Report From County Chair Gwen Withrow
March 4, 2025 | Media Inquiries: press@mctxgop.org
by Republican County Chair, Gwen Withrow, mctxgop.org
This report was presented at the March meeting of the County Executive Committee (CEC).
We appreciate the many guests we have with us tonight. It is very good to see so many interested in the political process.
On Saturday, I attended a training provided by the Montgomery County Freedom Caucus. It was excellent and I highly recommend we ask the speaker to return to our county for additional sessions. One of the points I particularly remember was a slide showing how magicians perform a certain magic trick. The presenter compared it to how voters are hoodwinked during elections. This is something I especially hate about politics. It is the job of the Montgomery County Republican Party to make sure the facts are presented accurately to voters in our county. I take that responsibility extremely seriously.
I am going to take advantage of my “bully pulpit” privileges tonight and discuss some points before we start. As the County Chair, I mostly just have a lot of work to do and really do not get many privileges, but I’d like to take this opportunity to say that the local Montgomery County GOP County Executive Committee (CEC) did pass a resolution in December that was sent to the respective House of Representative members, warning them that they were expected to follow the Republican Caucus rules and vote with fellow Republicans to elect a House Speaker.
The Republican Party, local and statewide, have condemned the practice of bribing and using promises to get the Democrats to vote for a House Speaker. This Legislative Session, the current Speaker used a $5,000 enticement of taxpayer money to Democrats to win their vote. I found that to be the last straw.
I would like to suggest to our Representatives that ample opportunity existed to make your case in justifying your votes. I personally would have taken advantage of the bus trips to the capital. I would have invited my constituents to my office, handed them a water bottle, and given a speech explaining my vote and actions. Instead, the voters were shut out and treated like dirt at the Peoples’ House. I might add these actions have consequences and people are mad.
On the other hand, we have the entire Legislative Session to go and we really need to move ahead to working with our Representatives. I would like to consider this another shot across the bow and would like to see us unite and get the Republican Priorities and other conservative issues passed.
The resolution being considered does not request any of the remedies of action from the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) under Rule 44. No one is being denied access to the Republican ballot in the next primary. I am recommending that no further action be taken by the CEC until we have time to review the outcomes of this Legislative Session. I am being given reports that we could possibly have a successful session. So, we will be watching the votes carefully.
I am going to stop now and let the meeting continue, as it is not my job to debate the upcoming resolution. However, I would like to mention that I am receiving a barrage of phone calls, texts, and emails asking the party to take action. As an elected official it is my job to respond to my constituents’ requests that “the local party take action.”
