for his PAC
The Christs’ newest PAC, which they have deceptively named the “Montgomery County Texas Republican Club PAC,” has opened a PAC headquarters, which they are calling the “Republican Welcome Center.” If you do a Google Maps search for “Montgomery County Republican Party,” it now directs you to the location of the Christs’ PAC headquarters on Austin St. in Conroe. They also have begun listing the address of their PAC’s facility as the Montgomery County Republican Party Headquarters on their minority group emails and website.
This is not the first time Chairman Christ has been involved in promoting a PAC meant to confuse voters. The unsuspecting voter who sees that the Party’s elected Chairman is advertising and fundraising for this PAC, and has designated his PAC office as the official Party Headquarters, would certainly get the impression that the Christs’ PAC is the official Montgomery County Republican Party Headquarters, but it is not!
The facility located on Austin St. in Conroe is NOT associated with the Montgomery County Republican Party.
This is another attempt by Chairman Christ to circumvent the Party majority and operate without the checks and balances provided by elected Precinct Chairs.
Not everyone is welcome in the PAC’s new “Welcome Center”
While they claim that their new office is a “Welcome Center” for all Republicans, when Precinct 72 Chair Gwen Withrow and her husband, Bob, went to see the office that Chairman Christ is advertising as the new Party Headquarters, Mr. Withrow was confronted by Kristin Christ, who told him that they were not welcome there. In addition to being the Precinct 72 Chair, Gwen Withrow is also the State Republican Executive Committee member for District 4 and a member of the Officials Committee for the Republican Party of Texas.
Some elected officials looking the other way
Montgomery County Republican Party Vice Chairman Jon Bouché said:
“In my opinion, the actions of Chairman Christ and his minority faction of the Party are highly unethical. In a local party, the County Executive Committee debates issues and then votes. The minority gets their say but the majority gets their way in the vote because that is the civil way to settle disputes; however, in Montgomery County, it is clear that Chairman Christ does not respect the vote of the majority of the Party. This is the sole reason why the Party is in the state that it is in at this time.
“I have said all along that if Chairman Christ and his wife, Kristin, could not control the Party brand, they would try to destroy it. Well, now they have hijacked it. But what surprises me most about this situation is that some elected officials seem okay with the unethical and downright dishonest behavior of Chairman Christ and his wife, or perhaps they are just afraid of them because they know how vicious that crew can be. Voters really need to pay attention to who those elected officials are and vote them out of office.”
Documentation of the Chairman’s actions
Chairman Christ’s actions have been well documented. You also can read more in the Party’s news releases and read an impartial assessment of Chairman Christ’s actions in the mediation report provided by the Republican Party of Texas. (Note: The mediation report was originally confidential but has since been released.)
Unfounded statements about Montgomery County Tea Party
Because his actions are indefensible, Chairman Christ has resorted to referring to the majority of the Montgomery County Republican Party as the “Tea Party” or “Freedom Caucus” in all of his press releases instead of acknowledging that his opposition is, in fact, the majority of the Montgomery County Republican Party Executive Committee.
When the President of the Montgomery County Tea Party, Pat Tibbs, was contacted and asked why Chairman Christ continues to mislead voters into thinking the Tea Party is somehow involved, Tibbs stated, “I have no idea why he is doing that but it is really dishonest and quite annoying because he knows what he is saying is not true.”